INTERNET EXERCISES

Chapter 7: Obtaining Data for Marketing Decision

Exercise 1 – Marketing Decision-Making Relies on Having Good Data
Exercise 2 – Market Research for Small Businesses

Exercise 1 – Marketing Decision-Making Relies on Having Good Data

Vignette: Research conducted for Kellogg’s of Britain indicated that Tony the Tiger™ was losing relevance to the Frosties brand target market. The company had to decide whether to extend the life of the brand by updating Tony™ or to replace it with a new product.

Featured URL: www.kelloggs.com

Different Types of Research Provide Different Types of Data for Different Stages of Decision-Making
Like many Kellogg’s divisions across the world, Kellogg’s of Britain sells Frosties (known in Canada as Frosted Flakes®) using Tony the Tiger as its “spokesperson” to create characteristics and brand values that appeal to the brand’s target market, children under the age of 12. The company undertook a large market research study in the 1990s to gain insights into the brand and Tony the Tiger. Qualitative research showed that Tony was “cool” but losing relevance to the target market. Quantitative research showed that the Frosties brand was starting to plateau and move into the maturity stage of its life cycle. The company decided to extend the Frosties life cycle by modernizing Tony the Tiger. Subsequent research showed that Tony’s role should rely heavily upon his past image, but should also be linked with current and future activities. To achieve this, the company created a 3D Tony for use in standard media and also in new media like the Internet. Quantitative research conducted after the launch of the new Tony showed that the change in the character improved the competitiveness of the Frosties brand and will prolong its life in Britain.

Activity

1. Tour the featured Web site for Kellogg’s. Go into the “Characters” section of the Web site (click on “Company” and then on “Marketing”) to see Kellogg’s most popular cartoon characters. Among them is Toucan Sam™, the “spokesperson” for Froot Loops® for over 40 years. Suppose Kellogg’s Canada wants to conduct research on Toucan Sam in order to gain some insights into the current appeal of this character. Write a problem definition for this research.
   

2. Review Case 8 (Kellogg’s Indian Experience) in the text to see if there are any sources of secondary data that should be tapped prior to conducting primary research on this problem.
   

3. Given that primary research will probably still be needed, what type of primary research method should be used: observation, survey, or controlled experiment?
   

4. Write at least three research questions that you think children under the age of 12 can answer that will reveal their attitudes toward Toucan Sam.
   

Resources

Companies that specialize in conducting market research:

Millward Brown Goldfarb: a leading international market research company that specializes in understanding consumer behaviour
NFO CFgroup: “one of Canada’s largest and most respected marketing and social research organizations”; part of the NFO WorldGroup organization, which has offices in 40 countries around the world
Ipsos-Reid: conducts marketing research and public opinion polls across Canada and the U.S.

Market research studies available on the Internet:

KnowThis.com, a Marketing Virtual Library: an Internet knowledge source for market research, marketing plans, Internet marketing, and information on marketing careers; provides a list of Web sites with free market research reports and on-line databases

Exercise 2 – Market Research for Small Businesses

What Can Be Done With Limited Research Funds?
Smaller businesses have tight budgets, so many limit their market research efforts to collecting secondary data or conducting surveys over the Internet. Fortunately, a lot of information is available on the Web to help do this. Small Business Info Canada and its American equivalent, PowerHomeBiz.com™, are organizations that provide advice, articles, examples of success stories, and chat rooms to help small businesses deal with all aspects of their operations, including market research. Marketing Best Practices is a small business newsletter only available over the Internet. The URL noted above leads to a page on the Web site that has links to a long list of free resources that small businesses can take advantage of.

Activity

1. Read the following articles available at PowerHomeBiz.com™:
   (a) “Market Research on a Tight Budget”, and
   (b) “Using the Web to Research Your Market”.
   Think of someone you know who has a small business and a need for information on his or her market or customers. After reading these articles, what advice would you give to this person about how to get the information that he or she needs?

2. Read the “Guide to Do-It-Yourself Market Research” on the Small Business Info Canada Web site. Compare the market research process recommended in this guide with the market research process outlined in the text. Is the process different for small businesses? If so, how?
   

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