Programme overview
Introduction:
Market research and consumer insight with brand tracking, conjoint and agency briefs is a 5-day course for marketing, brand, strategy and insight teams that ends with a Research Programme Plan and Agency Brief for a case organisation. Many organisations commission studies with vague objectives, accept agency proposals they cannot compare and receive reports that never change a launch, campaign or portfolio decision. Nominees already request or manage research projects and work through case studies built on tracker readouts, concept test results and trade-off outputs. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this market research and consumer insight course.
Course Objectives:
- Convert a marketing or portfolio decision into research objectives, action standards and a written research brief
- Select an exploratory, descriptive or causal design and the matching qualitative or quantitative method for each information gap
- Specify usage and attitude studies and brand health trackers with awareness, funnel and equity measures
- Commission concept, pack and advertising pre-tests and judge results against agreed action standards
- Scope choice-based conjoint and MaxDiff studies and interpret utilities, priority scores and simulator outputs for decisions
- Run agency selection, fieldwork quality control and insight reporting so that findings reach decision owners
Target Audience:
- Consumer insight and market research units responsible for commissioning studies and managing research suppliers
- Brand and marketing management teams responsible for positioning, campaigns and brand health targets
- Product and innovation teams responsible for concept selection, pack decisions and launch readiness
- Strategy and business planning units responsible for evidence behind portfolio and market priorities
- Procurement and vendor management teams responsible for sourcing and contracting research agencies
Course Outline:
Day 1: Research Questions, Business Decisions and the Insight Function
- Decision-Led Research Objectives Linked to Marketing Actions
- Research Brief Template With Background, Objectives and Action Standards
- Exploratory, Descriptive and Causal Research Design Selection
- Secondary Data and Existing Evidence Review Before New Fieldwork
- Insight Function Maturity Audit and Research Spend Map
Day 2: Research Quality Standards and Core Consumer Study Designs
- ISO 20252 Process Requirements for Commissioned Research Projects
- Online Panel Sample Quality Checks and Respondent Fraud Screens
- Usage and Attitude Study Design for Category Understanding
- Brand Health Tracker Design With Awareness and Funnel Metrics
- Qualitative Method Choice Across Focus Groups and Depth Interviews
Day 3: Concept, Pack and Advertising Tests and Trade-Off Methods
- Monadic and Sequential Monadic Concept Test Design
- Pack and Shelf Standout Testing Against Action Standards
- Advertising Pre-Testing Diagnostics for Branding and Message Recall
- Choice-Based Conjoint Attribute and Level Specification Grid
- MaxDiff Best-Worst Scaling for Claim and Feature Prioritisation
Day 4: Agency Management, Analysis Risks and Insight Reporting
- Research Agency RFP and Weighted Proposal Scoring Matrix
- Fieldwork Quality Control Checklist and Data Delivery Acceptance
- Conjoint Market Simulator Interpretation and Preference Share Limits
- Brand Tracker Pitfalls Including Sample Shifts and Statistical Noise
- Insight Storytelling Report Structure From Finding to Recommendation
Day 5: Case Study: Research Programme Plan and Agency Brief
- Case Organisation Decision Map and Evidence Gap Log
- Brand Tracker Readout Review and Funnel Diagnosis Exercise
- Concept and Claim Shortlist Using MaxDiff and Conjoint Outputs
- Agency Proposal Comparison and Selection Rationale for the Case
- Research Programme Plan and Agency Brief Completion and Defence
Skills You Will Gain:
- Research Brief Writing
- Research Design Selection
- Brand Health Measurement
- Concept and Advertising Test Evaluation
- Trade-Off Analysis Interpretation
- Research Supplier Management
- Insight Storytelling
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver a Research Programme Plan and Agency Brief for a case organisation to the marketing director, the brand committee or the insight lead
- Decide which business questions justify new fieldwork, which method fits each and which agency proposal offers the strongest evidence
- Avoid paying for studies whose samples, designs or reports cannot support a launch, campaign or portfolio choice
- Share the brief template, proposal scoring matrix, tracker metric set and fieldwork checklist with marketing and procurement colleagues
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant hands the Research Programme Plan and Agency Brief to the marketing director, brand owners and the procurement lead who sources research suppliers. They use it to agree which decisions each study must inform, the action standards a concept or advertisement must meet and the agency best placed to deliver. After the first study commissioned under the plan, the insight unit should check whether the findings changed the intended decision, review agency performance against the scoring matrix and refresh tracker measures and the brief template.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before the market research and consumer insight course?
Participants should already request, manage or use research studies in a marketing, brand or strategy role. No statistics qualification is needed. A laptop with a spreadsheet application is used for tracker, MaxDiff and simulator exercises, and an anonymised past research brief or report helps.
How does market research and consumer insight differ from a survey design or consumer psychology course?
Market research and consumer insight focuses on the client side: briefing, choosing study designs, commissioning trackers, pre-tests and trade-off studies, and managing agencies. Survey design courses teach questionnaire construction and fieldwork mechanics, while consumer psychology courses explain why people buy.
Why do market research and consumer insight teams use conjoint and MaxDiff?
Conjoint and MaxDiff force respondents to make trade-offs instead of rating everything as important. Conjoint estimates the value of each product attribute level and feeds a simulator, while MaxDiff ranks claims, features or benefits by relative priority.
What do participants take back from the market research and consumer insight course?
Participants take back a Research Programme Plan and Agency Brief for a case organisation, with a decision map, brief template, tracker metric set, test action standards, proposal scoring matrix and fieldwork quality checklist they can adapt to their own research programme.