Methods in Business Research: Blazon Advertising Agency

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

Mr. Irfan M. Khan, Chief Co-ordinator, Marketing of Blazon Advertising Agency gave us a research project to work on. This particular research project was related to the electronic media advertising branch of Blazon as is evident by their management problem:

“What is the most feasible television channel  and the most favourable time for telecasting the advertisement of a consumer product?”

 

The product to be advertised is an FMCG ( a shampoo ). The shampoo is targeted towards a market consisting of young women between the ages 17 and 30 years. The population is characterised by hair that is dry and full of dandruff.

Based on the management problem provided to us by Blazon Advertising Agency, we formulated the following research objectives:

1. To determine the different viewer ship timings of the female population of Karachi.
2. To determine the most popular medium of entertainment for the female population of Karachi.
3. To determine the most popular television network amongst the female population of Karachi.
4. The penultimate objective of this research is to determine the best medium, the best network and the best timing in which marketers should air a new advertisement of an FMCG so as to obtain the maximum viewer ship for that ad.

 

Based on the above mentioned research objectives, the following hypotheses were formulated:

1.65% or more of the population has television as its major mode of electronic entertainment.

2.60% or more of the population spend the majority of their time watching the PTV network on television.

3.70% or more of the population watches the evening transmission of television i.e. between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

 

Research Methodology:

The population of the research was defined through the following criteria:

1. the population is composed of females between the ages of 17 and 30 years living in Karachi.
2. each member of the population owns a television set.
3. each member of the population watches atleast one hour of T.V. in a day.

 

A  sample of 250 respondents was selected which represented the above defined population. The quantitative method of data collection was employed through the use of a survey questionnaire.

 

 

Research Limitations:

Our research basically faced the following limitations:

1. the research was conducted in and was limited to the female population of the city of Karachi.
2. administering the questionnaire to females was difficult; we were driven out of several households by irate husbands, brothers or fathers of such females. This limitation was countered, however, by going to retail outlets and malls where the women could easily be approached.

 

Research Findings:

Upon thorough hypothesis testing, we found that two of our hypotheses had been accepted, whereas one was rejected. The findings were:

1. 65% or more of the population has television as its major mode of electronic entertainment.
2. less than 60% of the population spend the majority of their time watching the PTV network on television.
3. 70% or more of the population watches the evening transmission on television i.e. between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

 

 

 

ABOUT THE REPORT

 

We approached the Blazon Advertising Agency in search of a project for our MBR report. This agency is involved in various advertising activities across the city. These include the following:

• accumulation and disbursement of marketing statistics.
• placement of advertising billboards for client companies.
• placements of advertisements in the print media ( e.g. newspapers and magazines ) for client companies.
• airing advertisements in the electronic media.

 

Although Blazon Advertising Agency was working on a number of research projects when we first approached them, they opted to give us a problem for conducting our very own independent research. Mr. Irfan M. Khan, who is the Chief Co-ordinator, Marketing of Blazon Advertising Agency, allowed us to work on the project which was related to the electronic media advertising branch of Blazon as is evident by their management problem:
“What is the most feasible television channel and the most favourable time for telecasting the advertisement of a consumer product?”

 

 

Management Problem Details:

Some particular details that were important to the outcome of this report are mentioned here. These details cover the product as well as the market at which it is targeted.

1. The Product:

The product to be advertised is a fast moving consumer good ( a shampoo ). The shampoo treats hair that is characterised as being dry and full of dandruff. It is also important to mention the fact that this particular shampoo is a feminine product and, as such, is targeted towards the female gender exclusively.

 

2. The Target Market:

The product is targeted towards the younger female population of the city aged between 17 and 30 years. This population is characterised by hair that is dry, frisky and full of dandruff. The population also falls within the income bracket of Rs.5000 – 30,000 and above, thereby reflecting the fact that the product is generally focusing upon penetrating the middle, upper middle andupper income gruops of the female population.

 

3. “Dichotomy” of the problem:

The management problem seeks to find out the most feasible television channel for airing an advertisement on the one hand, and the most favourable time for telecasting that ad on the other. It attempts to reconcile the findings of these problems in the form of a single advertising campaign. Hence, one cannot speak of dichotomizing the problem into two irreconcilable parts since the results of the management problem must be taken together in order to launch a successful advertising campaign.

