market research report: rim blackberry and the smartphone market

2

Blackberry

Research in motion UK Limited

200 Bath Road

Slough

Berkshire

SL1 3XE

Market Research Report

Prepared By: Insight Agency

35 Belleview Way

London

SW6 1AE

Phone: 020 7317 9300

Email: [email protected]

3

We at Insight are committed to bringing you at Blackberry an inspirational service to help facilitate

those innovative ideas, problems and hurdles by bringing them to life within the organisations

constraints. If for any reason you want to discuss anything mentioned in following report feel free to

contact any of us:

MANAGING DIRECTOR

(Emelia Chin-Smith)

FIELD WORK

(Janine Johnson)

QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

(Julie Miles)

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

(Charlie Marples)

4

Contents Page

Content Page

Front Cover 1 Contact Details 2 Mission Statement and corporate positions 3 Contents Executive Summary 5 Background 6 Management Problem 6 Research Problem 6 – 7 Approach and Rationale 7 Research Design 8 Measurement and Scaling 9 - 10 Sampling method 11 – 12 Field work and data collection 13 Ethics 14 Preparing and analysing data 15 – 18 Limitations 19 – 20 Conclusion and future recommendations 21 Appendix 22 – 62 References 63 Bibliography 64 Back Cover 65

5

Executive Summary

The dynamic nature of the mobile phone and more specifically the ‘Smartphone’ industry means

that business is a consistent battle to keep ahead of the competition through innovation and

inspiring the consumer. In order to maintain market share Blackberry wish to reposition themselves

amongst the youth student market, those aged 18-24 within the UK. In order to do this we at Insight

have attempted to identify a salient attribute that the youth market value through gauging an

understanding of their values, attitudes and knowledge, behaviour and the environment that

surrounds them. In order to do this a combination of secondary data, descriptive questionnaires –

one that was physically handed out and the other supplied online, and laddering interviews which

are a type of one on one interview where the participant was probed about a topic. The sample used

was a mixture of 18-24 year old students from the Lincolnshire area of wide variety of

demographics. This consisted of:

- Physical questionnaires – 100 participants

- Online – 80 participants

- Laddering Interviews – 20 participants

All data was then analysed using SPSS, a statistical analysis programme, excel and word, which are all

computer based databases. This enabled the identification of the following market characteristics:

- There is no gender difference amongst the student segment in terms of brand choice

- Student markets is price sensitive and place a low value on loyalty where phones are

concerned.

- Their perception of brand positioning (in terms of a league table) varied compared to

the market as a whole suggestive of the variation in lifestyle values.

- They highly valued the idea of having a certain branded phone to achieve a sense of

happiness, social status and self-esteem.

- The idea of third party applications enhancing the phone proved to be popular in

particular the idea of having business application as it suited their lifestyle.

Thus, Insight suggest that Blackberry would benefit from developing a partnership with third party

application suppliers to develop an application such as, a timetabling app, that will be relevant and

appeal to this segments lifestyle. In addition the implementation of a number of advertising

strategies specifically targeted at the student market using a message such as “ Love what you do”

would align the existing corporate brand image with the lifestyles and values of the student market

perhaps making the brand a more salient (popularly) thought of brand. However, it is advisable that

further research is conducted into the area of third party applications on a wider and more specific

scale before any strategies are implemented.

6

Background

The mobile phone industry in the UK is constantly growing and is expected to reach 32 million units

being sold in the UK by 2013, according to Datamonitor (2009). Therefore, it is not surprising that

competition is fierce in such an attractive and lucrative market. Blackberry currently competes in the

‘smart phone’ market (phones that offer PC like functionality along with the basic mobile phone

functions). This is a trend that is expected to see significant growth thus, Blackberry need to keep on

top of their market position and continue to innovate forward

Although the threat of new entrants to the mobile phone market is relatively weak, as a result of the

large amount of capital and economies of scale required to compete, the threat of existing

competition is strong with key players such as Apple, Nokia, HTC, Samsung and Sony Ericson all

competing for the opportunity to become the customers mobile of choice. Currently, according to

The Independent (2010) Blackberry controls 19.9% of the ‘Smartphone’ market but, lost “some

share in the fourth quarter to phones with Google’s Android software.” In addition, although Apple

are currently lagging behind in the market with only 14.4% market share their intensive advertising

strategies and widening accessibility in the market by becoming available on most networks may see

this turn around.

Management problem

As a result of the dynamic nature of the mobile phone industry and in particular the ‘Smartphone’

sector it is inevitable that Blackberry need to keep amidst of the competition to sustain and even

increase their position within the market, currently second. Changing consumer behaviour and

developing technology means the mobile sector is a frivolous one where turnover of phones is

relatively high therefore, Blackberry’s position in Gartner (2010) leader board suggests that with

competitors following so closely behind and consistently re-developing their offerings Blackberry

need to find a way to sustain their position through an innovative solution. Insight suggests that

because Blackberry have previously target an older professional market, the technologically lead

nature of the youth student market offers the organisation an attractive opportunity. Therefore,

Blackberry could benefit by repositioning themselves amongst the youth market with an innovative

strategy that appeals to their lifestyle.

