What you need to know about the new direct marketing guidance note
Nadine Mather and Chloë Loubser
International consumer study comes to SA
The Consumer Connection Study (CCS), first launched in the UK in the late 90s by Carat parent company Aegis, has now been launched by its local media agency, Carat South Africa. Described as a 'consumer, lifestyle and product survey', it is reportedly widely regarded as one of the most in-depth single source of media, marketing and consumer-targeting data in the world.
Quinton Jones, MD of Carat South Africa, says that CCS has been specifically designed to support the agency's consumer-centric approach, by delivering insights into how consumers engage with the media and their receptivity towards commercial messages across more than 50 digital, experiential and media channels.
"The fundamental role of media and marketing is to deliver the right message to the right consumer through the right channel and at the right time. A tool that is able to provide precise information on how, when and where different consumers relate to marketing messages, and the attitudinal and behavioural effects of those messages on the consumer, will provide inestimable value in the marketing process. CCS is that tool," he says.
International success
The benchmark survey has been conducted on an annual basis, expanding globally over the years. It has been conducted in more than 30 countries which together account for some 85% of global advertising expenditure. Of the 340 000+ interviews conducted amongst some 180 000+ respondents, 2000 were conducted in South Africa following the investment by Carat South Africa.
"CCS is a tried and tested product which has been successfully used by a very wide range of companies across the globe to drive more effective communication strategies and to deliver efficiencies in targeting and budgeting. These include big names like Adidas, Philips, Johnson & Johnson, Disney and many others," says Jones.
He explains that CCS not only provides companies with both global and regional data, but also allows clients the opportunity to include tailor-made questions in the survey that will provide them with access to 'bespoke' or client-specific insights.
"The annual CCS benchmark survey covers all touch points in consumers lives, be it what they do in their daily lives, their passions, favourite brands, attitudes to advertising and product categories, how they use different channels and so on."
Use with SA surveys
Jones notes that while this survey provides deeper insights relative to other industry surveys, such as AMPS and TGI, it should be used in conjunction with these other surveys.
"We believe it is more in tune with consumer behaviour and client needs than any other industry survey and is the only one that can make bespoke consumer segmentation truly actionable through communication. However, the intention was never that it should duplicate information available elsewhere, and for this reason we offer it as an additional, rather than a stand-alone, tool for the purposes of optimising media strategies. It also feeds into a number of other media tools, such as 'Media Chemistry', which, together with CCS, are exclusive to Carat."
Availability
The survey is available at no cost to company clients but is also available, at a fee, to media owners and other parties promoting non-competing brands. The next benchmark survey will be carried out in February 2011 and Jones is confident that the value it will add to South African clients will fully justify the company's local investment.
