Glossary | Name Research Dictionary

Branding & Name Research Glossary

A.C. Nielsen Retail Index

Audit of household items, food, personal products etc., at the retail level.

AAU (attitude, awareness and usage) study

A type of tracking study that monitors changes in consumer attitudes, awareness and usage levels for a product category or specific brand.

AMA

American Marketing Association

Ad positioning statement tests

Testing to determine reactions of the target audience to positioning statements that are being considered for use in advertisements.

Aided Recall/Awareness

A technique used to aid memory, something that stimulates remembering, i.e., picture, words. Reading or showing the respondent the possible answers to a specific question.

Analysis of variance (ANOVA)

A method of analysis for determining the level of statistical significance of differences among the means of two or more variables.

Anthropomorphic

A research technique in which participants describe a product, service or brand in terms of a human being with personality traits so that the participants' feelings about the object/brand can be determined.

Attitudinal scaling

A moderation technique in which participants are instructed to conceptualize the product or service on a two-dimensional scale, such as price and quality. The goal is to better understand the participants' feelings about the product or service.

Attribute

A word or phrase used to describe the idea, product or object being evaluated.

Awareness 

The percentage of population or target market who are aware of the existence of a given brand or company. There are two types of awareness: spontaneous, which measures the percentage of people who spontaneously mention a particular brand when asked to name brands in a certain category; and prompted, which measures the percentage of people who recognize a brand from a particular category when shown a list.   

Awareness (Recall)

A measure of a respondent’s knowledge of a particular product, company, service or commercial. Categories of awareness or recall often employed in marketing research include “top of mind awareness,” “unaided awareness,” and “aided awareness.”

Banner

The column headings, or cross-tab breaks, that run horizontally across the top of a computer table.

Benchmark

A control source against which you compare the area you're studying.

Bias

A systematic tendency of a sample to misrepresent the population. Biases may be caused by improper representation of the population in the sample, interviewing techniques, wording of questions, data entry, etc.

Biased Questions

Questions which are phrased or expressed in such a way that they influence the respondent’s opinion. They may provide information which leads the respondent to consider the subject in a specific way. Bias may be introduced through verbal or facial expressions, body language, or by paraphrasing questions.

Biased Responses

An untrue statement of an opinion or attitude given by the respondent.

Biased Sample

A sample that is not representative of the Universe of the targeted audience.

Bimodal

A distribution in which the frequency curve has two peaks. A single peak is called a mode.

Bipolar scale

A scale used in questionnaire design with opposite or polarizing end points.  The midpoint represents the ideal situation.

Bivariate regression analysis

Analysis of the strength of the linear relationship between two variables, the independent variable and the dependent variable.

Brand 

A brand is a mixture of attributes, tangible and intangible, symbolized in a trademark, which, if managed properly, creates value and influence.

"Value" has different interpretations: from a marketing or consumer perspective it is "the promise and delivery of an experience"; from a business perspective it is "the security of future earnings"; from a legal perspective it is "a separable piece of intellectual property." Brands offer customers a means to choose and enable recognition within cluttered markets.

Brand Architecture 

How an organization structures and names the brands within its portfolio. There are three main types of brand architecture system: monolithic, where the corporate name is used on all products and services offered by the company; endorsed, where all sub-brands are linked to the corporate brand by means of either a verbal or visual endorsement; and freestanding, where the corporate brand operates merely as a holding company, and each product or service is individually branded for its target market.

Brand Associations

The feelings, beliefs and knowledge that consumers (customers) have about brands. These associations are derived as a result of experiences and must be consistent with the brand positioning and the basis of differentiation.

Brand Commitment

The degree to which a customer is committed to a given brand in that they are likely to re-purchase/re-use in the future. The level of commitment indicates the degree to which a brand's customer franchise is protected form competitors.

Brand Earnings

The share of a brand-owning business's cashflow that can be attributed to the brand alone.

Brand Equity

The sum of all distinguishing qualities of a brand, drawn from all relevant stakeholders, that results in personal commitment to and demand for the brand; these differentiating thoughts and feelings make the brand valued and valuable.

Brand Essence

The brand's promise expressed in the simplest, most single-minded terms. For example, Volvo = safety; AA = Fourth Emergency Service. The most powerful brand essences are rooted in a fundamental customer need.

