Inform Market Intelligence A
consumer perspective is essential for businesses developing media plans for their low-carbon products. The view from the boardroom is almost inevitably different from that of their customers. To set the scene, let me first discuss a couple of everyday examples.
Recently I visited a coffee shop in a nature park, where there was slow service, little food selection and no place to sit. Taking the company-viewpoint, our wait- ress
apologised, saying that it
was rarely like this, and there were never problems on week- days. Yet there would be few customers mid-week to appreci- ate such high-quality service, and as a weekender, she did not give me confidence that I ever would. Too often, company service statistics represent ‘how the com- pany is doing’ rather ‘measur- ing
the customer experience’.
The role of market research is all about providing consumer per- spectives to businesses in a useful, and reliable, way. Consider train travel. Look out for information about the ‘proportion of trains which are delayed’ next time you are wait- ing for a late-running train, on an increasingly crowded platform, and think how you would rather know ‘the proportion of travel- lers who suffer delays, especially those who fit your travel profile’. This is quite a different thing. It could be that the train companies provide a very punctual service late at night, running near-emp- ty trains, but struggle in busy times. Perhaps the delays are par- ticularly affecting some customer segments – such as high-revenue commuters. And, unless the trains are reservation-only, for every delayed train, a higher proportion of people will actually be affected. For media plans, the key issue is to take a holistic view of how different types of people will view your communication messages. If you align your media plan with a particular relevant opinion leader, it matters what they do in all pub- lic areas of their lives – as Tiger Woods has shown with sports
14 | Sustainable Business | October 2010
are presenters of natural history programmes shown on high-end national broadcasters – the CBC and BBC. There is no equivalent broadcasting option available in America, probably to the detri- ment of how climate change is communicated there.
Al Gore may be a dominant and inspirational climate change opinion leader, but his views are resisted by many Republicans
sponsorship. If you advertise in a particular publication, it matters how engaged readers are with the editorial environment. From
our Environmental
Choices study, we know that Al Gore is a dominant climate change opinion leader – espe- cially amongst Americans where 14% spontaneously mentioned Al Gore or An Inconvenient Truth as being personally inspi- rational. Yet he is a controversial figure. When prompted, 39% of Americans indicated that Al Gore has been ‘effective in shaping their thoughts’ about climate change, as against 22% who thought him ‘wrong-thinking’ on this subject. From Al Gore’s perspective, it would likely seem consistent and reasonable to be concerned about climate change, be a Democrat, invest in cleantech industries and attack fossil fuel interests. Yet, his
climate change views are resisted by many Republicans, and some are suspicious of a conflict of interest about his
investments.
As one Environmental Choices respondent said about climate change: “People like Al Gore make a big deal of it so they can line their pockets with money.” The leading climate change opinion leaders in Canada and England are David Suzuki and David Attenborough respectively who, although without the same impact as Al Gore, do not greatly divide public opinion. Amongst Canadians, 41% think David Suzuki has been ‘effective in shap- ing their thoughts’ about climate change, as against 8% who think him ‘wrong-thinking’ on the sub- ject; and amongst the English, the equivalent figures for David Attenborough are 42% and 2% respectively. Both these figures
The BBC is a leading broad- caster of information about cli- mate change amongst the English (29% indicating it ‘effective in shaping their thoughts’ on the subject; 3% think it ‘wrong- thinking’). The Guardian is the most influential ‘quality’ news- paper followed by The Times and Independent. Among Americans, the National Geographic maga- zine is influential (17% ‘effective’; 1% ‘wrong-thinking’).
Organisations have access to consumer viewpoints as never before. People can post comments directly onto company websites and through social media – such as with Al Gore’s Repower America Facebook group. As a valuable addition to existing strategies, companies should monitor dis- cussion points and take account of them within their media plans.
Peter Winters is president of Haddock Research & Branding. Haddock Research is a leading market research agency dedicated to providing vital information to those creating a low-carbon world. SB readers can claim a 15% discount on Environmental Choices reports, available now at
haddock-research.com/environ- mental_choices/section_reports
Monitor the discussion points – and take account of them in your media plans
by Peter Winters
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