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Researchproposal
Researchproposal
AllieLerman
IndependentResearch
20152016
ResearchTitle:
TreatMeLikeYouKnowMe:TheImpactofPersonalizedMarketing
Campaigns
OverviewofResearch:
Thefieldofinvestigationforthisresearchprojectisbusiness,specifically,generalized
andpersonalizedmarketingstrategies.Ithasnotbeenclearlydefinedwhetherpersonalizedor
generalizedmarketingstrategiesgeneratemorebusiness(revenueandmarketshare)fora
company.Traditionalmarketingstrategiestendtobemoreexpensivethanpersonalized
marketingstrategies,but,aretraditionalmarketingstrategiesworththeextramoney?The
researchtobedonewilladdressthisquestionandanalyzetheeffectivenessofbothpersonalized
marketingstrategiesandtraditionalmarketingstrategiesintodaysworld.Thesynthesispaper
forthisprojectwillinclude:backgroundinformationonthehistoryofmarketingpracticeand
thought,informationonpersonalizedandgeneralizedmarketingwithexamplesofeach,a
summaryoftheinformationthathasbeenfoundsofar,andabreakdownofwhatmakesan
advertisementeffective.Thefinalproductoftheresearchwillbepresentedtoacollege
marketingclassandwilladdresswhichformofmarketingissuperior.
Background/HistoryoftheIssue:
Thefirsteraofmarketingevertoexistwascalledoutboundmarketing.Thisstrategy
consistedofacompanytalkingataconsumerasopposedtowiththem.Theuseofthisstrategy
beganin1450whenmassprintingwasmadepossibleforthefirsttime.Companiesbeganto
marketthroughnewspapers,magazines,andbillboards(Eridon,2012).Then,astelephones,
radios,TVs,andcomputersbegantoemerge,companiesfoundwaystomarketthroughthose
mediums.Astimewenton,marketingthroughtechnologicalmediumsbecamemoreadvanced,
allowingpeopleaccesstomoreinformationandmorechoiceinwhatinformationwasbeing
presentedtothem.Therapidadvancementoftechnologyledtothebeginningofaneweraof
marketing:inboundmarketing.
Inboundmarketingfocusesonengagingtheconsumerandcreatingcontentthatis
relevanttothem.Technologyhasservedasagreatplatformforinboundmarketingassocial
media,digitaldata,andavarietyofotherfactorsallowmarketerstostartaconversationwiththe
consumerinordertoconnectthemtothebrand(Byrne,2015).Technologycanhelpmarketersto
reachabroaderaudienceinashorteramountoftimewithmorerelevancetotheindividual
consumer.Technologydoesnotlimitwhoabusinesscantargetatagiventimedigitalmediums
havelargerglobalaudiencesinteractingwiththeminrealtime.Thisdiffersfroman
advertisementonaTVchannel(traditional,outboundwaytomarket)whichisonlyabletoreach
thepeoplewatchingthatchannelatthetimetheadvertisementisshown.Outboundmarketing
aimsattargetingalargeaudiencewhileinboundmarketingfocusesontargetingtheconsumers
mostlikelytopurchase.Intodayssociety,bothoutboundandinboundmarketingstrategiesare
widelyused,so,itisuptobusinessestodecidewhichmarketingstrategywillgeneratethe
highestreturnoninvestmentfortheirproducts.
ProblemStatementandRationale:
Thismarketingmysteryisimportantbecauseinboundmarketingisbecomingcrucialto
businesstoday.Becausetechnologyisbecomingofincreasingimportanceinconsumerlife,itis
criticalformarketerstoknowhowtoadvertiseappropriatelyonthesenewmediumsinorderto
improvecustomerexperienceandgeneratemoresales.Outboundmarketinghasalwaysbeen
acceptedasthetraditionalwayforabusinesstomarketbecauseithasbeenaroundthelongest,
but,inpresentdaysociety,itisexpensiveandnolongerreachesthemajorityofconsumers.
However,thewidereachofoutboundmarketingisappealingtomanybusinessesandoften
overshadowsthenegativeaspectsofthistypeofmarketing.Asidebysidecomparisonofthese
twostrategieswouldnotallowforthesenegativeaspectstobeoverlookeditwouldenable
businessestounderstandthattargetingtherightpeople(inboundmarketing)ismoreeffective
thantargetingalargernumberofpeople(outboundmarketing).
