Abstract:

Two group discussions were conducted with couples who were considering buying a new double bed for themselves in the next year: one group was aged 20-35 years and one group 36-50 years, covering the new and replacement bed markets. Two further groups were conducted with couples of similar age and class groups who were not likely to buy a new bed in the next year. After discussion on requirements for a bed and ways in which beds were acquired, respondents were shown the 'Shrinking Room' commercial and gave spontaneous opinions. Following this, they saw the commercial again several times and discussed positive and negative features of the commercial in relation to their attitudes to beds and bed buying.

About this collection: 
Peter Cooper (1936-2010) was co-founder of Cooper Research & Marketing, later CRAM International, with his wife Jackie French. Cooper studied Clinical Psychology at the University of Manchester where he became a Lecturer in the early 1960s. He became involved in conducting commercial Motivational Research and by 1968 opened Cooper Research & Marketing in Manchester. Cooper was one of the key pioneers of what we now know as Qualitative Research. CRAM opened its London office in Wimpole Street in 1970 and moved to 53 St Martins Lane, WC2N 4EA, in 1972 where it remained until Peter's passing in 2010. The company changed its name to CRAM International in around 1985/86, reflecting the increasingly international nature of its work. The CRAM/Peter Cooper Archive Collection, which includes commercial research reports and early academic papers, has been preserved by Peter's children, Diana, Helen and Jonathan, and his colleague Simon Patterson. The scanning of the Archive has been supported by ESOMAR, AMSR, Peter's colleague Dr Alan Branthwaite & family, the Cooper family, and QRi Consulting. The CRAM/Peter Cooper Archive Collection is managed by QRi Consulting. The CRAM logo and CRAM International name are Registered Trademarks and the property of QRi Consulting.