Brand Experience

The means by which a brand is created in the mind of a stakeholder. Some experiences are controlled such as retail environments, advertising, products/services, websites, etc. Some are uncontrolled like journalistic comment and word of mouth. Strong brands arise from consistent experiences which combine to form a clear, differentiated overall brand experience.

Brand Extension

Leveraging the values of the brand to take the brand into new markets/sectors.

Brand Harmonisation

Ensuring that all products in a particular brand range have a consistent name, visual identity and, ideally, positioning across a number of geographic or product/service markets.

Brand Identity

The outward expression of the brand, including its name and visual appearance. The brand's identity is its fundamental means of consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors.

Brand Image

The customer's net "out-take" from the brand. For users this is based on practical experience of the product or service concerned (informed impressions) and how well this meets expectations; for non-users it is based almost entirely upon uninformed impressions, attitudes and beliefs.

Brand Licensing

The leasing by a brand owner of the use of a brand to another company. Usually a licensing fee or royalty rate will be agreed for the use of the brand.

Brand Management

Practically this involves managing the tangible and intangible aspects of the brand. For product brands the tangibles are the product itself, the packaging, the price, etc. For service brands, the tangibles are to do with the customer experience - the retail environment, interface with salespeople, overall satisfaction, etc. For product, service and corporate brands, the intangibles are the same and refer to the emotional connections derived as a result of experience, identity, communication and people. Intangibles are therefore managed via the manipulation of identity, communication and people skills.

Brand Parity

A measure of how similar, or different, different brands in the same category are perceived to be. Brand parity varies widely from one category to another. It is high for petrol, for example: about 80% of respondents (BBDO survey) see no real difference between brands. By contrast, brand parity for cars is low: only about 25% of respondents say that one make is much the same as another.

Brand Personality

The attribution of human personality traits (seriousness, warmth, imagination, etc.) to a brand as a way to achieve differentiation. Usually done through long-term above-the-line advertising and appropriate packaging and graphics. These traits inform brand behavior through both prepared communication/packaging, etc., and through the people who represent the brand - its employees.

Brand Platform

The Brand Platform consists of the following elements:

Brand Vision - The brand's guiding insight into its world.

Brand Mission - How the brand will act on its insight.

Brand Values - The code by which the brand lives. The brand values act as a benchmark to measure behaviors and performance.

Brand Personality

The brand's personality traits (See also definition for Brand Personality).

Brand Tone

How the brand speaks to its audiences.

Brand Positioning

The distinctive position that a brand adopts in its competitive environment to ensure that individuals in its target market can tell the brand apart from others. Positioning involves the careful manipulation of every element of the marketing mix.

Brand Strategy

A plan for the systematic development of a brand to enable it to meet its agreed objectives. The strategy should be rooted in the brand's vision and driven by the principles of differentiation and sustained consumer appeal. The brand strategy should influence the total operation of a business to ensure consistent brand behaviors and brand experiences.

Brand Valuation

The process of identifying and measuring the economic benefit - brand value - that derives from brand ownership.

Brand Values

The code by which the brand lives. The brand values act as a benchmark to measure behaviors and performance. (See also Brand Platform.)

CAPI

The industry acronym for Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing.

CASI (computer-aided self-administered interviewing)

Self-administered surveying using a computer-based questionnaire.

CASRO

Council of American Survey Research Organizations

CATI

The industry acronym for Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing.

Cell

A term used when referring to a subsample in a study. In a paired comparison product test, one subsample (or cell of people) tests Product A first and then Product B, while the other subsample (cell) tests the two products in reverse order. These subsamples may be referred to as Cell A and Cell B. It can also refer to geographic areas, North vs. South; demographics, old vs. young, and so forth.

Cell size

Smallest unit or segment quantity of an individual variant within a test program.

Classification Questions

Survey questions designed to describe respondents in terms of demographics such as age, income, occupation, etc. Sometimes these questions are called “control questions” or “background questions.”

Closed-end question

Questions that ask the respondent to choose from a limited number of pre-listed answers.

Cluster analysis

A multivariate statistical classification technique for discovering whether the individuals of a population fall into different groups by making quantitative comparisons of multiple characteristics. The differences within any group should be less than the differences between groups. Often used for consumer segmentation and brand positioning.

Co-branding

The use of two or more brand names in support of a new product, service or venture.

