PRICING RESEARCH

Pricing research involves first a pricing strategy assessment supported by strong pricing research capabilities.

Sound pricing market research requires a broad strategic perspective together with a focus on your pricing decision options.

Pricing research finds optimum price-product-feature configurations in the context of market positioning opportunities. In Pricing studies, we employ both qualitative research and quantitative research tools.

Pricing research usually concentrates on customers' sensitivity to pricing. This price sensitivity is driven by the nature of the market, the target within that market, the differentiation level of product or service, and the value of brand.

Pricing is one of the more technical areas of market research.

There are four main approaches:

Several different research methods are commonly used in pricing research—each with their own strengths and weaknesses. There are four techniques that are commonly used the four techniques are:

1. Gabor-Granger or Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter

2. Concept Test

3. Conjoint Analysis

4. Discrete Choice Modeling

 

1. Gabor-Granger or Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter (PSM)

In Gabor-Granger pricing research customers are asked to complete a survey where they are asked to say if they would buy a product at a particular price.

The price is changed and respondents again say if they would buy or not. From the results we can work out what the optimum price is for each individual.

By taking a sample of customers we can work out what levels of demand would be expected at each price point across the market as a whole.

Using this estimate of demand, the price elasticity (or expected revenue) can be calculated and so the optimum price-point in the market established.

The Price Sensitivity Meter (PSM) is used frequently by some researchers. The premise of the PSM is to ask respondents four price-related questions and then evaluate the cumulative distributions for each question.

Specifically, respondents are asked:

1. At what price would you consider the product to be so expensive that you would not consider buying it? (Too expensive)

2. At what price would you consider the product to be priced so low that you would feel the quality couldn’t be very good? (Too cheap)

3. At what price would you consider the product starting to get expensive, so that it is not out of the question, but you would have to give some thought to buying it? (Expensive)

4. At what price would you consider the product to be a bargain—a great buy for the money? (Cheap)

In this method, the optimal price point for a product is the point at which the same number of respondents indicate that the price is too expensive as those who indicate that the price is too cheap. Many pricing researchers question that this is the definitive optimal price for a product.

 

2. Concept Test/Concept Evaluation

The standard purchase intent question from a concept test is also commonly used for pricing research.

Respondents are presented with a product concept and asked how likely they would be to purchase this product at a specific price.

Typically the researcher will expose independent samples of respondents to different prices. The standard purchase intent question is shown below.

• (After introducing the product concept)

• How likely, would you be to purchase this product in the next 12 months if it costs Rs 9000?

• Definitely would purchase

• Probably would purchase

• Might or might not purchase

• Probably would not purchase

• Definitely would not purchase 

• To evaluate price sensitivity using this example, a sample of respondents evaluates this concept at Rs 9000, a different sample of respondents evaluates the same concept at Rs5000, and another sample of respondents evaluates the concept at Rs 14000.

A demand curve is constructed by evaluating purchase intent at each price.

3. Conjoint analysis:

Conjoint (trade-off) analysis is one of the most widely-used quantitative methods in Marketing Research.

It is used to measure preferences for product features, to learn how changes to price affect demand for products or service, and to forecast the likely acceptance of a product if brought to market.

Like concept tests, conjoint analysis presents concepts to respondents. However, instead of exposing each respondent to a single concept, in conjoint analysis each respondent is exposed to many concepts. For each treatment, respondents are asked to make hypothetical trade-offs between configured products. For example, a respondent might be asked to express his preference between two smart phone hand sets alternatives or between two VCR alternatives. 

In conjoint analysis, respondents are forced to make trade-offs between products and product features, much as buyers are forced to do when actually shopping.

Each respondent answers a series of trade-off questions; in each question the combination of features shown together changes. In this way, a large number of product features can be evaluated.

Each respondent provides enough information through his or her trade-offs that the utility of each product characteristic (including price) can be estimated for each respondent.

This individual-level estimation allows for the identification of individual differences that can lead to a market segmentation scheme and can be used to help predict acceptance of products by different individuals in a heterogeneous market.

These utilities also allow prediction of preference for any product that can be defined using the product characteristics in the study.

