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PROJECT TOPICS FOR COBE 2014.
UP TO 2 GROUPS IN EACH SECTION CAN WORK ON A PACRTICULAR TOPIC.
1. In this class we talk about the 6 principles of persuasion summarized by Robert Cialdini in
his book "Influence." There is a lot of academic and practical evidence supporting his general
principles of persuasion. In what ways do you see sales force members in India utilizing
these principles? What are they doing effectively and what can they incorporate to be more
efficient in persuading potential clients? For this assignment, it would be best to examine a
few different types of sales situations where the sale value is high (e.g. sales of hotel
memberships, sales of automobiles, etc.). You might also consider trying these influence
principles in small experiments at ISB and reporting those findings. In your literature
summary, you should try and highlight those findings and studies that I have not already
discussed in the Persuasion lecture in class. I do not want your paper to be a reiteration of my
own lecture! Finally, you should consider whether cultural differences (such as those between

the U.S.-where most of this research has been conducted- and India) lead to differences in the
effectiveness of these influence principles
2. Obesity is a rising problem in India and other developing countries and is particularly
problematic in India and China. There is a great deal of research suggesting that people's
nutrition and health choices can be affected by the way in which information is framed. What
suggestions can you make to marketers (in terms of presentation of choices and information,
packaging issues, marketing communications, etc) to help encourage healthier nutrition
habits among Indian consumers? How are choices and nutrition/health information currently
presented and how does this impact the decisions consumers make. For this topic, you might
consider observing a variety of settings that have the impact of influencing health habits,
such as restaurant environments, packaging and display in grocery stores, etc. Note: For this
topic, I do not want a 15-page summary of advertising lures kids to eating unhealthily. This
topic is not an investigation of marketing unhealthy foods to children so please make sure
your reports don't unnecessarily focus on it.
3. How are behavioral pricing techniques used to influence purchases of consumer goods and
how do you see these behavioral pricing techniques being used (either successfully or
unsuccessfully) by Indian retailers? Aside from observing the use of behavioral pricing
techniques in retail and service settings you may also consider browsing print advertisements
used by Indian retailers. How can retailers and service providers use the principles of
behavioral pricing to better manage sales? It would be a good idea to limit your primary
observation to 2-3 stores.
4. The level of donations to non-religious charitable organizations in India is relatively low
compared to other countries. What factors contribute to increased consumer donations and
how can this be applied to encourage Indians to donate more frequently and in larger
amounts? You should consider observing donation-seeking organizations in and around
Chandigarh (and remember, donations can be both in terms of money or other resources such
as time).
5. What are the effects of color on consumption decisions? How can retailers in India use these
principles to manage and enhance patronage? Are most retailers and service providers
effectively using color as a cue? For this question, it would be best for you to observe 2
different types of retail settings (e.g. department stores, grocery stores, cafes, restaurants, etc)
6. Internet search behavior has been widely studied and the findings can be utilized in many
different situations- from shopping for day-to-day consumer goods to "shopping" for
potential marriage candidates on matrimonial websites. What factors influence how people
search for "product" information online? How are websites (both Indian-based and nonIndian) managing their interface given the academic recommendations (e.g. what are they
doing right and wrong)? You should narrow your investigation to one or two different online
search domains (e.g. matrimonial websites or shopping comparison websites) and aside from
simply observing the website, you should interview customers who use these website for
insights into their search process. I do not want a superficial summary of how each websites
operate (e.g. "MakeMyTrip.com is cluttered, Cleartrip.com uses too many pictures). You