Consumer Product Goods (consumer goods) or services (consumer services) purchased for private use or for other members of the household.

Coding

The process of translating responses to questions into numerical form for data processing.

Coefficient of determination

The percent of the variability in the dependent variable explained by the independent variable.

Cognitive dissonance

Dissonance arises after a major purchase (e.g., a car) when alternatives are recommended and/or dislikes emerge with the choice. To eliminate the discomfort of dissonance, the consumer will seek to rationalize the original choice, in other words, find positive advantages and ignore the negative.

Collinearity

The correlation of independent variables with each other. Can bias estimates of regression coefficients.

Completions

Questionnaires that are completed through a pre-determined question sequence and are included in the final data set for the study.

Concept description

A brief description of a new product or service.

Concept Statement

A brief written description of a new product or service idea.

Concept Test

A test of consumer reaction to a description of a product or service rather than to the product or service itself

Conclusions

The outcome or result; the section of the final report that contains the interpretation of the data in light of the research objectives. See also executive summary.

Confidence intervals

The range around a survey result for which there is a high statistical probability that it contains the true population parameter.

Confidence level

The probability that a particular confidence interval will include the true population value.

Conjoint analysis

A multivariate technique used to quantify the value that people associate with different levels of product/service attributes. Respondents trade product attributes against each other to establish product (brand) preference and the relative importance of attributes. Based on utility theory and consumer rationality. Better for functional than fashionable brands.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Compares the current cost of purchasing a fixed set of goods and services with the cost of the same set at a specific base year. The resulting measures can be compared over time.

Cooperation Rate

The percent of all qualified respondents who agree to complete an interview. The cooperation rate is impacted by length of interview, subject matter and type of person being interviewed.

CPI (Cost Per Interview)

This cost is determined by dividing the number of completed interviews into the total budget for a project.

Core Competencies

Relates to a company's particular areas of skill and competence that best contribute to its ability to compete.

Corporate Identity

At a minimum, is used to refer to the visual identity of a corporation (its logo, signage, etc.), but usually taken to mean an organization's presentation to its stakeholders and the means by which it differentiates itself from other organizations.

Country of Origin

The country from which a given product comes. Customers' attitudes to a product and their willingness to buy it tend to be heavily influenced by what they associate with the place where it was designed and manufactured.

Cross-Tabulation

A table which shows the frequency and/or percentage of respondents, who gave various answers to a question in the survey, and which simultaneously shows these answers for various sub-groups of respondents.

Customer Characteristics

All distinguishing, distinctive, typical or peculiar characteristics and circumstances or customers that can be used in market segmentation to tell one group of customers from another.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Tracking customer behavior for the purpose of developing marketing and relationship-building processes that bond the consumer to the brand. Developing software or systems to provide one-to-one customer service and personal contact between the company and the customer.

Data Collection

The gathering of information (figures, words or responses) that describe some situation from which conclusions can be drawn. The gathering of information from administered questionnaires.

Data Processing

The counting and tabulating of raw information  into table form suitable for future use.

Day-after recall

An advertising testing technique that measures the proportion of people recalling seeing a TV commercial within 24 hours of its airing.

Debriefing

An in-depth conversation with interviewers at the conclusion of a study. The interviewer plays back his/her impressions of the respondent's feelings about specific questions. This technique is often used immediately after a pre-test of a questionnaire. The information provides the researcher with insights necessary to revise or refine the final questionnaire and/or future studies.

Demographics

The description of outward traits that characterize a group of people, such as age, sex, nationality, marital status, education, occupation or income. Decisions on market segmentation are often based on demographic data.

Dependent variable

A symbol or concept expected to be explained or caused by the independent variable. It is the variable measured on each subject to determine whether its value is affected by the independent variable. Also known as criterion variable.

Differential Product Advantage

A feature of a product that is valuable to customers and is not found in other products of the same category.

Differentiation

Creation or demonstration of unique characteristics in a company's products or brands compared to those of its competitors.

Differentiator

Any tangible or intangible characteristic that can be used to distinguish a product or a company from other products and companies.

Discrete variable

A quantitative variable that can assume a finite or at most a countable number of values such as the number of children in a family.

Discretionary income

The amount of money people have for spending after taxes and necessities are paid for. Also known as disposable income.

