Google has a very focused brand strategy — integrate all of its products to make consumers Google-dependent. It’s a brilliant strategy that’s working. However, is Google guilty of brand arrogance by taking its efforts for complete integration too far? With mounting investigations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and inquiries from the U.S. Senate and Congress, Google’s recent announcement to merge its approximately 70-product privacy policies into a single policy is adding fuel to the fire. Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on. Read more
BLOG ARCHIVE: ALL POSTS FOR January 2012
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Yes? Or No? Is That Really the Question For Your Next Online Survey?My father was the joker in my family growing up, and he had a way of answering a question that used to drive me mad. Asked to make a choice between two possible options, he would unfailingly respond, “Yes”. It would go like this: “Would you like blueberry or apple pie, Dad?” |
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Twitter Censorship Survey: Many Users Worried About New PolicyOver the past few years, Twitter has played a fairly vital role in historical events such as the uprisings of the Arab Spring. Users love that the microblogging site allows them to share opinions without fear they’ll be removed or censored from the site. But now Twitter has come out with a new policy that could allow some content to be censored based on country. Some Twitter users are worried about this new policy, while others say it is still more reasonable than policies on other sites. |
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Brand Positioning for a Competitive Edge – Part 4: Competitive Positioning ResearchBrand positioning is critical to reaching your goals and building a successful brand. So far in the Brand Positioning for a Competitive Edge series you’ve learn what brand positioning strategy is, how to create brand differentiators, and options for competitive offense and defense. In the final part of this series, we wrap it all up with a discussion of competitive positioning research. Read more |
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Rewards Card Survey: Most Cardholders Like Loyalty ProgramsCompanies are always looking for ways to keep their current customers coming back, and one of the most popular ways to do so is by using loyalty programs such as rewards cards. Rewards cardholders might enjoy benefits such as cash back, airline miles, and other perks from their favorite stores or companies. But what do most customers usually look for in a good loyalty program? |
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Brand Positioning for a Competitive Edge – Part 3: Competitive Offense and DefenseSo far in the Brand Positioning for a Competitive Edge series, you’ve learned what brand positioning is and how to create brand differentiators to effectively position your brand against competitor brands. In Part 3 of the series, you learn about competitive positioning attacks — both proactive and reactive. There are many ways to attack your competitors (or for them to attack you) based on your respective brand positions in the marketplace, and this article teaches you all the basics. Read more |
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Cause Marketing Survey: Customers Value Most Charitable SponsorshipsFor many years, companies have sponsored sports games, events, television shows, and much more in order to draw in customers. But more and more companies are now beginning to see the value of sponsoring charity organizations. Many customers value companies with a philanthropic side, but could this idea possibly backfire for businesses? |
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Brand Positioning for a Competitive Edge – Part 2: Creating DifferentiatorsIn Part 1 of the Brand Positioning for a Competitive Edge series, you learned about brand positioning strategy and the first steps you should take to begin developing your brand position. Now, it’s time to learn about how to create the hard and soft differentiators I mentioned in Part 1, so you can make sure your brand stands out from your competitors’ brands. Read more |
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Social Logins Survey: Americans Split on Website Login ProcessAs the popularity of social networking sites increases, the more other websites are using social logins, which allow users of sites like Facebook to login with their existing account instead of creating a new one for the new site. Many users have embraced this process, saying it is much easier than creating many new accounts. However, some sites are resistant to this change. Which login method do internet users really prefer? |
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Wikipedia Survey: Most Users Read, Don’t WriteWhen Wikipedia blacked out last week in protest of SOPA, students and curious individuals everywhere felt lost without the user-created online encyclopedia. Though frowned upon in many classrooms because the content can be created by anyone, so many people have turned to Wikipedia to look up just about anything and everything. |
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Brand Positioning for a Competitive Edge – Part 1: Competitive Positioning StrategyIf you missed my Brand Positioning Standards and Practices series, follow the preceding link to read it now and get a better understanding of what brand positioning is and why it matters. In my new series, Brand Positioning for a Competitive Edge, you’ll learn how to effectively develop a brand position that gives you a leg up on your competition and leads to measurable and sustainable growth. Read more |
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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: When Good Data Delivers Bad NewsOne of the most challenging parts of being a market research project manager is having to deliver bad news to your audience. No one wants to be in the position of having to say, “Ma’am, the truth is you’ve got an ugly baby”, but it’s critical that bad news — when it occurs — be delivered honestly and promptly. Read more |
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Fast Food Delivery Survey: Burger King Experiment Might SucceedAmericans love their fast food, and they also love food delivery. So Burger King is currently trying to combine the two with a trial delivery service in a few select restaurants in Washington D.C. Will Americans embrace this concept, or will the trial just fall by the wayside? |