 

 

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES & HYPOTHSES:

 

Defining the Research Problems:

Firstly and foremostly, we set about defining exactly what the management problem demanded. That is, the management problem was broken down into several intermediate research problems that demanded individual attention. For example, we extracted the following problems from the main management problem:

1. What is the major mode of electronic entertainment for the targeted female population?
2. What is the most popular television network that this population watches?
3. What is the most common viewer ship time of this population ( i.e. morning, afternoon, evening, or late night )?

 

Based on the afore mentioned research problems, it was relatively easy to formulate the research objectives of the project which were merely research problems converted into statements.

 

Research Objectives of the Project:

 

1. To determine the most popular medium of electronic entertainment for the female population of Karachi.
2. To determine the most popular television network amongst the female population of Karachi.
3. To determine the different viewer ship timings of the female population of Karachi.
4. The penultimate objective of this research project is to determine the best medium, the best network and the best timing in which marketers should air an advertisement of an FMCG so as to attain maximum viewer ship for that ad.

 

Research Hypotheses:

Based on the above mentioned research objectives, the following hypotheses for the research were formulated:

1. 65% or more of the population has television as its major mode of electronic entertainment.
2. 60% or more of the population spend the majority of their time watching the PTV network on television.
3. 70% or more of the population watch the evening transmission ( between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. ) of television.

 

 

 

“WHAT WAS DONE.”

 

Once the research objectives and the relevant hypotheses had been formulated, we went about starting the process of conducting the research. This involved the determination of the population along with the collection of data from the defined population. It also included a thorough testing of all the hypotheses that had priorly been formulated.

The following, therefore, is a detailed description of how the research was conducted:

 

Defining the Population:

Firstly and foremostly, the population upon which the research was to be conducted was defined. An exact definition of the population was arrived at through the following criteria:

1. The population is composed of females between the ages 17 – 30 years and living in the city of Karachi.
2. Each member of the population owns a television set.
3. Each member of the population watches atleast one hour of television in a day.

 

Determining the Relevant Sample:

A sample of 250 respondents was selected which represented the above defined population. Questionnaires were distributed in this sample using the “unaided judgement” technique. The samples were distributed area wise as shown below:

 

Area                            Sample Size

Defense                                   40

Clifton                                     40

PECHS                                    40

Nazimabad                              45

Gulshan                                   45

Federal B Area                       40

Total:                                      250

 

 

Data Collection Techniques:

As mentioned earlier, we used the quantitative method of collecting data through the extensive use of survey questionnaires. Before administering the questionnaires to the sample, they underwent a thorough pre-testing. The main pre-testing method employed was that of “debriefing” in which the pre-testing respondents were asked to comment upon any difficulties they had faced while filling out the questionnaire. Through this process, the difficult/dubious questions in the questionnaire were either eliminated or rephrased in order to facilitate the respondents.

The number of questionnaires ultimately distributed equalled the sample size i.e. 250. Non response error was avoided by giving the questionnaire to every other respondent if some person had failed to respond.

 

Statistical Analysis of Hypotheses:

Based on the data collected through the questionnaires, each hypothesis was tested using the following formula:

 

z = ( x – np ) / npq

 

A null hypothesis was either accepted or rejected and thus, the findings of the research were obtained.

 

Hypothesis # 1:

 

Ho: 65% 0r more of the population has television as its major mode of electronic entertainment.

Hi: less than 65% of the population has television as its major mode of electronic entertainment.

 

Step 1: Ho: p

 

 

RESEARCH FINDINGS & LIMITATIONS:

 

The results obtained from the hypothesis testing have been described in point form below:

1. 65% or more of the population has television as its major mode of electronic entertainment
2. less than 60% of the population spend the majority of their time watching the PTV network on television.
3. 70% or more of the population watches the evening transmission on television i.e. between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

 

Research Limitations:

Our research basically faced the following limitations:

1. The research was conducted in and its findings were limited to the female population of Karachi.
2. Administering the questionnaires to females proved to be a difficult task; we were often driven out of households by irate husbands, brothers and fathers of such females. This limitation was countered, however, by going to retail outlets and malls where the women could easily be approached.