Week 2 EOC: Survey Research

EOC Week 6: Analysis of The Project in The Classroom

I found this fragrance project very informational; not just about the project itself, but about how market research is properly done. I like projects that really make me think and this project was one of them. It was fun trying to figure out what women really like about a fragrance in all aspects. Creating a product that women would actually buy was interesting to figure out and the target markets were interesting to research. Actually learning about fragrances and how they are made and how you spray them and all the notes made the think about what I personally like about my fragrance and how I use it. The discussion we had in class was enlightening and it was nice to read the different types of fragrances my fellow classmates came up with. Mr. Pinto is very knowledgeable about fragrances and it was nice to hear his point of view about our projects as well and giving us information we probably wouldn’t think of researching. I thought the results of my project were pretty interesting and the results I received from my survey was helpful in the event of me creating a imaginary fragrance. I will definitely make sure to use the information and tips I received from this project to use towards my final project.

Week 5 EOC: WSJ Privacy

I found the article very interesting, although I really take interest in some web advertisements before, they will be much more noticeable to me. This article really put into perspective how social media and advertising go hand in hand and they both need each other to make some sort of profit. How advertising agencies implement their ads is a little invasive to my personal taste though. While reading the article, I learned that some people really take the ads they see on their computers into consideration and it can affect them in negative ways. One women who said she was self conscious about her weight and wanted to lose 15 pounds would always see weight loss ads and that could have some sort of psychological affect on someone, although I don't think that’s what they research companies and advertisement companies intend to do. It was interesting to learn that companies stray away from sensitive topics such as STD’s and AIDS as well as eating disorders, but I think other sensitive topics such as income and the stated weight loss can get people thinking. I also found it interesting that consumers and people who regularly research on the Internet have a sort of “price tag” attached to them if they click on targeted ads and untargeted ads. Tying this into the Edward Snowden video, this is an invasion of privacy and any sort of information collected by these agencies are unwanted by the public. Although I understand the information collected is nearly harmless, companies are collecting data from you without your consent, and I believe that is wrong.

Week 4 EOC: Primary & Secondary Research

1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data.

2. Define surveys and describe the type of information that may be gathered in a survey.

1. There are many advantages to using secondary marketing research. In contrast, there are also many disadvantages. It is something so easily obtained but it could cost a company a pretty penny. Some advantages to secondary research is “obtaining the data is almost always faster and less expensive than acquiring primary data. This is particularly true when researchers use electronic retrieval to access data stored digitally. In many situations, collecting secondary data is instantaneous.” Time is saved and the company could be doing more profitable things with there time saved. Secondary research could also help assure and clarify any research questions a company may have. An inherent disadvantage of secondary data is that they were not designed specifically to meet the researchers' needs. Thus, researchers must ask how pertinent are the data to their particular project.fResearchers have to take care not to assume that secondary information is relevant, useful, and reliable simply because it is available.sSince the research received may not be specific to the marketer’s needs, an argument can be made that research spending is inefficient. That is, the marketer may not receive a satisfactory amount of information for what is spent. Caution must be exercised in relying on secondary data that may have been collected well in the past. Out-of-date information may offer little value especially for companies competing in fast changing markets.

2. The direct definition of a survey is "A method of collecting primary data based on communication (questions and answers) with a representative sample of respondents. The type of information that can be gathered in the survey are usually objectives. They're things that the survey is trying to get information about. In all actuality "surveys gather information to assess consumer knowledge and awareness of products, brands, or issues and to measure consumer attitudes and feelings. Additionally, surveys describe consumer characteristics including purchasing patterns, brand usage, and descriptive characteristics including demographics and lifestyle."