Case Scenarios
You are a fresh marketing graduate and have been hired as a market researcher at Capital Research- a market-research firm based in Washington, DC. The company’s research director has assigned you to deal with two different clients.
Client A, Ms. Burke, is the CEO of a successful chain of coffee shops in the Midwest. The chain has recently opened a few stores in the DC area. Ms. Burke would like to add a small selection of pastries to the current food offerings at her newly opened coffee shops in the DC area. However, she would first like to develop an initial list of the type of pastries that might be appropriate for the clientele in the new stores. Your company, Capital Research, has been hired to conduct the needed research and present the results to Ms. Burke and her team.
Client B is a manufacturer of baked good products sold in grocery stores in the DC area. The company’s flagship product, ‘Best Baked’ cookies, operates in a very competitive category and enjoys equal market share with two other competing brands. The client is convinced that it has changed every marketing mix variable possible except for package design. Since the three competitive brands are typically displayed side-by-side, Client B has hired your company, Capital Research, to determine what factors of package design (e.g. size, shape, color, texture) can cause an increase in awareness, preference for, and intention to buy ‘Best Baked’ over the other two competing brands.
Assignments:
Describe, with detail and reasons, what research design you would recommend for each client?
