Caselet / Scenario

Glodina Towels
Glodina Towelling (Pty) Ltd (Glodina) is owned by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC). Glodina has a 60-year history and is known for its high levels of quality.

Glodina is perceived to be the main supplier of quality towels to the hospitality industry and major retailers in South Africa. While award-winning products drive the business, Glodina identified the pillars of its success as its quality products, customer service and loyal employees.

Glodina has a wide range of products. One of the products in its range is the Broad Pool Stripe towels. It is a large bath sheet with an understated, classic design made from 100% cotton. They are available in a few colour options.

The business strategy division is constantly evaluating trends in the towel industry. One of the trends identified recently is the increase in demand for environmentally sustainable and eco-friendly beach towels.

Beach towels are usually bigger than regular bath towels and are made from absorbent and quick-drying materials. The trends in beach towels also indicate a preference for vibrant and visually appealing designs. The product development team is currently re- evaluating the current offer of pool towels. There is no consensus amongst the team members as to what the best approach should be. The different views are as follows:
1) Keep the current pool stripe towels and brand them as pool and beach towels with no further developments.
2) Offer both the current pool stripe towels and new eco-friendly beach towels.
3) Develop new eco-friendly beach/ pool towels with new designs and scrap the pool stripe towels.

The product development team asked the market research manager to assist with some market research that can guide them with regard to what the best approach will be as well as a better understanding of what consumers’ (hospitality industry and individual consumers) needs are as well as their willingness to pay more for eco- friendly towels.

Question 1
The reason for research is always a problem, a potential opportunity or both. Identify and explain the reason for this research request.
(2)
One (1) mark will be awarded for identifying the reason (problem, opportunity or both) for the research.
One (1) mark will be awarded for the explanation.
Question 2
Evaluate the request for research and advise the product development team on whether market research is necessary or not. Motivate your decision.
(2)
One (1) mark will be awarded for advising the product development team on whether market research is necessary or not.
One (1) mark will be awarded for the motivation.
Question 3
A market research brief is important as it assists market research agencies to develop a detailed market research proposal. Formulate a written market research brief that incorporates all the key elements of a market research brief (as discussed in the study guide).
(23)
Marks will be awarded for correctly populating all the headings/ key elements of the market research brief.
Question 4
Four market research agencies will be required to present their market research proposals to an evaluation panel of eight members consisting of representatives from the product development team, the marketing department, the group strategy department, the finance department and the market research team. To ensure that the evaluation process is fair, you need to develop a proposal evaluation FORM. It is important that you develop an evaluation form that can be used by the panel members.
(10)
Three (3) marks will be awarded for the research evaluation criteria. Two (2) marks will be awarded for the general criteria.
Five (5) marks will be awarded for all the other important information included on the form.

Caselet / Scenario

The Wooden Man

The Wooden Man is a family-owned business that was started 55 years ago by the Steyn family. The business is currently managed by Pieter, who has more than 55 years’ experience in the building material supply industry, and Eric, his son, with more than 30 years’ experience. Both have a passion and drive for what they are doing and they pride themselves on going the extra mile for their clients. They pride themselves on the quality of their products and excellent customer service. No request is too big or small. Their motto is: We build together, and if you need it, we will find it!

Although the business is extremely successful, they are always looking for ways to expand and offer more and better services to their customers. As consumers are getting more cash strapped, they are increasingly considering DIY options for improving their homes. Pieter and Eric are considering the development of workshops where they can teach consumers the required skills and what tools and products are needed for different DIY projects. The development of the workshops requires time, expertise and financial investment.

They have asked Research Surveys to assist them with some market research before they start with the development of the workshops. The details of the market research project are as follows:

Primary objective: Create an understanding of DIY home improvements needs, wants and expectations that will guide the development of the various workshops.

Secondary objectives:
Secondary objective 1: Establish the need for the workshops.
Secondary objective 2: Establish the type of content that should be covered in the workshops.

Methodology: Research Surveys will conduct 200 telephonic interviews.

Target audience:
Pieter and Eric have identified the target audience as homeowners in the Cape Town area who are between the ages of 30 and 50 years old with a monthly household income of between R15 000 and R39 999 and who have spent more than R3 000 in the last month at a hardware store.

Research Surveys has access to a database of 1.2 million homeowners in South Africa, of which 555 000 are in the Cape Town area. The area is already indicated on the list.

Research Surveys developed a questionnaire. See Addendum A (at the end of this assignment question paper) for the proposed questionnaire.
Question 5
Pieter and Eric are not too sure that the proposed sample of 200 telephonic interviews will be sufficient. They would like to be 98% confident in the research findings and are willing to accept a 4% margin of error. Assist Pieter and Eric by calculating what the correct sample size should be.
(1)
One (1) mark will be awarded for the correct answer.
Question 6
The response rate for telephonic interviews is seldom 100%. It is estimated that the response rate will be approximately 73%. Adjust the sample size (calculated in Question 5) to compensate for the 73% response rate, ensuring that the confidence level is still 98% and the margin of error is 4%
(1)

One (1) mark will be awarded for the correct answer.
Question 7
It is important that all the respondents that take part in the telephonic survey meet the target audience criteria. Develop three (3) screening questions to ensure that the correct people are interviewed.
(3)
One (1) mark will be awarded for each correct screening question.
Question 8

Work through the proposed questionnaire in Addendum A and evaluate the CONTENT of the questionnaire using the secondary objectives as the guideline and conclude for each secondary objective separately whether the information will be sufficient to achieve the objective.

(4)

For each secondary objective separately:
One (1) mark will be awarded for identifying the correct question(s).
One (1) mark will be awarded for concluding on whether the content is sufficient or not.

