QUALITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH

Individual Assignment on the Article Fa banking on the power of an innocent carefree

hug unlike most deodorantsSubmitted to –

Prof. Bhavani Shankar

By,

Ashwin Golapkar

2012PGP120

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Research Problem................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Appropriate Qualitative Technique for Obtaining Data...........................................................................................3

Rationale for Choosing ‘In-Depth Interviews’.......................................................................................................4

Detailed profiling of the Respondents for the Study.................................................................................................4

Relevant Questions to Facilitate Data Collection.......................................................................................................5

Plan for carrying out analysis of Data............................................................................................................................5

Expectations from the study..............................................................................................................................................6

Qualitative Marketing Research- Assignment Page 2

INTRODUCTION

The article talks about the brands in the deodorant category and the proposition they have created in the minds of the consumer as tool to charm and woo the opposite sex. It blames Axe and Wild Stone to attempt to project deodorants as sex magnets. Over time, the industry forgot what deodorants were originally intended to do.

But the brand Fa has gone a slightly different route and has recently rolled out a campaign centred around 'the power of a hug'. The simple, but exuberant, hug, with your arms held out long in front of you before you envelop the other in a warm, tight embrace which shows the confidence you have when you are body odour-free.

But later the article criticizes the brand for not marketing enough much in the digital marketing and social media networking. The article suggests to empower the digital leg of the brand by share your hug pictures online, getting people to hug each other on FB instead of poking them, create an app called 'Pass on a Hug'.

Though only small numbers have seen the advertisement, it has been widely caught the attention of opinion-makers on social media.

RESEARCH PROBLEM

According to the critiques there is much power in the advertisement than the response it has got in social digital marketing forum. Fa should start a campaign in various tier I and tier II cities communicating the message of the ad. From the article following research question can be found

RQ1. What attitude consumers can have towards Fa’s ‘Spray deo and hug your friend’ campaign? Further, how can the company sell the idea to more consumers and improve visibility thereby sales.

APPROPRIATE QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUE FOR OBTAINING DATA

Qualitative technique that can be used in this case to obtain data is ‘In-Depth Interviews’. This technique involves conducting intensive individual interviews with a small number of respondents to explore their perspectives on a particular idea, program, or situation.

In this technique we can ask respondents about the experiences they had in their life related to body odour their expectations related to the program, the thoughts they have concerning

Qualitative Marketing Research- Assignment Page 3

program operations, processes, and outcomes, and about any changes they perceive in themselves as a result of their involvement in the program.

RATIONALE FOR CHOOSING ‘IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS’

In-depth interviews are useful when you want detailed information about a person’sthoughts and behaviours or want to explore new issues in depth. Interviews are often used to provide context to other data (such as influence of a program), offering a more complete picture of what can happen in the program and why.

In-depth interviews should be used in place of focus groups if the potential participants may not be included or comfortable talking openly in a group. In this case a person might feel embarrassed when asked about the previous life experiences of body odour or may feel shy to name a person whom he wants to hug. In-depth interviews are also used when you want to distinguish individual (as opposed to group) opinions about the program. They are often used to refine questions for future surveys of a particular group.

The primary advantage of in-depth interviews is that they provide much more detailedinformation than what is available through other data collection methods, such as focused group discussions. They also may provide a more relaxed atmosphere in which to collect information— people may feel more comfortable having a conversation with you about their program as opposed to filling out a survey. However, there are a few limitations and pitfalls, each of which is described below.

You may also include focus group discussions as you get an overall view of consumers. If you think the pass a hug may be a problem to discuss then groups can be segregated on gender basis. The advantage is through discussions lot of points can be brought to light which an individual researcher might not be able to ask when conducting in-depth interview.

You can even start a discussion forum in social media and get interesting inputs which may feed your interview or FGD.

You may also collect data on the modes of communication, which can capture large number of audience. If you know from consumers which media influences them in deciding on deodorant brand, you can plan the next campaign accordingly.

DETAILED PROFILING OF THE RESPONDENTS FOR THE STUDY

Participants will be purposefully selected from all the sectors of socio-economic strata because of their unique experiences in their unique experiences. The researcher will conduct the pilot study using a questionnaire and unstructured interviewing techniques; asking-open-ended questions to the participants about their unique experiences in their lives about the kind of deodorant they use and trying to understand their preferences, beliefs and practices from the same. We will chose respondents mainly from the youth segment( 16-35) as they are mainly the users in this category. Also we will choose middle class and upper middle class

Qualitative Marketing Research- Assignment Page 4

segment from the city (tier I or II). An e-mail will be sent to the prospective participants asking them whether they would be interested in participating in a research study. Each participant will be contacted and a convenient location and time will be determined for the interview. Prior to the interview the researcher will ask the participants to sign a consent form and completed a demographic form of relevant background data.

For the purpose of the study we will chose respondents of different profiles but a balanced set of people. (say12 people; 6 males and 6 females) 2 users from each gender who are regular user of the brand, 2 from each gender aspiring to use the brand and 2 from each gender who use competent brands like Axe, Wild Stone. 12 people can be too small a set to understand the diversity. But you cant go with more interview, in such circumstances FGD will be of help.

RELEVANT QUESTIONS TO FACILITATE DATA COLLECTION

Key questions

1. When did you use deodorant for the first time? Why have you been using deodorant ever since?

2. What attributes you look for a deodorant brand? 3. How do you feel about the traditional ‘Sex Magnet’ advertisements telecasted by all

the deodorant brands? If you can make this question a little less emphatic and indirect you will get better answers.

[4.] How do you think can deodorant brands can convey the same message through advertisements without sensualizing emotions?

4.[5.] How do you feel when people don’t want to hug you because of your body odour? 5.[6.] Have you seen any of the Fa’s advertisements? How did you feel when you first

saw Fa’s ‘Spray deo and hug your friend’ advertisement? If the respondent has not seen it then it is better to show the Ad and then seek opinion.

6.[7.] What are your attributes do you think Fa’s ‘Spray deo and hug your friend’ campaign reflects?

7.[8.] How do you think Fa position itself in consumers’ minds through this campaign?8.[9.] How do you think Fa should market itself to successful position in consumer’s

minds other than advertisement?

PLAN FOR CARRYING OUT ANALYSIS OF DATA

First, we will read all the participants questionnaires and transcribe the data collected from the interviews to get a general holistic sense of the overall situation and the ideas presented

Qualitative Marketing Research- Assignment Page 5

Next, significant statements and phrases pertaining to the phenomenon being studies will be extracted from each transcript. Meanings be formulated from the significant statements.

1. Then the meanings will be organized into themes, and these themes will evolve into theme clusters, and eventually into theme categories.

2. A colour coded system will be used to highlight specific themes/categories to perform a preliminary analysis.

Then, the researcher will write a rich and exhaustive description of the lived experience and from this the essential structure of the phenomena will be formulated

Validation will be solicited from the participants to compare the researcher’s descriptive results with their lived experiences

Triangulation from different data sources will be used to build a coherent justification for the themes. This description is presented in the data outcomes section

EXPECTATIONS FROM THE STUDY

The above qualitative study will highlight the following points

Brands are preferred most in the deodorant category Attributes of the deodorant advertisements that are preferred in the youth segment Impact of current deodorant advertisements on the minds of the customers Perception of Fa’s ‘Spray deo and hug your friend’ campaign How should it be marketed differently to convey the message

Qualitative Marketing Research- Assignment Page 6