Abstract:

The paper demonstrates, according to a step by step procedure, how research relative to a car launch was thought of, in terms of strategic objectives first, then how an approach integrating the qualitative and the quantitative was selected second, as the most adequate one to serve these objectives. Subsequently it shows how these strategic objectives were translated into specific research objectives, and how the qualitative and the quantitative, the first delivering the insight into the market and the latter allowing to weight this insight, were used to build upon each other the necessary knowledge required by the objectives. It demonstrates how- a complex set of data going from data regarding the cultural milieu of the market, to the data specific to the expected benefits from the product and that relative to the positioning of the competition can be integrated in order to find the most promising positioning for the new car. It shows also how, once the copy was designed and implemented, the same data could be used to evaluate if the copy was on strategy and if it was persuasive. The success of the the car launch proves, in a compelling manner, the benefits of using integrated approaches to detect opportunities on a market.