Question 9

Write an introduction that the interviewers can use before they start with the telephonic interview. Ensure that the introduction covers all the information that the respondents need to know before they can give their consent to proceed with the interview. (3)

Three (3) marks will be awarded for including all the relevant information in the introduction.
Question 10
Work through the questionnaire (see Addendum A at the end of this assignment) and identify at least three (3) questions that do not adhere to sound questionnaire design principles. For each question selected, you must identify and discuss the relevant questionnaire design principle(s). PLEASE NOTE: The interview introduction and screening questions are excluded and should not be part of the questions and questionnaire design principles identified.
(3)
One (1) mark will be awarded for each question PLUS the principle correctly identified up to a maximum of three (3) marks.
Question 11
Correct each of the three (3) questions identified in Question 10 so that they adhere to sound questionnaire design principles.
(3)
One (1) mark will be awarded up to a maximum of three (3) marks for correcting each question identified in Question 10. Marks will only be awarded for the correction of the questions identified in Question 10.

Caselet / Scenario

SpeedWay – advertising campaign

SpeedWay is a South African courier service provider that has been in business for over 10 years. Its courier services are limited to South Africa, and it prides itself on delivering excellent service at an affordable price.

It has a well-established network with 190 kiosks nationwide and over 1400 lockers in towns throughout South Africa.

The courier, express and parcel services industry in South Africa is growing at a rapid rate and is extremely competitive. The demise of the South African Post Office service and the development of new technology have fuelled the growth of the industry even more.

Within this competitive environment, SpeedWay wants to be seen as the leader in the industry that makes life easier for its customers by offering professional and reliable service at an affordable price. It has asked Greenway Advertising Agency to develop a television advertising campaign. The objective of the campaign will be to create awareness for the Speedway brand and establish an image of a company that offers professional and reliable service at an affordable price. The marketing team has decided that they would like to pre-test the proposed television advertisement before they sign it off.

AdTest was contracted to pre-test the proposed television advertisement. Below is more information about the market research project.

Primary objective: To establish whether the television advertisement will be successful in communicating the advertisement objectives of awareness and image perceptions. The marketing team will use the findings to make a final decision on whether the proposed campaign will be approved or not.

Secondary objectives:
– Establish brand awareness after watching the advertisement.
– Measure image perceptions of SpeedWay after watching the advertisement.
– Measure the likeability of the advertisement.

Target audience: Speedway has identified three segments.
1) Individual consumers who are using courier services at least once every two months
2) Micro-businesses (with a turnover of less than R1 million per annum) that are using courier services at least once a month
3) Small businesses (with a turnover of between R1 million and R2.5 million per annum) that are using courier services at least once a month

Methodology: Adtest conducted personal interviews. The number of completed personal interviews were:
100 individual consumers
105 micro-businesses
100 small businesses.

Analysis: The findings will enable SpeedWay to understand the different reactions of the three (3) sample segments towards the advertisement. It is therefore important that the data analysis allows for comparisons between the three segments.

Questionnaire: Below is a copy of the questionnaire.

Question 1: Which company first comes to mind when you think about courier companies in South Africa? Mention only the one company that first comes to mind.

I AM NOW GOING TO SHOW YOU A PROPOSED ADVERTISEMENT FOR ONE OF THE COURIER COMPANIES IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Question 2: Thinking about the advertisement that you just watched, for which courier company is the advertisement?

Question 3: On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = Very difficult to understand and 5 = Very easy understand, rate what the advertisement is communicating?

Question 4: Which two of the following statements best describe your interpretation of what the advertisement is communicating? Choose only two statements.

Question 5: Please rate the advertisement on each of the following elements using a scale of 1 – 5 where 1 = Very Poor, 3 = Average and 5 = Very Good

Question 6:   To what degree do you think this advertisement fits the perceptions you already have about SpeedWay?

Question 7: Please rate each of the individual elements of the advertisement on a scale of 1 – 5 where 1 = Very poor and 5 = Excellent

Question 8: How much do you like or dislike the advertisement? Use a scale of 1 -5 where 1 = Dislike it a lot, 3 = Feel neutral and 5 = Like it a lot.

Question 9: Now that you have seen this advertisement, which ONE word best describes your perception of SpeedWay?

Follow the following steps to complete this assignment:

STEP 1: Read carefully through the scenario above.

STEP 2: Download the Excel data spreadsheet containing the captured data for the completed survey.

STEP 3: Answer Questions 12 and 13 in a Word document (converted into a PDF document).

STEP 4: Answer Question 14 in a PowerPoint document (converted into a PDF document).

Question 12
Analyse the data for each question by calculating percentages or averages. It is important to analyse the data in such a way that when you answer assessment Questions 2 (Executive summary) and 3 (PowerPoint presentation) you will be able to highlight the similarities and differences between the three sample segments.
(12)
One (1) mark will be awarded for the answers to each question in the data sheet, provided the answers for all three datasets are correct.
Rounding is allowed, provided the rounding principles are applied correctly. NO MARKS will be awarded for the calculation steps.
Question 13
Compose a two (2) page executive summary. Include all the components of an executive summary (as explained in the study guide).
(10)
Marks will be awarded for populating all the key components of an executive summary correctly.
Marks will be deducted if the two (2) page limit is exceeded.
Question 14
Illustrate the outcomes of the market research project in a PowerPoint presentation. Cover all the aspects of a visual presentation (as discussed in the study guide).
(23)

Marks will be awarded for populating all the components of a visual presentation correctly.

Answers to Above Questions on Research Project

Answer 1:

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