SHEKHAR SAURABH BISWAL
BAY MADISSON CASE Marketing research
MARKETING RESEARCH BAY MADISON INC. CASE
CASE FACTS FACTS
Ellis Company launched launched a product, Rill, a powdered cleanser in 1923. Rill was initially used as a heavy duty cleansing agent for removing dirt and stains from porcelain, metal and ceram ceramic ic surfa surface ces. s. Th This is produc productt had a uniue uniue !leac !leachin hing g proper property ty which which elim elimina inated ted the necessity for scru!!ing and it did not contain any a!rasive material. "n 193#, the company$s research department developed and added an ingredient which imparted a light and fluffy te%ture to te%tile products washed in a mild solution of Rill. &ence the company promoted Rill Ri ll !oth !o th as a powdered powdered cleanse cleanserr and laundry laundry wash wash water water additive. additive. '() of of the advertis advertisemen ements ts featured featured Ril R illl as powdered cleanser, 3() as laundry additive and 2() as dual purpose product. Rill was distri!uted distri!uted in three si*es as a concentrated solution. solution. Rill sold well in its initial years !ut from 19+( the unit sales had declined decl ined due to competitio compe tition. n. ut ut the the dol dolla larr volu volume me over over this this per perio iod d had had rema remain ined ed cons consta tant nt.. -ne -ne of the the pro pro!l !lem emss the they y were we re facing fac ing was whethe whe therr to promot pro motee Rill Ril l as a clea c leanse nser, r, laundry additive or a dual purpose product. They had the uantitative information lie unit sales, outlets, margins etc. and needed the ualitative information lie consumer attitudes toward the product, usage patterns and opinions on different product characteristics in order to formulate the mareting and advertising strategies. Ellis Company decided to give the tas of conducting a thorough study on Rill to ay /adison "nc., a large advertising agency. /r. 0eorge Ro!erts, who was the research director at ay /adison "nc, had drawn up a research proposal and forwarded it to si% mareting research firms for detailed information regarding the following • • • • • • • •
n appraisal of the proposal and suggestions for any changes price uotation on the proect as outlined and including any suggested changes !rief description of the staff who would handle the proect Time reuired for preparation, implementation, ta!ulation and final presentation 4ilot testing suggested 5etailed e%planation of suggested sample si*e "nformation on the firm$s e%ecutive personnel, interviewing staff 4roects handled over the preceding two years
The research proposal consisted of the mareting pro!lems, o!ective of proposed research, !road suggestions regarding research resear ch methodology and a proposed uestionnaire. 6or this purpose ay /adison called in for research proposals from various firms. -ut of all, three hree
research firms were short7listed and were ased to send in their proposals. The firms short7listed are as follows
1. 8ationa 8ationall Resea Research rch s ssoci sociates ates Company Company
2. 4rogr 4rogress essive ive Rese Researc arch h 0roup 0roup
3. & Cli Cliff ffor ord d Res Resea earc rch h
PROPOSAL 1: NATIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES COMPANY COMPANY ABOUT THE FIRM
8ational Research ssociates is one of the reputed and recogni*ed leaders in the field of /areting Research in :;. "t has conducted almost <(( separate and varied research proects since its esta!lishment in19'<."t has over 2 decades of rich e%perience, having highly ualified teams to wor on the research proects. SAMPLE SIZE & METHODOLOGY
The company proposed to interview 22+' housewives housewives on face to face !asis and #(( in7depth inte in terv rvie iews ws.. 6ace7to76 6ace7to76ace ace interview interview would would help in nowing nowing the competitiv competitivee position position of R"== R"== > "n7depth "n7depth interv interview iewss would would help to now the ?reason ?reason why@ why@ R"== is in the presen presentt position position !y disc di scov over erin ing g the th e attitudes, attitudes, perceptions perceptions and feelings towards the product and its$ uses. &ere the the com company pany ha has undertaen three type of research 1. E%plora oratory ory 2. 5escr scriptive tive 3. Causal ANALYSIS:
"n order to analyse the data collected through the interview various techniues were proposed toemploy toemploy 1. Th Thee 4erso ersoni nifi fica cati tion on Test st This method metho d involves in volves an attempt a ttempt on the part of the th e respondent resp ondent to descri des cri!e !e certai cer tain n produc pro ducts ts in huma human n terms terms and and this this would would prov provid idee an oppor opportu tuni nity ty for for the e%pression of attitudes and opinions. 2. The Themati Them aticc pperce ppe rcepti ption on Test "t con consi sist stss of pres presen enti ting ng to to the the resp respon onde dent nt an an unst unstru ruct ctur ured ed drawing of a particular situation and asing him to ?mae up a story@ of what is happening. 3. Aord s ssociation Te Test &ere the respondents respondents are ased to relate what comes to mind when given a word or phrase is read to them. <. The ;em ;eman anttic 5i 5ifferent rentia iall Te Test st This method helps in providing insights and information regarding to the perception of company and product attri!utes. "n order to evaluate the
relative effectiveness of various merchandising, advertising stimuli and effec ffecti tive vene nesss of of the R"== R"== pacage pacage and la!el la!el in compar compariso ison n with with those of maor maor competi competitor torss many many la!o la !ora rato tory ry studies were undertaen lie ttention7getting test 4roduct recognition test rand identification test Bisi!ility and legi!ility test. /emora!ility test pparent si*e test Colour preference and association tests • • • • • • •
COST AND TIME FOR THE RESEARCH:
ccording to the company the research would !e done in 12 wees$ time and the cost is estimated at '2(((. APPROACH:
Tactical Tactical D Bery detailed CONCLUSION: • •
ll research uestions answered 5etailed description of the findings of the research
PROPOSAL 2: THE PROGRESSIVE RESEARCH GROUP ABOUT THE FIRM
egan its operations in 19<, and is one of of the oldest /areting Research companies. "n order to prepare more economical, complete and detailed client reports the company possesses most advanc advanced ed comp compute uterr euip euipme ment nt in in the countr country y and and conti continuo nuous us impr im prov ovem emen ents ts are ar e !ein !e ing g adop ad opte ted. d.
