Ad-Lider Embalanges SA.
a) What are the advantages and advantages of this approach?
First of all, there are only 2 social classes included in the research (A-B) and class C is missing, however it accounted for %28 of Brazil’s total consumption. Also, since Brazil is developing country, this class is the fastest developing social class as well. Moreover, the focus groups were selected from only southeast of the city, but I think at least one Northern city should be included and the focus groups should be selected homogenously in terms of demographic features. For instance, they have only selected house housewives from Rio, and the other features of the participants are not distinctive enough (or too complex). The timing of the research is not quite right since the two big competitor product was just released to the market (Dover Roll and Limp-o Lixo), at least the participants’ opinions might not been accurate. Also, it is natural for them to not to know about the newly released products.
On the other hand, the research company targeted women which is a smart thing to do since %74 of purchases were made by them. Also, they have a pretty good outline for the interviews, except than some flaws.
b) How would you recruit the participants?
First of all, I would select my participants from southeast and north Brazil (Sao Paulo, Rio and another city from north) and participants should be members of A, B and C social classes. Also, I would select the participants more homogenously. For instance, I would select house housewives and apartment housewives from every city and social class and then I would add other distinctive factors such as marital status, age, lifestyle and education, the main thing is these features should be exist homogenously in participants. For instance; if we have married women with children from Sao Paulo, then we must have the same kind of group of women from Rio and the other city.
c) How many groups would you conduct?
I would conduct at least 8 groups which would be married women children lives in house vs. single women lives in houses, married women children lives in apartment vs. single women lives in apartments also I would add the social class factor to all groups and it would be 8 groups in total.
d) The current outline seems decent, so I would not change much. First of all, I would take an encouraging approach in the interviews in order to encourage participants to talk more freely and get more accurate answers.
Since we do not offer a eco-friendly product and environmental issues and recycling is irrelevant, I would skip 4th part. I would also ask our new product’s disadvantages in the 7th.
e) First off, both in Sao Paulo women are the dominant factor in purchasing decisions, but in Rio men are a bit more involved with these decisions. So, the women dominancy varies over cities and marital status. Women are more rational and consistent shoppers than men, they often develop brand loyalty, therefore capturing women is crucial. Participant from Sao Paulo lives in apartments do not know much brands and they prefer only black bags. The black (or darker) bags perceived as more resistant and color is more important in Sao Paulo whereas people in Rio prefer blue and more transparent bags. Dover Roll is more preferred in Rio due to its “ease to use” and resistance. For Sao Paulo participants color is the second decision factor right after price, and then comes the resistance. On the other hand, in Rio resistance is primary and then color comes secondly. Thus, Clip Fecha Facil has to have diffirent colors (green, black and blue) since color is an important factor in buying process. Moreover, the participants who live in Sao Paulo prefer larger black garbage bags (if available), but they also mentioned closing such larger bags is hard. It means there is a need for Climp Fecha Facil. Participants also mentioned about disordered shelves in supermarkets and the accessibility of products, which reveals that since there isn’t much brand recognition promotion and placing the new product in supermarkets is also important. According to the data, box (packaging) look too chic and expensive.
f) My budget would be a bit more; I can’t estimate an amount because there is no such info.
g) I would use at least three colors and distribute them to stores according to customer preferences. Also, I would allow participants to test the product in order to get accurate feedback about resistance, quality and perception of the product.