Marketing: Library Research Guide

The directions offer guidance on how to perform brand research within each database.

Market Reports

Open Mintel Academic

Step 1: (Click "I agree" to open database) Under Category Overview at the top of the page, browse by product sector, theme, or demographic to find market reports on your product.
Step 2: You can also search by keyword in the search box to find market reports that cover the product, industry, and the consumers you are looking for.
Step 3: The resulting screen will show you new reports, current reports, and related reports. To see all current reports, click "More Reports" at the bottom of the "Current Reports" box.
Step 4: Select "USA" in the first box and the category you want in the second box.
Step 5: Scroll to the left or right to see the current reports by product area.
Step 6: Once you open a report, use the dropdown menus and links to open the various sections.

Brand Ownership and Background

Open LexisNexis (Academic)
Step 1:  Open the Search by Content Type drop-down menu.
Step 2:  Under Companies, choose Company Profiles.
Step 3:  Type the brand name in the search box.
Step 4:  The results list should provide a company profile and other resources on your brand.*
Step 5:  Use the left-hand menu to limit your search by type of document/publication if needed.
*Make note of the company that owns your brand.

Company Overview

Open Business Source Complete Company Search

Step 1: Now that you know the company, search the company name that owns your brand.
Step 2: Choose the appropriate company from the results list, it should be the headquarters or parent company.
Step 3: Once the company profile opens, use the menu on the left to select different documents and publications to find more information about your company and its brands (e.g. product reviews, market research reports, SWOT analysis, etc.).

Industry Overview & Competitive Landscape

Open Hoover's database

Step 1:  Select Industries from the dropdown menu.
Step 2:  In the search box, type in keywords that describe your product (brainstorm potential search terms, e.g. toothpaste=personal care, airline or aircraft, shoes or footwear, etc.)
Step 3:  Choose the industry report that best fits your brand-there are sub-industry reports available within the broader reports.
Step 4:  You might also search for the company in Hoover's and select "Products & Operations" from the menu at the top of the company profile to see a list of brands from that company.

Market Analysis

Open Research Monitor (Euromonitor)

Step 1:  Type the brand name into the upper right-hand search box.
Step 2:  This will provide market research reports, articles, and other reports on the brand, company, and industry.
Step 3:  Use the left-hand menu to limit your search according to subject, geography, or type of report if needed.

Market Share Data

Open NetAdvantage (Standard & Poor's)

Step 1: Search for an industry survey by typing in the company name (NOT brand name) under Simple Search and selecting Industry Survey from the dropdown menu. Industry surveys will provide the market share for major companies operating in the industry.

Step 2: Browse through a list of industry profiles by clicking Industries at the top. There are 3 options to view these industry reports: onscreen as HTML, download as pdf, or open financial data with Excel.