Marketing Chapter 6 Strategic Research Diaries Sometimes Consumers Are Asked Record Their Activities Through

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Chapter 6: Strategic Research

Diaries

 Sometimes consumers are asked to record their activities through the use of diaries.

These diaries are particularly valuable in media research because they tell media

planners exactly what programs and ads the consumers watched. Beeper diaries are

Other Qualitative Methods

 As illustrated in the Principled Practice feature in this chapter by Professor Wolburg,

marketing communication planners are always probing for reasons, feelings, and

motivations behind what people say and do. To arrive at useful consumer insights,

some researchers employ a variety of interesting and novel research methods.

 Because psychologists know that humans think more in images than in word,

researchers sometimes use pictures and other tools to uncover mental processes that

 Professor Zaltman at the Harvard Business School believes that the conventional

approach to consumer research, e.g., surveys and interviews, is only good for getting

back predictable answers that may not be an adequate description of how consumers

really feel.

 Word association is a projective technique that asks people to respond with thoughts

or other words that come to mind when they are given a stimulus word. The idea is to

uncover the network of associations in their thought patterns. Brand perceptions are

tested this way to map the structure and logic of these association networks.

 Below is a collection of some of the more imaginative ways qualitative researchers

use projective techniques to gather insights about people’s relationships with the

brands they buy. These methods can be combined.

 Fill-in-the-blanks is a form of attitude research in which people fill in the blanks

in a story or balloons in a cartoon.

Chapter 6: Strategic Research

 Theater techniques. Games also can be applied in a theater setting where

researchers have people use a variety of exercises to understand how people think

about their brands, tell stories about products, and convince others to use a brand.

 Artifact creation is a technique that uses ideas as life collages, day mapping, and

the construction of instruction books as ways to elicit stories that discuss brands

and their role in daily life.

 Photo elicitation. Similar to artifacts, visuals can be used to elicit consumer

thoughts and opinions.

These methods can be combined, according to Professor Zaltman, the founder of a firm

that uses metaphors and visual images to uncover patterns in people’s thinking.

How Do You Choose a Research Method?

and 2) they are conducted under artificial conditions.

 The information you get from surveys of a broad cross section of a population is

limited to your ability to develop good clear questions that everyone can understand

and answer. On the other hand, focus groups and in-depth interviews that permit

probing are limited by small numbers and possible problems with the

representativeness of the sample.

Chapter 6: Strategic Research

 Most researchers use a variety of research methods – quantitative, qualitative, and

occasionally experimental designs. Which method should you choose? The answer

depends on what questions you need to answer and in many cases, the answer may be

multiple methods. And sometimes the biggest consumer research projects may not

give reliable results.

Analyze Data and Report Findings

 All types of data require additional steps that summarize the findings so that they can

be interpreted and implemented. A valid quantitative study can be summarized using

a wide array of statistical techniques that allow researchers to generalize the findings

to the larger population of interest. Qualitative data are normally analyzed by

RESEARCH TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

Marketing communication researchers face a number of challenges: globalization and

new media technology are reshaping the industry. Practices are changing as the industry

searches for ways to gain more insightful analyses and the move into IMC planning.

Online Research Trends

 Mobile surveys and online communities are two emerging market research methods

that suppliers have most commonly adopted, according to a major research report.

Sampling Challenges

 With the increasing use of new media and the internet, research experts are struggling

to find ways to find samples that are representative.

Global Issues

Chapter 6: Strategic Research

IMC Research Challenges

END-OF-CHAPTER SUPPORT

REVIEW QUESTIONS

6-3. Distinguish between marketing research and market research. Why is it

important to understand the difference?

6-4. Discuss the difference between primary and secondary research.

Information that is collected for the first time from original sources is called primary

research. To obtain it, companies and their agencies do their own tracking and monitoring

6-5. What types of information are obtained from quantitative, qualitative and

experimental research designs? How are those three categories of research

different?

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6-6. What is survey research and how is it conducted? How do in-depth interviews

differ from surveys?

