DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE

Marketing Research BBA 7

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL BY


Name (Group Leader)
ObaidUllah (25202)

Name (Members)
OwaisNusrat(25203)
RijaSehbai (25215)

E-mail:
Date of submission: 1
st
October 2014


Declaration of Originality

I declare that the work I am submitting for assessment contains no section copied in
whole or in part from any other source unless explicitly identified in quotation marks and
with detailed, complete and accurate referencing.



..
(Group Leader Signature)






Table of Contents


1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................
1.1 The research problem. ..........................................................................
1.2 Rationale or purpose of the study. ..........................................................
1.3 The objectives of the study. ....................................................................
1.4 Research question(s).

2. LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................

3. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY .............................................................
3.1 Research design.
3.2 Data sources
3.3 Data collection techniques. .....................................................................
3.4. Issues of reliability and validity. ..............................................................
3.5 Sampling techniques.
3.6 Definitions of key terms, concepts and variables. ..................................
3.7 Data analysis and interpretation. ............................................................
3.8 Ethical considerations. ............................................................................
3.8.1 Confidentiality. ............................................................................................

4. MY PERSONAL WORK PLAN ........................................................................

Referencing






TITLE:
The title for the proposed study could be Anthropomorphism and its effect on Consumer
behavior

1. INTRODUCTION
Humans and animals have are very similar biologically. Humans and other mammals have same
organs and its very similar to how both raise their young. We have a lot of same instincts like
pain, fear, anger etc. The major difference between humans and other animals is about
conceptual thinking and the language we speak. I.e. we as human have thinking abilities and we
can tell others about our idea. But over all humans and animals share a lot of same
characteristics. In past couple of years marketers have utilized animals in their advertisements
which is called Anthropomorphism in marketing terms.
Anthropomorphism a Greek word where anthropos means human or person. So
anthropomorphism is an action of giving human characteristics to non-human object. Marketers
have recently used anthropomorphic animals in their advertising campaigns to increase the
brand equity and sales.
Anthropomorphism is seeing human in non-human forms and events. People commonly see
human features in human formations in clouds, on the moon or on the sides of mountains. They
might attribute human goals, beliefs and emotions to animals for example when people interpret
the dynamics between two words as reflecting the loving attention to newlyweds. It is perhaps
more relevant to marketers, people see human not in not just in nature but in artifacts as well,
even people sometimes see cars as their companions, going so far to name them and scold
malfunctioning computers and engines.
In an increasingly competitive marketplace, companies rely on brand characters to create
awareness, convey key products/service attributes or benefits and attract consumers. Characters
benefit brands building a strong identity and favorable associations.




1.1 The research problem
A lot of research has been done on anthropomorphism earlier but still it has not been
investigated much about how and why these anthropomorphic characters benefit brands building
a strong identity, favorable association and high sales at the end (which is the crux).
We through this research will focus on the elements mentioned above so as to know the deep
insights of the customers and the things that are being directly targeted by marketers to hit
consumers.

1.2 The purpose of the study
The purpose of the study is to have a better understanding about anthropomorphism and further
its usage in marketing. We have seen few researches over anthropomorphism but none of them
measured why and how anthropomorphism helps in building a brand.
Therefore, this research would help us in getting to know about how linking anthropomorphic
characters with a brand benefits in building a strong identity, favorable association and high
sales of the product.

1.3 The objectives of the study
The ultimate aim of this study is to have a better understanding on brand
anthropomorphism focusing on the advertising techniques used nowadays

1.4 The research questions
The research questions that are identified are as follows.

How and why these anthropomorphic characters benefit brands building a strong identity,
favorable association and high sales at the end?


What is the consumer behavior (brand preference/buying) in anthropomorphic advertisements
that targets children?
Does anthropomorphic advertisements changes the purchasing pattern in terms of decision
making?


2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Many marketers are using anthropomorphism for targeting their desired customers.
According to some studies anthropomorphism creates a unique brand personality which
is very fruitful for marketers. In one of the studies a scale to capture childlike
anthropomorphism is introduced. It suggests that childlike anthropomorphic characters
have four dimensions like sweetness, simplicity, smallness and sympathy. According to
the result of this study consumer acts positively towards these anthropomorphic
characters and it helps in building a good brand image. One of the studies shows that
people like to change their personality with respect to the personality of
anthropomorphized character. Using animals as an anthropomorphic character is again
being used by marketers. One of the studies shows that the closer the animal is to
humanity the more likely it is to be adopted by marketers. One of the studies suggests
that the use of anthropomorphic character can increase a sense of social presence and
telepresence which leads to effective advertising.