Discriminant analysis

A multivariate technique for analyzing the predictive value of a set of independent variables. Discriminant coefficient Estimate of the discriminatory power of a particular independent variable.

Discussion guide

A written outline of topics to cover during a focus group discussion. See also moderator guide.

Disposable income

The income available to persons for spending or saving after taxes have been deducted. Also known as discretionary income.

Endorsed brand

Generally a product or service brand name that is supported by a masterbrand - either dominantly e.g. Tesco Metro or lightly e.g. Nestle Kit-Kat.   

Executive summary

The portion of a research report that explains why the research was done, what was found and what those findings mean, and what action, if any, management should undertake. See also conclusion.

Exploratory focus groups

Focus groups that aid in the precise definition of the problem, in pilot testing, or in generating hypotheses for testing or concepts for further research.

Face validity

The intuitive test of whether a measurement seems to measure what it is suppose to measure.

Factor

A variable that is controlled or manipulated by the researcher. May also be known as the independent variable or factor.

Factor analysis

Procedure for data simplification through reducing the many rating scales (or set of variables) used by the researcher to a smaller set of factors or composite variables by identifying dimensions underlying the data.

Field

The physical location where the interviewing takes place.

Focus group

A qualitative market research technique in which a group of participants of common demographics, attitudes, or purchase patterns are led through a discussion of a particular topic by a trained moderator.

Focus group facility

Facility consisting of conference or living room settings and an observation room connected to each other by a one-way mirror. In addition, a facility normally provides a variety of services such as recruiting the participants, providing food, procuring competitive product samples and videotaping the sessions.

Focus group moderator

The person hired by the client to lead the focus group.

Final report

The document that the researcher develops at the conclusion of the research project. Its length varies, but a typical final report includes several sections: a summary of the methodology used, a review of the key findings, and the conclusions or interpretations of what the findings mean in light of the research objectives. Some final reports also contain a recommendations section containing suggestions for the client's next steps based on the conclusions of the research.

Findings

The portion of the final report wherein the facts from the research are summarized. The findings section does not interpret the information but reports the findings on which the interpretation will be based.

Functionality

What a product does for the buyer and user; the utility it offers the user; what he or she can do with it.

Goods

A product consisting predominantly of tangible values. Almost all goods, however, have intangible values to a greater or lesser extent.

Group Discussion See Focus Group.

Group dynamics

The interaction among people in a group. An effective moderator can enable group dynamics to promote helpful discussion by various techniques, as well as minimize the potentially negative effects of group dynamics.

Head of Household (HH)

One person in a household is termed as the Head. The Head is usually the person who has primary decision-making responsibility for the household and lives in the dwelling. When two or more people share this responsibility, the client will specify which individual should be surveyed. It may be the person earning the greater income in the household. Survey assignments will generally specify male or female Head of Household to be interviewed.

Hedonic scale

A scale for measuring general, overall opinion of a product.

Histogram

A histogram is a graphical representation of the data.

Home Use Test (HUT)

The placement of a test product with the respondent to be used under in-home usage conditions over a specific time period. The test product may be identified or labeled as to what it is, or the product may be blind, only identified by a code letter or number. Respondents may be questioned before they are given the product to use. They are definitely questioned about their reactions to the product after their in-home use experience.

Incentive

The payment to participants for coming to a focus group. The amount varies dramatically, based on the difficulty of recruiting the participants. Also called honorarium or co-op payment.

Incidence

Any figure referring to the percentage of people in a category. Examples: incidence of users, incidence of people qualifying for a study.

Independent samples

Samples in which measurement of a variable in one population has no effect on the measurement of the variable in the other.

Independent variable

A variable that is controlled or manipulated by the researcher. See also predictor variables or factor.

In-depth Interview (IDI)

An interviewing approach which delves into the respondent's reactions to questions in an unstructured manner. In all in-depth interviews, a guide is essential, enabling the inter-viewer to direct the flow of conversation to relevant subjects. In many cases, the interviewer will be a trained focus group moderator. A type of qualitative research.

Intangibles

"Intangible" - incapable of being touched. (1) Intangible assets - trademarks, copyrights, patents, design rights, proprietary expertise, databases, etc. (2) Intangible brand attributes - brand names, logos, graphics, colors, shapes and smells.  

