Case Study · Implicit association test with breadth and depth analysis and correspondence mapping
What travellers say versus what they hold: implicit brand associations
In a brand health wave for a Canadian leisure travel operator, BrandSpark ran an implicit association test beside the stated perception questions. Customer service was chosen by 57% of travellers, yet its response speed placed it 5th of the 5 brands measured, showing an answer people reasoned their way to.
The Challenge
Stated perceptions are a partial answer in categories where honest replies are socially shaped or barely conscious. The client needed to know which of its perceptions were held instinctively and which were constructed in the moment.
Our Approach
The test used 11 bipolar attribute pairs with brand logos as stimuli, randomized block and item order, two practice rounds, and response time captured on every choice. It ran after the stated perception questions, so it could not prime them. A Combined Association Score from 0 to 100 folded how often an attribute was chosen together with how fast.
What the Research Found
- ›Customer service was selected by 57% but took 2.98 seconds against the brand's 2.51-second average. Its score of 30 placed it 5th of 5 brands, 8 points behind the next lowest.
- ›"Welcoming" was selected by 80%, and all 5 brands scored between 97 and 100, so it separates no one.
- ›The brand's real implicit assets were sun vacations (97) and affordability (96), each first of 5.
- ›On unaided consideration the brand ranked third on breadth (17%) but fourth on depth (18%), while a smaller competitor at 14% breadth ranked above it on depth at 20%.
Outcome
The client received a short list of associations it holds instinctively, and evidence against spending media on attributes that do not separate brands.