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1. List some major secondary sources of information for the following situations:
(a) The marketing research manager of a national soft-drink manufacturer has to prepare a comprehensive report on the soft drink industry.
(b) Mr. Baker has several ideas for instant cake mixes and is considering entering this industry. He needs to find the necessary background information to assess its potential.
(c) Mr. Adams has heard that the profit margins in the fur business are high. The fur industry has always intrigued him, and he decides to do some research to determine if the claim is true.
(d) A recent graduate hears that condominiums are the homes of the future. She decides to collect some information on the condominium market.
(e) Owning a grocery store has been Mrs. Smith's dream, and she finally decides to make it a reality. The first step she wishes to take is to collect information on the grocery business in her hometown.
2. For many years, Home Decorating Products had been a leading producer of paint and painting-related equipment such as brushes, rollers, turpentine, and so on. The company is now considering adding wallpaper to its line. At least initially, it did not intend to actually manufacture the wallpaper, but, rather, to subcontract the manufacturing. Home Decorating Products would assume the distribution and marketing functions.
Before adding wallpaper to its product line, however, Home Decorating secured some secondary data assessing the size of the wallpaper market. One mail survey made by a trade association showed that, on the average, families in the United States wallpapered two rooms in their homes each year. Among those families, 60% did it themselves. Another survey, which had also been done by mail but by one of the major home magazines, found that 70% of the subscribers answering the questionnaire had wallpapered one complete wall or more during the previous 12 months. Among these families, 80% had done the wallpapering themselves. Home Decorating Products thus has two sets of secondary data on the same problem, but the data are not consistent.
Discuss the data in terms of the criteria one would use to determine which set, if either, is correct. Assume that you are forced to make the determination on the basis of this information. Which would you choose?
3. Assume that your school is interested in developing a marketing plan to boost sagging attendance at major athletic events, particularly home football games. As an initial step in developing the new marketing plan, the athletic department has decided that it needs demographic and lifestyle profiles of people who currently attend games on a regular (season-ticket) basis. Fortunately, the ticket office maintains a listing of all season-ticket purchasers (including names and addresses) from year to year. What potential sources of internal secondary data might the athletic department first investigate before considering the collection of primary data?
4. Carefully read the information in Research Window 7.1 about how Arby's chooses new locations for its restaurants.
(a) List the different sources or types of secondary information used in identifying potential locations.
(b) Think carefully about the area in which you live. Using secondary sources, screen at least one potential location for an Arby's restaurant in your area. Can you find one or more locations that fit the criteria established by Arby's? Why or why not?
5. Several scenarios are presented below. In each case, there is a need for standardized marketing information. Recommend a service or services that could provide the required information. Explain your choices.
(a) As part of its advertising-sales strategy, radio KZZD wants to stress the fact that its programming appeals to young adults between the ages of 19 and 25. The advertising salespeople need "numbers" to back up this claim.
(b) Pulitzer Peanut Company has developed a unique sales promotion and television ad campaign for its 36-ounce container of Spanish peanuts. It needs to know the following in order to evaluate the campaign: (1) Are people more likely to use a coupon when they've also seen the television ad? (2) What is the median size of the households using a coupon? (3) What is the proportion of new purchasers to past purchasers among the users of a coupon?
(c) EMM Advertising Agency assured one of its clients that despite the $200,000 cost of placing a half-page ad in one issue of a national magazine, the actual cost per reader of the ad would be less than two cents. EMM is preparing a report to the client and needs data to back its assurance.
(d) Eco-Soft, Inc. is introducing a software package that will make long-range forecasts of contaminant buildup levels in plants that manufacture polyester fibers. It needs a current listing of potential customers, organized by plant sales volume, in order to prioritize its sales calls for the new package.
(e) The advertising agency for a leading brand of disposable razors for men needs to choose which network television shows might be the best for its ads.