Chapter 11: Case Three: Lifebuoy/Unilever Asia Private Limited, p. 168
1. The camera follows a little boy around his back yard and through the wooded lot to the old baseball diamond, before he makes his way down an alley to his best friend’s house. Along the way his hands encounter a multitude of things from bugs to a frog and an old toy he found in the trash while walking down the alley. While at his friend’s house his mother calls him home for supper and his hands make contact with even more questionable substance! Upon entering his house his mother tells him to wash his hands so hastily he washes his hand and hurries to the table. He jumps up on his chair and reaches for a drum stich as hastily as he washed his hands. Just before his hand reaches the drum stick the camera freezes. The camera then pans in on his hand to a microscopic level revealing no germs before panning back out and sending everything back into motion as the family scurries to the dining room table to eat. The commercial ends as the camera pans in on the bottle of Lifebuoy soap on the bathroom sink.
2. Lifebuoy’s first attempt to market this new hand soap was based on its lab proven ability to kill more germs than the leading competitor. Consumers where so convinced their brand was better they did not believe Lifebuoy’s claims. Lifebuoy was determined not to make the same mistake twice and thus searched for another angle. While observing children an associate had an idea; tie the faster acting more effective soap to the hasty behavior of children and appeal to the parent’s natural sense of caring for their children.
3. Quantitative research was first used, as the lab had discovered through quantitative research that their product killed more germs, and also killed them faster. When the consumers using the well-established competitors brand, looked right past proven results, Lifebuoy new it needed to take a different approach. This new approach would turn out to be a qualitative one. The mix of children hastily washing their hands and the lab results finally captured a piece of the market for Lifebuoy.
4. I suppose it does, if that is what inspired the name. To be honest, before this question I did not even link the name to the products functionality or usefulness. While in actuality, life buoy might be a bit strong a comparison it does send a message about the soap.
5. I would certainly leverage all of my research results to make my efforts worthwhile. Just because consumers didn’t bite the first time around doesn’t mean the information is worthless. Once the new strategy sets the company up in a portion of the market, retaining customers becomes as important as winning new ones and this information becomes of value.
6. If I were the competitor I would somehow find a way to cut prices, and call on R&D to improve the current product or better yet come up with an extra strength version or child formula. Lowering the cost of the current product will hold on to the more frugal customers that do not recognize the value in the Lifebuoy product. This gives the competitor time to go back to the drawing board and counter the Lifebuoy soap with something “better”.

Chapter 10. Ex. 2: Identify one traditional family and one nontraditional family (or household) featured in a TV sitcom or series. (The two families/households can be featured in the same or in different television shows). Classify the traditional group into one stage of the traditional FLC. Classify the nontraditional group into one of the categories described in Table 10-6. Select two characters of the same gender and approximate age, one from each group, and compare their consumption behavior (such as clothes, furniture, stated or implied attitudes toward spending money). The sitcom I have selected is called Reba and it portrays Reba McEntire, the famous country singer as a single mom raising a family in close proximity to her ex-husband and his hilariously dingy blonde wife. Her daughter Cheyenne, who had a baby out of wedlock while still in high school, lives with her along with her husband and father of her baby Van. Reba also has a younger daughter Kyra and a much younger son. While this description paints a picture of dysfunction it seems to have become the norm in the contemporary American family. I will draw both my families from this family structure and keep this simple. Reba, while a little abstract and certainly sarcastic, is the most traditional of the bunch, while Van and Cheyenne, not so much. They live in a world where everything is handed to them and as they struggle to find themselves little sister Kyra (every bit as sarcastic as her mother) was always happy to point out how flawed they were. Cheyenne and Van fall under the honeymooner stage and it is to some extent multiplied due to their living arrangements. Reba on the other hand falls under a mix of stages seeing as how there is no stage mentioned for single parents. This leaves Reba hoovering between parenthood and dissolution. If we compare Reba and Cheyenne we find Reba the frugal single mother that must make every penny count and Cheyenne still consumed in her cheer leader world and materialistic.

Chapter 11. Ex. 2: Think of various routines in your everyday life (such as grooming or food preparation). Identify one ritual and describe it. In your view, is this ritual shared by others? If so, to what extent? What are the implications of your ritualistic behavior to the marketer(s) of the product(s) you use during your routine? I brush my teeth a lot. After every meal and sometimes just because my mouth does not feel fresh. It is so bed sometimes that my mouth will be a bit soar. I think there are others that do the same but I’m not sure to what extent. The products involved are tooth brush, toothpaste, and mouth wash. I suppose a marketer could take an angle on a tooth brush that is easy on the mouth or a company could develop a toothpaste designed for frequent brushers.