We continue to explore different projective techniques and their role in market research. This month Rina Valeny & Jen Squire explore the use of Brand Graffiti.
Rina Valeny 
Jennifer Squire 
20 Jan, 2009
Brand Graffiti
Graffiti
has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece
and Rome. In those days, graffiti was used to communicate anything from magic
spells, curses and political slogans to declarations of love.
In today’s society graffiti can be considered a form of vandalism. On
the flip side, some see it as an art form and a vehicle to express views, feelings
or thoughts. 
Banksy’s graffiti art for example is highly sought after
and sells for millions all over the world.
Brand graffiti is an established and relatively simple projective technique used both in consumer and pharmaceutical market research.
In practice, brand graffiti is easy to administer, as each Physician is given a sheet of paper that features a brand logo, pictures of the product. Physicians are then asked to simply deface the sheet of paper by scribbling graffiti across it. The ‘graffiti’ allows expressions of spontaneous and often more emotional thoughts and associations provoked by the brand and its messages. By utilising laddering techniques, we can begin to unravel how these associations were formed and the impact on brand perceptions. By taking the technique one step further and looking at a range of competitive brands, we can start to uncover the different relationships that consumers have with different brands, as well as teasing out unfulfilled needs within a specific area.
Taking a consumer brand as an example; Apple has been highly successful in building not only a strong overall brand (their company logo is easily recognisable throughout the world) but also a strong brand portfolio. By showing respondents the Apple logo as well as pictures of the I-POD and I-PHONE and asking them to deface these with top of mind thoughts, we can quickly understand the relationship that exists between customers and company/product and where there may be points of unmet need that could be leveraged. Uncovering both the functional associations as well as understanding the more deep rooted emotional associations can help to understand where improvements could be made to more effectively meet consumer needs.
The Brand Graffiti technique works equally well when reviewing pharmaceutical brands and the relationships customers have with them. Building upon positive brand associations and perceptions as well as taking learning’s from any negative associations and implanting strategies to overcome these can help to contribute to developing a stronger overall brand, one which more effectively meets customer needs.
I-Phone and I-Pod images courtesy of Apple
Apple logo courtesy
of Wikipedia: the free encyclopaedia
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