The paper raises questions about the adequacy of conventional qualitative research techniques for the future. A change in orientation and practice is needed if we are to develop a meaningful understanding of consumer responses to the advanced brand marketing environment of the late '90s. This change especially means a rethink of what 'fieldwork' is, concentrating on 'being there', and what really happens as well as what is said. The context is elaborated in both philosophical and practical terms, covering consumer values - and their limitations, client needs, research industry strengths and weaknesses, and how these might be tackled.
This paper explores, describes and evaluates a number of models used in stimulating innovation, with special application to NPD and brand stretching. It is not intended to be a market research paper as such but instead builds on the author's experience as a planner and strategic modeler, together with a review of past and new practice in the process of NPD - the fusion of strategic thinking, market survey information of various kinds, and creativity. A number of different models and techniques are described and briefly shown, covering various backgrounds: from those used by idea-generating consultancies such as Faith Popcorn, via those using synectics skills, or academic disciplines, or morphological analyses. Some of their disciplines may be new - and some are actually quite venerable, but in a new guise. The paper also contains discussion about how and why such techniques have become more widespread in recent months: is it post-recession thinking, or the realisation that innovation is indeed the source of future corporate health and growth, or a lesson learned from the Japanese, or just a current management fashion? - or indeed a combination of all of these. From the researchers perspective, there may be little new in pure research technique terms, but in management philosophy there is much food for thought. Some tentative pointers for the future are discussed: particularly the need to speed up, or short-circuit, the traditional NPD process, and the need to allow NPD to access the really new, the really distinctive and the unknown.
The countries of Central Eastern Europe are evolving very fast: how different are they from each other and from the West? Are differences culturally rooted, or driven by specific national circumstances? This paper discusses some data from a recent quantitative survey on beliefs, attitudes and values which throw some light on these issues. The survey, conducted under the auspices of the EEC, used a widespread network of university members set up by Dr. Miliar in 1990- 92 and takes further a pilot-study published in 1991. It covered approximately 500 women aged 18 - 50 in seven CEE markets plus the former East and West Germanies separately and the UK. The questioning, covering many aspects of life today, was identical everywhere. The results shown here demonstrate that women in the CEE countries are not, in general, as optimistic as those surveyed in the West, and there seems to be a significant age divide between the young, who are almost as hopeful as those in the West, and the less young, who are more pessimistic. Nevertheless, ail countries show increased optimism for the future, albeit at different levels. Attitudes to branding, advertising and other aspects of commercial life are analysed into five main factors across all countries, and the reasons for the differences between the countries are explored. The conclusion is drawn that 'Westernisation' is not a straightforward process; and it would be wrong to infer that 'Western' attitudes will prevail. Above all, each CEE country is different and needs careful assessment for marketing and communication decisions.
This paper starts by discussing the nature of brands. Brands appear to have human-like characteristics. This is now reasonably well-known and accepted by professionals, and the authors briefly refer to earlier work adapting and applying concepts exploring the human-like brand from academic and other sources, and developing new measurements. The concept of a 'toolkit' for measuring brands, christened BrandWorks©, is then described, with its concentration on different facets of brand perception. After examining data interpretation issues - particularly the need for several stages of analysis and a holistic approach to the data - and data collection, where the ideal of replicating respondents' own mental processes and expressivity is stressed, the authors list and describe the most important facets of brand perception. Case studies are interspersed. The paper ends with a review of further areas for enquiry in progress, and in emphasising the practical applications of the approach in building brand communication and marketing programmes.
Overall, the paper explores the extent to which consumers in Eastern Europe are similar to or different from consumers in the West, and presents some original data on consumer values which indicate that not only are values in Eastern Europe somewhat different from those in the West, but that these also vary from country to country, as might be expected from countries with different histories and at different stages of development. The paper starts with an analysis of the general marketing environment In Eastern Europe: underlying country differences, economic outlook, the business environment, the marketing infrastructure and social factors, It then examines consumer perceptions, with particular reference to a recent large qualitative study in the former East Germany, specifically examining responses to Western goods and advertising. The paper then examines aspects of consumer values. First, it explains the background to the measures chosen, which are based on the academic work of Milton Rokeach and Geert Hofstede. It then summarises very recent pilot survey work on young women in Poland, Hungary and former East Germany and shows outline results from these countries compared with data from West Germany, France and the UK. Results from Czechoslovakia are in preparation, and the presented paper will be able to show further data in more detail. The data represent a start in the slow process of building an understanding of consumers in Eastern Europe, as they move in transition towards market economies which may themselves prove to be different from Western forms.
The paper presents a new hypothesis about how people perceive and relate to branded goods and services. It also describes some recent research that demonstrates how this hypothesis translates into reality. The findings are particularly relevant to international marketing people grappling with the problems of co-ordinating brand communications activities across borders, while coping with the pressures of updating, stretching, refining or reinforcing such brands in today's competitive environment.
Founded in 1850, Levi Strauss is now the largest clothing manufacturer in the world. The historical development of the Company is traced, and the astonishing growth in the blue jean market from the 1950s onwards. The way that the Levi Strauss Company has organised itself to stay ahead is briefly described. Social trend information is used to provide forecasts of likely volume on a one and five year basis. Typical trends that are taken into account are discussed. The role of social trend information in the development of advertising is then discussed, with emphasis on the researcher's role as a link between the target market and the creative people. Advertising for Levi's is shown to illustrate the need for this understanding of the audience.