The well-known phrase about the telephone, "The next best thing to being there," is right on target with Funk Seeds International. For this worldwide seed operation headquartered in Bloomington, Ill., the telephone has virtually changed the whole notion behind what this company means by conducting focus groups.

No longer does FSI gather its focus group participants in a common location to test its agricultural ad concepts, the purpose for which the firm has traditionally used the technique. As of three years ago, the firm began connecting all of its focus group participants all across the country by telephone. This occurs through a type of tele-conferencing system provided by an outside supplier which specializes in a telephone interaction research technique. The technique proved ideal when a tight deadline required prompt action.

"Market conditions demanded a quick turnaround on a particular series of print ads and management wanted a campaign launched in a month," explains Ken Rinkenberger, manager of marketing services at FSI. "It was a complex issue, so it needed testing."

Ad testing is critical for agricultural market researchers, especially this year when most companies will likely place fewer ads compared with last year. Since advertising frequency will be down, effectiveness must go up. It's important that those ads be on target.

Telefocus

One term describing this tele-conferencing technique is called telefocus. The particular supplier working for FSI controls the telefocus session from its New York office and provides a moderator and two technicians. One technician controls the phone lines of all the individuals involved and the second works for the client and keeps track of the time.

Normally three or four groups consisting of eight to 10 respondents are used to test a series of print ads. Rinkenberger says one of the biggest advantages of this technique is geographic representation of these participants. For example, instead of getting dairy farmers from just one geographical location, the firm can get dairy farmers from New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Says Rinkenberger, "With face-to-face groups, you're limited to say, 30-40 miles around Stevens Point, Wisc. Everybody's the same. They're dairy farmers working that sandy soil up there. One well-known local farmer can dominate a session because all the other farmers may respect his opinion or may be afraid to disagree.

"With the telephone we can get very interesting mixes. And it's not as easy for one person to dominate. The farmer from Stevens Point may make a strong argument, but a person from Minnesota can say, 'Well that may be the way you do things in Wisconsin, but over here we do it very differently.' When you've got people from all over the country, each wants to defend his own position. The telephone makes it easier for the respondents to challenge one another because they're not face-to-face."

Phone bank

To bring all of these respondents together, the supplier uses a phone bank which hooks up all the telephones of the respondents at their homes. A phone line and corresponding numbered light at the New York office is assigned to each one of the participants. When a respondent talks, the light connected to that individual's phone turns on. Using a dial which controls voice amplitude, the technician can adjust the dial to tune into the person who is talking. The switching technique allows the technician to monitor the flow of the conversation and to recognize when another person may want to make a point, says Rinkenberger.

Rinkenberger and other representatives from FSI are also hooked up to the phone bank. These individuals at FSI gather in a conference room and take notes during the sessions and communicate to the moderator and technicians through their speaker phone.

The last party hooked into the phone bank is FSI's ad agency, Bader Rutter & Associates, in Milwaukee, Wisc. Agency personnel also listen in on a speaker phone from a conference room. Through their speaker phones, both firms can communicate with one another and with the supplier without the participants being able to hear what is being said.

"I can communicate with the technician and have him ask the moderator to probe a farmer's statement that may have been missed in the discussion," says Rinkenberger.

Prior to the telefocus session, each group respondent is mailed a package of sample ads with instructions not to open them until the session is conducted. Each package contains three envelopes labeled A, B and C, and represents three different executions or concepts of the ad being tested. The ad which the group finds most effective will be developed and used in farm trade publications.

All three ads are in what Rinkenberger calls a "rough comp" stage. Along with the art is a scaler questionnaire which asks the farmers to indicate their feelings about the ad.

After all the participants are hooked up to the phone bank, the telefocus session begins when the moderator sets the stage for the meeting. The participants are asked to open envelope A first, look at the ad and respond to the questionnaire. During this time, the respondents are given a few minutes to answer the questionnaire while music is played over the phone. The technician moves down the line until all the respondents have been contacted privately.

When all the rankings on that ad have been received, the phone lines are opened up for discussion on the ad.

All three of the envelopes are handled in this same way with individual reactions gathered first and a group discussion last. Rinkenberger says the value of getting the respondents' thoughts first is that it's an unbiased answer. The inability to hear others blurt out their comments and not see facial expressions forces the participants to make individual judgments on their own.

"It's important for us to get this unbiased reaction to the ad first," says Rinkenberger. "We want to find out whether the ad communicated what we wanted it to communicate and whether the participants understand it and did they like it and find it appealing, without them being influenced by what the others think or do."

Discussions on the three ads for each group of respondents normally lasts about an hour, after which the moderator will spend a few minutes speaking exclusively with the client and ad agency to provide some thoughts on what occurred.

The client and ad agency will also talk for a few minutes about the session. Usually within 24 hours after completion of the last group, the supplier will contact the client by phone with a more thorough analysis of the sessions at which time FSI and BR&A make a decision on which ad to run.

The ability to get results practically overnight and the money saved from not having to travel or supply meals are reasons that make this technique very attractive to FSI. So much so the firm has "abandoned" the traditional focus groups, says Rinkenberger.

One reason FSI is able to make a decision so quickly on what ad to use is because no written report is developed. All decisions are made strictly on what has been discussed during the sessions and in the post?session discussions. With focus groups, a written report was always developed but probably not fully utilized anyway, says Rinkenberger.

"Not only did a written report take a week to get back but it added an additional $2,000 we didn't need to spend. We found it to be of little value, only as proof to the boss that the study was actually done and to circulate it among people in the department."

Although FSI has done only occasional post-testing to see how effective the ads have been, Rinkenberger feels very confident they've communicated what the firm wanted the ads to communicate and that they have attracted readership.

Rinkenberger would admit, however, that the telefocus technique is not flawless. It may save the firm time and money but not getting the facial expressions or any of the nonverbals is a sacrifice.

Says Rinkenberger, "You don't quite get the complete feedback so it is a compromise. Plus, with focus groups, you have more time and flexibility in terms of completeness.

"Telefocus is not the answer to ad testing because there is some risk here, for example, not getting a broad enough sample. But for the budgets we have and in terms of our targeted groups, we're very comfortable with the method."

Continues Rinkenberger, "I can't claim telefocus is a perfect technique but life's a trade-off. This method is the best trade-off for us to use considering feedback quality, price and turnaround."