Name of Article Name of
Authors
Variables Findings

Representing the manimal: A
semiotic/psychoanalytic approach
to the strategic
importance of anthropomorphism in
branding
George Rossolatos Unconscious,
imaginary
signifier,
dreamwork,
icon.
Imaginary status of the
anthropomorphic figure
tends to show a clear picture
of what a brand is
Like Brands? Automatic behavioral
priming effect of brand
anthropomorphism
Pankaj Aggarwal
ANN L. MCGILL
Coproduce,
servant brands,
self-sufficiency,
partner brands
People like to change their
personality with respect to
the personality of
anthropomorphized
character.
Childlike anthropomorphism in
products
Katarina Hellen
Maria Saaksjarvi
Sympathetic
products,
product
personality,
childlike,
personality
A scale to capture childlike
anthropomorphism is
introduced. It suggests that
childlike anthropomorphic
characters have four
dimensions like sweetness,
simplicity, smallness and
sympathy.

Where the wild brands are: some
thoughts on anthropomorphic
marketing

Brown, Stephen Brand animals,
icon lifestyle,
love hate
relationship
Closer the animal is to
humanity the more likely it is
to be adopted by marketers.



3. THE PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

Following are the proposed approach and methods through which we conduct our research

3.1 Research design

The research we are conducting is exploratory because all the variables we are working on are
not known but still some are known and the research problem is about answering how and why
questions which we normally consider in exploratory research so it is more towards the
Exploratory side. These questions have not been given much importance in the previous
researches and research articles are not specifically focused on this part.
The undertaken study is mixed because we will be using different techniques like questionnaire
(using rating scales) in order to investigate the results which make it quantitative plus we will go
for in-depth interviews with professionals who have been using anthropomorphism in their
product branding and advertisement which makes it qualitative as well.

3.2 Data sources

The sources used in the study are secondary which includes mostly the articles on
anthropomorphism




3.3 Data collection techniques

So far we have used secondary data sources which include our assessment of the research
articles present on internet. We accessed to these articles from our University labs which offer us
5 websites through which we can download articles of different disciplines. We have planned to
conduct in-depth interviews in order to cover the qualitative part of our research, for this purpose
we will be utilizing some of our contacts working for the brands using anthropomorphism in their
branding and advertisement.

Questionnaire would be designed in keeping the research questions in mind and would be
designed keeping the should and should nots
They will be tested through pilot testing technique; it would help us identify problems in our
questionnaire (If any).



As we would use two approaches for the research so for the qualitative side we would take
appointment from a person from branding department of a company, with an in-depth interview
with him after in non-office timings we will conduct this interview because normally they are not
available in office timings for such long time that we can conduct a detailed interview. We will
visit supermarkets, marts on a weekends (first Saturday and Sunday of the month) in order to
observe the behavior of consumers towards our selected brand using anthropomorphism and
conducting a survey as well to better know the perceptions.

We have not conducted qualitative interviews before but it is always the first time, being a
researcher there would be some limitations like the person from brand might not be able/allowed
to give us complete details as per our requirement because of the fear of leaking out their ideas
plus the companys rigid policies. Some respondents in marts might not be able to give us right
answers and may show biasness, being a researcher this is our weakness but it can be
converted into strength to remove the biasness factor by giving respondents time to think and
making sure that their response would remain confidential

3.4 Issues of reliability and validity

Reliability: Reliabilityrefers to the consistency of results produced by a scale if repeated
measurements are made. If association between scores is high the scale gives consistent results
and so it is reliable. For dealing with the issues of reliability we will be focusing on internal
consistency reliability.

Internal Consistency Reliability: it refers to a summated scale where several items are summed
to form total score.

Split Half Reliability:the items are divided into two halves and then the resulting half scores are
correlated. Scale items can be split into odd and even numbered items or randomly.

Validity: it refers to the validity of the observed scale scores that how it reflects true differences
among objects.

