SHEKHAR SAURABH BISWAL

BAY MADISSON CASE

Marketing research

MARKETING RESEARCH
BAY MADISON INC. CASE
CASE FACTS
Ellis Company launched a product, Rill, a powdered cleanser in 1923. Rill was initially used
as a heavy duty cleansing agent for removing dirt and stains from porcelain, metal and
ceramic surfaces. This product had a unique bleaching property which eliminated the
necessity for scrubbing and it did not contain any abrasive material. In 1936, the companys
research department developed and added an ingredient which imparted a light and fluffy
texture to textile products washed in a mild solution of Rill. Hence the company promoted
Rill both as a powdered cleanser and laundry wash water additive. 50% of the advertisements featured Rill
as powdered cleanser, 30% as laundry additive and 20% as dual purpose product. Rill was
distributed in three sizes as a concentrated solution. Rill sold well in its initial years but from
1970 the unit sales had declined due to competition. But the dollar volume over this period had
remained constant. One of the problems they were facing was whether to promote Rill as a cleanser,
laundry additive or a dual purpose product. They had the quantitative information like unit
sales, outlets, margins etc. and needed the qualitative information like consumer attitudes
toward the product, usage patterns and opinions on different product characteristics in order
to formulate the marketing and advertising strategies. Ellis Company decided to give the task
of conducting a thorough study on Rill to Bay Madison Inc., a large advertising agency.
Mr. George Roberts, who was the research director at Bay Madison Inc, had drawn up a
research proposal and forwarded it to six marketing research firms for detailed information
regarding the following:

An appraisal of the proposal and suggestions for any changes

A price quotation on the project as outlined and including any suggested changes
A brief description of the staff who would handle the project
Time required for preparation, implementation, tabulation and final presentation
Pilot testing suggested
Detailed explanation of suggested sample size
Information on the firms executive personnel, interviewing staff
Projects handled over the preceding two years

The research proposal consisted of the marketing problems, objective of proposed research,
broad suggestions regarding research methodology and a proposed questionnaire. For this
purpose Bay Madison called in for research proposals from various firms. Out of all, three

research firms were short-listed and were asked to send in their proposals. The firms short-listed are as
follows:
1. National Research Associates Company
2. Progressive Research Group
3. H J Clifford Research

PROPOSAL 1: NATIONAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES COMPANY

ABOUT THE FIRM
National Research Associates is one of the reputed and recognized leaders in the field
of Marketing Research in US. It has conducted almost 400 separate and varied research projects since its
establishment in1954.It has over 2 decades of rich experience, having highly qualified teams to work on the
research projects.
SAMPLE SIZE & METHODOLOGY:
The company proposed to interview 2275 housewives on face to face basis and 600 in-depth
interviews. Face-to-Face interview would help in knowing the competitive position of RILL & In-depth
interviews would help to know the reason why RILL is in the present position by discovering the
attitudes, perceptions and feelings towards the product and its uses. Here the company has
undertaken three type of research:
1. Exploratory
2. Descriptive
3. Causal
ANALYSIS:
In order to analyse the data collected through the interview various techniques were proposed toemploy:
1. The Personification Test: This method involves an attempt on the part of the respondent
to describe certain products in human terms and this would provide an opportunity for the
expression of attitudes and opinions.
2. The Thematic Apperception Test: It consists of presenting to the respondent an unstructured
drawing of a particular situation and asking him to make up a story of what is happening.
3. Word Association Test: Here the respondents are asked to relate what comes to mind
when given a word or phrase is read to them.
4. The Semantic Differential Test: This method helps in providing insights and information
regarding to the perception of company and product attributes. In order to evaluate the

relative effectiveness of various merchandising, advertising stimuli and effectiveness of

the RILL package and label in comparison with those of major competitors many laboratory
studies were undertaken like:
Attention-getting test
Product recognition test
Brand identification test
Visibility and legibility test.
Memorability test
Apparent size test
Colour preference and association tests
COST AND TIME FOR THE RESEARCH:
According to the company the research would be done in 12 weeks time and the cost is estimated at $ 52000.
APPROACH:
Tactical Very detailed
CONCLUSION:

All research questions answered

Detailed description of the findings of the research

PROPOSAL 2: THE PROGRESSIVE RESEARCH GROUP

ABOUT THE FIRM
Began its operations in 1948, and is one of the oldest Marketing Research companies.
In order to prepare more economical, complete and detailed client reports the company possesses most
advanced computer equipment in the country and continuous improvements are being adopted.
SAMPLE SIZE AND METHODOLOGY
A National sample of 750 home-makers in terms of region, socio-economic group, urbanrural, and the like would be interviewed. The methodology would include interviewing with the
help of questionnaires and in order to make sure that the sequence and phrasing are of such a
nature as to be understandable, to get cooperation, and to obtain unbiased replies, a field test of 100
home-makers is proposed.
PROBLEM ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY
The company is under the impression that two major uses of RILL may, in combinations,
affect the market negatively and women may think of it primarily in one sense or the other
and those who regard it as a cleanser may not be willing to use it as a laundry additive, or vice versa.
PROPOSAL
The company proposed a consumer study covering the major areas of behaviour and attitude including:

Brand Personality and image for each of several cleansers & laundry additive products (including

RILL)
Habit pattern on home cleaning and laundry additives (including products used)

APPROACH
Strategic Not very detailed
CONCLUSION

Multi use product application not covered

Lack of detailed mention of the findings of the research

PROPOSAL 3: H J CLIFFORD RESEARCH

One of the most reputed firms. Most marketing executives regard this firm as the outstanding research
firm in the country. Roberts suspects if he has given enough data to expect a detailed plan
from the research firms. To complement his feeling, HJ Clifford being very professional, does
not give a detailed plan, instead says it needs more data, also that their way of working
involves continuous cooperation between the company, agency and the research firm. They
need to meet the company and get the exact details of what is required from the research, what is feasible
and what is not feasible with the company in perspective as their research could be strategy
oriented.
CONCLUSION
Since the purpose of this research involves strategic change of the companys product profile,
HJ Clifford expects to meet the client directly and get to know in more depth of their
requirements and the feasibility of the advice following completion of research. This
approach requires more time. From the case we know that the client wishes to arrive at a
decision quickly. Hence Bay Madison should try and buy some time from the client to get the
research plan, estimated time and cost from HJ Clifford. If the client is willing then the
proposal from National research will be kept on hold till the receipt of plan from HJ Clifford
for later comparison and final decision. In case they are not willing to wait further for the
decision, Bay Madison should negotiate with National research to reduce the cost and to
remove unwanted parts included in the research plan sent by them.

PROPOSAL 4: CONSUMER PANEL

A consumer panel is an approach in which same group of respondents are contacted at periodical intervals
and data on actual purchase behaviour is collected to build time series data .The group is
representative of the population. Mr. Jacks initiative
ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER PANEL DATA

Most economical alternative - $17000

Analysis cost - $9000
Data compilation cost - $2500
Mr. Jacks salary - $5000

CONCLUSION:

We can only get the purchasing behaviour but predicting the usage of the product

cannot be done.
Lack of experience in research
Consumer panel data may not offer variety
Ambiguity in the case about the exact findings
Research capabilities of Bay-Madison Inc, an advertising agency

DECISION
1.
2.
1.
2.

CRITERION
Answers all the research question
Strict Time Constraint
If time is relaxed
Cost is affordable

SELECTION
NATIONAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
H J CLIFFORD RESEARCH