These preferences can be modeled in a market simulator. A market simulator allows “what-if” analysis for any configuration of products in any competitive environment. A demand curve can be produced from these simulations.

 

4. Discrete Choice

Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC) is used for discrete choice modeling, a research technique that is now the most often used conjoint-related method in the world. The main characteristic distinguishing choice-based from other types of conjoint analysis is that the respondent expresses preferences by choosing from sets of concepts, rather than by rating or ranking them. The choice-based task is similar to what buyers actually do in the marketplace. Choosing a preferred product from a group of products is a simple and natural task that everyone can understand.

CBC is often used to study the relationship between price and demand, and is especially useful when the price-demand relationship differs from brand to brand, and when only a few features need to be considered.

One of the strengths of CBC is its ability to deal with interactions, such as when different brands have different sensitivities to price changes. Most conjoint methods are based on "main effects only" models that ignore the existence of such interactions. In contrast, CBC may be used to evaluate all two-way interactions.

The researcher must decide on attributes and their levels, and compose whatever explanatory text is desired for the interview screens. Apart from that, everything can be done automatically. The CBC System provides all the tools needed to conduct a choice-based conjoint study via Web, CAPI (PCs not connected to the Web), or paper-based surveys. The CBC system includes three analysis modules and a market simulation module for testing "what if" scenarios.

In discrete choice, the respondent is presented with a set of products and the respondent is asked to pick one.

The results from discrete choice modeling are very similar to those from conjoint. For instance, both approaches are able to produce utilities at the individual level, and both discrete choice and conjoint allow what-if simulations. Discrete choice modeling has been used with great success in pricing research.

POST FEMINISM | WOMEN IN INDIA

Characteristics of Post-Feminism

In early 1980s, the media has begun to classify women in their teens and women in their twenties as “post-feminist generation”. After twenty years, the term post-feminist is still used to refer to young women.

Post-feminism is a highly debated topic since it implies that “post” refers “dead” or “after” feminism. Post feminism celebrates sexuality and fueled by advances in abortion, employment and fertility laws and concentrates on furthering the idea of empowerment, celebration of feminists, freedom of choice and liberation.

Women in visual media

Advertisements in both print and audio-visual media reach all types of people. For advertisements, very attractive women and teenage girls are mostly used to promote the product through their acting skills.

Advertisements in the 1980s have portrayed a woman as a homemaker serving her husband and children at home.

Later in the 1990s, even though they have portrayed perfect and complete man, women are showed as a sex pictogram. The women have been shown as sexy, insensitive and hormone-driven female chauvinists. There have been many new advertisements being launched every month but the concept and idea have been often new when compared with the old ones.

The present concepts in advertisements avoid the stereotyping approach. While they portray an independent woman who is successful in her career, which inspires and motivates the young girls and registers a positive note in their minds to no longer spend time on useless activities.

Advertisements are made in a very attractive manner that they appeal to both men and women regardless of their age. Advertisements are often made to celebrate what is happening in the society. Events like International Women`s Day reach a wider audience by commercials which promote consumer items through the concepts based on liberated career-driven women. Most of the advertisements are based on the present scenario. To create the catchy advertisements, there are many private media companies running day and night all over the globe. They come up with apt concepts which are suitable for the target audience based on the products that they are going to sell. In this way, media helps a lot in keeping people aware of the feministic views.

Post-feminist views in media (Internationally)

The term ‘Post-feminist’ with regards to poetry has been, for the first time, used by Carol Rumens in her anthology titled Making for the Open: The Chatto Books of Post-feminist Poetry. Rumens have clarified the use of the term ‘Post-feminist’ in her introduction to the anthology. As a post-feminist supporter, she has applied the concept in the fields of media sector like print and visual media. It has reached earliest in England, Germany, the United States and other countries. The post-feminist ‘equality portrayals’ of women are visible in cinema, electronic and mass media advertisements and also in literature in the form of avoidance from depicting a young woman as passive, inferior, weaker and subordinate to a man. The impact of ‘the girl poser’ has been recognized, and women are represented as more assertive. Self-assured and confident women are shown as having equal footing with men. Even if some portrayals appear sexist, women are not shown as ‘victims’. The new women proclaim their womanhood in a bold manner.

