Consumer Insight Report PDF

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MKTG204 Integrated Marketing Communications Department of Marketing and Management Faculty of Business and Economics

D1 Day; Offered in Session 2, North Ryde 2017

Assessment Task 2b: Consumer insight report Student ID

First name and last name

Tutor/Tutorial class:

Your report should be written in 12-point Times New Roman, single space. Your report must not exceed 3.5 pages excluding the cover page and appendices. Your report should have logical flow of argument. Succinct. Well signposted. Tables, graphs and diagrams are appropriately used to present the evaluation of findings in an easy to read format. No missing, incorrect or inconsistent references.

Last updated: 2 May 2021

1. Executive summary Integrated Marketing Communications or IMC as stated by (Burgman & Kitchen, 2010), is a research-based, audience-focused and result-driven communication planning process which aims to achieve clarity and consistency in the overall positioning of the brand. From the analysis of the reports results, students are able to deepen their understanding of how certain aspects of their Pitch Project need to be completed in order to achieve the best success in their marketing campaign. This report provides an analysis of the results obtained from a study on food, the consumer’s relationship with it; and key constructs related to it. The research investigated whether a specific type of advertisement image would lead the consumer to view any of the six constructs (brand attitude, ad attitude, social proof, sociableness of food experience, source attractiveness, source familiarity) more favourably than another image, as well as survey questions for all respondents. The study used a large-scale survey of 1541 participants to gather their primary quantitative data. The results from the study were analysed using a mixture of 5-point bipolar and unipolar scales. The report has two main findings. The first is that in order to increase brand attitude it has to be done second hand, through social proof. The report recommends that this can be achieved by using images such as image three in the study as it directly increased social proof and therefore brand attitude. The second is that 49.3% of respondents consider themselves to be ‘foodies’, with the majority being female. Using this data an estimate can be obtained of how many foodie consumers there are in the target population, so a correct target market can be estimated.

2. Evaluation of the findings The study undertaken consisted of 1541 participants to be included in the data analysis. 750, or 49% of these participants were male and 791 were female, with all participants aged between 18-28 years. Due to the Pitch Project having a primary focus on foodie consumers aged between 18-25, there is significance between the results of this study to the Pitch Project. The study itself was divided into 2 sections. Part A was an experimental study, made up of a small number of randomised participants from the pool of 1541 to make up the sample group. Part B was a foodie survey which was inclusive of all participants. Within the experimental study, brand attitude is one of the key constructs discussed. Brand attitude, or brand likeability is the opinion of consumers towards a product which is determined through market research as noted by (Mitchell & Olson, 1981). Specifically, it is discussed in relation to how much other variables such as social proof and attitude could significantly influence it. The Pitch Project’s communication objectives include raising brand attitude from 0-20% within three months and it has to be achieved through aspects that can be controlled, such as advertising. The ‘comparison of two means’ from the three advertisements, or Table 3 (Pitt & Ang 2016) identifies that the impact that advertising has on brand attitude is (p = 0.495), (p = 0.412) and (p = 0.859). Furthermore, within the multiple Consumer Insight Report 15%

