Research Design
BADM476 Marketing Research Spring 2013
Research Design – Project 2 (preparation for Exam 1) 10 points for submission
Hudson Coffee Company Case Study About a year ago, Harrison Hudson, president and founder of Hudson Coffee Company, visited the cafeteria at the local university. He was appalled to see students ordering Coke, Mountain Dew or Dr. Pepper for breakfast, instead of coffee. When Hudson got back to work, he encouraged his development team to come up with a product line that would appeal to the college crowd, as a substitute for soda as a breakfast drink. The result of that research was a line of canned, chilled coffee that can be sold in soda vending machines: Columbian Coffee Coolers in 5 flavors (Swiss chocolate, mocha, espresso and amaretto). Now, Hudson just needs to figure out how to market the new line of refrigerated coffee to college students. To do that, Hudson has scheduled a meeting with his marketing team. Marvin Schwartz, the company’s marketing manager, has brought with him a series of reports that indicate individuals in the target market (late teens and early twenties) rarely drink hot coffee. When they do drink hot coffee, it’s generally flavored and laced with sugar, flavorings and cream. In addition, Schwartz says that soft drink consumption now exceeds 30 gallons per person per year and is substantially higher for individuals in their late teens and early twenties. And, he says, soft drink sales make up more than 30 percent of all beverage sales to this target group. But, that’s about all he knows about the beverage consumption patterns of college students. Assume you’re the marketing research specialist for Hudson Coffee Company and you’re responsible for the research that will be used to develop the marketing campaign for Columbian Coffee Coolers. You know the new Hudson product line will need to compete with all the other coffee-flavored drinks already on the market and with caffeinated sodas.
Research Design – Project 2 (preparation for Exam 1) 10 points for submission
Hudson Coffee Company Case Study About a year ago, Harrison Hudson, president and founder of Hudson Coffee Company, visited the cafeteria at the local university. He was appalled to see students ordering Coke, Mountain Dew or Dr. Pepper for breakfast, instead of coffee. When Hudson got back to work, he encouraged his development team to come up with a product line that would appeal to the college crowd, as a substitute for soda as a breakfast drink. The result of that research was a line of canned, chilled coffee that can be sold in soda vending machines: Columbian Coffee Coolers in 5 flavors (Swiss chocolate, mocha, espresso and amaretto). Now, Hudson just needs to figure out how to market the new line of refrigerated coffee to college students. To do that, Hudson has scheduled a meeting with his marketing team. Marvin Schwartz, the company’s marketing manager, has brought with him a series of reports that indicate individuals in the target market (late teens and early twenties) rarely drink hot coffee. When they do drink hot coffee, it’s generally flavored and laced with sugar, flavorings and cream. In addition, Schwartz says that soft drink consumption now exceeds 30 gallons per person per year and is substantially higher for individuals in their late teens and early twenties. And, he says, soft drink sales make up more than 30 percent of all beverage sales to this target group. But, that’s about all he knows about the beverage consumption patterns of college students. Assume you’re the marketing research specialist for Hudson Coffee Company and you’re responsible for the research that will be used to develop the marketing campaign for Columbian Coffee Coolers. You know the new Hudson product line will need to compete with all the other coffee-flavored drinks already on the market and with caffeinated sodas.