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ASSIGNMENT 2ND SEMESTER :
BASIC MARKETING
RESEARCH 2 (BMR201)
STUDY UNITS COVERED
:
STUDY UNITS 1 - 8
DUE DATE
:
3:00 p.m. 21 AUGUST 2012
TOTAL MARKS
:
100
MATERIAL SUPPLIED
:
DONATOS
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES FOR COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING
ASSIGNMENTS
The complete ‘Instructions to Students for Completing and Submitting Assignments’ must be
collected from any IMM GSM office, the relevant Student Support Centre or can be downloaded from
the IMM GSM website. It is essential that the complete instructions be studied prior to commencing
your assignment. The following points highlight only a few important notes.
1. You are required to submit ONE assignment per subject.
2. The assignment will contribute 20% towards the final examination mark, and the other 80% will
be contributed by the examination, however, the examination papers will count out of 100%.
3. Although your assignment will contribute towards your final examination mark, you do not have to
earn credits for admission to the examinations; you are automatically accepted on registering for
the exam.
4. Number all the pages of your assignment (e.g. page 1 of 4) and write your name and surname,
student number and subject at the top of each page.
5. The IMM GSM requires assignments to be presented in a typed format, on plain A4 paper.
Unless otherwise specified, this assignment must be completed within a limit of 1500 words,
excluding the bibliography. Students who exceed the word limit may find that only part of the
submitted assignment will be marked.
6. A separate assignment cover, which is provided by the IMM GSM, must be attached to the front
of each assignment.
7. Retain a copy of each assignment before submitting, in case the original does not reach the IMM
GSM.
8. The assignment due date refers to the day up to which assignments will be accepted for marking
purposes. The deadline is 3:00 p.m. on 21 August 2012. Late assignments will be accepted, but
25 marks will be deducted from the maximum mark, if received after 3:00 p.m. on 21 August
2012 and up to 5:00 p.m. the following day, after which no assignments will be accepted.
9. If you fail to follow these instructions carefully, the IMM Graduate School of Marketing cannot
accept responsibility for the return of the assignment. It may even result in your assignment not
being marked.
Results will be available on the IMM GSM website, www.immgsm.ac.za, on Friday, 5 October 2012.
Assignment: 2nd Semester 2012
© IMM Graduate School of Marketing
BMR201
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Introduction
Read the case study Donatos.
Answer all the questions and apply a critical reflective approach in answering the
questions.
Sources: Learner Guide 2012; Prescribed textbook: Fox, W. and Bayat, M.S., 2007.
A Guide to Managing Research. 1st ed. Cape Town: Juta.
QUESTION 1


[4]
Give the definition: Marketing problem.
Give the definition: Research problem.
QUESTION 2
[12]
Applying the definitions from Question 1 and with reference to the case study:
 State the marketing problem for the case study.

State the research problem for the case study.

Discuss: Why is the understanding of the difference between the two concepts
(marketing problem and research problem) important in marketing research?
QUESTION 3
[12]
Give four (4) possible research questions based on the research problem you have
developed (in Question 2) for the case study.
QUESTION 4
[10]

Give the definition of unit of analysis.

What is the unit of analysis for the case study research? Motivate why you
choose that as the unit of analysis.
QUESTION 5
[20]
Population and sampling considerations:
 Based on the case study, describe the population.

Give the definition of a sampling frame.

Identify and discuss the sampling approaches taken in the case study (there are 3
samples) – for example are they random samples, why do you say that?

What kind of sampling error might have occurred in the sampling approach in the
case study?
Tip: Refer back to your answer under unit of analysis.
Assignment: 2nd Semester 2012
© IMM Graduate School of Marketing
BMR201
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QUESTION 7
[18]
Types of data:
 Give a definition of primary data.
 Give a definition of secondary data.
Using the case study give one (1) example each of the following data types used in
the case study:
 Primary data
 Secondary data
 Discuss: Why are primary data in research more valuable than secondary data?
Data collection:
 Name two (2) methods used to collect data in the case study.
QUESTION 7
[14]
Literature review:
 Give two (2) places where you would find recent literature sources for literature
review purposes.
As part of the preparation to conduct a systematic literature review:
 Break down the research problem into at least two (2) key words (concepts).
 Find at least two (2) synonyms or related terms for each of the key words
(concepts) given in the previous point.
 Give four (4) literature search terms suitable for searching online for literature
applicable to the marketing and research problems given for the case study in
Question 2.
Using the IMM GSM Referencing Guide, indicate the errors in the following
referencing examples
 In text references:
o Porter later refined his ideas on the essence of competitive strategy as
follows: “Competitive strategy is about being different. It is choosing a
different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.”
o In November 2011 Audi had 104 social media and Web mentions
(www.facebook.com/audisouthafrica).

