Market research

Market research

Evidence- product market; competition, competitor analysis; advertising placement; advertising effectiveness

Product market

Understanding what the customer’s wants and needs are as well as acknowledging that the product is developed in a way that meets these requirements.

An example of using Product research regarding my documentary on teenagers in Banstead is identifying how many individuals would be willing to view this material. Polls are often used in Product research to gather relevant information from the audience about what their views and interests are, for example; what should my documentary be called?

What should my documentary be called?

a) Stoned kids

b) Addiction X X X

c) Is it all really that bad?

d)  Legally High X X X X X

My chosen documentary name was “Is it all really that bad?” however it was unsuccessful in the market place. I created a pre-production market Poll in order to see its popularity and competitive edge against other existing names. My documentary name did not receive any votes whereas “Addiction” received 3 votes and “Legal high” received 5 votes. It is important to identify which name(s) are preferred in the market as the audience might not be as interested if the name of the documentary does not catch their eye.

Competition

Smart marketers employ a form of competitive research in order to increase their understanding of what products, services, pricing models and value propositions they are up against.

Competing documentaries:

• Stoned Kids
• Addiction
• Legally High

I was not able to view ‘Addiction’ as it was not available in the UK however I was able to watch my other two selected documentaries. These documentaries provide their audience with significant information.

Stoned Kids

This documentary offers their audience information on medical Marijuana that also includes a story of a young girl who has been diagnosed with cancer. She consumes Marijuana in various ways such as sweets and pills. The use of Marijuana helps this young girl cope with her disease. The documentary informs their audience how Marijuana works when it is consumed by a human and the affects that it can have. This documentary was free to view and is accessible to various different people who are interested in viewing this production.

The audience would become informed of how Cannabis can be used in a medical way and can be used to treat and help victims of cancer such as the girl in the documentary. The story can also trigger the emotions of individuals within the audience which can also increase the amount of viewers they receive. Competing with this documentary could be difficult as this production company has a budget which is considerably high whereas I will not have as many resources and sources of finance. However through primary research I can conduct questionnaires and interviews in order to determine what the audience would like to see and what their opinions are.

Another factor could be that it is set in Banstead and measures the activities of teenagers in this. Individuals that are interested in the documentary will be local to this area which could potentially increase the interest and amount of viewers I receive. In comparison to this it could also be a negative factor as it is not based on a National or Global range and it is focused on a small society.

Legally High

This documentary is able to provide their audience with information about legal drugs that are available to members of the society. This documentary is based in the UK whereas ‘Stoned Kids’ is based in America. This documentary is free to view and is available to all individuals who would want to view this production. The audience is provided with material about different types of legal drugs and the views of people involved in the documentary. The production takes place in the UK and also includes a local area called ‘Camden’ which is well known for its drug consumption and trade. The documentary informs their audience of the drugs that are offered as well as various ways that these can be bought.

It could be difficult to compete with this documentary as they also have a high budget which enables them to gather required resources and editing which will increase the amount of viewers they receive as well as the satisfactory that they have from viewing this. Competing with this documentary could also be difficult as they are reaching out to a wider audience rather than focusing on a specific area or group like my documentary is.

Competitive analysis template

Things we do that they don’t	My documentary focuses on a specific region unlike most other materials that base their documentary on a National scale	Based on a real story that took place in Banstead	Academic status as it was done for A-Level studies
Things we do better than them	Teenager making a documentary on teens- better understanding	First-hand account of the story it is based on	Understand specific aspects and expectations of the target audience
Things we do equally well	Provide statistics and facts	Provide the audience and target audience with help and support	Inform the audience of data and material that is relevant to them or their situation
Things they do better than us	These individuals might of possessed resources that I don’t, e.g. equipment, talent, crew.	Other documentaries would have had a budget	Availability of locations
Things they do that we don’t	High quality acting, editing and specialist performances	Advertising their documentary on media such as television and radio	Potentially make a significant profit from their production (depending on how successful or large the organisation or production is)

Advertising placement

Advertising placement: how this might look

  Products that teenagers are likely to consume are:

• Fizzy drinks (Coca-Cola, Fanta)
• Technology (iPhones, Samsungs)
• Sweets (Haribos, Skittles)
• Goldings (Corner shop, located in Banstead)
• Stationery from Lorimers

Things that can be included in my documentary

Things that are to be excluded from my documentary

Advertising placement is a technique used by companies to subtly promote various products through a non-traditional advertising technique that is usually through appearances in film, television and other types of media. Product placement is often initiated through an agreement between a product manufacture and the company in which they receive economic benefit. An organisation will often pay fees to have their products used, displayed or significantly featured in a film or show.