Laddering

A probing technique, used in one-on-ones and focus groups, designed to delve into the real reasons for participants' attitudes and behavior toward the topic. It is generally considered to be an intensive technique. The moderator seeks the reason behind each answer until he or she arrives at a basic human need such as ego or status.

Launch

The initial marketing of a new product in a particular market. The way in which the launch is carried out greatly affects the product's profitability throughout its lifecycle.   

Length of Interview

The actual number of minutes it takes to ask the questions and record the answers in a survey. This should include the time it takes to taste any products, review concepts, etc. Screening time should be shown separately so that accurate completion rates can be calculated.

Likert scale

A scale in which the respondent specifies a level of agreement or disagreement with statements that express a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the concept under study. See also semantic differential.

Logo

A unique symbol, trademark or type style used to represent a company or brand name on packaging, in advertising, in promotional materials or other communications.

Mail panels

A study in which participants are precontacted and screened, then periodically sent questionnaires.

Mail Survey

A survey conducted via mail. Respondents may, or may not, be recruited ahead of time to participate.

Mall Intercepts

Interviews conducted in shopping malls by randomly selecting people from among those present to be screened. The main part of the interview can take place either on the mall floor or inside the offices of a data collection company located within the mall.

Market Leader

A company that has achieved a dominant position - either in scale (e.g., British Airways) or influence (e.g., Virgin) - within its field. This leading position often comes about because the company was the first to market a certain type of product and, with the protection of a patent, has managed to consolidate its position before direct competition was possible. Alternatively, a company may overtake a previous market leader through greater efficiency and skilful positioning.

Market Position
A measure of the position of a company or product on a market. Defined as market share multiplied by share of mind.

Market Segment

A group of customers who (a) share the same needs and values, (b) can be expected to respond in much the same way to a company's offering, and (c) command enough purchasing power to be of strategic importance to the company.

Market Share

A company's share of total sales of a given category of product on a given market. Can be expressed either in terms of volume (how many units sold) or value (the worth of units sold).

Markov model

Sets out in matrix form the probability that the user of each brand in a category will switch next time to each other brand. Mathematically sound and now measurable through retail scanners.

Masterbrand

A brand name that dominates all products or services in a range or across a business. Sometimes used with sub-brands, sometimes used with alpha or numeric signifiers. (See also Monolithic Brand.) Audi, Durex, Nescafe and Lego, for example, are all used as masterbrands.

Mean

Mean is the average and the most common measure of central tendency. It is equal to the sum of the case values divided by the number of cases.

Median

The numerical observation that divides the distribution of observations in half. Sometimes referred to as the second quartile. The median, like the mean, is a measure of central tendency. It is the middle case if all the cases are sorted in numeric order. It is also the value that would occur at the 50th percentile.

Methodology

The research procedures used; the section of the final report in which the researcher outlines the approach used in the research, including the method of recruiting participants, the types of questions used, and so on. Methodology can also mean the approach a moderator uses to conduct focus groups.

Metric scale

Identifies categories of the variable in which observations can be ranked from smallest to largest and the distance between variables is meaningful and the ratios of the observations are meaningful. Also known as ratio scale. Examples include weight, height, age, etc.

Monolithic Brand

A single brand name that is used to "masterbrand" all products or services in a range. Individual products are nearly always identified by alpha or numeric signifiers. Companies like Mercedes and BMW favor such systems.

Mode

The most frequently occurring measurement. The peak of a frequency curve. The median, like the mean, is a measure of central tendency. It is the middle case if all the cases are sorted in numeric order. It is also the value that would occur at the 50th percentile.

Modeling

The formulation of mathematically-expressed variables to simulate a business decision environment. For example, a model could be formulated using demographics and a company's financial data to select new markets that have the same combination of factors that are present in currently successful markets.

Moderator

Someone who is the leader of a focus group discussion, in-depth interview, or other meeting. Often works from pre-determined outline of subjects to be covered.

Moderator guide

The outline that the moderator uses to lead the discussion in the focus group session. It is developed by the moderator on the basis of the briefings and identifies the topics that will be covered in a focus group session, and the approximate emphasis that will be given to each.

Monadic

Test in which a respondent evaluates only one product.

Monadic Evaluation

A study or part of a study in which the respondent evaluates only one stimulus on its own merits, rather than comparing it to other test stimuli. The stimulus can be a product, concept, advertisement, etc.

