There are certain things marketers do just because: a) they did them last year or b) EVERYBODY DOES THEM. Awareness, trial and usage studies (ATU's) fall into this category.

Marketers like to track the progress of their brands at a level which reveals more than script writing. Thus we have the ATU, which typically measures brand awareness, brand usage and perceptual ratings at a minimum.

The output of these studies gives brand teams something to talk about for an hour or two, before the report goes up on the shelf. ATUs rarely seem to impact brand strategies or tactics, but they do provide numbers to plug into marketing plans.

The research organizations that supply ATUs must be thrilled with the steady business. They are probably equally thrilled that no one expects much from their ATUs. Some suppliers have built a nice, low-cost business by having clients pick from a list of standard questions and farming out the analysis offshore.

PBE's clients march to a different drummer. They don't want nice-to-know information; they want to know how to improve their businesses. In fact, PBE's Clients sometimes say they don't even believe in ATUs.

They do believe in PBE's Strategic Tracking Studies (STS). PBE invented STS over ten years ago for a client that wanted more than it had been getting from ATUs.

ATUs share much in common with PBE's STS just as chimpanzees share much in common genetically with humans. However, the apparent small differences result in something dramatically more actionable in the case of PBE's STS.

One client diescovered that its injectible product was being promoted to a far less productive target audience than the one its main competitor (and PBE's STS) had identified.

One client was surprised to learn that its sales force had done an excellent job launching a new product, but that an incorrect definition of the competitive frame had initially made it appear otherwise. The marketing strategy was adjusted.

One client learned that by targeting doctors with a certain readily identifiable characteristics, it would receive a much greater return on its detailing investment. And, it did.

One client used PBE's STS to identify which specific claim to focus on to build share the most, to monitor how physician perceptions were being impacted month to month, and finally to identify when to switch its promotional focus toward a different claim. This years long program of monitoring and subsequent strategic adjustments built a very weak brand into a modestly successful one.

PBE's Strategic Tracking Studies are not for marketers looking for low cost food for thought. They are for marketers who want to impact their brands as quickly and forcefully as possible.

A PBE STS is completely customized to address a brand's special requirements. The underlying analysis exploits unique analytical approaches PBE has developed through its groundbreaking simulation and forecasting work. The analysis is conducted and presented by pros with marketing savvy who themselves become an additional strategic resource.