 

Post-feminism has started in the media field in the year 1982. The feminist critics have explored the concept through media. It has shown those traditional felinities which are not allowable through feminism. These include an unabashed return to men, a spotlight on consumerism, reconsideration of motherhood and attempts at home life. The individualism, domesticity and consumerism are presented through powerful TV shows and films like Bridget Jones Diary. One of the modern novels (which also has its film version) concerned with feminist criticism is Bridget Jones`s Diary by Helen Fielding which portrays society`s views of single women in contemporary societies. The protagonist of the novel is a strong and independent person and her worries are that she does not want to arrive finally living alone without the support of man when she grows older.

Post Feminism and Advertising

the ideology of post-feminism as portrayed by visual media in India: Upon watching the advertisements which are always shown on TV and other forms of visual media seven advertisements which permeated the ideology of post-feminism are selected as examples. They are: Forest Essentials Ayurvedic Cream, Wedding Jewellery by TBZ Garlands, Dabur Vatika Hair Oil, Titan Ranga: “Woman of Today”, Havells’ Coffee Maker, Havells’ Fans and Femina

Avoiding Stereotypes

Avoiding stereotypes is an important feature of advertisements which carry the hallmark of post-feminism. For instance, in the advertisement ‘Wedding Jewellery’ by TBZ Garlands, the model Katrina Kaif talks about the concept of the right time for marriage denying the old school thoughts which condition women to stay at home after marriage. The commercial gives awareness to women and makes them catch hold of the post-feminist concept through its strong female character.

Another advertisement by Home Appliances has ideas as endless as their gadgets. The commercial depicts the Indian customary scene of seeing a bride where the mother of the boy laments that her darling son seeking a wife suffers so much in his bachelor life abroad and has to step out even for a cup of coffee. The defiant girl firmly places her coffee-maker before the startled boy, saying “Take this one and settle down, no travel authorization problem either”, as she wants only to be a wife, not a kitchen appliance. This advertisement stands against the stereotyping concept which has been there for ages that emphasizes women’s space in the kitchen. For breaking the stereotype mindset, this advertisement has earned the glorious Cannes award

.

Femina, the advertisement of the brand, opens the scene when a traditionally dressed girl with all her jewels and an expensive silk saree approaches directly facing the audience. Then the camera starts to pan around the house which she has just entered and it lets us know that there is a marriage function happening there. On her way to a room she casually looks at a middle-aged man’s photograph and closes her eyes suggesting that she is looking for his blessings. Finally she enters a room and there is a middle-aged woman in her bride costume looking at the window sadly. The table turns out when the girl calls the middle-aged woman ‘Ma’, it enable the audience understand that it’s the second marriage of the middle-aged woman, and the person in the picture is her ex-husband. The concept totally breaks all the stereotypes rooted in tradition which makes a woman’s life empty after her husband’s death.

Dabur Vatika hair oil advertisement tells us the tale of a woman who has survived cancer and lost her hair due to medication. Even though she looks tonsured, her family and colleagues are very happy with her real beauty. She gets comfortable with the society, and the advertisement demolishes the stereotypical idea of beauty.

Support for Female Characters

Most of the advertisements are made with female actors. It gives the clue that the post- feministic ideologies play a vital role in the marketing industry. An Ayurveda cream advertisement titled “Warrior Princess” directed by Carole Dennis tells us the story of the transformation of a warrior maiden sent to battle. Cream is rubbed on her forehead before she mounts a horse, sheathes a small sword and rides off with a small group. It shows female courage and enthusiasm to the audience.

Individualism

The main goal of post-feminism is a woman’s individualism. Mc Robbie introduces a new `female individualism’ which dismisses the ‘old’ feminism. Feminism itself is seen to belong to the past which characterizes the post-feminist woman of popular culture in individualism, sophistication and choice. The advertisement ‘Woman of Today’ featuring the Bollywood actresses Nimarat Kaur, made by the company Titan to sell their wrist watches, tells the audience that a woman has every right to make the choices of her own. It also has the tagline `Her Life Her Choices’.