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regressions analysis, advertising attitudes as an influencer of brand attitude sits at (p = 0.466). Thus, it can be said that the different advertising strategies show there is no direct impact on brand attitude. Other constructs which do not influence brand attitude include sociableness of food experience, hunger, background familiarity and background attractiveness. Therefore, as the Pitch Project focuses mainly on advertising, and since advertising does not have a direct impact on brand attitude, another construct would have to be identified that successfully impacts brand attitude second hand. In Table 4 (Pitt & Ang 2016) ‘Multiple regression results’, social proof (p = 0.029) is identified as having a direct influence on brand attitude with every one unit increase in social proof, resulting in a 0.243 brand attitude increase. (Amblee & Bui, 2014) states that social proof is the degree to which an individual relies on the people around them (either in real life or online) to determine if a particular product or service is good. Table 3 (Pitt & Ang 2016) also identifies that social proof is able to be influenced by advertising strategies. The comparison of advertisement 1 versus 2 is (p = 0.064), 2 versus 3 is (p = 0.398) and finally advertisement 1 versus 3 is (p = 0.009). The utilisation of advertisement 3 (p = 0.009) over advertisement 1 and 2 would, therefore, be most effective in influencing the consumer in viewing the brand as more popular, hence increasing the overall brand attitude. In the terms of the Pitch Project an image similar to that of image three in this study, that is a group of friends eating cookies as opposed to an individual or no people, should be used in order to most effectively increase brand attitude. Going onto section 2, on average, respondents had a positive attitude towards food and their relationship with it. A 5-point bipolar scale from -2 (“Very untrue of me”) to 2 (“Very true of me”) in conjunction with the statement “I am a foodie” was used to assess if a participant could be considered a foodie consumer. Of those surveyed, 49.3% of 760 fell into the fourth and fifth construct (See ‘Graph 1’ appendix). That is, they believe that the statement “I am a foodie” is “true of me” and “very true of me”. In Sydney 2016, 17% of the total population, or 38,162 individuals were aged between 18-24 years as depicted by (Hinchy, 2016). As a result of the Pitch Project focusing on foodies in this age group, it is estimated using these results, that 18,813 of this population will be foodies and will make up the Pitch Projects target market. Moreover, 446 of the total 791 females (56.4%) and 314 of the total 750 males (41.87%) selected top two tiers of the ‘I am a foodie’ question as their answer, indicating that females are more likely to regard themselves as foodies. Other unipolar and bipolar scale questions such as “food is …. my passion”, “I have … interest in food”, “what picture best describes your relationship with food?” and “what picture best describes your feelings when talking about food?” are all indicative of this same trait. Females always showed a higher response to the top two answers for each question (54.9%, 70.5%, 60% and 81.7% respectively) compared to the males (42.8%, 60%, 47.2% and 75.1% respectively) (See ‘Graph 2’ appendix). One way that the Pitch Project could target their core demographic would be advertising during prime-time television as studies show that women are more likely to be watching during that period as discussed by (Dix & Phau, 2017). Also, it would be recommended that every advertisement should have the brand logo at the forefront of the screen, and a catchy slogan to increase brand awareness as denoted by (Medal, 2018). This Consumer Insight Report 15%

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will further develop the communication objective of increasing brand awareness from 0-20% in three months. The 5-point bipolar scale question “Which picture best describes your feelings when you talk about food?” had the highest response rate in the top two tiers. That is, most respondents answered 1 (“Love”) or 2 (“Love very much”) with 1209 out of 1541 respondents choosing either of these answers. This emphasises that even known individuals may not consider themselves to be foodies, or have a particularly great relationship with food, they generally love to talk about it. Therefore, for the Pitch Project, two-way communication, or feedback from the respondents should be encouraged, especially since the Sydney region is there to test the market and strategies before releasing the national campaign.

3. Recommendations and justifications The results of the research were indicative of various consumer responses to questions relating to food and how they view it. The changes in consumer behaviour in relation to each question and the visual stimuli of the three advertisements should be considered in order to successfully implement a marketing campaign in the Pitch Project. Advertisements should utilise images of a group of people laughing and sharing cookies, with the image of the product, brand logo and slogan taking precedence at the bottom of the advertisement and take up at least 1/5 th of the entire thing. This concept can be effectively incorporated into the posters, internet advertisement, website, TV advertisements, print advertisement and social media advertisement for the Pitch Project. This will be most effective as a result of images, such as this one, are more effective in influencing the consumer to view the brand as more popular, therefore increasing social proof. Moreover, as social proof is increased the overall brand attitude becomes is also increased and becomes more popular, fulfilling the Pitch Projects campaign objective to increase brand attitude from 0-20% within three months. The Pitch Project also requires that all deliverables should exhibit variation whilst showing the same theme and portraying the key message of ‘gourmet sensations and indulgence’. In order to achieve effective variation, it is recommended that figurative images should be utilised over literal images. As stated by (Shi, 2014), figurative images will increase attention span of 17-27 year olds by 19%. Therefore, foodie consumers will pay more attention to the Pitch Project advertisement. Furthermore, including a catchy slogan that is repetitive should also be encouraged. The slogan should be simple yet tune like, thus ensuring it will be more likely to remember it. Furthermore, the logo design should be simple, almost to the point where if you remove the words or name of the brand, it should still be recognisable as stated by (Bowker, 2014). This will help reach the objective of increasing brand awareness form 020% within three months and, as denoted by (Martin, 2017), 71% of consumers are more likely to buy a product or service they recognise. Overall, every advertisement should reflect the key message of the brand, that is, gourmet sensations and indulgence. As recommended by (Connolly, 2013), the website should reflect the brand perfectly and be on-message. So, it is recommended the website should be easy to use, clean, aesthetically pleasing, colourful, tell a story as well as having a meaningful homepage which informs the consumer of who you are and what you do. All other Consumer Insight Report 15%

