Paper Boat Company Case Study

Thibaut De Pooter/ IBS 101/ 0126579-91

Indy Van den Eynden/ IBS 101/ 0126676-91

Tutor marked assignment 1: Paper Boat

CASE QUESTIONS

1. What is your inference and interpretation of the response in Exhibit 1? – 25 Points

It is clear to us that the statements in exhibit one revolve around the benefits of the product, why people would buy it and how the product makes its consumers feel. The exhibit is divided into five categories; sense, feel, think, act and relate. When glancing over the data it becomes clear that Paper boat scores rather well on nearly every statement. Data suggests that the nutritional value or the ‘energy boost’ component are not the main reasons why people buy the drink. Paper boat has made it clear from the beginning that they want people to get that ‘nostalgic’ feeling when drinking their beverage, that takes them back to the days when they were young. This is definitely the reason why Paper boat scores so well on the ‘’Feel’ segment of the exhibit.

The score for the nostalgic feeling is indeed particularly high when you compare it to the score of Dabur and Tropicana. We do however notice that the drink scores fairly low on the 'I think the drink is more than a drink' statement and we think this is because the brand focuses highly on the nostalgic component of the drink and not on any differentiating aspects.

When it comes to the relating part of the questionnaire we can see that the brand is able to fulfil its goal as they want their target audience to remember nice experiences from the past and six out of seven clients associate the drink with the words 'fun' and 'friendly'. These words obviously go hand in hand with a nostalgic experience.

2. What are the inferences that you may like to draw from Exhibits 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6? Why are these exhibits important? – 25 points

Exhibit 2 inquires around culture, religion and attempts to gain further insight into the respondents heritage. Data suggests the people who drink Paper Boat aren't very religious as they score a mere 2.87/5 when asked whether or not they often go to church or a temple. It also became quite clear that most consumers are proud of their Indian heritage and this is why the nostalgic component is appealing to them. This links up perfectly with another question in which they were asked where they lived. As the consumers of Paper Boat drinks more often live in traditional parts of the city and thus away from hip, modern areas.

Next up is Exhibit 3 which wondered about the self-development from the customers of Dabur, Paper Boat and Tropicana. These results indicate that for the mainstream Paper Boat customer self-development and identity isn't as important as it is for customers from the other two brands. This can be derived from their scores being substantially lower than the competitors.

The fourth exhibit acknowledges the importance of spirituality and philosophical desires. These results show that most Paper Boat customers care about others and want to make the world a better place. They are interested in keeping up to date with contemporary issues in society and support freedom of expression as well. Discussing to gain knowledge is also something they hold in high regard. Although we gained more insight in the world Paper Boat's customers want to live in we're not quite convinced that this information is necessary to enhance Paper Boat's business decisions as they're focused on the past instead of how the world can be.