MKT 4450 Online—Individual Assignment #1 (10%)

Due on 9/19 at 11:30 PM; submit your answers in a Word document to the designated dropbox on D2L.

Requirements

· Read Ch. 1 and Ch.3 before doing this assignment.

· All the questions are short answer questions. I don’t have a length limit, but you should be able to answer each of the questions in approximately one or two paragraphs, 3-4 sentences each. Your report must have one-inch margins and use Times New Roman, 12-point font size, and be paginated.

· Submit your report to the assigned dropbox on D2L.

Part 1: Mario’s Restaurant

Read the attached article regarding Mario’s Restaurant and answer the following questions.

1. What problem does Mario notice in his business? Before talking to James, in Mario’s opinion, what has caused this problem?

2. Based on the dialogue between Mario and James, what other factors may have caused this problem? What will be the primary objectives of James’ further research?

Part 2: Blink

Read the attachment titled “Blink” and answer the following questions.

1. (New Coke) What mistakes did the “guy in the white lab coats” make (page 166) in the New Coke study that led to the big disaster? How would you improve this study if you were a researcher working for Coca-Cola?

2. (Death Chair) Why did Herman Miller’s studies in the early 1990s fail to reveal the Aeron’s great market potential? How would you improve these studies if you were a researcher working for Herman Miller?

3. (Kenna) While “people who truly know music love Kenna” (page 151), the response from the twelve hundred people was “dismal” (page 152). What reasons may account for this significant difference? Please base your analysis on the facts presented in this article.

4. What lessons on new product innovation research do you learn from these three cases?