1. CARRY ON ROUND
THE “U BEND”
AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF THREE QUALITATIVE
METHODOLOGIES
Group V

2. The Context
Imagineers Inc ,United Kingdom
Physics of the
“U Bend”
Household cleaning products
To develop a new & unique product
concept.
Research Objectives –
To understand consumer behaviour &
attitudes to cleaning the toilet
The role of the family
The products used
The purchase cycle & context
The imagery of the main brand players
The indications of possible brand
partners and idea generation

3. Premises
Premises
•Single qualitative
Group Participant
research
Discussion observation methodology can
1.5 hrs using video result in misleading
and 'field
notes’ recommendations.
(in-home 2 X
3)
•Focus groups,
which import
Accompani
respondents to the
ed researcher's world.
shopping
preceded •Participant
by
interviews observation &
(Segment ethnography, where
on loyalty) the researcher

4. Group Discussion
Group Discussions-
 Advantage
 Insight on understanding how
toilet cleaning fits into the way
in which women view their role
today, the meaning of the toilet Window
as a room in its own right
 Disadvantages
 Very less insights on retail of
context and consumer shopping
behaviour
 Dependency on moderator’s values
interpretation of discussion
 Consumer may tend to provide
socially desirable responses

5. Ethnographic Approach
Ethnographic approach
 Advantages:
 Bring the consumer alive for the
listening clients,
 Real attitudes/behaviour rather
than project constructions
Window
Embarrassment People are never
Implications
(Change in taught how to
for client
emotions) clean a toilet
of
 Disadvantages
 Very less insights on retail context
and consumer shopping behaviour Behaviou
 At times inhibits the interviewee if r
information is sensitive

6. Accompanied Shopping
 Advantages:
 Insights related to retail cues
 Insights regarding store layout,
retailer assumptions on
promotions
 Disadvantages
Window
 Few insights related to consumer
emotions regarding brand,
product, product usage of
 Lack of insights on brand
imagery
 Lack of space and crowd limit the Retail
amount of information that can
be elicited from consumer cues
 Restricted to agenda of
“Shopping”

7. Caveat: The Client Researcher
Relationship
 Increasing pressures of
time and tight budgets
have tempted clients to
collapse the brand
planning cycle into one
study and consequently
overload the research
with an unrealistic scale
and spread of
objectives.
 Thus we are dealing
with the researchers
imaginings rather than
their insights.

8. Thankyou