This presentation considers the power and importance of brand and advertising stories in generating a marketplace in which we all want to participate.After all, the marketplace itself is a matrix of stories, a delicate fabric of dreams held together by our readiness to believe and our willingness to engage, and perhaps we are increasingly looking to stories that offer fulfilment of a higher order than simply just 'having'.This presentation considers some of the ways in which our brands and our markets are, or could be, responding to the changing face of these two fundamentals.
Papers included in this volume examine the impact of local culture both within European markets and further afield, in countries such as the Middle East and India. To what extent can a brand that is successful in one culture be transferred to another seemingly distant one?
Qualitative research has at its essence the search for a consumer truth, an insight into behaviour or attitude that will guide the marketer to a product positioning distinctive and relevant enough to cut through the data smog and advertising clutter of the contemporary marketplace. As companies require more and more insights from qualitative research, it is incumbent on leading edge researchers to find ways of pushing back the frontiers of knowledge about the consumer, and his/her behaviour. Sometimes we can allow ourselves to imagine that the sanitised world of qualitative research is real life. We believe that the 21st century qualitative researcher, therefore, needs to be able to get closer to the consumer, to smell him or her, to get under his or her skin and to talk the same language. This paper examines different ways of taking a more holistic view. Let us examine some of the alternative and supplementary methods available to us.
This paper demonstrates the key role qualitative research has played in developing and building Kimberly-Clarks Away From Home sector as an innovator in its field. This paper also highlights some general learning about researching design and illustrates this with material from a recent international study undertaken by Kimberly-Clark.