Ipsos Research Fuels Winning Campaigns

Getting the most out of your advertising budget is a challenge. Thankfully, research can help you fine tune your message, measure your campaign's success, and ultimately maximize the impact of your advertising dollars.

It can also help you win the applause of your friends and peers.

At the end of March, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) announced the winners of the ARF David Ogilvy Awards, an annual celebration of the legendary ad man and his spirited advocacy of research in making good advertising better.

Named after advertising legend David Ogilvy, the ARF David Ogilvy Awards recognize the role of consumer research in creating successful advertising research in making good advertising better. The criteria for the awards are based upon the application of research in four creative marketing elements: strategy development, creative development and refinement, the direction of media exposure, and demonstration of marketplace effectiveness.

Ipsos ASI, the advertising research specialty of Ipsos, and Ipsos Understanding Unlimited, our qualitative arm, are thrilled that five of our clients picked up six wins at this year's award ceremony. These exceptional advertisers took home four Gold and one Silver award. In addition, Frito-Lay won the Grand Ogilvy Award, the night's top advertising prize, selected from among all Gold category winners.

Top Spot Goes "Orange"

Frito-Lay picked up the Grand Ogilvy Award for "The Orange Underground" campaign in support of its popular snack brand Cheetos. As the campaign demonstrating the most successful use of research in the creation of superior advertising to achieve a critical business objective, "The Orange Underground" also took Gold in the category of Packaged Goods. Ipsos ASI provided copy testing for the ad through an online tool, Next Solutions, to help steer mascot Chester Cheetah's appeal to a more mature audience.

More Winning Research

In the Beverages and Alcohol category, Nabob's "Postcards" campaign claimed a Gold for Kraft Canada. Ipsos ASI provided copy-testing insight into the print ad campaign for Kraft Canada.

In the Financial Services category, Bank of America struck Gold for their "Opportunities for All" campaign. Ipsos UU provided a foundational brand assessment, plus tool Quali*360 to qualitatively test ads for relevance in today's marketplace.

Procter & Gamble was a Gold winner in the Personal Care category for its "Next BIG Thing - Lashblast Mascara" CoverGirl Cosmetics ad. Ipsos ASI provided research and consulting at several stages in the development of this blockbuster launch. Early stage ad research tools were a key element of the interactive research process.

Finally, taking home Silver in the same category was Johnson & Johnson, for its "Couples Campaign" ad for product K-Y174 YOURS+MINE174. Ipsos provided copy testing for a number of the KY "Couples" spots, using the online Next*Solutions methodology. This research explored how the ads were appealing to consumers on both a rational and an emotional level.

Recognizing Value

Winning awards recognize the value of these campaigns and hard work and smart thinking that went into each one. They also recognize the importance of research in creating campaigns that not only win awards, but also win customers and market share. And that's the most important prize of all.

For more information on the 2009 Ogilvy Awards, visit the ARF website at: http://www.thearf.org/assets/ogilvy-09

Visit our websites to learn more about the tools and products offered by Ipsos ASI and Ipsos Understanding UnLtd.