Apprentice Task #1
Course Topic:
Marketing Research
Task:
Taste Test Day
1)
Task Instructions:
 Your team will choose a food/beverage product and conduct a blind taste test for other
students invited to attend the taste test day
 Your team will compare and contrast three products that are in direct competition with
one another
 The products should look and feel similar to taste testers so that they are not able to
determine the brand difference prior to tasting
o Some suggestions include:
 Orange Juice (e.g. Tropicana vs. Minute Maid vs. No Name)
 Potato chips (Pringles vs. Lays Stax vs. No Name brand)
 Chocolate chip cookies (PC vs. Christie’s vs. Voortman’s)
 Your team must have your food choice approved by me
 Your team is responsible for purchasing the products (consider the cost of food when
selecting the product you wish to test!)
 Your team must bring in all materials required (containers, napkins, etc.) to conduct the
taste test so make a list of ‘who will do what’
 If your team will need to provide any materials (such as tape, paper, markers, etc.)
 You need to purchase enough ‘product’ to serve 50-60 students
Today’s task:
 Your group will draft a survey for taste testers to fill out on the taste test day
 Use the section in the text book about Marketing Research to draft your questions for the
survey
o On your survey you must include at least one question to represent each of the 9
types of marketing research (see page 145 to 151).
o Make a 2nd copy of the survey that has at the end of each question the type of
research it represents. (Hand a copy of both into your teacher)
 The survey must have at least ten questions
 The questionnaire should be no longer than ONE page double sided
 See the back of this sheet for more details on ‘survey creation’
 The survey questions must be approved by me
o In order to have your survey approved, you must follow all instructions above
2)
Graph and summary observations and responses
a)
b)
You will graph the results of your survey. Ie make a graph for each
questions or combine questions into one graph if it logical to do so.
For at least 4 graphs you must state what you observe from your survey
results and then describe what you think the results mean and why.
Example: Graph 3 shows that most of the responders were females from
all the age categories. (Observation) This is likely due to the fact that
product X, (face cream), is more appealing to females as most males do
not consider it a typical male product like deodorant and the marketing
should be directed at media heavily used by females. (Conclusion)
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Students not participating will work individually or in pairs and must survey at least 50
people on their own time. The 50 surveys must be handed in with your graph results.
Survey Creation
Close-ended questions: Ask respondents to select one answer from two or more choices.
 E.g. true or false, multiple choice, rating on scale of 1-10
Open-ended questions: Allow respondents to develop their own answers and write in their
own words.
 E.g. What do you like most about soft drinks?
Guide to Writing Good Questions
1. Make sure there is a title on your survey that includes your Team Name, Slogan and group
member names.
2. Three main types of questions should appear on your survey
 Buying behavior questions
o Do you purchase this product?
o How often do you purchase this product?
o Are you ‘brand-loyal’?
o Is your brand selection based on taste, location, price or another factor?
 Product-based questions
o What did you like most about the sample that was your favorite?
a. Sweetness
b. Fizziness
c. Aftertaste
d. Other: _________________
 Demographic questions
o E.g. Circle the response that applies to you
What is your gender?
Male
Female
How old are you?
14
15
16
3.
At the end of the survey there should be at least 2 open-ended questions with the
space to write responses.
4.
Make sure there is thank you at the end of your survey.
5.
Write clear questions that people can understand.
6.
Word-process your survey and proofread it for spelling and grammar!
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