Womens’ Identity

Mostly, the female actors from the film industry are used in the advertisements to showcase the women’s identity in the society, since the target audience of these commercials is women. It portrays every individual woman from different fields of the workplace, for example, IT professionals, students, home makers and so on. An advertisement for ceiling fans from Havells had been launched in the year 2013.The concept of the ad was to avoid patriarchy, and it also shares a socially relevant view on changing one’s name after marriage. In the commercial, a couple goes to an office for registration. At that time the husband decides to take his wife`s last name after their marriage, and it shows the female registrar surprised and satisfied. The couple from the ad has given a simple and yet never noticed lesson to the society. The Indian advertisements of the recent times give a lot of importance to womens identity when compared with the old ones.

Impact of Advertisement on Society

Advertisement is a medium of communication to send product related messages to customers along with various features of the products advertised. Each advertisement sells a product with a concept and a trending topic. At present advertisement companies have become a critical component for the overall advertising market.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are also becoming a powerful platform for advertisements to reach a wider audience. Through media, the message about the product can be heard within minutes. While the viewer’s watch the advertisement, the message gets into their minds and its impact reflects on the society.

In the 21st century, media has reached a cutting edge development in terms of technology and reaches all over the world . visual media is very effective and memorable owing to the use of characters and concepts which can occupy the minds of the audience for a very long time. While the viewers watch the advertisements, the particular products will get fixed in their minds. This is the method how the products and the concept are gain the viewers’ belief and trust.

Thus we see that post feminism ideology is available in Indian advertisements, and they tend to change people’s mindset with every new advertisement launch in the popular visual media.

Ref: https://www.globalmediajournal.com/open-access/ideology-of-postfeminism-portrayal-through-visual-advertisements-in-india.php?aid=82612

 

LOGISTICS INSURANCE

The Insurance taken for logistic business is known as Cargo Insurance / Marine Cargo Insurance which covers risks involved in transporting good by all modes of transport and at every stage of the movement.

The primary benefit of purchasing cargo insurance to protect the value of goods and coverage of goods in transit during land, sea or air transportation.

It provides the insurance cover in respect of loss or damage to cargo during transit by rail, road, sea or air. It covers the export and import shipment by ocean, trans-shipments, consignments sent by rail, road and air, articles sent by post, etc.

The insured must have an insurance interest in the goods at the time of loss. The insurable interest or obligation to take out insurance is usually determined by a term of delivery.

The marine cargo insurance usually covers:

Loss of damage to cargo during transit

Expected profit from sale of goods at place of destination.

Financial losses attributed to delay in start-up caused by loss or non-delivery of insure cargo.

 

IMPORTANCE OF CARGO INSURANCE

The primary benefit of purchasing cargo insurance is to protect the value of goods.

It normally provides indemnity against loss of or damage to merchandise caused by fire or explosion, collision, sinking, capsizing, washing overboard and general average sacrifice.

Cargo may be exposed to a variety of risks while in transit with damages or losses occurring during storage.

In the event of emergency, a cargo ship may voluntarily sacrifice part of its cargo.

Cargo policies will indemnity against loss or damage to goods being shipped as a result of an even insured against in that policy.

 

HAZARDS IN LOGISTICS

Hazards means loss or risk; a threat of damage, injury, abilities, loss or any other occurrence that is caused by external or internal vulnerabilities.

All businesses have some level of risk and the task of business to minimize the risk and maximize profit. In most cases risk is addressed through insurance, initially physically insurance such as fire, theft, public liability, etc.

Hazards of shipping goods by sea

-Weather and geographical hazards

It includes natural calamities like typhoons, cyclones, which pose a serious threat to the sea freight and can cause serious damage to your cargo vessel.

A marine transit insurance policy can give coverage like earthquake, lightening, washing overboard, entry of sea or river water into the vessel, etc.

-Man made hazards

Risk happens due to the fault of people on the ship. Many a times, losses or damages occur while loading into or unloading goods from craft or vessel.

Packaging hazards

Goods get damaged despite the proper packing, damaged due to improper packaging, owner can refuse to take the delivery of goods and file a case against you. In this case, marine insurance company can agree to cover your losses or damages which may arise due to improper packaging.

The marine insurance policy covers the loss or damage to property caused due to:

Natural disasters like cyclone, lightening, earthquates, etc.

