Market research will typically contain:
Small businesses will conduct their own market research but third party companies such as Mintel produce reports that can be purchased. Students and staff at De Montfort University have access to Mintel reports and other market research sources.
Advertising can tell you much about how a company sees itself, what its ethos is. For example, compare these two adverts for banks. One of them sees themselves as a local bank, the other a global bank. Can you tell which one has an international outlook?
Any advertisements should be viewed in the context of other information and should never be used as a sole determinant of a company. A they indicate a company's view of itself, we must also get independent analysis to build a balanced profile of the company.