Abstract:

This paper is designed to demonstrate the contribution of a major research programme on decisions about national and local communications policies as well as on the organization of field operations. The paper is subdivided in four parts. Part I details historical backgrounds, trends in automotive marketing and how the research programme developed. Part II of the paper is devoted to the research programme itself. Essential methodology, key elements in the analysis of the results, scale and scope of the investigations are brought forward. Part III indicates the effects the research results had on communications policies, how an advertising campaign was developed and how the procedures and findings created a focal point for organizational changes. Part IV gives clues for future application of these working procedures and path finding methods elsewhere and in other markets.