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advertisements should also follow these same constructs in order to effectively portray a gourmet brand.

Further, as IMC is evidence-based, research should also go into how different images of cookies, influence a foodie consumers idea of ‘gourmet’ so that the most effective image could be utilised in the campaign. Now that the most effective visual stimuli have been identified, research would also have to go into how to make an effective radio advertisement, and what advertisements have been successful in the past as IMC is also audience focused and results driven. It is recommended that results come from a reputable study which focuses on the same target age group as the Pitch Project, to best ensure the results are relevant.

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References Amblee, N & Bui, T 2014, ‘Harnessing the Influence of Social Proof in Online Shopping: The Effect of Electronic Word of Mouth on Sales of Digital Microproducts’, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol 16, No. 2, accessed 28 September 2018 from Taylor and Francis Online. Bowker, J 2014, ‘Logo designs – 5 reasons why simple logos are better for business’, Effective Logos is a business, accessed 13 October 2018 from Gorilla Media Online. Burgman, I & Kitchen, P 2010, ‘Integrated marketing communication’, The importance of IMC, pp. 1-23, accessed 25 September 2018 from Wiley Journals online. Connolly, J 2013, ‘Website Dos and Don’ts for a Gourmet Brand’, Effective website design for Business’, accessed 12 October 2018 from Taylor and Francis Online. Dix, R & Phau, I 2017, ‘An Observation-Based Identifies Factors That Drive TV Channel Switching’, Predictors of Commercial Zapping During Live Prime-Time Television, Vol 57, No. 1, accessed 6 October 2018 from Journal of Advertising Research. Hinchy, M 2016, ‘Forecast age structure – Service age groups’, City of Sydney Population and age structure, accessed 3 October 2018 from Forecast ID demographic resources City of Sydney. Martin, M 2017, ‘71% of consumer more likely to buy a product or service from a name the recognise’, Global Insights and analysis of the financial and business markets, accessed 12 October 2018 from Global banking and finance review Online. Medal, M 2018, ‘6 Innovative Ways to Increase Brand Awareness’, Branding to stand out in a sea of noise, accessed 6 October 2018 from Entrepreneur Asia Pacific. Mitchell, A & Olson, J 1981, ‘Are Product Attribute Beliefs the Only Mediator of Advertising Effects on Brand Attitude?’, Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), Vol 18, No. 3, pp.1-15, accessed 28 September 2018 from American Marketing Association. Pitt, J. & Ang, L. (2016). MKTG204 Understanding foodie consumers and the influence of photographic depiction types of food ads on consumer responses: Assessment Task 2B, Session 1, 2016 Consumer insights survey results. North Ryde: Macquarie University. Shi, L 2014, ‘On Branding in the Western World With Figurative Content Factors: A Case of Established Versus Non-Established Brands’, Journal of Promotion Management, Vol 20, No. 3, accessed 12 October 2018 from Taylor and Francis Online.

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Appendix Graph 1 Response to question “I am a foodie” 600

Number of respondents

500

400

300

200

100

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Numer of respondents Very Untrue of me True of me

Untrue of me Very true of me

Neither true nor untrue of me

Graph 2 Male Versus female response to 2 top answers for each question 90

Percentage

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Question 2

Question 3 Males

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Question 5

Females

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