MRA

Marketing Research Association

Multibrand Strategy /Multiple Branding

Marketing of two or more mutually competing products under different brand names by the same company. The motive may be that the company wishes to create internal competition to promote efficiency, or to differentiate its offering to different market segments, or to get maximum mileage out of established brands that it has acquired. When a company has achieved a dominant market share, multibrand strategy may be its only option for increasing sales still further without sacrificing profitability.     

MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area)

A free-standing metropolitan area surrounded by non-metropolitan counties and not closely associated with other metropolitan areas. Each MSA is grouped by population size and coded using government FIP codes.

Multicollinearity

A problem that arises when at least one of the independent variables in a linear combination is in effect always a weighted sum of the values of the other independent variables. When this occurs, we are unable to separate its influence on the dependent variable from that of the others.

Multidimensional scaling (MDS)

Procedures designed to measure several dimensions of a concept or object. Similar to factor analysis but mathematically purer.

Multiple regression analysis

Statistical procedure that studies multiple independent variables simultaneously to identify a pattern or patterns. See also regression analysis.

Multivariate analysis

Any statistical procedure that simultaneously analyzes several measurements (variables).

Mutually exclusive

Events are said to be mutually exclusive if they have no intersection.

Names

Descriptive name - Describes the product or service for which it is intended.

Associative name -  Alludes to an aspect or benefit of the product or service, often by means of an original or striking image or idea, e.g., VISA.

Freestanding name - No link to the product or service but which might have meaning of its own.

Neologism or fanciful - Any name which is in some way invented.

Niche Marketing

Marketing adapted to the needs, wishes and expectations of small, precisely defined groups of individuals. A form of market segmentation, but aimed at very small segments. Niche marketing characteristically uses selective media.

Nonresponse bias

Error that results from a systematic difference between those who do and do not respond to the measurement instrument.

Normal distribution

A continuous distribution that is bell shaped and symmetrical about the mean.

Observation research

Descriptive research that monitors respondents' actions without direct interaction. Sometimes called a quasi-experiment.

Omnibus Survey

A survey which examines a number of unrelated topics or issues. This may be a shared expense study in which a number of different clients participate.

Open-ended question

A question that has no prelisted answers which requires the respondent to answer is his or her own words. Also known as a subjective question.

Order Bias

The problem which occurs when the sequence of questions or answers on a questionnaire tends to influence respondents to answer in a certain manner.

Overrecruit

The extra people who are recruited for a focus group to compensate for the inevitable no-shows.

Packaging Design

The design of the pack format and graphics for a product brand.

Package Test

A test that measures consumer reactions to a package or label.

Panel Research

A general term used to describe a pre-selected group of homogeneous people used more than once over a period of time to collect information.

Parent Brand

A brand that acts as an endorsement to one or more sub-brands within a range.

Perceptual Mapping

Graphic Analysis and presentation of where actual and potential customers place a product or supplier in relation to other products and suppliers. Most perceptual maps show only two dimensions at a time, for example price on one axis and quality on the other. There also are methods of graphically analyzing and presenting measurement data in three or more dimensions.

Point-of-Purchase (P.O.P.)

The physical location where product is actually purchased. This term may be used to refer to materials used at the point of purchase to promote or call attention to a product or sale (P.O.P. Materials). It may also refer to conducting research at the point of purchase to obtain the purchasers top of mind reaction to the product just purchased.

Positioning Statement

A written description of the position that a company wishes itself, its product or its brand to occupy in the minds of a defined target audience.

Pre-Test

A phrase used to describe two different activities. ¨Pre-test is used most often to describe a procedure where the design or questionnaire itself is tested on a small scale be-fore it is put to use in a full-scale study. 

Probability distribution

A table or function that lists all possible values of a discrete random variable and their associated probabilities.

Probing

A follow-up technique for getting complete responses to open-ended questions by asking. Also see clarifying.

Product placement study

A type of test in which respondents try a product under normal usage conditions. Example: in-home test of a food product. Also called a product test.

Projective

A class of moderation techniques used to stimulate discussion among participants. These techniques force the participants to think about the topic in a more subjective or creative way than they might in a regular discussion. Projectives include sentence completion, expressive drawing, anthropomorphization and associations.

Projective Test Technique

A method of getting the respondent to project himself into role-playing. Used in qualitative research.

