1. http://caribbeanbusiness.com/cb-archives/
‘It’s not age that makes you older; not changing along with everyone else will’
By : CB STAFF
Volume: 37 | No: 9
Page : 51
Issued : 03/05/2009
Omnicom’s OMD-Puerto Rico rolls out ‘ideal’ new approach to local market research
If you ask the market research gurus at OMD what their mission is, they’ll say it centers on
identifying the principal contact points for the different target audiences of the clients they work
for, allowing OMD to reach those audiences more effectively. “Ever-changing consumer
behavior forces us to conduct continuous, not occasional, research. It is this continuous research
that enables us to follow, understand and predict the population’s preferences and needs,”
explained Rubén Rodríguez Cid, managing director of OMD-Puerto Rico. “This kind of in-depth
insight is absolutely necessary for us to guarantee the value of the research products we provide
to our current and potential consumers,” Rodríguez said. “Our purpose is to provide consumers
information that can positively impact what we call a brand’s ‘vitality indicators,’ which include
top-of-mind, brand awareness, sales, etc.”
The OMD approach to research maintains that the key goal is to find the motivators that act upon
consumers’ minds, and to identify the best moment and place for communicating with target
groups. Admittedly, this approach may possibly reach fewer people, but OMD believes it reaches
them in a more relevant fashion. “What would you rather have,” asks Roger P. Dill, OMD
Research Director, “100% of nothing or a certain percentage of something valuable? The
answer is obvious! If we mass-divulge a non-relevant communication (questionnaire), response
will be low or null. If we concentrate our efforts on segments for which the communication IS
relevant, then we will see movement in our KPIs (key performance indicators).
It’s not age that makes you older
The advertising world is experiencing important transitions, such as the shift from mass
communication to niches, from emotional decision-making to rational decision-making, from
print media to digital media and communicating value instead of price. For OMD’s Rodríguez,
these transitions beg the question: “Are we changing with the times to meet the needs of business
and the demands of consumers? Bearing this thought in mind, we came to the conclusion that the
only way to face these changes is through innovation and realizing that ‘It’s not age that makes
you older; not changing along with everyone else will.’”
With this in mind and remaining true to their commitment to innovation, OMD has forged a very
different vision of consumer research that directly addresses the marketers’ current needs and
keeps it in constant evolution. This vision also leaves behind the image of themselves as media
buyers who obtain better reach and frequencies, instead positioning OMD as “Business
Consultants & Sellers of Ideas.” This means it must undertake to make big changes, along with
all the responsibility that doing so implies.

2. Shaking things up
According to Dill, it’s unproductive to just talk about change without taking action. “For over 20
years, Puerto Rico’s advertising industry has used the same media-measuring tools and
methodologies—which are out of tune with the current realities of both business and consumers.
This is why BrandScience—OmnicomMediaGroup’s research and strategic planning division,
associated with OMD Puerto Rico—showed its responsibility and commitment to the industry by
‘stepping up to the plate’ and launching a revolutionary media measuring product called IP
(intuitions & perceptions).”
IP (intuitions & perceptions) is a continuous (daily) study in real time that enables executives to
make decisions and learn about changes in the population’s habits in terms of information
consumption, entertainment and lifestyle. It is a tool that allows OMD to compare intuitions vs.
perceptions before making a single decision or client recommendation. OMD clients no longer
have to wait months to find out how consumers have reacted to a new local TV channel or radio
program, or to a new magazine entering our market…or if they want to find out which are the
favorite websites of Puerto Rico residents. As a result, they have access to this information on a
daily basis, allowing them to be more proactive rather than reactive.
Unique methodology
This study is done using a “non-probabilistic quota” sample, which currently features more than
3,500 face-to-face interviews that are representative of the island’s population in terms of age,
gender, geography and social levels according to the latest Census of the Puerto Rico population.
The following is an example of the kind of different information provided by IP:
1. What media could 18-to-24-year-olds in Puerto Rico NOT live without?
2. What would someone in Puerto Rico do if you gave him/her $300?
Not only is this type of tool a primary source enabling us to be more efficient with our
advertising investments, but it also allows marketers to get quick answers to specific business
questions. “Wouldn’t it be ideal,” Rodríguez asks, “if you had the ability to evaluate the viability
of a product or service without having to invest huge amounts of money, to identify consumers’
main purchase attributes before launching an advertising campaign or to be able to monitor the
impact of our communication during an advertising campaign instead of waiting until it ends so
as to evaluate is recall? These are some of the important questions posed by both the market and
businesses that can be addressed using tools like IP (intuitions & perceptions). We’re making the
ideal…real.”
Both Rodríguez and Dill agree that Puerto Rico—and the rest of the world—is passing through a
historic moment where all must assume responsibility and take action instead of merely
worrying. “We must think creatively, seeking ideas to provide added value, becoming
indispensable to our clients, and providing information and guidance to deliver insights, ideas
and results,” Rodríguez concluded. “If we are successful in reinventing and adapting ourselves as
well as in breaking existing paradigms, then we’ll be contributing to finding solutions…instead
of contributing to the problems we all face.