This paper describes how motorists in the United Kingdom reacted to a series of events following the Arabs-Israeli war of 1973. These events include petrol shortages, both threatened and actual, appeals to save fuel in the national interest, both voluntary and statutory speed restrictions, and a series of unprecedented increases in the price of petrol. By combining behavioural data from a diary panel with Public Opinion and depths research it has been possible to gain an understanding of motorists attitudes and reactions for predictive purposes. It is concluded, inter-alia, that the classical economic price elasticity would not apply to this situation, at least in the short runs. A tentative model relating information and experience to attitudes and behaviour is suggested.
This paper describes the contribution of market research to the work of a multi-brand study group set up by Esso Petroleum in the U.K. to find an answer to the questions: How many brands does Esso need in the U.K.? At which market segments should they be directed? How should the market research policies differ? The market research work comprised chiefly two segmentation studies, one dealing with independent petrol retailers, the second with motorists. The dealer segmentation made use of an existing study. It had to be repeated after the first attempt failed. A special survey of 2,000 motorists formed the basis of the second segmentation study. The interpretation of both studies led to broadly the same conclusion, that to integrate Esso and Cleveland into one strong brand was the optimum group strategy. This recommendation was accepted and has since been implemented.
This paper outlines the changes in the U.K. motoring market over the last ten years or so and shows how these changes have been reflected in the type of market research undertaken and the level of activity.
In the type of segmentation referred to in this paper, which is generally termed 'cluster analysis', we analyse the data by a number of characteristics simultaneously, instead of sequentially as described above. The type of cluster analysis described in this paper can be considered as a multi-dimensional extension of this type of procedure. Given a number of variables, the computer programme allocates each individual in the sample to one of a pre-determined number of clusters in such a way as to minimise the variance within clusters (or conversely, to maximise the proportion of total variance which is explained by the clustering process).
In this paper I propose to outline briefly some underlying factors leading to the growth of below-the-line activity, to describe the marketing functions performed by different types of promotional activity, and to suggest a rational approach to the problem of allocating expenditure.
Management decision in the field of advertising is typically concerned with problems such as the size of the advertising budget, how the outlay should he distributed over time and within regions, what type of messages should be used and what media should be used to deliver them. Most of the published work in this area has appeared within the last three years, and there is every reason to believe that a great deal of the work which has been, or is being done, has never been publicly described. The few examples referred to in this paper are intended to illustrate some of the kinds of work which is being done.
In this paper I propose to make some suggestions for the use of models and simulation techniques, similar to those employed by operational research workers in industry, as a means of reproducing patterns of past behaviour and of predicting patterns of future behaviour under various assumptions.