By HETAL ADESARA
Indiantelevision.com Team

(29 June 2006 1:00 pm)

MUMBAI: WPP's GroupM agencies -- MindShare, Maxus, Mediaedge:cia and MediaCom -- in partnership with WPP's Millward Brown, have launched a new research and communications planning tool - Connections - which can identify, define and measure consumer engagement and connection points available to brands.

Connections has been rolled out in the UK and the US markets. In India, GroupM's Insights practice leader Rema Harish will lead the Connections initiative and will attempt to roll it out with clients who see value in this exercise. As of now, this initiative has not been launched in any of the Asian markets in which GroupM agencies operate.

Group M is reported to have spent nearly $2 million to develop Connections.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Harish said, "Connections is a research methodology developed by GroupM and Millward Brown to measure the effect of every single point where the brand potentially comes in contact with the consumer. It is a combination of qualitative and quantitative studies that identifies purchase pathway and gives us an idea of consumer touch points that are most effective. It can be ATL, BTL, posters, outdoor… etc. We haven't rolled this out anywhere in Asia but we will be speaking to our clients here in India and will roll it out with those who see value in this."

• Evaluate effectiveness of current campaigns across 40 channels (above, below the line, in-store, sponsorship, digital etc)
  
• Select the optimal mix of connection points to achieve future brand and communication objectives
  
• Identify the optimal budget allocation across connection points, using simulation software
  
• Identify, define and measure consumer engagement within distinct brand categories across connection points

Connections includes a measure of channel engagement. The qualitative Engagement study identifies and defines the level of consumer engagement. The study, developed by researchers from Maxus, MediaCom, Mediaedge:CIA and MindShare in conjunction with research psychologists from London-based Sadek Wynberg Millward Brown, explores in detail how consumers interact and engage with contact points.

The core objectives of the study were to:

• Define engagement variables across key communication channels
  
• Understand how communication channels work to engage the consumer
  
• Explore how consumers might meaningfully and directly discuss engagement variables

The study identified four major drivers of engagement:

• Noticeability - how likely consumers engage with a contact point
  
• Affinity - How likable and trusted the contact point is
  
• Relevance - How interested they are in the contact point
  
• Involvement - How deep the contact goes, leading to the consumer's inclination to act

GroupM CEO Irwin Gotlieb said, "In today's ever changing communications world, consumers can see and interact with brands in a huge variety of places. And there are more and more brands fighting for attention, which makes it increasingly difficult to connect with consumers. By using Connections, marketers are for the first time, able to measure and optimize consumer engagement across a multitude of distinct connection points, thereby developing more efficient and effective communications campaigns suited to this new era."

Millward Brown CEO Bob Meyers said, "I am delighted that Millward Brown and GroupM companies have been able to draw upon their respective areas of expertise to create a new and exciting approach to planning and media evaluation. We all know that today the communications world is becoming ever more complex and Connections will, no doubt, help clients successfully navigate this emerging media environment.