What Québec Wants™

Ipsos' Index of Ignorance: Quebeckers are the most knowledgeable about their province

Ipsos recently conducted a study entitled Perils of Perception, to understand how well Canadians know Canada.

In some cases, Canadians have a solid understanding of their province and the country, such as how much of our provincial budgets we spend on healthcare or how many of us smoke cigarettes. In other cases, Canadians remain ignorant on some facts about Canada, such as how many Canadians smoke marijuana, work in the resource sector, how many of us volunteer, drink heavily, travel abroad or vote.

Canadians tend to over-estimate their vices (i.e. marijuana usage, cigarette smokers, heavy drinkers), and underestimate their virtues (i.e. voting, passport holders, volunteerism).

The Index of Ignorance

The index of ignorance tallies the total amount of error for each province across the 12 core questions of the survey. The index shows which Canadians have a better understanding of their province and the people who live there (most knowledgeable), and which provinces have a weaker understanding of their province and the people who live there (most ignorant).

Quebeckers are the most knowledgeable

The results of the survey show that residents of Quebec have the honoured position of being the most knowledgeable, averaging 10 points of error across the 12 questions. They performed particularly well on their understanding of education in Quebec, smokers and heavy drinking.

Following Quebec, from most knowledgeable to most ignorant are residents of PEI (average of 13 points of error), Ontario (14), Manitoba (14), British Columbia (15), Alberta (15), Newfoundland and Labrador (15), Nova Scotia (15) and New Brunswick (16). Residents of Saskatchewan have the dubious distinction of being the most ignorant of their own province, overall, averaging 18 points of error. They performed particularly poorly on their understanding of the size of the resource sector, volunteerism, and marijuana usage.

 

 

 

Looking after number one.

Remember when we sang about wanting to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony and buying the world a Coke?

 

The 1970 spot for Coke, even if it were updated for today, would likely resonate less with French Quebeckers than it would with Canadians in the ROC.

According to the findings from our What Québec Wants™ syndicated study, French Quebeckers are more self-centered than Canadians in the ROC. They’re more likely to say it’s important to live for themselves rather than for others, and to get what they want no matter what the consequences are.

While the All About Me Connector creates challenges for marketers appealing to altruistic motives, it compels French Quebeckers to spend on themselves. One in two say it’s important to buy themselves the things they like compared to one in three in the ROC.

For more about our What Québec Wants™ study, click here.

Sang-Froid

What do you get when you cross old Québécois myths and a PC game?

You get Sang-Froid, Tales of Werewolves. A video game PC Magazine praised for its “wonderfully vibrant art direction”. The game is the brainchild of Yan Pépin, the founder of Artifice Studio. It follows the story of two brothers, Jacques and Joe, defending a cabin and their fever-ridden sister Josephine from wolves, werewolves and, behind it all, the Devil himself.

The Toronto Star’s Adam Kovac wrote this about the game: “The twist to French Canada’s lore of loups-garous, or werewolves, is that they are based on a mixture of Catholic and aboriginal myth that emerged during a time of economic uncertainty in the 19th century. The terrifying stories told to children about half-man, half-wolf beasts that lurked in the dark were both a metaphor and a caution to any precocious youth who might have been thinking of leaving the family farm to seek work in a logging camp. Losing one’s soul (to say nothing of a potential mauling) was a very real fear in the Catholic-dominated culture of 19th-century Quebec.”

There are other examples of how popular French-Canadian tales have been used by marketers. The Chasse-galerie, also known as "The Bewitched Canoe" or "The Flying Canoe" is a tale of voyageurs who make a deal with the devil. That’s the image on the label of one of Québec’s most popular microbrew, La Maudite.

This taps into what we call the Chez Nous Connector; Quebeckers’ concern for tradition and pride in all that’s local. Our What Québec Wants™ study asked 3,030 Canadians how important or unimportant this statement is to them personally: Preventing regional customs or traditions from disappearing. 33.2% of Canadians in the ROC said it was important compared to 42.5% of French Quebeckers.