Man-made disasters like theft, violence and piracy of ships

Collision, overturing of land conveyance, sinking of ships

Expenses such as survey fees, forwarding cost, etc.

 

Hazards of Logistics by roadways

Passenger lawsuits: Common automobile accident case involves two vehicles. With the driver of one calming the driver of the other was responsible. Sometimes only one vehicle is involved. In this case, the passenger in the vehicle may claim injury as a result of his own driver’s negligence eve if the driver is a close friend.

Major hazards due to problems by road transportation

Most of the Indian roads are not suitable for use of vehicular traffic.

Mixing of traffic

Multiple check posts, toll, etc

Low attention on road safety and traffic laws

Transport infrastructure risk

Risk of theft

Risk of overloading

Risk of drunken drivers

Weather conditions

Political and government related risk

Technological risk

Driver shortage risk

 

Protection – Types of Cargo Insurance Policies

Cargo insurance

Marine cargo insurance also known as freight insurance covers the risks of loss or damage to goods and merchandise while in transit by sea, rail or air. Examples:

Manufacturing: bringing raw materials and distributing finished products

Agriculture: ranging from grains and fruits to livestock transport

Wholesalers: moving goods from producers to retailers

Retailers: moving stock from warehouses and stock transfers

Mining: Importing and Exporting raw materials and shipments

 

Hull insurance:

Insurance of vessel and its equipment are included under hull insurance. It is also known as boat insurance that covers damage to a boat, its machinery and its equipment. This type of marine insurance is mainly taken by the owner of the ship in order to avoid any loss to the ship in case of any mishaps occurring

Liability insurance:

This protects an individual or business from the risk that they may be used and held legally liable for something such as malpractice, injury, etc. Business owners may purchase liability insurance that covers them if an employee is injured during business operations. Some of the liability insurance are:

Employer’s liability and workers compensation – type of mandatory coverage for employers which protect the business against liabilities arising from injuries of the death of an employee.

Protect liability insurance protects against lawsuits arising from injury or death caused by their products.

Indemnity insurance provides coverage to protect a business against negligence like resulting from mistakes or failure to perform.

 

Freight insurance:

Cargo insurance provides protection against all risks of physical loss or damage to freight form any external causes during shipping, whereby land, sea or air. It also covers options to insure from ‘warehouse to warehouse’. The freight insurance policy will cover the goods from the full value declared. It can be purchased directly from a shipper or from a third party insurer also called as cargo insurance.

COMMON CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS IN LOGISTICS

Some common causes of accidents in warehouses:

Fork lifts

Hazard communication

Mechanical power transmission

Electrical works

Respirator protection

Lockout / tagout

Portable fire extinguisher

 

Some common causes of travelling accidents

Drive fatigue

Debris on highway

Hitting a stopped vehicle from behind

Driving off the side of the road

Speeding

Poor road conditions

Loss of control

Mechanical failure

Shifting cargo

Lane driving

FEMINISM & POST FEMINISM

The term feminism can be used to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women.

Feminism involves political and sociological theories and philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference, as well as a movement that advocates gender equality for women and campaigns for women's rights and interests. Although the terms "feminism" and "feminist" did not gain widespread use until the 1970s, they were already being used in the public parlance much earlier.

The history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first feminist wave was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s, and the third extends from the 1990s to the present. Feminist theory emerged from these feminist movements. It is manifest in a variety of disciplines such as feminist geography, feminist history and feminist literary criticism, etc.

First wave

First-wave feminism refers to an extended period of feminist activity during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Originally it focused on the promotion of equal contract and property rights for women and the opposition to chattel marriage and ownership of married women (and their children) by their husbands. However, by the end of the nineteenth century, activism focused primarily on gaining political power, particularly the right of women's suffrage.

Feminists such as Voltairine de Cleyre and Margaret Sanger were still active in campaigning for women's sexual, reproductive, and economic rights at this time. In 1854, Florence Nightingale established female nurses as adjuncts to the military.