Reference list:
o Collier, J.E. and Bienstock, C.C. (2006). ‘Measuring service quality in eretailing’, Journal of Service Research, 8 (3): 260-274.
o Audi Facebook, 2012, Audi South Africa, [online] <
http://www.facebook.com/audisouthafrica>
PRESENTATION
[10]
ASSIGNMENT TOTAL: 100
Assignment: 2nd Semester 2012
© IMM Graduate School of Marketing
BMR201
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DONATOS: FINDING THE NEW PIZZA
The pizza segment of the fast-food industry is very aggressive. As people's tastes
change and new diets become the rage, restaurant chains must decide if and how to
respond. This case focuses on the research behind the introduction of Donato's lowcarbohydrate pizza, and how the company collapsed its normal product-development
research process to take advantage of a current trend.
Some strategic windows remain open for an extended period of time; other, don't.
One of those slim windows faced Tom Krouse, chief concept officer with Donato's, an
independent premium pizza restaurant chain, headquartered in Columbus (Ohio).
Krouse, who is reponsible for new product development, had to answer a question
facing many restaurants: Is the low-carb diet a flash fad or a trend—and should we
respond?
"Restaurants are influenced my many factors: product, message, weather,
reputation, and competition, to name a few. But mostly we are influenced by
changing eating habits. As a result, we monitor a variety of sources. One of these is
syndicated research obtained from The Yankelovich Monitor and NPD Eating Trends.
Another is e-mail comments from customers received via our web site. We also hold
monthly WASSUP Meetings,” shared Krouse, "where each employee brings
knowledge of an element from popular culture and explains its affect on Donatos.”
Donatos, recently divested by fastFood giant McDonald's, had, for four years, access
to tremendous amounts of research on the eating habits of Americans. In late July,
according to the 2003 HealthFocus Trend Report, 26% of eaters were "carb aware."
"This meant that they were incorporating low-carb habits into their diets. We had a
multitude of evidence, over several months, that the interest in low-carb eating plans
was increasing," concluded Krouse.
The time was July 2003. Krouse, who himself was following the Atkins diet, was
noticing that at company meetings, where pizza is a staple refreshment, "little piles of
crust" were being left behind. "At first, we worried that something might be wrong with
the crust," shared Krouse.
While to some degree food quality is important to any restaurant, Donatos stakes its
reputation and its position in the pizza segment on two factors: premium quality and
an abundance of toppings—Edge to Edge® as its slogan goes.
Donatos discovered that nothing was wrong with the crust; its employees were
avoiding the carbohydrates inherent in the grain-based foundation of every pizza on
the market at that time.
Convinced the low-carb craze permeating the media was no fad, Donatos started its
research-based product development process. The process typically starts with
developing the product prototype, followed by employee taste testing, concept
screens (where participants, usually in a central location, are shown photographs of
food products, and then queried about the item's uniqueness, brand fit, price
attractiveness, and the likelihood of purchase if the product were available), and
ultimately in-restaurant tests in two or more restaurants within the chain.' Inrestaurant tests also include participants completing a self-administered intercept
survey or, for delivery customers, a callback phone survey.
Assignment: 2nd Semester 2012
© IMM Graduate School of Marketing
BMR201
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In the product prototype phase, Donatos was running into problems. "We were
getting in low-carb crusts, and they were awful. 'Awful' is not a good fit with who we
are," emphasized Krouse. "Then we had one of those creative recognitions—people
were willing to eat the toppings without the crust." That changed Donatos direction:
could the company market a pizza without crust. "Our director of distribution said,
'That's just goofy enough to take off,” chuckled Krouse.” With all the emphasis on
quality toppings, a no-dough pizza captured our personality."
By November 1, Donatos had decided to proceed with the concept of a dough-free
