Qualitative Marketing Research

Individual Assignment

The Cocoa Trees launch of angry birds confectionery brand

Submitted to: Prof. Saripalli Bhavani Shankar IIM Indore

Submitted by: Vikash Kumar 2012PGP438

Situational Analysis: The Cocoa Tree has launched confectionary product in premium range. The product has been launched under the brand name of Angry Birds. Angry Birds is a game extremely popular among young smartphone users. The company is trying to leverage the popularity of Angry Bird through this initiative. The company has opened stores in Mumbai, Delhi and Goa. Through this research proposal, the researcher is trying to understand the influence of gaming brand on the sales of a confectionery product. Research Problem: Will the buzz around angry birds influence the sales of premium confectionary launched by The Cocoa Tree? What else the company should do to increase the sales of confectionary? Qualitative techniques to be used to collect data: As the new product is launched and the researcher is planning to understand the correlation between gaming brand and confectionery product, Focused Group Discussion appears to be a viable option. It will give the depth of viewpoints regarding the problem mentioned above: what else the company should do in order to increase the sales of new product launched. Following reasons guided me to use FGD: Exploration of the depth and nuances of opinions regarding uses of confectionery product is required Differences in perspectives of different user groups of confectionery product is required Factors influencing opinions and behaviour of customers of confectionery product can be best drawn out through FGD It is less costly, least time taking and easily manageable.

Detailed profiling of the respondents for the proposed study: House working/working lady (age 30-35 years, living in metro city, decent education) Marketing person who knows consumer behaviour of confectionary brand(experience of more than 5 years in the selling confectionery preferably MBA in marketing) Sales Manager of confectionery product(experience of more than 5 years in the selling confectionery, preferably MBA in marketing) Young angry bird user(male college going student, age 18-22 years) Young angry bird user(Female college going student, age 18-22 years) Retailer who sell gift items(selling experience of 5 years in Mumbai/Delhi)

Detailed guide with relevant questions to facilitate data collection: The FGD will be carried out in two sessions. Two separate groups of same profiling will be called for FGD. It will help the researcher to compare the findings of each group to felicitate better in decision making for further course of action. Following are some of the basic requirements which will be taken care of while conducting FGD: Moderator: It will be ensured that the moderator should

 be familiar with the discussion topic: how to increase the sales of premium confectionery product be able to speak the language spoken of the area; Delhi/Mumbai not act as a judge or a teacher not agree/disagree with what is said not put words in participants mouth be insensitive/unbiased to gender be polite and have respect for participants Sub-moderator: He/she will pen down important outcome of the discussion. Arrangements will be made to record the discussion, so that any reference can be drawn if required.
Steps in conducting the session

Logistical arrangements: Invitations All the participants will be contacted in advance, at least one to two weeks before the session. A letter of invitation will be sent to each participant, taking into consideration the prevailing practices in the area. Participants will also be reminded about the focus group discussion one day before the session. Group composition Six people will be contacted for the FGD. The group will comprise of marketing and sales people, housewife, young angry bird users and a retailer. The choice of participants depends on the topic of the focus group. Transportation To ensure attendance, transportation will be arranged for the participants from their residence to the focus group venue. Venue Focus group discussions can be conducted in a place where six persons can be seated and assured of some privacy. A hotel room will be arranged for this. Seating arrangements A circular seating arrangement will be done to facilitate healthy interaction among participants because it allows them to freely see and hear each other. Name tags name tags will be provided to each participants, which will facilitate identifying each one. Recording A trained sub-moderator will capture the discussion in writing and note the participants nonverbal expressions. Arrangements will also be made to record the FGD. Refreshments Refreshments will be served after the discussion as a small gesture of appreciation to the participants for having taken time off their work to participate. After a brief introduction, the purpose and scope of the discussion- influence of angry birds buzz on the sales of confectionery brand and ways to increase the sales will be explained. The discussion will be structured around the key themes using the probe questions prepared in advance. All the participants will be given the opportunity to participate. Moderator will stimulate the participants to talk to each other and encourage shy participants to speak.

Following are the prepared questions which will be discussed in the FGD 1) What is the brand image of angry birds in India? Why this question, its academic. 2) Is it same across all demographics of people? This you can tell after research.

3) How much is the willingness to pay for angry bird games among Indians? 4) Who play major role in purchase decision of confectionery in India? Usually children as they consume more, they have nagging power. 5) How much influence is created by children in buying decision of confectionary? 6) What role is played by brand for influencing purchase decision in confectionery market? Similar to first question. 7) Till what extent consumer will really relate this gaming brand to confectionery one? 8) How should they market their product to raise awareness among prospects? 9) What should the company do in order to influence children as they are not the buyers? 10) What is your view on the promotional offers for this product? 11) Is there willingness to pay at such a high price? Is the current price higher? 12) If not, what should have been the price range to drive sales? 13) Do you think that the no. of flavours launched is less? 14) Has India moved to consider confectionary as an important gift? 15) If yes, should the company focus on deploying its resources towards gifting item? 16) Can it be a substitute to sweets? Respondents cannot answer questions which are trying to map the consumption patterns or purchase price at India level. They will be able to tell you information that they have. You can choose only those respondents who are familiar with angry birds and then try to conduct data collection among them. This would help you in extracting data which will help in establishing relation between consumption of cocoa brand and angry bird. Plan for carrying out analysis of data: Several methods are there for analysing focus group discussion data. But considering the context of the problem, Constant comparison method appears to be a feasible option. Following steps will be followed to analyse the data: 17) Open Coding: The data recorded by the assistant moderator will be chunked into smaller units. A descriptor, or code will be attached to each units. 18) Axial Coding: These codes will be grouped into categories. 19) Selective Coding: One or more themes will be developed that can express the contents of each of the groups. Expectations from the study: This FGD will help the company to chart its second step to increase sales. Already the brand has been launched and also several attempts are being made to increase the no. of stores. Apart from all these initiatives, the company will get a right direction to focus its marketing strategy. Following are expected to dome out of the discussion: Is the company on the right track to leverage the brand name of angry birds? Can the confectionery be leveraged as a gifting option? What other ways can be adopted to increase the sales of angry birds confectionery product?