In Britain the Suffragettes and, possibly more effectively, the Suffragists campaigned for the women's vote. In 1918 the Representation of the People Act 1918 was passed granting the vote to women over the age of 30 who owned houses. In 1928 this was extended to all women over twenty-one. In the United States, leaders of this movement included Lucretia Mott, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, who each campaigned for the abolition of slavery prior to championing women's right to vote; all were strongly influenced by Quaker thought. American first-wave feminism involved a wide range of women. American first-wave feminism is considered to have ended with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1919), granting women the right to vote in all states.

The term first wave was coined retrospectively after the term second-wave feminism began to be used to describe a newer feminist movement that focused as much on fighting social and cultural inequalities as political inequalities.

Second wave

Second-wave feminism refers to the period of activity in the early 1960s and lasting through the late 1980s. The scholar Imelda Whelehan suggests that the second wave was a continuation of the earlier phase of feminism involving the suffragettes in the UK and USA.

Second-wave feminism has continued to exist since that time and coexists with what is termed third-wave feminism. The scholar Estelle Freedman compares first and second-wave feminism saying that the first wave focused on rights such as suffrage, whereas the second wave was largely concerned with other issues of equality, such as ending discrimination.

The feminist activist and author Carol Hanisch coined the slogan "The Personal is Political" which became synonymous with the second wave. Second-wave feminists saw women's cultural and political inequalities as inextricably linked and encouraged women to understand aspects of their personal lives as deeply politicized and as reflecting sexist power structures.

Simone de Beauvoir and The Second Sex

The French author and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir wrote novels; monographs on philosophy, politics, and social issues; essays; biographies; and an autobiography. She is now best known for her metaphysical novels, including She Came to Stay and The Mandarins, and for her treatise The Second Sex, a detailed analysis of women's oppression and a foundational tract of contemporary feminism. Written in 1949, its English translation was published in 1953. It sets out a feminist existentialism which prescribes a moral revolution. As an existentialist, she accepted Jean-Paul Sartre's precept existence precedes essence; hence "one is not born a woman, but becomes one." Her analysis focuses on the social construction of Woman as the Other. This de Beauvoir identifies as fundamental to women's oppression. She argues women have historically been considered deviant and abnormal and contends that even Mary Wollstonecraft considered men to be the ideal toward which women should aspire. De Beauvoir argues that for feminism to move forward, this attitude must be set aside.

The Feminine Mystique

Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1963) criticized the idea that women could only find fulfillment through childrearing and homemaking. According to Friedan's obituary in the The New York Times, The Feminine Mystique “ignited the contemporary women's movement in 1963 and as a result permanently transformed the social fabric of the United States and countries around the world” and “is widely regarded as one of the most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century.” In the book Friedan hypothesizes that women are victims of a false belief system that requires them to find identity and meaning in their lives through their husbands and children. Such a system causes women to completely lose their identity in that of their family. Friedan specifically locates this system among post-World War II middle-class suburban communities. At the same time, America's post-war economic boom had led to the development of new technologies that were supposed to make household work less difficult, but that often had the result of making women's work less meaningful and valuable.

Third wave

Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s, arising as a response to perceived failures of the second wave and also as a response to the backlash against initiatives and movements created by the second wave. Third-wave feminism seeks to challenge or avoid what it deems the second wave's essentialist definitions of femininity, which (according to them) over-emphasize the experiences of upper middle-class white women.

A post-structuralist interpretation of gender and sexuality is central to much of the third wave's ideology. Third-wave feminists often focus on "micro-politics" and challenge the second wave's paradigm as to what is, or is not, good for females. The third wave has its origins in the mid-1980s. Feminist leaders rooted in the second wave like Gloria Anzaldua, bell hooks, Chela Sandoval, Cherrie Moraga, Audre Lorde, Maxine Hong Kingston, and many other black feminists, sought to negotiate a space within feminist thought for consideration of race-related subjectivities.

Third-wave feminism also contains internal debates between difference feminists such as the psychologist Carol Gilligan (who believes that there are important differences between the sexes) and those who believe that there are no inherent differences between the sexes and contend that gender roles are due to social conditioning.

Post-feminism

Post-feminism describes a range of viewpoints reacting to feminism. While not being "anti-feminist," post-feminists believe that women have achieved second wave goals while being critical of third wave feminist goals. The term was first used in the 1980s to describe a backlash against second-wave feminism. It is now a label for a wide range of theories that take critical approaches to previous feminist discourses and includes challenges to the second wave's ideas. Other post-feminists say that feminism is no longer relevant to today's society.

