Kellogg's is the world's leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods; including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, frozen waffles, meat alternatives, pie crusts, and cones, with 2010 global sales of about $12.4 billion and a market share of more than 30 percent.

David Mackey, CEO of Kellogg's, takes pride in being part of the Kellogg's company because of the consistency of the decisions that are made within the company to promote the long-term growth of the business, as well as serve the needs of their people and communities.

With such a large market share, one would think that Kellogg's is untouchable. However, Kellogg's faced a slump in the market. Its cereal sales were declining, and it had to face the challenge of getting out of its slump. Kellogg's, therefore, turned to marketing research to identify the problem and develop several potential solutions to increase cereal sales.

Kellogg's used several tasks to identify the problem. The researchers spoke to decision makers within the company, interviewed industry experts and conducted a review of available data. Several important issues came out of this preliminary research. Current products were being targeted to kids.

Bagels and muffins were winning for favored breakfast foods. High prices were turning consumers to generic brands. Some other information also came to light during the research. Adults want quick foods that require very little or no preparation.

1. Which of the following examples from the case (if any) are forms of exploratory research?

a. Researchers conducted expert interviews

b. Researchers conducted secondary data analysis

c. Both a & b

d. Neither a nor b are examples of exploratory research

QUESTION 2

What type of information sources/data did Kellogg's use to collect this information? Select one answer choice only.

a. Primary data

b. Secondary data

c. Pluralistic data

d. Both a & b

QUESTION 3

Suppose the researchers did conduct secondary data analysis. Which of the following could be examples of information sources used in this case?

a. Breakfast food industry journals, reports, and white papers

b. Tracking data of all breakfast foods sold by Kellogg's in the past three years

c. Purchased syndicated data of all breakfast foods sold by top breakfast food competitors in the past three years

d. All of the above are possible secondary information sources

QUESTION 4

If researchers did use tracking data of all breakfast foods sold by Kellogg's in the past three years, which component of the Marketing Information System (MIS) would that information represent?

a. Internal Records

b. Marketing Intelligence

c. Marketing Research

d. Marketing Decision Support System

QUESTION 5

Let's assume David Mackey agrees with the problem assessment and wants to conduct additional research at one point in time among a large sample group to provide information to help him potentially solve one of the business problems; Kellogg's may be targeting the wrong segment. As the market researcher assigned to this case, you are asked to prepare the research proposal for Mackey's approval.

First, you need to craft the research objectives.

Which of the following is a sound and complete research objective to help Mackey determine whether or not Kellogg's is targeting the wrong segment?

Conduct a study among consumers who eat breakfast at least three times per week to measure attitudes and perceptions about consuming Kellogg's cereals

Conduct in-store observations among consumers who eat breakfast at least three times per week between the ages of 25-65 years old

Conduct an online survey among consumers who eat breakfast at least three times per week and are between the ages of 25-65 years old to measure attitudes and perceptions about consuming Kellogg's cereals using a 7-point agreement scale

Conduct a series of depth interviews among consumers who eat breakfast at least three times per week and those who do not eat breakfast at least three times per week and compare the findings

QUESTION 6

Next, you need to recommend the appropriate research design to meet the objective above.

(Hint: Creating a research proposal/plan is a build-upon process. Once you have a solid objective that meets all 4 criteria, the rest of the proposal/plan (design, methods, primary data method) should align with the objective.)

Which research design would you recommend?

a. Exploratory

b. Descriptive

c. Casual

d. Pluralistic

QUESTION 7

With the research objective clearly defined and the appropriate research design recommendation, you are now ready to suggest the appropriate research methods.

Which research methods would you suggest in this case?

a. Focus groups

b. Depth interviews

c. Observations

d. Surveys

QUESTION 8

Based on the research method above, which data collection mode should you use?

a. Quantitative data collection

b. Qualitative data collection

c. Internal data collection

d. Mixed mode data collection

QUESTION 9

Assume your recommended research method is a survey.

What type of survey would you suggest in this case?

a. Longitudinal

b. Cross-sectional

c. External

d. Both b and c

QUESTION 10

What type of panel would you recommend using for this survey?

a. Continuous panel

b. Discontinuous panel

c. Recurring panel

d. None of the above

QUESTION 11

What are the final pieces of information needed to complete your research proposal?

a. Budget

b. Timeline

c. Summary of key findings

d. Both a & b