6-7. Discuss when to use the following research methods: focus group, in-depth

interviews, observational research, ethnographic research, panels, and diaries.

 A focus group should be used when researchers wish to probe for patterns of thought

and behavior. They are also useful in testing advertising ideas or exploring various

alternatives in message strategy development.

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6-10. You have been hired to develop and conduct a research study for a new upscale

restaurant chain coming into your community. Your client wants to know how people in

the community see the competition and what they think of the restaurant’s offerings. It

uses an unusual concept that focuses on fowl—duck, squab, pheasant, and other elegant

meals in the poultry category. A specialty category, this would be somewhat like a

seafood restaurant. One of your colleagues says the best way to do this study is with a

carefully designed survey and a representative sample. Another colleague says, no, what

the client really needs is insight into the market; she believes the best way to help the

client with its advertising strategy is to use qualitative research.

Review the strengths of

the various research tools and match them to this new product launch. Be prepared to

present your recommendations in a class discussion.

Here is one possible answer:

TAKE-HOME PROJECTS

6-11. Portfolio Project: Assume you are working for Gerber Baby Foods. Your

assignment is to identify the relevant trends that are forecast for U.S. birth rates between

2020 and 2025. Identify internet sources that would provide that information. Gather as

much information as you can from these sites and write a one-page report on the trends

you find.

Chapter 6: Strategic Research

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Here are some reliable sources of data regarding projected U.S. birth rates:

 https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/fertility-and-birth-rates/

 https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2015/demo/p25-

1143.pdf

 http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/birth-rate-and-fertility/

6-12. Mini-Case Analysis: What were the key research findings that led to Lean

Cuisine’s rebranding campaign? You have just been assigned to the Lean Cuisine team

for the next year of the campaign. What research would you want to do before planning

the next year’s efforts? Identify a list of key research questions that have to be answered

before the campaign can move forward.

Key insights that Lean Cuisine identified as a result of its research were that: 1) its

product was seen by consumers as a tool for dieting, which carried negative

TRACE NORTH AMERICA CASE

Read the TRACE Case in the Appendix before coming to class.

6-13. How did the “Hard to Explain, Easy to Experience” team use research to better

understand the problem they were trying to solve?

6-14. How did the “Hard to Explain, Easy to Experience” team use research to inspire a

creative solution to the Nissan marketing challenge?

6-15. What other methodologies would you recommend to the team to better understand

the success of its program in the market?

Chapter 6: Strategic Research

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

ASSIGNMENTS

Individual Assignments

1. Choose any product. Then, conduct research on the brand experience by buying and

using that product a few times. What did you learn that would be impossible to gather

in a survey or interview? Conversely, what are the limitations of this form of

research? Write a 500-word report detailing your findings.

2. E-marketer.com is a market research company that provides insights and trends

related to digital marketing, media, and commerce. Its clients include two-thirds of

Fortune 500 companies. Type the word ‘Millennials’ in to the search box on this

website to gather secondary research concerning the digital habits of this age cohort.

Share what you learn in a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation to your classmates, and

Think-Pair-Share

Allow students to gain some experience in primary data collection by using Survey

Monkey (surveymonkey.com) to create a short questionnaire, with the objective of

gaining insight into how your fellow students feel about the food served in the campus

cafeteria. This project is comprised of several components, each of which should be

completed by a different set of two students. They are:

 developing a set of unbiased questions,

OUTSIDE EXAMPLES

1. The U.S. Census Bureau contains a wealth of demographic information for

communities in every region of the United States. Visit them online at

www.census.gov and explore the website. Once you have taken a look around, use

the web tools to locate information on your community and create a demographic

profile of the average consumer who lives in your city or town. Who are they and

Chapter 6: Strategic Research

what do they “look” like? What valuable clues about their lifestyle, income, and

occupation are buried in this data? What types of marketers do you suppose would be

interested in a consumer of this sort? Compile your findings in a 500-word report.

2. ‘Big data’ now makes enormous amounts of information available on a variety of

marketing and media-related topics. Take a deeper dive into this topic and the