Unit 6 – Task 2 – Analysis Of A Magazine Cover – Focus Groups

1. Unit 6 – Task 2 – Analysis of a Magazine Cover – Focus Group
By Chelsie Brandrick
FOCUS GROUPS
Focus groups are an important market research tool that companies can use to gather
feedback on their products and services before their project has started or to guide the project
in the right direction to completion. They are conducted in a group style interview and consist
of a small group of people, which is usually between four and ten participants. They are
selected due to their purchase history, demographics, psychographics, or behaviour and
typically are from different backgrounds and unknown to each other. Companies tend to hold
more than one focus group in more than one city in order to reflect an accurate representation
of the general public and to ensure the most ideas and opinions have been collected. Groups
might not necessary be in a room together as they can be conducted online via video chat.
They might also consist of a client-based group where the client would participate in the
group chat, either openly or undercover in order to obtain first hand feedback of their project.
The purpose of these groups are to provide an opportunity to identify ideas, understand their
views, opinions and issues and whether the product they are discussing meets the needs and
requirements of the audience. There is no point in a company launching a new product if it
doesn’t appeal to their target audience, as no-one would buy it and the company would soon
be out of business. Therefore the opinions of the focus group are important and valuable to
ensure the product is advertised correctly and has a good quality content that people would
want to purchase. Focus groups allow qualitative research data in order to discover, explore,
direct and target a particular product in the right direction.
A facilitator can ask questions of the group, probe for more details, and prompt discussion
between focus group members. All participants are expected to contribute to the discussion
which is set in a safe, relaxed and non-threatening environment. Like any meeting the
objective is to find out about a particular product through an agenda and follow up action
points. One of the key aspects of a successful focus group is asking the right questions in a
clear and simple way with language that everyone would understand that contain not much
complex language. Each question should be short and have one idea. Less than 10 ideas
should be asked within the focus group at a particular meeting, tailored to the product in
mind. This will ensure answers contain necessary information and minimises data analysis as

2. only the key questions are asked. The questions usually consist of three areas, engagement
questions, exploration questions and exit questions.
The focus group usually starts with the engagement style questions. These are open-ended
questions, designed for the group to get to know each other and to familiarise the participants
with the topic they shall be discussing. For example the group could be asked what they think
of the front cover, fashion content or the logo design might all be valid questions that would
require a discussion on each topic of approximately ten minutes in order to thorough talk
about the topic in question. They are also less emotional questions and easy for the group to
answer. These types of questions motivate the group to start talking, and once they start to
communicate, then follow up exploration questions can then be asked in order to probe for
the reasons behind the opinion. For instance, members of the group said that they liked the
title, then the facilitator could ask what they liked about it or does it stand out in their
opinion. This is known as the ‘funnel’ strategy, where the first question starts off broadly and
then further questions would obtain the necessary details as they are more targeted to a
particular focus. Each question should also capture the opinion of the whole group and not
just one or two members of the group. This can be achieved by once an opinion is shared, the
facilitator could then ask who else shares the same opinion, or whether they would prefer the
photograph of the model in front or behind the magazine name, or whether it does not matter.
Or such as if they prefer a simple title font or fancier writing in order to show a quality
magazine. Establishing whether opinions are the same across the whole group or vary
considerably is also important in order for the company to decide on the best marketing
strategy and where to spend the most money in order to get the product correct before the
advertising campaign is launched.
Questions should not be influencing the group and should be avoided as they won’t portray
an accurate representation of potential purchases. E.g. the facilitator would not ask if the
black font is horrible and depressing as black is often associated with death as this would then
show the product negatively to the group and the facilitator is purposely angling their
questions in the group, which might not be what the group necessary think, but once the idea
is placed in people’s mine, it is difficult to change it.

3. Once an idea has been discussed, the facilitator should summarise the conversation and then
use a closed-end conversation, also known as an exit question, such as “have I summarised
this correctly?” to ensure it is accurately portrayed before the next topic is asked.
An advantage of a focus group is that they can be invaluable and cost effect in producing
feedback in order to improve a product and show the correct avenue to advertise a particular
product or service in order to develop a strong ad campaign.
A disadvantage of a focus group is that they can be led by one or two participants if the
facilitator is not involving the remaining participants in the group. Participants might want to
please the facilitator and tell them what they think they want to hear rather than what they
might think, as people don’t like to offend in front of a group of people.
An advertising campaign’s role is to ensure that it is correctly targeting their chosen market
and portrays the message that they want the viewer to see in order for the viewer to then
purchase their product as opposed to a competitor’s product. To summarise, a focus group is
a good way to obtain feedback about your product or service and to know your target
audience. Focus groups are a good way of highlighting how people would react to a particular
campaign in order to then influence that campaign for the better to achieve success. They are
also ideal for obtaining reactions to new products or services. Understanding the views of the
participants is essential in order to understand what people think of your product or service,
how you can retain customers and attract new customers by adapting your ad campaigns and
marketing strategy within your chosen market in order for your product or service to be
successful. Typical questions you could ask a focus group before an ad campaign is launched
are:-
What do you think the industry is about? What do you like about the product? What are the
key factors do you consider before purchasing a product or service? Why do you buy a
competitors product? (if they buy theirs and not yours) How, when and where they use the
product and if they could change or add a feature to the product or service, what would they
do? Also good questions would be to ask about the marketing campaign and whether people
would like it and what they think the key message is about the product.
Feedback for an ad campaign could be in the form of focus groups but it can also be achieved
by completing marketing surveys.

4. AUDIENCE PANELS
An audience panel consists of a group of people picked from an audience and gathered
together to discuss an issue or provide feedback on something in front of an audience. They
are used in the film industry to provide feedback on a particular film before it is released in
order for the film to achieve success. This type of feedback is in front of an audience is very
public and would only appeal to members who are not afraid to talk in front of a large group
and are confident at public speaking.
A focus group however, is behind closed doors and only consists on a small group of people
with no audience actively watching the discussion.