Exam 7: Advertising and Promotion Research

Scenario 7-3 After filing for bankruptcy in 2009 and requiring nearly $58 billion in governmental funding simply to stay afloat, General Motors realized it had to undergo major changes in order to compete with more successful automakers. The company began designing questionnaires and focus groups in order to gain a better understanding of what its cars had been lacking, and perhaps probe for specific improvements consumers may have been looking for. The company recorded its research findings and began to apply them to its product line. A little over a year later, Consumer Reports stated that 83 percent of Chevrolets, GM's top brand, had an average or better score in terms of predicted reliability, an increase from 50 percent the year before. Apparently, the company's efforts have helped turn the company in the right direction.("Consumer Reports: GM Reliability Makes Great Strides." MSNBC.com, October 26, 2010.) -(Scenario 7-3) One common technique used in focus groups involves the researcher presenting a scenario, and then the members of the group must complete a phrase or sentence. This technique is used in order to

A belief in mind control, repressed thoughts, and mass persuasion formed the cornerstone of Cold War ideology, and advertising professionals during that time found it easy to persuade consumers to buy their brands.

Scenario 7-1 Scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2011, Nintendo's portable 3DS gaming system will likely revolutionize the video game industry. The 3DS is the newest in a long line of portable gaming systems made by Nintendo, but will now boast a number of new features-including 3-dimensional technology that does not require the use of any special viewing goggles or glasses. The new system will also allow consumers to play classic games from older generations of Nintendo products, watch 3-D movies, and create fictional "Mii" characters that were made famous by Nintendo's Wii. Nintendo hopes its new gaming system will once again put Nintendo at the top of the video game industry, having lost some of its market share to Sony and Microsoft in recent years. -(Scenario 7-1) To determine which features to include in the 3DS, Nintendo did a large amount of research probing consumer opinions towards video games. To do so, Nintendo used a(n) ______ that allowed consumers to be the "judge and jury" in evaluating the quality of their new idea.

Products are just things, but brands have meaning.

Scenario 7-6 Wood Carver Cabinet Makers recently developed a line of kitchen cabinets designed for new custom homes and kitchen remodeling jobs.The line of cabinets is to be called "Signature Hardwoods" and a new magazine advertising campaign is being tested.Each of the ads that is being tested has a photograph of a woodworker handcrafting some part of the cabinet.In addition, his or her signature is shown at the bottom of the page as an indicator that the cabinets are carefully hand made. -(Scenario 7-6) Wood Carver recruited a group of consumers who were thinking about remodeling their kitchens and asked them a series of questions about selecting new cabinets.A week later, Wood Carver showed the consumers several of its magazine ads and then asked them questions to measure their opinions towards the Wood Carver Cabinet products.What type of study did Wood Carver conduct?

What is account planning? In what three ways does it differ from traditional advertising research?

Scenario 7-5 The Solutions Group is a combination of companies that help clients better understand their target markets through creative research approaches.It has learned that many people have become quite adept at filtering out advertising messages and therefore do not respond to traditional research instruments such as surveys.The Solutions Group says that there must be a "research revolution" based on true dialogues with consumers, not one-way monologues often seen in traditional surveys. -(Scenario 7-5) The Solutions Group likes to ask its clients' potential customers a wide variety of questions so they can share their thoughts about themselves, their lives, and all the daily elements that are important to them.What type of research does this represent?

It has been found that, overall, advertising has the greatest impact on sales early in the product life cycle, or soon after a new model or version of the product is released.

Eye-tracking technology systems basically measure how long a person gazes at a particular print ad or a particular part of the ad.

A researcher is said to conduct "field work" when he or she joins in and actually takes part in the study, usually in a taste test or other form of product testing.

A major problem associated with attitude tracking to evaluate advertising effectiveness is that although sometimes people's attitudes toward a brand do change,

Scenario 7-3 After filing for bankruptcy in 2009 and requiring nearly $58 billion in governmental funding simply to stay afloat, General Motors realized it had to undergo major changes in order to compete with more successful automakers. The company began designing questionnaires and focus groups in order to gain a better understanding of what its cars had been lacking, and perhaps probe for specific improvements consumers may have been looking for. The company recorded its research findings and began to apply them to its product line. A little over a year later, Consumer Reports stated that 83 percent of Chevrolets, GM's top brand, had an average or better score in terms of predicted reliability, an increase from 50 percent the year before. Apparently, the company's efforts have helped turn the company in the right direction.("Consumer Reports: GM Reliability Makes Great Strides." MSNBC.com, October 26, 2010.) -(Scenario 7-3) GM relied heavily on focus groups to learn about some of its product shortfalls. Although focus groups may serve as a good source of qualitative information, many quickly downplay their overall effectiveness. One common criticism of focus groups is

There was keen interest as well as great ambivalence about science after World War II, so people were intrigued by "scientific advertising" but also cautious about its potential for harm or misuse.

What is the basic premise behind a recall test?

By the early 1980s, ad agencies began to openly voice their distrust of the sacred, all-encompassing reliance on scientific research methods established in the 1950s, and in-house research departments began to shrink or disappear.

ZMET is designed to draw out people's buried thoughts and feelings about products and brands, based on their use of metaphors.

Scenario 7-2 You have been appointed director of research for the Rhode Island Runners, a new minor league baseball team that will make its debut in about six months.There have been minor league franchises in the area in the past, but due to a lack of fan support they all have folded.The Runners' upper management is convinced that past failures were the result of improper marketing of the teams.Therefore, management has committed a substantial amount of money to developing smart, effective advertising.Management has put you in charge of an intensive one-year program to guide and track the advertising. -(Scenario 7-2) You have determined that the major competitors in the family leisure market are movies, theme parks, and outdoor festivals.You use a theater test to measure attitude change resulting from a TV commercial being tested for the Runners.The spot does not do very well in the test.Still, your gut instincts say that the commercial is a good one.When reporting the results to the team owners, you should point out that

The text indicates that no existing advertising research method is perfect.But it does recommend certain kinds of approaches for the future.What are they?

Projective techniques test ads for consumer response with

Scenario 7-2 You have been appointed director of research for the Rhode Island Runners, a new minor league baseball team that will make its debut in about six months.There have been minor league franchises in the area in the past, but due to a lack of fan support they all have folded.The Runners' upper management is convinced that past failures were the result of improper marketing of the teams.Therefore, management has committed a substantial amount of money to developing smart, effective advertising.Management has put you in charge of an intensive one-year program to guide and track the advertising. -(Scenario 7-2) Tracking studies will be good tools for this campaign, since they follow the apparent effect of the advertising over time, and this type of follow-up is required throughout the first year of this baseball team's campaign.Tracking studies are almost always done in which format?