Withouteffectivemarketingstrategies,thesmallandlocalbusinessmangetscrushed
becausenobodyknowsabouttheirproductsorservices.Additionally,consumersdonothave
brandloyaltybecausecompaniesdonottakethetimetomakeaconnectiontothem.Brand
loyaltyiswhenconsumersrepeatedlycomebacktothesamebrandorbusinessregardlessofthe
competitionbecausetheyhavearelationshipwiththatcompany.Marketingandadvertising
impactallpeoplelivingintheUnitedStates,so,inordertogaincustomers,businessesneed
updatedinformationexplainshowtomarketinawaythatiseffectivewithamajorityofpeople
intheUS.
ResearchMethodology:
ResearchQuestionandHypothesis:
Doconsumersrespondbettertopersonalizedorgeneralizedmarketing
campaignsbasedontheuseoftechnologyavailableintodayssociety?
Intodaystechnologicalsociety,personalizedmarketingcampaignsaremore
effectiveingeneratingbusinessforcompaniesthanaregeneralizedmarketing
campaigns.
BasisofHypothesis:
Thehypothesisfocusesonpersonalizedadvertisementsasthemosteffectivemarketing
strategybecauseoftheroletechnologyplaysinsocietytoday.Technologyallowstheconsumer
tohaveaccesstoagreatamountofinformationandtoconnectwithpeopleinamuchdifferent
way.Asnotedintheprevioussource,globally,overonethirdofpeople(2.1billionpeople)use
theinternet,makingitaneffectiveandcheapwaytoreachalotofpeopleatonce(Ryan&
Jones).Becauseofthis,itisimportantformarketerstoadapttothedigitalworld.
Literatureshowsthatconsumersexpecttobetreatedlikebusinessesknowtheminorder
toensurethatbusinessesvaluethem(Rothman,2015).Generalizedadvertisementsthatare
meantforeveryonejustdonotseemtobeenoughanymore.Technologyallowsanypersonto
generatehisorherowncontent,andwhattheygeneraterevealsalotaboutwhotheyare
(Youyou,Kowsinski,&Stillwell,2015).Furthermore,apersonwillinglygivesuppersonal
informationwhenheorsheusestechnology.Thispersonleavesdatashowingwhereheorshe
hasbeenandwhatheorshehasdoneonline,but,somethingoftenoverlookedisthatvaluable
informationcanalsobegatheredfromthispersonsbiographyand/orposts..Bylookingata
personsFacebookProfile,onecantakenoteoftheirage,location,job,relationshipstatus,and
muchmore.Manymoderncompaniesareusingthisinformationtocreatepersonalized
advertisements,afairlynewtechniquethathashadgreatsuccess.
Theaveragepersonisexposedtoover3,000advertisementsperday,withjusttwelve
makinganimpressionontheperson(Johnson,2014).Mostpeoplewouldratherseean
advertisementthatisrelevanttothembecausetheyfindtheseadvertisementsmoreinteresting
andrelatable.Researchhasshownthatpersonalizedadvertisementsareeffectivebecausepeople
feelmoreofaconnectiontothebrand,buttherehavenotbeenmanystudieswhereasingle
companyhastriedbothpersonalizedandgeneralizedadvertisementsandcomparedtheirresults
directlyinordertodeterminewhichwasbest.
ResearchDesign:
Theresearchthatwillbecollectediscorrelationalresearchthatshowsadirectconnection
betweenatypeofmarketingandgrowthinbusiness.Thiswillbeaccomplishedbydesigninga
questionnairethatallowsmillennials,peopleages1834,toanswerquestionsregardingtheir
interests.Basedontheiranswers,anadvertisementthatreflectstheirinterestswillbeshownto
themandthenanadvertisementthatdoesnotreflecttheirinterestswillbeshowntothem.
Followingthis,theywillbequestionedonwhichadvertisementtheylikedbetterandwhich
producttheyaremorelikelytobuy.Millennialsarethetargetgroupforthisresearchbecause
mostmillennialsareonlyresponsibleforthemselvesandarelookingforproductsthathelpto
bettertheirlifeasnewadults,so,thisgrouphasalotofspendingpower.Thisresearchwillbe
comprisedofquantitativedatafromquestionnaireresults.
