Qualitative Research.

This Hyundai dealership came up with quite a clever commercial. It is viewed through a mock up “hidden camera” observing a salesman and customer interact. The images seen depict the two men as almost friends through the experience. Where often the process of negotiating the price of a car is hard and stressful, at Hyundai it is apparently not. More than this the commercial is the same thing as a form of Qualitative research known as participant observation. In participant observation research, the researcher observes the subject going about an activity clueless to the researchers presence removing any sort of bias.

This isn’t the only time that Hyundai has aired a commercial based on participant observation. A few months ago there was a commercial with a woman test driving a car. The car was a Hyundai but all logos were covered with tape and there was a hidden camera. The woman drove the car and proceeded to compliment it with no idea what the car was or that she was being filmed. After the car was revealed to her as a Hyundai she acted surprised as she was told that she had just been in a commercial. Why is such an effective commercial? The same reason it is so effective for research. There are no biases and it is completely candid.

Hyundai Commercial

Classmate Comments

This week I read Greg Covelles blog, it takes a look at the different forms of Public Relations involved in the sporting world and industry. Greg wrote an interesting piece last week about the Oregon Ducks, a college football team that seems to be on the rise and winning big games. What the Ducks have seen is that their products don’t sell at their games. I like Gregs idea to use unobtrusive research at schools that move lots of merchandise. The plan to have “agents” for lack of a better term go to these schools and observe their what their hottest selling items are is great. This will as Greg said give them the information they need to arrange prices. However as later mentioned Oregon has a reputation. I wonder if unobtrusive research could be used to find out what exactly is causing the bad reputation and how to correct it. I think with both those plans put into action not only will sales go up but with a fixed reputation they can benefit from other things such as more admissions.
Gregs Blog



I also read a blog by Steph Gerleit titled Unobtrusive Research in the Celebrity World. I agree that social media is a great way for celebrities to keep in touch with their fans. However I wonder if there are alterior motives for the use of these mediums. Is it possible that some celebrities use twitter and such other mediums to put up fake connections with their fans in order to gain their business? Regardless, the quote Steph found of Kim Kardashian’s showed genuine appreciation for her fans.
Steph's Blog

Qualitative Testing.

Auto – journalism is almost 100 percent qualitative research. Most of what the field is revolves around it primarily in test drives, interviews, and event coverage. This week I will be referencing a test done by www.insideline.com. They took two competitive cars and tested them on the Dyno, a machine that is used to record horsepower, top speed, and torque curves.

If you’re a car enthusiast who loves to drive but doesn’t want to spend over 30,000 you know about the Volkswagen GTI and the Mazdaspeed 3, and the rivalry they have that could run deeper than that of the Red Sox and Yankees. There’s the GTI, the iconic hot hatch that started it all rated at 200 horsepower and then the new kid on the block Mazdaspeed with 263 horsepower. What inside line wanted to find out is which car has the better power curve. Its understood that the Mazda makes more power and is faster, but its engine be able to perform as smoothly as the GTI’s?

The answer is no, the dyno recorded that the GTI built up power progressively low in its rev range and built almost until redline before power would slowly diminish. The Mazda on the other hand had less low end power and had an immediate power drop well before it’s redline.

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