Quebeckers might not want the werewolves to return to their neighbourhood but they’ll enthusiastically shoot them in a digital world.

For more about our What Québec Wants™ study, click here.

What if we made life simpler?

That’s the question asked by the magazine L’actualité on its cover last month.

This is the answer we got a few months earlier in response to our What Québec Want™ survey. We asked 3,030 Canadians how important or unimportant this statement is to them personally: Taking measures to simplify my life. 49.8 % of Canadians in the ROC said it was important compared to 62.7% of French Quebeckers.

What does this mean to marketers? Keep it simple and take the guesswork out of the purchase decision. For an example, read this post about Québec Liquor Board’s taste tags.

For more about our What Québec Wants™ study, click here.

Quebec market tricky for outsiders

Excerpt from an article by Susan Krashinsky in the Globe and Mail.

The research by Headspace Marketing Inc. surveyed 3,000 people to identify consumer sentiment in Quebec versus the rest of Canada. It found that brand loyalty -- and an intense resistence to switching brands -- is far more pronounced in Quebec than anywhere else. Québécois are also far less welcoming of things that are considered foreign; making it a particularly tricky market for companies expanding there from elsewhere.

But, according to Headspace president Eric Blais, this local, “chez nous” sentiment is also an opportunity for marketers.

Read more here.

For more about our What Québec Wants™ study, click here.

 

Push the emotional buttons that get Québec consumers to buy.

The first release of a unique syndicated study provides marketers with insights into the needs, wants and aspirations of Québec consumers. 

Québec represents a very attractive market; one that deserves marketers’ attention.

A difficult economy and tightening household budgets are leading many consumers to ‘trade down’ making it even more challenging to achieve growth in many sectors. As marketers explore new growth opportunities, Québec is often an overlooked market and, if it were better understood, one that could offer significant growth potential.

Headspace Marketing is pleased to offer the first release of a unique syndicated study that provides marketers with insights into the needs, wants and aspirations of Québec consumers.

This indispensable knowledge tool has been developed by Headspace Marketing Inc. and David Saffran
Consulting and offers the combined expertise of a strategic consulting firm specializing in marketing in Québec and a marketing research consultancy.

With one-quarter of the Canadian population, Québec represents a key – some would say unavoidable – market for most companies operating in Canada. Those who have done well in this market have found ways to create strong loyalties among consumers and customers who are characteristically well predisposed to branded appeals. Many have also learned that marketing in Québec can be quite economical. It is a small market where smart, relatively inexpensive brand ideas can have a multiplier effect when well executed.

Key Benefits

Identify connectors - or ‘hot buttons’ - that marketers can leverage to make their appeals more relevant to Québec consumers. They are based on insights into the universal values and attitudes of Quebeckers. These connectors greatly influence how Quebeckers relate to the world around them as people and as consumers. The study report demonstrates how brands that align their appeals with these connectors have a greater chance of establishing deep connections with their target consumers in Québec.

Analyze how these connectors influence consumer attitudes and purchase decisions in specific industry sectors.

Contrast Québec from the Rest of Canada to give context to the study’s findings. Successful brand builders in Québec understand the differences and the similarities. This allows them to determine when it is most effective to adopt or adapt national and/or global strategies for this regional market.

Create a benchmark for future annual What Québec Wants™ studies tracking macro trends and sector-specific shifts in attitudes and behaviours.

Methodology

The What Québec Wants™ survey was conducted among over 3,000 adults living in Canada, including a sizeable oversample of Québec residents. This sample design permits comparisons between Québec and the Rest of Canada plus detailed analyses of Québec residents.

The total results was weighted to the actual Canadian population according to Census data. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate has an estimated margin of error of +/-2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled.