OperationalDefinitions:
PersonalizedMarketingCampaign:
Anadvertisementintendedforaspecific
consumerbasedontheconsumersdemographics,onlinesearch/purchasehistory,
andpersonalfactors(job,age,interests,etc.).
GeneralizedMarketingCampaign:
Anadvertisementthatisthesameforall
consumers.
Technological:
Digitallybased
ProductOverview:
Theoutcomeforthisyearlongresearchprojectwillbeanhourlessontobedeliveredtoa
college marketingclass.Thislessonwill encompassbackgroundonpersonalizedandgeneralized
marketing and case studies of each. Then, an activity will be completed by the students. They
will be shown a company scenario, and in groups, will develop and present an effective
marketing campaign for that company.Whattheywillnotknow,isthatthisbusinesswillbereal
and have actual results to show fortheirmarketingefforts.Oncethestudentshavepresented,the
actual marketing strategy the company executed will be shown and the results of thatcampaign
will also be displayed and discussed. Then, the primary researchcollectedwill bepresentedand
discussed as it relates to the casestudiestalkedaboutearlierinthelesson.Thisactivitywillhelp
to drive home the conclusion of the research by showinghoweitherpersonalizedorgeneralized
marketingimpactedthebusinessthatarealworldcompanyreceived.
College marketing students have been selected for the intended audience of this lesson
because they already have an understanding of marketing and consumer behavior. This will
LogisticalConsiderations:
Challenges for the final research product include generating a contact for a college
marketing professor that is willing to give up class time for the presentation and finding a class
that meets after the school day. Finding a professor that will allow thepresentationforanentire
class period is likely to be a challenge because professors do their planning months in advance
and are already operating on a condensed timeframe. In addition, the time the class meets is
likely to be an issue. Most classes occur during the morning and early afternoonwhichare time
periods that will not work for the presentation. Finding a day when Howard County does not
have school might be a key way to work around this problem. These challenges are goingtobe
the major things that have to be taken into consideration in order to make the final product
successful.
Timeline:
Date
Tasktobecompleted
Weekof
March21
Questionnaire
Whathastobedonetocomplete
task
Createquestionnaire
questions
Findadvertisementstouse
forquestionnaire
Formatquestionnaire
Completed
?
Weekof
March28
Distribution
Contactnumerouscollege
marketingandbusiness
professorsabout
distributingmy
questionnaire
Testquestionnairewith
classmatesbefore
distributingtoany
professors
Beginsendingoutmy
questionnaireforstudents
toanswer
Askoneofthesecontacts
aboutcomingintopresent
myfinalproduct
March
28April22
SLCPresentation
Presentprojectand
findingsofprojectina
clearandinterestingway
Makepresentationvisually
appealing
Contactpartnertoaddjoint
componentstopresentation
Addsomesortofactivity
topresentationtoengage
audience
Practicegiving
presentation
April411
Analyzesurveyresults
Createchartsandgraphsto
displayresultson
Analyzevalidityofresults
Drawconclusionsfrom
results
Weekof
April11
Revisesynthesispaperand
addnewsections
Makechangesbasedon
feedbacktooriginalpaper
Addabstract,data
collection,anddata
analysissectionstopaper
April15
Thankyoucardsand
invitationtoGTdinner
Filloutthankyoucardsto
thankanybody
(particularlyadvisor)who
hasassistedinproject
InviteadvisortoGTdinner
April20
Completeddisplayboard
Addinformationtoboard
toconveyprojectwithout
beingoverwhelming
Haveinformationeditedby
peersandthechangesfrom
thoseeditsmade
Makeboardvisually
appealing(back
everything,addpictures,
maketitlelooknice)
Weekof
April20
Createpresentation/lesson
tobedeliveredtoacollege
class
May
Completefinalproduct
Deliverlessontocollege
class
Analyzefeedbackfrom
class
Makefinalconclusions
regardingprojectand
research
Preparetoturninresultsof
finalproduct
May
Deliveroralpresentationto
classatLongReach
Createafinalpresentation
todelivertoaclassat
schoolthatdiscusses
researchandresults
Makepresentationvisually
appealing
Practicepresentation
Summarizeinitialresearch
andmyownfindings
Creategroupactivityto
drivehomeconclusions
Makepresentation
interestingandvisually
appealing
Practicepresentingto
classmates
10