Psychographics

A means of grouping people based on lifestyle and attitude characteristics, rather than demographic.

Purchase intent scales

Scales used to measure a respondent's intention to buy a product.

Qualitative Research

Research that yields an in-depth understanding about an issue. Qualitative research typically focuses on a small number of people. Since these people are interviewed in-depth, interviews tend to be longer and are often unstructured. An outline of discussion points, rather than a questionnaire, is often used. This type of research also tends to be conducted in person, either in focus groups or one-on-one interviews.

Quantitative Research

Research used to statistically estimate the viewpoints of a population providing estimates of percentages or averages. This research usually employs larger samples and takes less of the respondent's time. Telephone surveys, mail surveys, intercept surveys, central location studies, in-home use studies, door-to-door studies are all used in qua-ntitative research.

Questionnaire

A set of questions designed to generate data necessary for accomplishing the objectives of the research project.

Quota

The total number of interviews to be completed by a data collection company. Quotas may also be defined by market, by product, by interviewer, by rotation, etc.

Random Sampling

Given a specified sampling procedure, all consumers within the universe have an equal chance for respondent selection.

Ranking/Rank Order

A procedure requiring the respondent to order a set of items with respect to some designated property of interest such as first, second, third, etc., on overall preference or a specific product characteristic. Note: Each rank level may only be used once by a single respondent.

Rating

A procedure used to evaluate the concept, product, advertisement, etc. being tested. It requires each re-spondent to select one response from a scale to indicate the degree of his/her opinion.

Rebrand

When a brand owner revisits the brand with the purpose of updating or revising based on internal or external circumstances. Rebranding is often necessary after an M&A or if the brand has outgrown its identity/marketplace.

Relative Market Share Your own company's market share compared to those of your competitors. A large share confers advantages of scale in product development, manufacturing and marketing. It also puts you in a stronger position in the minds of customers, which has a positive influence on pricing.

Recruiting

To invite respondents who meet specific eligibility criteria to take part in a research project. Recruiting can be conducted in person, on the telephone, or by mail.

Regression analysis

A multivariate technique that relates a dependent variable to one or more independent variables.

Regression coefficients

Values that indicate the effect of the individual independent variables on the dependent variable.

Regression to the mean

Tendency for behavior of subjects to move toward the average for that behavior during the course of an experiment.

Relaunch

Reintroducing a product into a specific market. The term implies that the company has previously marketed the product but stopped marketing it. A relaunched product has usually undergone one or more changes. It may, for example, be technically modified, rebranded, distributed through different channels or repositioned.

Reliability

Measures that are consistent from one administration to the next.

Repositioning

Communications activities to give an existing product a new position in customers' minds and so expanding or otherwise altering its potential market. Many potentially valuable products lead an obscure existence because they were launched or positioned in an inadequate manner. It is almost always possible to enhance the value of such products by repositioning them.

Representative Sample

Selection of a sub-set which proportionately represents the total universe from which it was selected.

Respondent

The person who is interviewed. No matter what type of sur-vey is being conducted, the person being interviewed is always called the respondent.

Response bias

Error that results from the tendency of people to answer a question falsely, through deliberate misrepresentation or unconscious falsification.

Rollout

The process by which a company introduces a new product or service to different geographical markets or consumer segments.

Rotation Procedures

The manner in which various questions are asked or exhibits/products are shown in different order for every interview, as instructed. This process elim-inates the possibility of order bias that could develop if all questions were asked and exhibits shown in exactly the same order for every interview conducted on a particular study.

Sample

The statistical selection of some respondents to represent the opinions of many. The answers of the interviewed respondents are used to predict the opinions of the larger number of persons they represent.

Sampling error

The estimated inaccuracy of the results of a study when a population sample is used to explain behavior of the total population.

Sampling interval

Taking a given number of units equally selected over the full population of study. The nth number interval is derived by dividing the total number of units by the sample number desired.

Scales

A measurement device which allows a respondent to report the degree of his/her opinion. Scales are usually in the form of statements or numbers. Pictures may be used in face-to-face interviews. They are sometimes printed on exhibit cards for easier understanding.

Screener

Questions used to screen for appropriate respondents.

Self-Administered

An approach in which the information desired is recorded by the respondent with or without the aid of an interviewer.