should be looking for deeper, more meaningful insights based on academic research (e.g.
what are the default options when you use Makemytrip.com? How is price information
conveyed- as a bundle or in individual parts? Is there an opportunity to sort choices? Are
social or expert reviews available? Etc.)
7. Women constitute a growing percentage of the Indian workforce and education segment. In
many cases, they are also the gatekeepers of purchase and consumption decisions. Yet, it
seems, not much effort has been made to understand the behavior of Indian women as it
relates to retailing and consumption. What does the literature suggest are successful tactics in
marketing to women? How does this compare or contrast to the way women are being
marketed to in India? You should pick 2 different organizations and compare and contrast
their marketing strategies toward female consumers. I do not want a generalized discussion
of how the role of women in India has changed- we already know this. I want you to explain
if the approach for all 4P's of the marketing mix that these 2 companies is taking seems to be
valid given what the academic literature tells you about how men and women differ in their
cognition & perception (e.g. Men are more likely to respond to sexual advertisement, women
are typically more involved in purchases, women typically evaluate a greater set of choices
before making a final call, women biologically respond differently to certain colors than men,
etc).
8. There has been significant research devoted to understanding how retail spaces should be laid
out for optimal shopping experience (both for the consumer and the retailer). For this project,
you need to pick two different retail establishments in your city (you can choose stores at
Elante Mall) and examine how their retail space is laid out. This is not a project on retail
atmospherics, I am not asking you to examine how color, sound, light, etc affect decision
making. I want you to examine factors like the position of different departments, the space in
the aisles, the entry/exit points, the types and position of signage, the positioning of POP
displays, etc. What does the literature tell us about how retail spaces should be organized
(Call of the Mall and Why We Buy are excellent resources for this project)? How does this
compare to what you have observed? What recommendations would you make regarding the
retail geography you've observed? If you could redesign the store, how would it look? What
benefit would this redesign have (to both consumers & retailers)?
9. Understanding and responding to customer satisfaction issues is a very big part of consumer
behavior. What does the literature suggest are some ways to measure and implement
customer satisfaction initiatives? How does this compare to the way customer satisfaction is
handled in Indian organizations? You should compare two different settings. Be
comprehensive in your analysis of their customer satisfaction programs. How do these
organizations collect customer satisfaction feedback? Is it a proactive or passive method? Do
these organizations use mechanisms such as guarantees to reduce dissonance (and enhance
satisfaction)? Do these organizations engage in relationship marketing? Etc.
10. Understanding brand relationships has been an area of interest in the marketing community.
Researchers have identified that people form attachments and relationships with brands,
ranging from "abusive relationships" to "flings." How do consumers' relationships with their
home (national) brands change as they move abroad and what implications does this have for

marketers? Yo u might consider interviewing expatriates or visiting students for this

particular question. Note: For this question (unlike Question 8 above), I am not asking you to
examine how the marketing mix should change for NRIs. I am asking you specifically to
examine how people's existing relationships with brands and products change as they move
from one country to another (as in the case of expats). For example, what happens to brands
that they used to love in their home countries but can't find in India? What happens to brands
they were neutral about or disliked in their home countries but are suddenly available in
India? For what categories are they willing to try local brands and for what categories do they
maintain loyalty to their home brands? Are there particular times that they "miss" their
brands more and what do they do? What's their willingness to pay for home brands that they
can purchase in India? For this, you should start by reading Fournier's paper "Consumers' and
their Brands."
11. A great deal of literature focuses on understanding low literate and low-income consumers,
both of which are present in the majority of Indian rural markets. How do the tactics
suggested by researchers and practitioners compare to the marketing efforts that are actually
in place to reach such consumers? Your project should focus on all 4Ps of the marketing mix
as they relate to low-literate and low-income consumers, do not focus exclusively on the
communications aspect.
12. The Indian government has issued a series of what are known as "Public Service
Announcements" to encourage Indian citizens to engage in a wide range of activities
including vaccinating their infants against Polio, preventing under-aged marriage (child
marriage), encouraging family planning, stopping harassment of women in public areas, and
encouraging parents to send their daughters to school. There appear to be many different
approaches to these PSAs, ranging from fear appeals to celebrity endorsements. Using the
literature available in consumer behavior academic research, you should pick two campaigns
(e.g. family planning & vaccinations; female harassment & education of girls, etc) and
examine the effectiveness/appropriateness of the PSAs. Your primary research should not
only include a survey of existing PSAs but you should also talk to real consumers (for whom
these PSAs are intended) and gauge their reactions to these communications. Don't limit
yourself to just television advertisements- what are the different mediums the government
(and other agencies) are using to communicate their objectives (TV, print media, outdoor
media, social media campaigns, events, etc)?
13. Music has been shown to have considerable impact on buying behavior. What are the effects
of music on consumption decisions? How can retailers in India use these principles to
manage and enhance patronage? Are most retailers and service providers effectively using
music as a cue? For this question, it would be best for you to observe 2 different types of
retail settings (e.g. department stores, grocery stores, cafes, restaurants, etc)
14. Luxury marketing has received considerable attention from researchers as they try to identify
what makes something a luxury experience. Luxury marketing in India is also of growing
importance as Indians' discretionary income levels rise and so do the number of choices
available. For this topic, you should start by summarizing what constitutes a luxury good or
experience (as indicated in the existing literature). Next, you need to do a thorough
investigation of how Indian consumers culturally differ from consumers in other countries