SAMPLE SIZE AND METHODOLOGY
8ational sample of +'( home7maers in terms of region, socio7economic group, ur!an7 rural, and the lie would !e interviewed. The methodology would include interviewing with the help of uestionnaires uestionnaires and in order to mae sure that the seuence and phrasing are of such a nature nat ure as to !e und unders erstan tanda! da!le, le, to get coop cooper erat atio ion, n, and and to to o!ta o!tain in un! un!ia iase sed d repl replie ies, s, a fie field ld tes testt of 1(( 1(( home7maers is proposed. PROBLEM ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY
The company is under the impression that two maor uses of R"== may, in com!inations, affect the maret negatively and women may thin of it primarily in one sense or the other and those who regard it as a cleanser may not !e willing to use it as a laundry additive, or vice versa. PROPOSAL
The company proposed a consumer study covering the maor areas of !ehaviour and attitude including
•
rand 4ersonality and image for each of several cleansers > laundry additive products Fincluding
•
R"==G &a!it pattern on home cleaning and laundry additives Fincluding products usedG
APPROACH
;trategic D 8ot very detailed CONCLUSION • •
/ulti use product application not covered =ac of detailed mention of the findings of the research
PROPOSAL 3: H J CLIFFORD RESEARCH
-ne of the most reputed firms. /ost mareting e%ecutives regard this firm as the outstanding research firm in the country. Ro!erts suspects if he has given enough data to e%pect a detailed plan from the research firms. To complement his feeling, & Clifford !eing very professional, does not give a detailed plan, instead says it needs more data, also that their way of woring involves continuous cooperation !etween the company, agency and the research firm. They need to meet meet the the company company and get get the the e%act e%act detail detailss of what what is is reuire reuired d from the rese re sear arch ch,, what wh at is feas fe asi! i!le le and what is not feasi!le with the company in perspective as their research could !e strategy oriented. CONCLUSION
;ince the purpose of this research involves strategic change of the company$s product profile, & Clifford e%pects to meet the client directly and get to now in more depth of their reui reuirem rement entss and and the the feasi feasi!il !ility ity of the the advic advicee foll followi owing ng comp complet letion ion of resea research rch.. Th This is approach reuires more time. 6rom the case we now that the client wishes to arrive at a decision uicly. &ence ay /adison should try and !uy some time from the client to get the research plan, estimated time and cost from & Clifford. "f the client is willing then the proposal from 8ational research will !e ept on hold till the receipt receip t of plan from fro m & Clifford for later comparison and final decision. "n case they are not willing to wait further for the decision, ay /adison should negotiate with 8ational research to reduce the cost and to remove unwanted parts included in the research plan sent !y them. PROPOSAL 4: CONSUMER PANEL
consumer consumer panel panel is an approa approach ch in which which same same group of of responden respondents ts are conta contacted cted at per p erio iodi dica call inte in terv rval alss and data on actual purchase !ehaviour is collected to !uild time series data .The group is representative of the population. /r. acs initiative ANALYSIS ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER CONS UMER PANEL DAT DATA • • • •
/ost economical alternative 7 1+((( nalysis cost 7 9((( 5ata compilation cost 7 2'(( /r. acs$ salary 7 '(((
CONCLUSION: •
• • • •
Ae can only get the purchasing !ehaviour !ut predicting the usage of the product cannot !e done. =ac of e%perience in research Consumer panel data may not offer variety m!iguity in the case a!out the e%act findings Research capa!ilities of ay7/adison "nc, an advertising agency
DECISION CRITERION
1. 2. 1. 2.
nsw nswer erss all the the resea researc rch h uest uestion ion ;tri ;trict ct Time ime Cons Constra train intt "f tim time is is rel rela% a%ed ed Cost Cost is affo afford rda! a!le le
SELECTION
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