One of the earliest uses of the term was in Susan Bolotin's 1982 article "Voices of the Post-Feminist Generation," published in New York Times Magazine. This article was based on a number of interviews with women who largely agreed with the goals of feminism, but did not identify as feminists.

Some contemporary feminists, such as Katha Pollitt or Nadine Strossen, consider feminism to hold simply that "women are people". Views that separate the sexes rather than unite them are considered by these writers to be sexist rather than feminist'.'

In her book Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, Susan Faludi argues that a backlash against second wave feminism in the 1980s has successfully re-defined feminism through its terms. She argues that it constructed the women's liberation movement as the source of many of the problems alleged to be plaguing women in the late 1980s. She also argues that many of these problems are illusory, constructed by the media without reliable evidence. According to her, this type of backlash is a historical trend, recurring when it appears that women have made substantial gains in their efforts to obtain equal rights.

Angela McRobbie argues that adding the prefix post to feminism undermines the strides that feminism has made in achieving equality for everyone, including women. Post-feminism gives the impression that equality has been achieved and that feminists can now focus on something else entirely. McRobbie believes that post-feminism is most clearly seen on so-called feminist media products, such as Bridget Jones's Diary, Sex and the City, and Ally McBeal. Female characters like Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaw claim to be liberated and clearly enjoy their sexuality, but what they are constantly searching for is the one man who will make everything worthwhile.

Ref: http://www.gender.cawater-info.net/knowledge_base/rubricator/feminism_e.htm

PACKAGING RESEARCH

MEANING: Packaging research is one aspect of product research. It deals with the needs and expectations of consumers about the package (size, shape, colour combination, durability, material used, etc.) used.

 Packaging research is useful for making product packages secured, attractive and agreeable to consumers.

Packaging research plays a positive role in modern marketing.

 It acts as a sales promotion technique.

 It makes the product attractive and agreeable to consumers.

 Packaging needs constant changes as per the expectations of consumers and also as per the current trends in packaging designs.

For achieving these objectives, packaging research is useful.

Moreover, the advantages of packaging (as noted above) indicate the importance and need of packaging and packaging research.

For large-scale marketing, attractive packaging is a must. It should be used for established as well as for new products. In addition, renovations should be made in the packages after some interval. For this package research is useful. Manufacturers, in India, now take active interest in package research. As a result, we observe new packages of varied sizes, shapes and colour combinations in the market for all types of products particularly consumer items such as soaps, cosmetics and oils.

Packaging research has special significance in export marketing as packaging of export items needs to be safe, secured, and also attractive to foreign buyers. Packaging needs to be as per the standard packaging norms used in different countries. In addition, packaging of export items needs to be as per the legal provisions made in different countries. For e.g. packaging rules and procedures are very strict in European countries.

WHY IS PACKAGING RESEARCH UNDERTAKEN? Packaging research is undertaken in order to find out reasonably correct and reliable answers to the following packaging problems/issues:

(1) Whether the existing package used for the specific product is attractive and agreeable to consumers and is also as per the current trends in the field of packaging.

(2) Whether certain modifications/alterations are necessary in the existing packages (used by the company) so as to make them attractive and as per the tastes and requirements of consumers.

(3) Whether the existing packages are eco-friendly (in regard to material used and colour-combination) and to introduce suitable modifications in them so as to make them eco-friendly. (e.g., avoiding the use of thin plastic bag or replacement of plastic containers through the use of thick paper, wood, etc.)

(4) Whether the packaging material used is safe, durable and gives full protection to the product against moisture, light, high temperature and shock and whether any other material which is more economical and safe can be used/introduced.

(5) Whether the existing package gives clearly visible identity to the product and its brand.

(6) Whether the cost of packaging is high and how to bring down the packaging cost and thereby to make the product competitive as well as attractive in the market.

(7) Whether the existing package facilitates proper disposal or reuse of the packaging material after the use of the product.

(8) Whether there is scope for improvement in the packaging so as to make it attractive, eco-friendly and easily/quickly saleable.