(e.g. we're more self-conscious, we have a greater interdependency with families and friends,
we are not culturally unified as in many other countries, etc). Once you have a good
understanding of what luxury is and how Indian consumers are different from other
consumers, you should focus on two different industries (e.g. fashion, hospitality,
automobiles, etc) and make recommendations along all four P's of the marketing mix as to
how luxury brand managers should tackle these elements given the unique forces in India.
Think about all 4P's (what kind of products/ experiences should be stocked, how much,
where should outlets be located, what kind of promotions or advertising should the company
engage in, relationship management, etc)?
15. There has been a great deal of attention paid to product design and product packaging by
both academics and marketing managers. Researchers have demonstrated many interesting
findings such as how consumers respond differently to products that are anthropomorphized
(have a human shape element) and products that are packaged in shapes of different sizes
(e.g. cylindrical versus rectangular). At the same time, marketing managers have realized that
packaging and design are important, but somewhat underutilized, tools in marketing as they
not only draw attention to but also help create a connection with the product. Your paper
should summarize some of the key findings from research in product design and packaging.
You should then survey the way in which products in 2-3 different industries in India are
packaged and designed, talk to (or observe) consumers about their reactions to these elements
and make recommendations for manufacturers of these products
16. Recently, many organizations have begun involving themselves in campaigns and efforts of
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). These CSR events range from sponsoring health and
wellness events to actually donating a percentage of profits to particular causes. There are
also many other ways in which companies engage in CSR and attempt to balance a social
motive with a profit motive- these include the adoption of fare wage and labor practices and
the production of goods in a manner that doesn't harm the environment. Academics have
dedicated a lot of effort in trying to understand what makes some CSR efforts a success and
others a failure. For example, they have looked at factors that enhance the acceptance and
believability of CSR efforts by consumers, the role of internal employees, etc. Even in India,
we see that companies are trying to balance the delicate line between sustainability and
profitability, though not all are doing a very good job at it. For this project, you should start
by summarizing what academic literature informs us about CSR marketing activities as well
as what is being done by way of CSR in India. You should then pick a few different CSR
campaigns in India and examine their level of success. What is contributing to their success
or failure? What discrepancies exist between the suggestions made by academic literature
and the reality being practiced by Indian companies? You should also interview consumers to
try and understand what gaps (if any) exist between the way in which companies see
themselves as being socially responsible and what consumers really expect (or want).
17. (Ewww, or Aha?!) Among the many observational methods of research is garbology.
Although it may seem a little disgusting, we can return to the lit(t)eral roots of our field of
consumption studies by lit(t)erally studying what we have consumed. Because you may find
it patently sickening to study someone elses garbage, you should try the following brief
exercise first using your own garbage, or the garbage from your student quad.

1. Choose a bag of garbage from your home. If you are in a home with recycling and/or
composting, then choose a bag each from all of the categories you collect.
2. In an open space (such as a backyard), open the garbage bag(s) and spread out the
contents.
3. Sort the contents into logical piles based on any classification scheme that makes sense.
Name the piles. Write down the names. Photograph them.
4. Look at the relative amounts of waste in each pile. Analyse this as data.
5. Look at the types of items in each pile. How can you describe them, their condition, their
relationship to each other?
6. What sort of conclusions about the types of consumers and the types of consumption
can you make about the members of this household/quad through an analysis of their
garbage?
Now repeat the whole exercise with the garbage from at least one, ideally two more different
households/quads and compare them. Suggest how marketing tactics to the families/groups
would be different based on your observation of the differences in their consumption (brands,
quantities etc). Please do not be too put off by the nature of this research. If you perform it,
the results may truly surprise you.
18. (More flexible) Identify a new market space (i.e. a new marketing opportunity based on the
unmet or under-met need(s) of a particular target segment for a specific, real company of
your choice. Provide strategic recommendations for entering and occupying that space (i.e. a
new or repositioned product with accompanying marketing strategy (STP + 4 Ps) for the
chosen segment), based on your understanding of the consumers comprising your target
segment.

Helpful references and guidelines for the project:

Excerpt from Qualitative Consumer & Marketing Research (Belk, Fischer and Kozinets, 2013);
Twelve Focal Guidelines for managerially focused marketing analysis (will be provided to
you). Many other references are available at the LRC.
Please feel free to use either qualitative and/or quantitative techniques for your data collection
and analysis.
In your in-class presentations, make sure to present excerpts from your primary research with
consumers.
Project Deadlines:
1. Group selection: Due before Session 3; group members 6-7 so that we have no more than 10
groups in the class.
2. Topic selection: Due before Session 3; Sign up for one of the topics provided on a Google
Docs link that will be sent to you. Do this as soon as you form your group.
3. Interim report: 1 page, double spaced should describe your approach to the project, plans for
primary data collection, initial findings if any. This will not be graded but you will lose points if
you do not complete this on time.
4. In-class presentations: Class 10, Tuesday September 30. I will invite some guests (alums,
faculty) to judge the presentations. Scored out of 10.
5. Final report: Due Tuesday October 7 9 PM. Around 10 double-spaced pages. Charts, tables,
figures can be part of an appendix and not counted towards the page limit.