Max Mattacks Research Report I completed research on the brand: Vans because I feel this brand has a lot

of promise and also this brand hasnt released a television advert in many years, therefore there is huge gap in the market. I also carried out research on advertising to get me more informed on the topic and to help me when making and advertising my advert. I choose the research techniques I did (Survey, Focus Group) because these techniques provided me with both quantitative and qualitative research. Primary Research Survey The purpose of my survey was to primarily to gather quantitative research and find out what peoples opinions of Vans, and what they think of theyre products etc. However there were some aspects I could of improved on for example I could of asked some more questions to give a wider variety to the data I received back. I also could of asked a question to determine how many of the people answering my questionnaire were male and how many were female. In hindsight I think this would have made my survey more effective. It would have allowed me to determine that Vans being a unisex brand means that an equal number of males and females buy their products. Overall however my findings from my survey were useful and productive to my research, as they allowed me to determine peoples thoughts on the prices and quality of Vans products.

Focus Group The purpose of my focus group was to receive qualitative research on a past advert made by Vans and how my advert should change or develop on aspects in this existing advert. I was limited when came to finding stimulus videos I could show, as Vans have only released one video advert that I could find and use. However it worked sufficiently in that it provoked some good feedback from the people in my focus group. I realize I could have provided some other mediums of stimulus for the group such as logos, slogans, articles on Vans etc. I think my focus group went reasonably well and I think I got some good feedback and information from the members of my focus group. However I know that I could of improved on some of the aspects of my focus group, I feel that I should of asked some more questions. I could of, for example asked, how they feel about vans after seeing the advert, and if the advert made them want to buy a pair of vans etc. Having said this I do think that overall my focus group was reasonably successful and I also found it useful to get a better idea of how I should plan my advert. When I asked what did you think of the advert? they all said they liked it and it was very fun with a lot of stuff going on, very eventful they said they thought the music was good and suited the advert. When I asked So you like that kind of music on an advert? they slightly disagreed on this as some said that it "builds and image of all the things you can get up to while wearing vans" however an other said that it didnt really suit the advert and it doesnt really show vans shoes. When I asked my final question So do you think it's better if I stick to a simpler advert? they agreed and said start of simple and "make it subtle as to what your advertising". Primary Research Actions Most people like wearing Vans Most people own a pair of vans Vans are thought to be fairly priced People describe vans as: colorful, stylish, simple, hardwearing, comfy, fashionable, skater shoes Vans are thought to be good quality products Rock music represents Vans well Adverts a good if there fun and have a lot going on Show what you can do while wearing vans Vans are simple, it should be subtle what the averts about

Secondary Research The purpose of my research is too find out more about advertising, both its history and the way it works in this day and age. This will help me to plan an advertising strategy and figure out how and to whom I should advertise. I also hope that this research will help me learn about some of the effective techniques in advertising and how I can use them to make more effective and successful advert. (Nick Lacey, 2002) Media Institutions and Audiences Most of television companies income is from selling advertising slots and subscriptions Advertising generates enormous amounts of revenue for TV channels in 19998 ITV made 1.8 billion from advertising British airtime is one of the most costly in Europe The estimated cost a 30 second slot during Coronation Street is 100,000 To nationally run an advertisement you will have to buy airtime from each regions The more audience members a region contains the more they can charge With the introduction of digital TV advertising budgets go down as it has to be shared over more channels However more subscriptions to paid TV bring in money The amount companies spend on advertising is relative to the economic situation at the time If the economy is bad less adverts are made During the 90s ITV had the greatest percentage of audience shares Small satellite channels can be used to deliver adverts to niche audience even though they have low ratings

Secondary Research Actions I have learned that adverts are short, as air time is expensive So I will have to capture my audience quickly and right from the start I will need to make my advert engaging and informative of my product I should try and advertise my product to a wide target audience by showing that anyone can wear Vans But should also show that skaters etc. are the target audience Keep it short but sweet, leave them wanting to see more

Conclusions Overall I think the quality of my research has been good, and it will serve me well when it comes the planning and pre production of my advert. I think it was effective as it allowed me to get a good idea of people think should be in my advert and how I should present it. It also painted a good picture of Vans that I can use to put into my advert. However some aspects of my research werent as effective like my secondary research I think could have been improved on as I

maybe could have made notes on a book that was more informative about how to make a successful advert etc.