Study Deliverables

There are three types of deliverables; one is core to all study subscribers and two are optional:

[1] Detailed report/presentation of the study findings (excluding the specific industry sectors), including mini case studies on how Connectors are being leveraged by brands in Québec. In addition to the written report, a formal presentation of study findings and implications can be arranged at no extra charge for in-person presentations within the GTA. Presentations outside of the GTA are available at additional cost.

[2] Optional - industry sector findings and implications. Sectors included in the first study are expected groceryb and financial services.

Study Cost

Core Deliverables Only:

CDN $14,000 plus applicable tax - Cost for the report/presentation as outlined above, excludes all specific industry sectors.

Core plus Optional Deliverables:

CDN $17,500 plus applicable tax - Cost for the report/presentation as outlined above including a specific industry sector.

-> For more information, please email or call either Eric Blais (416.221.2770 ext 221) or David Safran (416.807.0344) 

Un bon Jack

 

The expression is used in Québec to refer to a good guy. Guy A. Lepage, host of the popular TV show Tout le monde en parle on SRC, called Jack Layton un bon Jack during his appearance on the show in 2008.

It seems more Quebeckers think this bon Jack deserves their vote this time than Gilles does.

The CROP poll for La Presse had many people talking this week. The NDP is clearly gaining ground in Québec but there’s something a bit odd about the CROP poll when you read the fine print. Blogger Peter Rukavina writes about the methodology. Here’s an excerpt:

If, in fact, this was an actual poll as we were led to believe by the CBC panel, this would indeed be a big deal; it wasn’t until I returned to the topic this morning through an article in the Toronto Star, NDP jumps ahead of Bloc in Quebec: Poll, that I read, way down in the last paragraph:

The survey of 1,000 Quebecers online took place between April 13 and 20. Due to its non-random character, there is no margin of error.

This is echoed in La Presse in its article Le NPD prend la tête au Québec:

Ce sondage mené en ligne ne comporte pas de marge d’erreur compte tenu du caractère non probabiliste de l’échantillon.

In its reporting today the CBC has changed the language from “poll” to “online survey.” For example, in Bloc changes tactics to deal with NDP surge they report:

An online survey done by CROP, which the company said cannot be assigned a margin of error because the methodology doesn’t allow for random sampling, shook up the race in Quebec overnight Thursday, showing a surge for the NDP.

However reliable this poll or online survey of volunteer respondents might be, it’s sure to make the Jack and Gilles show most interesting until May 2nd.

 

 

Wizards, gurus and the truth

Many in Québec’s marketing community were displeased when Quebec City retained the services of Clotaire Rapaille to unlock the city’s “hidden code”. The $300K price tag was part of it. But the fact that the city hired outside the province was also an issue for many.

All this is irrelevant now since Clotaire was sent packing for embellishing his resume. Read this piece in the National Post for the details of this sordid affair.  

In an industry that relies on good storytelling and never seems to hesitate calling its stars marketing “gurus” or advertising “wizards”, Rapaille is hardly the first magician to tell a good story that stretches the truth.

Handshakes at focus groups

If you've ever conducted groups in English Canada and Quebec, you've likely found some interesting differences in consumers' reactions to what you're testing or their views on what you're exploring.

But there's another, perhaps less obvious difference. Quebec respondents seem to genuinely like participating in focus groups.

I moderate focus groups in French and English so I "feel" the room in both markets. In Quebec, there's  almost always one respondent who walks up to me at the end of the session to shake my hand and say thank you. Perhaps it's a thank you for being paid to talk for an hour. Or perhaps it's a thank you for listening to what they had to say. For giving them an opportunity to be heard. While they clearly aren’t there to say what they think you want them to say – and they’ll let you know if they hate the idea - Quebeckers appear to enjoy the conversation more. That’s not to say that participants in English Canada do it only for money.

At a time when having “conversations” with consumers who are questioning their every purchase, Quebeckers seem even more keen than Canadians in English Canada to engage with marketers, even when it’s intermediated by a focus group moderator.