Group Assignment 1

For both group assignments you should make a group of 2-3 students.

For assignment 1, you will investigate one of the consumer trends identified below in the list and you are assigned a trend alphabetically according to your first name.

Plan to do research in other information sources (such as the library, talking to people, interviewing business people, contacting trade groups, surfing the net, conducting a survey, etc.) to document the trend you are given. For example, research a notable company/product/service that shows/reflects your trend, then locate quality articles that describe the latest of "what's happening" in that industry as it reflects consumer behavior.

Evidence of the trend can be provided through any of the following: products, promotional examples, pricing, market segments, retailing, shifts in consumer behavior that may result from marketing activities. You may also incorporate information on how the trend may be undermined by other, competing trends and/or identify how the trend is evolving or generating a new trend. Finally, you may incorporate more than one trend in your paper IF they are inter-related, e.g. cocooning with "little luxuries" is shown in the trends in home furnishings and aromatherapy environments.

Social Media Use and Application of the Company

You will identify and analyze your chosen company's social media marketing tactics. The goal will be to understand the overall use of their social media to promote the trend through its product(s)/service(s). You will discuss how effective is the company in using social media to raise awareness, influence desire, encourage product/service trial, facilitate purchase and create loyalty. You should analyze the use of social media tools including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinetrest, and YouTube among others.

The paper should be 4 to 5 double-spaced pages in length (not including references, or any exhibits, etc.), of which 1 to 2 pages should be allocated to the company's use of social media.

Complete your assignment on one of the trends listed below according to the first name using the following rule. Choose the person in the group whose first name comes first alphabetically, and then:

If his or her first name begins with A to C, then the group is assignede

Cocooning. Consumers are shielding themselves from the harsh, unpredictable realities of the outside world and creating safe, "homelike" environments.

First name begins: D to F

Clanning. Consumers seek comfort and reinforcement of those who share their values and beliefs - or even their interests.

First name begins: G to I

Egonomics. Feeling unconnected in the depersonalized information age, consumers are drawn to customized, individualized products and services.

First name begins: J to M

99 Lives. Consumers are forced to assume multiple roles to cope with the time pressures produced by every busier roles.

First name begins: N to R

Being Alive. Recognizing the importance of wellness, consumers embrace the concept of not only a longer but a better overall quality of life.

First name begins: S to Z

S.O.S. (Save Our Society). Concerned with the fate of the planet, consumers respond to marketers who exhibit a social conscience attuned to ethics, environment, and education.

Group Assignment 2-

Depth Interview: Conduct an in-depth interview with someone who is not taking this class, about a recent purchase. Understand how the owner or user feels about the product or service in terms that can be useful to a marketing manager. The interview should be about a product or service costing either less than QR. 20 (low involvement) or over QR.400 (high involvement) that either performs a utilitarian function or a product the customer feels, reveals something about the kind of person he or she is (value-expressive function).

Objective: Your goal in the interview will be to discover how the decision-making process unfolded leading up to this purchase decision:
Need recognition: What led this consumer to realize that he or she needed or wanted to buy in this product category?
Information search: How many alternatives did the consumer consider?

Evaluation of alternatives: How favorable was the consumer's evaluation of these alternatives? What product attributes were important to this consumer, and how favorably did the consumer perceive these different alternatives to perform on those attributes?

Product choice: Which product did the person buy? Why did the person decide to buy the alternative that he or she chose?

Post-choice evaluation: Will the person buy this same product (and brand) again? Why or why not?

Methodologies: In addition to asking questions such as the ones listed above to determine the consumer's decision-making process, please select any one of the following two methodologies to enrich your analysis. Please include a discussion of what you learn using these methodologies within the text of your write-up, and include graphical illustrations of your results as exhibits at the end of the paper.

1. Laddering: Many interviewers find it useful to use a laddering technique to prompt the consumer to tell you the key benefits/values that they associate with important product attributes. First, ask them to name an important attribute of the product, and then ask them why it is important to them that the product has that attribute. After they answer, ask them why it is important that they get that benefit, and then why it is important to them that they get that benefit, and so on, until you have obtained a higher-level, more-abstract motivation underlying their preference for the attribute. For example, a consumer choosing a salty snack might say it is important for them to have a flavored potato chip because it has a strong taste, which produces the benefit of them eating less, which means they will not gain weight, which will enhance their self-esteem. In this way, you can use laddering to learn about the higher-order needs the product could meet (e.g., self-esteem, peace of mind, safety).

2. Associative Map: Ask the interviewee to tell you what associations (e.g., beliefs, feelings, memories, etc.) they have with the different choice alternatives. For example, ask them the first word that comes to mind when they think of the brand they chose; then ask them the associations they have to that first word; repeat until you can graphically depict the network of consumer's associations to the brand they chose. Try to discover which of the consumer's underlying higher level needs were associated with purchasing that brand.