What is it that tends to make the professional education of the market researcher a problem? Well, there is no other difficulty than what quite normally is to be expected when a new intellectual profession is coming into existence. Suppose a method of professional training for physicians, lawyers, or architects would have to be newly developed now: - the situation would be in no way different. The existence, at the same time, of charlatans and pioneers is just as normal a part of this phase as the uncertainty as to how professional knowledge, requiring both theory and empiricism, and forming a complicated combination of knowledge and experience, shall be imparted to the future market researcher.
What is it that tends to make the professional education of the market researcher a problem? Well, there is no other difficulty than what quite normally is to be expected when a new intellectual profession is coming into existence. Suppose a method of professional training for physicians, lawyers, or architects would have to be newly developed now: - the situation would be in no way different. The existence, at the same time, of charlatans and pioneers is just as normal a part of this phase as the uncertainty as to how professional knowledge, requiring both theory and empiricism, and forming a complicated combination of knowledge and experience, shall be imparted to the future market researcher.
In recent years the open contest has evolved as a preferred method of sales promotion. In West Germany alone, advertisers have spent more than 100 million DM in the last three years for conducting contests. The range of problems within the area of sales promotion, which a contest is able to solve, is wide. Among other things, sponsors of contests try to broaden their distribution-basis, overcome seasonal lows, introduce new products or models, win new customers, force the sale of slow-moving products, call attention to especially good offers, acquire adresses for direct-advertising, discover special arguments for - or characteristics of - their products, or to make the consumers aware of the brand-name, package or slogan. The study about which we report, does not deal with the possibilities of applying the contest in the field of sales promotion. Rather, it deals only with the attitudes and behavioural patterns of the population towards contests as a whole and with the influence which various components of a contest have on the willingness of the different social groups to participate in them. The research proceeded in different phases. A statistical analysis based on secondary data was followed by a poll of the experts' opinion about which group of the population prefers to participate in open contests. These results were compared with the actual behaviour of the population. In the third stage of the study the ideas and expectations of contestants were analysed. In this report, we limit ourselves to a brief description of the most important findings.
In recent years the open contest has evolved as a preferred method of sales promotion. In West Germany alone, advertisers have spent more than 100 million DM in the last three years for conducting contests. The range of problems within the area of sales promotion, which a contest is able to solve, is wide. Among other things, sponsors of contests try to broaden their distribution-basis, overcome seasonal lows, introduce new products or models, win new customers, force the sale of slow-moving products, call attention to especially good offers, acquire adresses for direct-advertising, discover special arguments for - or characteristics of - their products, or to make the consumers aware of the brand-name, package or slogan. The study about which we report, does not deal with the possibilities of applying the contest in the field of sales promotion. Rather, it deals only with the attitudes and behavioural patterns of the population towards contests as a whole and with the influence which various components of a contest have on the willingness of the different social groups to participate in them. The research proceeded in different phases. A statistical analysis based on secondary data was followed by a poll of the experts' opinion about which group of the population prefers to participate in open contests. These results were compared with the actual behaviour of the population. In the third stage of the study the ideas and expectations of contestants were analysed. In this report, we limit ourselves to a brief description of the most important findings.
This paper describes an attempt to answer a different question, which can be simply expressed as How do electors decide how to vote?'. It is hoped that the work described below goes some way towards describing the attitude structure underlying voting behaviour. The questions arising are many. Is voting choice a reasonably rational decision? Is it an expression of a personality or attitude dimension? Or is it a function of habit; of how an individual voted before or of how his parents voted? Do the basic reasons for party re-election differ for supporters of different parties? Do Labour voters vote Labour for one reason. Conservative voters Conservative for another and Liberal voters Liberal for a third reason? How do floating voters make their final decision? It is difficult to hypothesise answers without looking at the underlying attitude structure, at the frames of reference wherein people perceive political parties. This paper investigates whether the application of sophisticated factor analytic techniques to relatively simple data can provide indicators of the frames of reference operating in the minds of voters.
The aims of the present report are to present the problems which are particularly relative to the organization of market research in the field of industry, and to proceed to examine the corresponding solutions. The "EUROPLASTICS" research project, the object of which was estimate the prospects of expanding the plastics industry within the Common Market and the United Kingdom up to 1970-1975, will make possible a thorough review of the preceding aspects on the basis of a genuine concrete example.
The aims of the present report are to present the problems which are particularly relative to the organization of market research in the field of industry, and to proceed to examine the corresponding solutions. The "EUROPLASTICS" research project, the object of which was estimate the prospects of expanding the plastics industry within the Common Market and the United Kingdom up to 1970-1975, will make possible a thorough review of the preceding aspects on the basis of a genuine concrete example.
Although systematic personnel selection procedures have been shown to improve efficiency in many organisations which have introduced them, market research firms and departments have been slow to make use of these management techniques. This may be partly due to the present structure of the market research industry - few large firms and many small to medium ones. But the benefits of efficient personnel selection are not confined to the larger firms: personnel are the life-blood of market research, and any means of improving our efficiency in this area is worth considering by any size of firm. For over three years the British Market Research Bureau Ltd. has been developing and operating a personnel selection system based on a scientific appraisal of its present and future needs, incorporating such modern occupational psychological methods as, for example, aptitude testing, leaderless group techniques, formal and informal interviewing and "self-selection" procedures. These are regarded not as definitive measuring devices, but as aids to management in personnel selection decisions. In this paper a description is given of the background thinking and research which has led to the present system: a description of the system and its component parts, and first indications of its validity and discriminatory power. It is not suggested that a unique or universal solution is provided: the system is under constant appraisal and review. It is hope'd, however, that BMRB's experience will help other firms towards a solution of their personnel problems.
This report describes the techniques used in and the results obtained from investigations carried out to prepare for the re-launch of a relaxant on the Italian market. The investigation was in two parts: the first designed to measure the acceptability of the product to the medical profession; the second to determine the potential of the product on the market and the way in which the market for it could be expected to develop over a period.
This report describes the techniques used in and the results obtained from investigations carried out to prepare for the re-launch of a relaxant on the Italian market. The investigation was in two parts: the first designed to measure the acceptability of the product to the medical profession; the second to determine the potential of the product on the market and the way in which the market for it could be expected to develop over a period.
The future of any industrial firm depends mainly on its development policy. Management is fully aware of this fact today, and this is why those responsible for laying down policy devote so much attention to research both to discover new uses for existing products and to invent new products and techniques. In order to be able to conduct this research, we have developed our own methodology known as MARSAN (Methode d'Analyse, Recherche et Selection d'Activites Nouvelles). This method is the result of considerable thought and of an effort to streamline research into new products. It also constitutes a new methodological approach to the more general problem of selecting and classifying products or articles, where a large number of factors come into play. This process of selection and classification is carried out by electronic computer according to a programme designed specifically for this purpose, which we have called "ELECTRE"