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Branding the Right Way – Rebranding Blip.tvIn the world of online video, Blip.tv operates in a specific niche. Rather than compete with a powerful site like YouTube, Blip.tv has focused on web series video content. This isn’t the site where anyone signs up and publishes snippets from their daily lives. Instead, Blip.tv is where businesses, content producers, and media organizations go to publish original, serial video content. However, Blip.tv has grown since it launched in 2005, and that growth led to a recent rebranding that is featured in this new article from the AYTM Branding the Right Way series. You can view previous stories in the Branding the Right Way series by following the links at the end of this post. Now, it’s time to take a closer look at the rebranding of Blip.tv. Read more |
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Car Owners Survey: Many Have Cut Back on Transportation CostsAmericans have had to make many adjustments to their daily lives due to the economy. Transportation has definitely not been left out of that equation. Car owners are keeping their vehicles for a longer period of time, driving less, and buying used vehicles in order to save money. |
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Delivering Research Results In Your Audience’s Native Tongue (which likely isn’t statistics)When delivering research results it’s easy to assume that your audience is going to be able to read everything, including those beautiful charts and graphs, and instantly understand it all. But you’ve heard the expression, “It’s all Greek to me”? Read more |
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Negative Press Survey: Forgiveness Depends on Severity of IncidentNot all press is good press, as a few companies have learned recently. From calling out bad tippers on the company Facebook page to insensitive racial remarks by employees, companies such as Boners BBQ and Papa John’s have been gaining a lot of press, but not in a good way. How much does negative press really affect a company’s bottom line? Do potential customers turn away when they hear a negative review, or can the company change the situation? |
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Budweiser Loses #2 Spot in American Beer Market to Coors LightSince 1993, Budweiser held the top two brands in U.S. beer market, but 2011 changed things. For the first time in nearly 20 years, Budweiser lost the #2 spot to Coors Light. Experts are pointing at Budweiser’s misdirected efforts at attracting a younger audience as a key reason for Budweiser’s sinking sales. Even a recent Budweiser rebranding initiative that included a launch of new packaging for Budweiser is unlikely to help re-energize sales. Read more |
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SOPA Survey: Many People Against Controversial ActMany internet users have been up in arms over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which would basically make it possible for websites to be shut down or at least temporarily disabled if there is an accusation of copyright violation. Some websites such as Wikipedia are even organizing a blackout this week in protest. Opponents say the act is internet censorship, and supporters of it say it is necessary to protect intellectual property. |
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Surveying Your Own List: The Pros and ConsSo you’re planning to do an online survey. Good for you! Now one of the first decisions you’ll need to make is whether to use an in-house list you already own, a customer list (for customer satisfaction surveys), or AYTM’s verified panel of respondents. Your choice depends on the objectives for your research and is very important to your overall goals. On the surface this may seem simple — using your own source for respondents saves money, but it may end up costing you more in the long run. Read more |
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Golden Globes Survey: Viewers Liked Gervais as HostSunday night, viewers around the country tuned in for the 69th Annual Golden Globes. This show marks the beginning of award show season for many fans who tune in for a variety of different reasons. So why do so many viewers flock to these award shows, and what did they think of the Golden Globes this year? |
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Brand Building Step-by-Step – Part 4: Market Research for Brand BuildingIn the final part of the Brand Building Step-by-Step series, you learn about how market research can help you build a brand successfully. If you missed the previous parts of the series that discussed the three fundamental steps of brand building — consistency, persistence, and restraint — follow the preceding links to read them now and catch up. You’ll need to understand the information in those articles before you can develop and launch effective market research programs. Read more |
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Brand Building Step-by-Step – Part 3: Restraint in Brand BuildingSo far in the Brand Building Step-by-Step series, you’ve learned about the first two steps of brand building — consistency and persistence. The third fundamental step you need to understand in order to successfully build your brand is restraint, and that’s the subject of Part 3 of the series. All of your efforts in brand consistency and persistence could be destroyed with a single unrestrained brand extension or expansion that confuses consumers or violates their trust. That’s a mistake you don’t want to make! Read more |
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Consumer Electronics Show Survey: Many Americans Interested in New GadgetsThe annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is currently underway in Vegas. Tech enthusiasts from around the world will gather to browse and learn more about new technology and gadget prototypes and new models. Though many Americans have not actually been to the show, do they still care about new technology? |
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New: create folders in your survey dashboardYour AYTM dashboard may have a long list of ideas, survey versions, completed projects — and maybe even a running survey or two. Now you can access, organize, and prioritize your surveys in a snap. |