IMRB International has extensive experience in research on tobacco products. This experience has been built over the last thirty years across a very wide range of marketing issues; and across a large number of countries.

The range of experience include

• Market measurement, not only that of cigarettes, but also tobacco in the unorganized sector. The issues of non-admission of usage and under admission of depth of usage have been successfully tackled.
  
  
• Segmentation of consumers based on different consumer needs, be it product-related, packaging-related or image-related. Such segmentation has helped in more efficient portfolio allocation; identifying the needs for new brand offers; rationalizing the number of brands; and paving the way for strengthening the brand in its consumer segment.
  
  
• Brand health evaluation: tracking brand behaviour continuously using innovative and cost effective sampling; tracking brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand potential, brand image periodically. Reporting is done in a manner such that the reasons behind a trend are identified and the findings are actionable. Input-output analysis is also conducted.
  
  
• Periodic evaluation of blends among own and competition brand smokers to identify directions for improvement of blends. Innovative methods to weed out inconsistent evaluations by consumers have been incorporated so that differences between blends can be attributed to the product, and are not caused by consumer inconsistency in ratings. Work on understanding driver attributes has also been carried out using traditional regression as well as Structural Equation Modeling. Work has also been done to measure the ability of consumers to differentiate between products.
  
  
•  Identification of action areas to strengthen trade marketing and distribution among trade vs. competing manufacturers and competing product categories. This customer satisfaction study involves identifying key drivers of satisfaction among trade and mapping company’s position in a competitive context.
  
  
• The complete set of research studies to successfully launch new brands or re-launch existing ones
  - identifying opportunities through existing databases
  - qualitative concept development – taking the idea forward
  - determining whether the blend developed is good enough or not
  - name or descriptor research using pseudo-product testing
  - developing packaging through qualitative research; testing the new packs to evaluate whether they are good enough to be launched; if not, to provide actionable areas for improvement – and eventually identify a winner pack that is good enough to be launched; pseudo-product testing to check the impact of packaging on product perceptions
  - decide on pricing based on market shares at alternative pricing options
  - Simulated Test Marketing (STM) of the final offer to estimate the share of the new offer; understand what is driving the share –and, if low, then to recommend what mix elements need to be changed. STMs have also been conducted to identify the relative impact of alternative mix elements
  - Post-launch evaluation, which, in the case of re-launches, is conducted using a short term pre vs. post panel. Innovative scales have been developed to clearly measure change in brand perception, as a result of the re-launch.
  
  
• As the category is very price sensitive, IMRB has considerable expertise in pricing research for cigarettes. Techniques include Brand Price Trade Off (BPTO), Price Sensitivity Measurement (PSM); Choice Based Conjoint (CBC); adaptations of BPTO to tackle situations like change in volume; price wars; purchasing more than one brand at a time. There is experience in handling different situations e.g. stick and pack price; different pack sizes; variants; differential pricing. Validation of share estimates have been done and learning has been used to calibrate shares
  
  
• IMRB has also successfully developed statistical models e.g. a demand model by types using price and macro economic variables; brand heath modelling
  
  
• Merchandising is another relatively unchartered territory where IMRB has introduced consumer research based evaluation. Developmental work has also been done in the area of retail display; in the area of logos and packaging elements. Developmental work has also being done in the area of measuring reach and frequency when using non- traditional media.
  
  
• Measuring the impact of marketing inputs
  
  
• Economic impact studies of the tobacco industry
  
  
• Research training and research protocols for client companies on tobacco-related research
  
  
• IMRB has also experience in researching non smoking tobacco and in understanding repertoire usage of different tobacco products.
  
  
• IMRB has also developed the practice of sampling tobacco users outside tobacco selling outlets and in conducting exit interviews. IMRB has been successfully running consumer tracking through the cost effective exit interview methodology for over ten years.