Case Study
Taking a Brand Health Tracker for an Established Kids Brand to the Next Level
overview
For years, a well-known kids’ brand had conducted brand health “pulse checks” using Do-It-Yourself (DIY) surveys. They knew they could be getting more from their tracking efforts but weren’t exactly sure how. They needed an Insights partner with youth/parenting expertise – that’s where we came in. The brand approached C+R with a request to take their tracking research to the next level. We developed a continuous tracking system to give the client ready access to a host of key performance indicators and help the brand position itself as an expert in the kid/parent space.
THE PROBLEM
Getting a Handle on Brand Health
Being well-established obviously has benefits, but it can also have drawbacks. From the outset, we knew that awareness of our client’s brand name was strong, but some parents only knew the brand from their childhood – and many weren’t aware that the brand was still alive and well.
To that end, our client was eager to get (and keep) a pulse on the market; they wanted C+R’s help tracking their overall brand health and identifying up-and-comers they should keep an eye on.
OUR APPROACH
Continuous Tracking for Continuous Insights
C+R designed a “continuous” tracking program that involves interviewing parents and grandparents on a monthly basis. Sample composition is consistent month-to-month among both parents and grandparents, with parents comprising a majority of the sample. Unaided awareness is also monitored each month to identify up-and-coming brands that our client should start tracking.
The survey questions for parents and grandparents are largely the same, with a few minor differences. Surveys cover awareness and familiarity, recent interactions with brands, as well as consideration, loyalty, satisfaction, and perceptions of several “priority” brands.
Twice per year, C+R produces a deep dive report that includes findings for all measures and incorporates several statistical analyses – in particular, drivers, quadrant and gap analyses, and perceptual maps – to paint the full picture and show change over time. Our client also has access to a data dashboard so they can easily track performance among key audiences and conduct deep dives into areas of particular interest.
The result
A Flexible Design Invites Creativity
As expected, parents’ claimed awareness of our client’s brand is very strong, and grandparents’ awareness is even stronger, given the brand’s age. And, as expected, while parents/grandparents are familiar with the brand, many have not interacted with it as recently as other kids’ brands.
Our research also uncovered strengths and weaknesses vs. the competition, while advanced analytics identified which attributes drive parents’/grandparents’ satisfaction with brands – enabling us to highlight where the brand should focus future marketing efforts.
The tracker’s flexible design has helped the brand position itself as an expert in the kid/parenting space. For example, over a couple of months, the team deployed traditional and video open ends to get a pulse on parents’ and grandparents’ outlook – hoping to better understand families’ sources of joy (especially during difficult times). Throughout the year, these “ad hoc” questions are adjusted to focus on a topic the brand wants to explore and leverage for PR.
proven experience
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