NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

NUS Business School

Department of Marketing

BMA5524 Applied Market Research

Lecturer : Practice Assoc Prof Ashok Charan

Session : Semester II, 2009/2010

Course Instructor

Ashok Charan

Tel: 94871549

E-mail:

Course Description

Introduction

The digital age has fundamentally altered the manner we collect, process, analyse and disseminate market intelligence. Driven by advances in hardware, software and communications, the very nature of market research is rapidly changing. New techniques are emerging. The increased velocity of information flow enables marketers to respond with much greater speed to changes in the marketplace. Market research is timelier, less expensive, more actionable and more precise ... all of which makes it of far greater importance to marketers.

This course is primarily designed for marketing professionals. It is intended to train students to use market knowledge for day-to-day marketing decisions. The focus is on real events in today’s marketplace, on how marketers employ research. The course will provide good understanding of some of the most prevalent research techniques and their application.

Modules

The course covers the application of research across following 5 broad areas of marketing:

1.  Product

2.  Advertising and Brand Image

3.  In-Store: Category Management, Price and Promotions

4.  Brand Health

5.  New Product Launch

Research techniques in each of these areas are rehearsed through concepts, research methods and case studies. Basic content details are provided in the attached outline of the modules.

Assessment

Assessment will be based entirely on case studies. Students will be required to study each of the 8 cases and prepare an analysis on key aspects of the case. In addition, students within teams will be required to analyse one case study in detail and present their analysis to the class for discussion.

Case Studies

·  Case analysis (individual) 70%

·  Case Presentation (team) 20%

·  Participation in class (individual) 10%

List of Case Studies

·  Analysis of Fab’s product characteristics and their relative importance

·  Shopper Trends in Singapore

·  SuperFresh: Space Management of Breakfast Cereals

·  Who’s eating my Cheese?

·  Yakult $9.99

·  Vizag 1991 – launch of a Concentrate Detergent Powder

·  Hectomalt

·  Horlicks Growing Up Milk: Launch evaluation

This course should serve to provide students an understanding of the tools that marketers use to understand their markets, understand their consumers and connect with them. It should also provide you an understanding of the changes shaping today’s marketplace and how marketers are responding to those changes.

Course Reading Materials and Documents

All course reading materials and other documents will be posted on to the net.

Course Outline

1. Brand, its Equity, Image and Attributes

l  Introduction.

­  Participants expectations from course

­  Course Outline

­  Team formation

l  Brand & Brand Image

l  Conjoint Analysis

l  Case Briefing: Fab Detergent Bar

2. How Advertising Works

l  Case presentation and Discussion: Fab Detergent Bar

l  How Advertising Works

3. Advertising Research

l  Ad Pre-test

l  Advertising and Brand Tracking

l  Advisor Installation and training

l  EPIC

l  Ad Evaluation Exercise

4. Brand Equity: Winning Brands

l  Brand Equity and Winning Brands

l  Case Briefing: Shopper Trends in Singapore

5. Category Management

l  Shopper Trends in Singapore: Case analysis and discussion

l  Category Management

l  Case Briefing: Cereals Space Management

6. Price and Promotions Research

l  Cereals Space Management: Case analysis and discussion

l  Promotions evaluation

l  Price elasticity

l  Case briefing and preparation – Yakult $9.99

7. Retail Measurement Services

l  Case discussion and analysis – Yakult $9.99

l  Introduction to Retail Measurement Services

l  Workshop on Basic Business Issues and Analysis

l  Briefing on Case Study: “Who’s eating my cheese”

8. Business Issues – RMS

l  Who’s Eating My Cheese: Case analysis and discussion

l  Business Issue: Demand and Supply

l  Business Issue: Sales and Distribution Strategies

9. Sampling, ePC, Consumer Panels

l  Sampling Statistics

l  ePC: Electronic Product Code, RFID

l  Introduction to Consumer Panels

l  Case briefing – Vizag

10. Innovation

l  Vizag: Case analysis and discussion

l  Delphi – Overall Review

l  Innovation

l  Case Briefing: Hectomalt

11. New Product Launch – Research

l  Hectomalt: Case analysis and discussion

l  Parfitt Collin’s Model

l  Case Briefing: Horlicks Growing Up Milk

l  Qualitative Research

l  Questionnaire Design

l  Course Feedback

12. Course Revision

l  Horlicks Growing Up Milk: Case analysis and discussion

l  Online Research

l  Course Revision