pizza. One break-through came in finding the plate. "Simplicity of innovation is
sometimes the best innovation," explained Krouse, "especially when your product is
made by 16-17 year olds." Donatos found a make-bake-serve plate. "It's made of
paper, but obviously one that can stand intense heat." But in employee taste tests of
the first prototypes, something wasn't quite right. Donatos did central location taste
tests to test some recipe variations. "We introduced a recipe which includes soy
crisps, to give it texture and added protein without the carbs."
Statistically, the recipe with soy crisps was only a marginal winner over the recipe
without the crisps. And adding the crisps would add significant cost to the new
product. "Sometimes you have to step away from the numbers, and look at the
central issue of what and who you are. We pride ourselves on being the very best.
Adding protein for those customers watching carbohydrates was what we should be
doing."
Due to the somewhat negative connotation that soy has in the marketplace, Donatos'
special ingredient isn't mentioned in its ads or on its Web site. They describe the
pizza as having "protein-enriched crumbles."
A pizza without dough is built essentially the same as one with dough, with one
obvious difference. The doughless pizza is layered on a plate with sauce first,
followed by the protein crumbles and then the toppings. For every pizza, Donatos'
measures all its topping servings to .01 of a pound to ensure consistency from pizza
to pizza and restaurant to restaurant. So from a production standpoint, the doughless pizza would not require new equipment or much new training of store-level
employees.
So what do you name a doughless pizza? Do you use the "No Carb" or "Low Carb"
banner as did many new food entries in the latter months of 2003, or do you choose
a name in keeping with your positioning? "We toyed with almost 70 names. Some
were clever, like 'NADA pizza,' even `Not-A-Pizza,' and we put several through
trademark search. Finally, we put three names to the test using a weekend omnibus
phone survey. No Dough® was the winner for clarity of message and understanding
of the low-carb benefits.
All this time Donatos was watching the calendar. By December 22 it was testing the
new product in two stores in Columbus. Ads proclaiming the new No Dough® pizza
were featured in restaurant windows of the test stores. "Starting January 2, we
usually see a 25% increase in salad sales," described Krouse. Not surprising, given
that for years "losing weight" has been one of Americans' top-three New Year's
Assignment: 2nd Semester 2012
© IMM Graduate School of Marketing
BMR201
Page 6 of 6
resolutions. "And we wanted to own the idea of a crust-free pizza; we saw it as a
significant marketing advantage."
So a new product development process that routinely takes 12 to 14 months took just
6 1/2 months—to take advantage of what Donatos saw as a very important strategic
window. On January 19, Donato's rolled its No Dough® pizza into all its 184 stores.
"We like to think of ourselves as a 'smart speed organization,' explained Krouse. "We
have the discipline to make fact-based decisions but move quickly."
When you order a Donato's pizza, No Dough® is one of three crust options, so
people wanting to eat low-carb can do so without changing their pizza topping
preference. According to Valen Group, a Cincinnati-based marketing research firm, in
January 2004 about 28 percent of all Americans-59 million people—were watching
their intake of carbohydrates. And how has that market segment responded?
Donatos is tracking interest and response through a variety of techniques: ongoing
telephone tracking studies conducted every quarter using a sample of approximately
600 to 800 adults (done by Wilkerson and Associates, Louisville, Kentucky), as well
as customer e-mail sent through the Donatos' Web site, and in-restaurant comment
cards. "No Dough® is meeting our expectations," shared Krouse. "And we are getting
incremental business, as well as more frequent visits/calls from regular customers."
But one big surprise in this story is the gluten-free market segment, a segment
Donatos had not identified. "We are getting e-mails that say, "Thank you! Now I can
eat pizza again!"
Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S., 2008. Business Research Methods. 10th ed. Irwin:
McGraw-Hill.
Assignment: 2nd Semester 2012
© IMM Graduate School of Marketing
BMR201