Content/Face Validity: it refers to the subjective and systematic evaluations of the
representativeness of the content of a scale. The researcher will be examining whether the entire
domain of the construct is covered which is to be measured.

Criterion Validity: it refers to examination of the performance of measurement scale if it
measures the relation of other variables being used as an important criteria.



Construct validity: it refers to the question of construct and characteristics the scale is using.

Convergent validity: how positively a scale correlates with other measures of the same
construct.

Discriminate validity: to what extent a measure does not correlate with other constructs. To
tackle the issues of reliability and validity we will be focusing on these techniques to avoid errors
and mistakes


3.5 Sampling techniques
Sampling Method:
Snowball Sampling: it is also called referral sampling as respondents after giving their
responses refer other respondents.
Or
Simple Random Method: in this type of method each and every member has a known and
equal probability for getting selected.

Sampling Frame: We will be targeting general public. Our target population includes adult male
and female having age 20 years and above. Our target population include those people who are
aware of the anthropomorphic characters used by marketers in Pakistan. We will get their
perception on anthropomorphism and branding.
Sample size: Unknown



3.6 Definitions of key terms, concepts and variables
Anthropomorphism
Child like anthropomorphic characters
Customer`s perception
Impact on Pakistani consumers
Impact on consumer behavior




3.7 Data analysis and interpretation
The research problem is about investigating how and why characters benefit brands building a
strong identity, favorable association and high sales at the end. As this study has no links with
any specific outcome but its dependent over the increase in our knowledge over
Anthropomorphism so our approach is basic.
In quantitative research we analyze data with the help of statistics. Through validity and
reliability. As far as data gathering technique is concerned so well gather information through
questionnaires that will all be quantitative and data analysis and interpretation will be done
through SPSS.

3.8 Ethical considerations

We will make sure that theres no personal biasness and opinions used in our research. The
research proposal further sets out following ethical considerations.

3.8.1 Confidentiality
The data of respondents will be kept private and confidential as in no personal information about
any respondent will be leaked or given to anyone for any further use.

3.8.2 Informed consent
In such a case where information of respondents is needed to be used for any further research
they would be informed prior to it and will be taken into reliability.

3.8.3 Provision of debriefing, counseling and additional information.
If respondent wants we will give him or her all the information related to the research and our
study after the participation.


3.9 Pretest or pilot study

Well design a research questionnaire that will be used to check and gather some basic
information. Sampling technique that well use would be convenient sampling because it is fast,
inexpensive, easy and subject readily available. The idea behind pilot testing is to check out if
our questions are correct and providing useful information as per the problem statement or not.
Sample size for testing would be 5-6 respondents.



4. MY PERSONAL WORK PLAN



STEPS IN THE RESEARCH PLAN

DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION
Submission of the proposal


Design of a research plan


Gaining access/getting permission to work in a particular area/have access to data, etc.


Literature review


Defining of a universe, a sample frame, sampling OR setting up of selection criteria, etc.


Design and testing of questionnaire, if appropriate


Design of a final questionnaire/schedules, etc.



Interviews/posting of questionnaires, etc.


Editing of completed questionnaires, grouping and coding of data, entering data into a computer


Design and testing of a computer program


Raw tabulations/draft analysis of qualitative data


Analysis of data


Report up of findings


Presentation of final research product(s)



LIST OF SOURCES



Please complete the following by ticking the appropriate box or writing a comment:

1. Did you select the best methods to allow you to answer your research question(s)?
Yes No Dont Know
1 2 3

2. Did you fully describe your study population, sampling procedures and methods of
data-gathering?
Yes No Dont Know
1 2 3

3. Have you considered the problems of gaining access to your data sources?
Yes No Dont Know


1 2 3

4. Do you need a letter of introduction (or a consent letter) from your study-leader(s)?
Yes No
1 2

5. Will you have to design a data-gathering/recording tool (e.g., a questionnaire, an
interview schedule, an observation checklist etc.)?
Yes No
1 2

6. Did you select and describe the most appropriate analysis procedures?
Yes No Dont Know
1 2 3

7. Will you need help with any analysis?
If Yes describe the type of help youll need If No, tell us why not







8. Have you considered the ethical implications of your study?
Yes No Dont Know
1 2 3

9. What are the MAIN problems you foresee in successfully completing this study?

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