Semantic differential

A method of examining the strengths and weaknesses of a product or company versus the competition by having respondents rank it between dichotomous pairs of words or phrases that could be used to describe it; the mean of the responses is then plotted in a profile or image.

Share of Mind

There are many definitions of share of mind. At its most precise, share of mind measures how often consumers think about a particular brand as a percentage of all the times they think about all the brands in its category. More loosely, share of mind can be defined simply as positive perceptions of the brand obtained by market research. Whereas market share measures the width of a company's market position, share of mind can be said to measure its depth.

SIC (standard industrial classification)

Classification (in a four-digit code) of business as defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Pseudo SICs are SIC modifications which add a fifth or sixth character to allow for greater specificity.

Simulated test market (STM)

Alternative to traditional test market; survey data and mathematical models are used to simulate test market results at a much lower cost.

Skip pattern

Requirement to pass over questions in response to respondent's answer to a previous question.

Standard deviation

The standard deviation is the most widely accepted measure of the dispersion about the mean for the sample. This statistic helps measure how much the values cluster around the mean. The standard deviation is often denoted by the symbol s and is the square root of the variance. The advantage of using the standard deviation over the variance is that taking the square root of the variance puts the statistic back into the original units.

Standard error

The standard error is a measure that helps reveal the degree of difference between the sample mean and the population mean. The Central Limit Theory says that in repeated sampling of n observations from the population, the distribution of the sample means are approximately bell-shaped or normally distributed. This means that the larger the sample size the better the approximation to the mean.

Sub-brand

A product or service brand that had its own name and visual identity to differentiate it from the parent brand.

Tabulation

Tables which show the results of each question asked in the survey and which are used for analyzing the data.

Tangibles

"Tangible" - capable of being touched. (1) Tangible assets - manufacturing plant, bricks and mortar, cash, investments, etc. (2) Tangible brand attributes - the product and its packaging. (3) Tangible brand values - useful qualities of the brand known to exist through experience and knowledge.

Target Market The market segment or group of customers that a company has decided to serve, and at which it consequently aims its marketing activities.

Target population

The population which is being studied.

Taste Test

Respondents evaluate the taste of a product, either absolutely or compared to something else. Generally, taste tests are conducted at a central location, but, if the product(s) can be shipped or carried home, the test can be conducted in the respondent's home.

T-distribution

Occurrence often seen with small samples which results in a distribution similar to the normal distribution but not as peaked.

Telephone focus groups

A qualitative research methodology in which seven to 10 people are connected in a telephone conference call and a trained moderator leads them through a discussion about a particular topic. Basically a focus group that is conducted via conference calling.

Top-of-Mind Awareness (TOMA)

A measure of a respondent's first mention to questions such as unaided brand awareness, unaided advertising awareness, unaided brands purchased

Topline

Preliminary results from a project, usually showing responses of the total sample to a few key questions.

Tracking Studies

Repeated over time to monitor changes in a brand or product category.

Trademark

Any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of another undertaking.

Trademark Infringement

A trademark registration is infringed by the unauthorized use of the registered trademark, or of one that is confusingly similar to it, on the registered goods or services, or in certain circumstances on similar or dissimilar goods and services.

Unaided Recall/Awareness

A respondent's recall of a brand name, commercial, etc. without any cues or prompts from the interviewer. The answer list is not read.

Unidimensional scaling

Procedures designed to measure only one attribute of a respondent or object.

Unipolar

An ordinal scale with one positive end and one negative end.

Univariate data set

A data set in which one measurement (variable) has been made on each respondent.

Universe

The set of all the units from which a sample is drawn. Also called the population. Unstructured observation A study in which the observer simply makes notes on the behavior being observed.

Validity

Whether what we tried to measure was actually measured.

Variability

Differences in the measurement of variables.

Variable

Any characteristic that can be measured on each unit of the population.

Variance

The measure of the variability of the variable. The statistical measure of how similar a population is in a characteristic being studied. It is the average squared distance of all measurements from the mean.

Verbatim

Word-for-word. Questions on the survey are asked exactly as written and responses to a question are recorded exactly as the respondent says them, in the first person, without any omissions, abbreviations or interpretations by the in-terviewer.

Video focus groups

Focus groups conducted using satellite video technology in which participants are located in different places, normally in different countries.

Visual Identity

What a brand looks like - including, among other things, its logo, typography, packaging and literature systems.