ON THE CAMPAIGN COUCH ... WITH JB.(Brief Article)

Q Having convinced clients of the need to listen to consumers in qual rather than just ticking them off in quant, how do you then persuade them that consumers are still not necessarily saying what they mean or really think?

I can tell from your inelegant abbreviations that you're a planner. Welcome, anyway.

Though you may not know it, your problem is twofold. The first part, convincing clients of the chronic mendacity of respondents, is relatively easy -- and I have yet to find a more effective method than The Great Toothbrush Test.

Using both quant and qual, and accepting consumers' responses as gospel, you will conclude that the average adult (excluding edentates) buys nine new toothbrushes a year, replacing the old brush with a new one about once a month.

Now study the statistics issued by the National Bureau of Oral Technologists, Hygienists and Manufacturers. From these audited figures you will discover what we in marketing call a discrepancy. On average, the fully toothed adult purchases 0.8 toothbrushes a year, changing it on average every 19 months. Given the nature of averages, this suggests some consumers are making do with the same toothbrush for two or more years.

It is not at all difficult to persuade clients that consumers are liars and should seldom be trusted; but this leaves your clients with the bigger problem. If they can't trust consumers, who can they trust?

You would, of course, like it to be you. But this means you must earn a reputation for always telling the truth, for never supporting dodgy work and for interpreting consumer responses with unfailing accuracy. You must, in other words, become infallible -- the course of action I recommend. I hope this helps.