Brand Research Latest to be Transformed by Love

Saatchi & Saatchi has announced an exclusive supplier agreement with market research firm QiQ International for a transformative brand research methodology based around its 'Lovemarks' concept.

In 'Lovemarks: the future beyond brands', just published by powerHouse Books of New York, Saatchi & Saatchi's Worldwide CEO Kevin Roberts proposes the next step in an historical journey from products through trademarks and brands to 'Lovemarks', products and services that connect with consumers in an emotionally positive way and therefore deliver substantially higher commercial returns in the long term.

Roberts presented the idea to the 2002 ESOMAR conference in Barcelona, after which the company commissioned QiQ International to develop a set of related diagnostics. The resulting methodology examines the supposed twin drivers of a 'Lovemark': Respect (performance, trust, reputation), and Love (mystery, sensuality and intimacy), using QiQ's proprietorial methods to accurately measure the rational and emotional relationships consumers have with brands.

Initial studies in the US have covered automotive, breakfast cereal, analgesics and magazine titles, and according to Cooper prove the validity of the theory. 'We are now able to quantify increases in usage frequency between a brand that is loved, and one that is not. The added value to the producer can be 2-7 times higher, depending on the product category', says QiQ CEO Peter Cooper, who suggests that such techniques could displace longstanding methods of pre-testing creative advertising, substantially changing what companies seek from their brand research. 'Our studies measure what was previously unmeasurable'.

Saatchi & Saatchi Chairman for EMEA, Richard Hytner, says the research, to be offered independently by QiQ, will at first be offered only to clients of Saatchi & Saatchi and selected brands that do not compete with Saatchi & Saatchi clients.

QiQ International, headed by Peter Cooper and John Pawle, is a sister company of CRAM International and can be found on the Web at www.qiqinternational.com . Saatchi and Saatchi's web site is at www.saatchi.co.uk

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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