Package graphics and copy are critical marketing variables in many product categories, particularly for non advertised or under advertised brands in self-serve shopping environments. 

The package on a retail shelf is the last opportunity to influence consumers before they decide to buy. It’s the final sales pitch at the “moment of truth,” when the brand-choice decision is made. The better the package design and copy, the greater the likelihood that consumers will choose that brand. Any new package design, or significant change in an existing package, should always be subjected to the scrutiny of objective consumer feedback.

 

Following are the packaging research methods:

1. Package Screen

2. Package Check

3. Package Test

4. Custom/Ad Hoc Packaging Research

 

1. Package Screen

Early-Stage Package Designs: The package design process typically begins with the creation of a large number of “rough” or early-stage designs. Ten to twenty package designs, or more, are common at this beginning stage. The research objective is to identify the package designs that resonate with consumers, so that creative efforts can be focused on further development of the better designs. Package Screen is an Internet-based system to accomplish this winnowing task.

How Does Package Screen Work?: A representative sample of 200 to 300 target audience consumers are recruited from a panel. These participants are invited to come to a location and view the early-stage package designs. Each respondent sees all of the package designs one at a time (front panel only) on his/her computer monitor, in randomized order.

Then, each person views the package designs a second time and answers four questions about each design.

The answers to these four questions are fed into a mathematical model to calculate an overall score for each design. The highest-rated designs are recommended for further development.

 

2. Package Check

Diagnostic Feedback

The next step in the design process is to learn more about the better designs so that further improvements can be made. Package Check is, designed to provide this diagnostic feedback.

How Does Package Check Work?: A representative sample of target-audience consumers are recruited to as a panel and view each package design. The respondents see only one package design (i.e., a monadic test) and then answer a series of questions about their reactions, including a series of open-ended questions.

The report includes answers to standard questions, compared to the organizations action standards, as well as verbatim responses to open-ended questions. The verbatim detail is valuable to creative teams as they strive to improve the graphic design, as well as the copy, on the package. A typical Package Check study is based on 75 completed interviews.

 

3. Package Test

Finished Or Near-Finished Package Designs: As packages near the end of the design process, a more complete evaluation is required, with comprehensive measurements to assess all of the important elements of package design.

Package Test is comprehensive, testing system to evaluate finished (or near-finished) package designs. A representative sample is recruited. The panels, and qualified respondents are invited to evaluate the package design.

Respondents first see the package’s front panel, and later view the other panels. The research design is monadic. The report includes answers to standard questions, as well as the coded responses to all open-ended questions, along with an analysis and interpretation.

A mathematical model, based on a number of key variables, calculates an overall score for the package design and compares it to action standards. A typical Package Test project is based on 150 completes.

 

4. Custom/Ad Hoc Packaging Research

Package Communication

What is the package communicating? What is the package failing to communicate?

Depth interviews are typically used to explore package communication issues. Usually, the test package is shown at different time exposures (1/500 of a second, 1/200 of a second, etc.) using a tachistoscope.

At each exposure level, package recognition and communication are examined.

Then the respondents are asked to examine and to read the package in detail, with no time limits.

The consumer’s reactions to every detail of package graphics and copy are explored in the interview. The purpose of this research is to learn how to improve brand recognition and package communication.

 

5. Shelf Impact

Does the average consumer notice the package on the shelf?

To evaluate shelf impact, we typically build representative displays of the test package in a competitive environment.

These displays are photographed from angles representative of the consumer’s perspective. The test package is rotated within the display.

The best photographs (with correct rotations) are shown to a representative sample of consumers, at various time exposures (1/200 of a second, 1/100 of a second, and so on) with a tachistoscope. The respondents are questioned about what they see and what they understand, as the length-of-time exposure increases. This methodology helps determine the visibility (or attention value) of a test package, relative to competitive packages.

 

6. Simulated Display

The ultimate test of a package is whether it stimulates trial of a product.

To measure a package’s trial potential, a representative display of a product category (with all major competitive brands) is assembled. Matched samples of consumers are instructed to “shop” the display.

Their brand decisions, and the reason for those decisions, are explored in post-shopping interviews.

Simulated display allows us to measure a package’s trial potential and helps us learn how to improve its trial potential.