Universal McCann unveils landmark global media study

Adults in Turkey suffer the most headaches. Morning and afternoon meriendas are a distinctly Pinoy phenomenon. You’re most likely to become a victim of road rage on Monday morning in the US, the UK or Taiwan, but beware Monday afternoon and Friday mornings in the Philippines. Upscale men and women, aged 25 to 35, are more likely to skip breakfast than other adults. Car owners in Ireland and Spain enjoy seeing car ads on TV – but car owners in Norway, Sweden and the Czech Republic don’t.

Esoteric factoids from some megabuck game show clone? No, more like tiny drops in an electronic ocean of insights discovered in a massive global research study called Media in Mind (MIM), launched in the Philippines by Universal McCann on Oct. 1 at the Power Plant Cinema.

In the Philippines, Universal McCann officially launched MIM to colleagues and clients on Oct. 1 at the Rockwell Cinema. Jim Kite, UM Worldwide’s director of global research, flew in from London to introduce and provide a global overview of MIM; Maita Consulta, UM Philippines’ media research director, provided a detailed extensive local perspective.

Started in 1997 by Universal McCann (UM), the global media agency of McCann-Erickson World Group, MIM is a continuing proprietary research initiative: one with big objectives, offering big solutions, run on the biggest scale possible.

In place in 42 countries, with 60,000 respondents to date, and occupying 1.6 gigabytes in the hard drives of UM’s head office, MIM offers a truly global view of media. By integrating minutely detailed tracking research on a wide range of target markets and product categories, MIM plots regular consumers’ everyday lives to create a fascinating mosaic of how the world uses and relate to media.

With its extraordinary detail and scope, MIM promises to expand market knowledge and ultimately open new opportunities, both for UM’s clients and its media professionals. In her closing address, Universal McCann managing director Venus Navalta said:

• "Media in Mind is a landmark research that gives us a complete picture of our consumers. It looks into [their] day-to-day lives, what they do and with whom. Thus, opening new opportunities for more business.

• It gives us a barometer of their changing moods and mindsets: new knowledge that improves our chances of beating the odds.

• It allows us to share the interests of our target markets, their attitudes, dreams and aspirations, giving us new insights to increase our brand’s value.

• And, knowing about our brands and how consumers use and perceive them in relation to all other products they use paves the way for new partnerships that make our products more relevant."

As the media environment becomes more fragmented and segmented, it is ever more difficult – yet more essential – to find strategic ideas that cut through clutter to genuinely connect with consumers. For McCann and its clients, MIM is a valuable tool: a living, breathing, regularly refreshed source of insights to make the right people pay attention.

According to Navalta, with MIM "we can now say with more authority that we send the right message at the right time, in the right way and through the right medium. We will not waste our resources by striving to make consumers pay attention to us when they are simply "out of range" physically, emotionally and mentally."

As for the audience – McCann clients liked what they saw and heard. Pedro N. Dy-Liacco of Nestle Phils., said "MIM is a powerful tool. The findings are full of useful consumer insights, they tell us how consumers use media. They also offer a glimpse into the consumers’ lifestyle. The challenge is to use the data in developing no longer just a media plan but an effective communication plan." The Coca-Cola Export Co.’s Cesar Munar adds: "Once again, Universal McCann has raised the standards in the media community. This puts you (UM) way ahead of your competitors in this market."

Like its subjects – the consumers – MIM is always evolving. MIM Wave 2 is already being prepared for fieldwork in Metro Manila; very soon, Universal McCann will launch Total Impact Planner: A new software, also proprietary, which estimates the genuine net reach of multi-media campaigns.