Research problem

Blackberry currently target a more professional middle aged mainstream market therefore, in order

to increase market share it would be beneficial to target a younger market as they make up a large

proportion of the mobile phone market. Consequently we propose to identify what would be the

ideal way to appeal to the student youths of today through identifying the following:

Where Blackberry resounds in terms of a leader board for ‘Smartphone’s’ amongst the

students perceptions.

Understand the key attributes that student’s desire from a mobile phone.

7

Identify the most common values that they aspire to achieve from their purchase of a

mobile phone.

Understand the most influential factors (affect and cognition, environmental, or marketing

strategies) faced by the youth consumer when purchasing a mobile phone.

Approach and Rationale

Theoretical framework

In order to understand the influences on the student segment when choosing, purchasing and

becoming loyal to a mobile phone it will be beneficial to use the ‘wheel of consumer analysis’

(shown below) to frame the research content in order to gain a comprehensive perspective of the

dynamic nature of the segments buyer behaviour. In addition, we have also used interviews that

were guided by a model called means-end chains to help to identify deep and rich data about how

the consumer links the product

attributes to more abstract

consequences and values which could

not otherwise be identified using

traditional surface approach research

techniques. In addition this type of data

is quite sensitive and intimate

therefore, an individual and

personalised approach is much more

appropriate. Two types of

questionnaires were then used to get a

wide range of attitudes and opinions in

a time and cost efficient manner.

Research Question

Identify a salient attribute that

Blackberry could use to become more

appealing to the student market, those

aged 18-24 years old.

8

Research Design

'Insight' have used an 'exploratory research’ design to gain an insight into the characteristics of

Blackberry’s currently untargeted segment, students aged 16-24, in order to help identify a

reasonable means or idea to help solve the marketing problem (Malhorta and Peterson, 2006:72) of

attempting to gain market share amongst this dynamic and opportunist segment. In addition the

research has been conducted based on a cross-sectional study design. This is defined by Shao (2002:

48) as ‘what is occurring at one moment in time’. This method will be most appropriate for this

research as it concentrates on the current trends in consumers’ buying behaviour and attitudes

towards technology that are currently in the market. As a result of the consistently changing nature

of the mobile phone market any other form of design, such as a longitudinal, would not provide the

required date to reflect what exists in the market at a specific point in time.

The core research methods that were used to establish this initial generation of ideas and insight

included a range of techniques from different designs:

Published secondary data

Descriptive Designs

Printed face-to-face questionnaires

Online questionnaires

Exploratory Designs

Laddering interviews

The above methods of data collection were chosen based on the time, funding, facilities and

objectives of the research problem in question. Due to the limited time frame, and available funding

and facilities we decided to conduct a mass of questionnaires in order to gain substantial descriptive

data. Alternatively, although the laddering interviews are slightly more expensive and time

consuming they were used to create a balance between the data that we gathered by providing

richer qualitative data.

9

Measurement and Scaling

Questionnaires

Both questionnaires were designed based on a variety of measurement techniques in order to give

the participant variation and to extract specific information. A variety of the techniques used were a

mixture of:

Open ended questions - A blank space given for a personal answer

Closed ended questions - Nominal – Belong to a certain category e.g. multiple choice - Continuous Rating – Likert scale

All of which were chosen based on a number of distinct elements that needed to be identified and

provided the ability to gain a combination of quantitative and qualitative data. Both questionnaires

contained ten questions each in order to keep the process to a minimum period of time to prevent

half hearted and half filled out questionnaires. Initial questions were designed to be basic and non-

invasive to hold the participants interest and prevent feelings of too much probing into personal

data. Further questions required the respondent to think about their answer more and give a more

personal touch to the reply. Such questions included open-ended questions where the participant is

free to write what they choose and continuous rating scales (mainly a likert scale) used to identify

consumers degree of attitude and opinions towards certain topics. The scales ranged from 1 to 5, in

which 1 is 'Not important at all', to 5, which is 'Very important.' The use of five choices was chosen in

order to minimise the risk of participants not willing to choose a degree of opinion and therefore,

‘sitting on the fence.’

All questions were designed to be non-biased and easy to understand through the use of simple

language, non directive questions and substantial options to choose from amongst multiple choice

questions. This was necessary in order to maintain levels of participation, and a greater degree of

validity through attempting to reduce demand characteristics to a minimum and ensure participants

respond as accurately as possible. The majority of the questions had an underlying motive directing

towards one of the segments of the ‘Wheel of consumer analysis’ e.g. affect for certain brands, how

consumers behave in the purchase process of a mobile phone and what factors in the environment

effect the participant when purchasing/ choosing a mobile phone such as the level of service and

who they go shopping with.

The online questionnaire used a similar design in terms of the questions being asked however, it was

established to specifically help to identify specific areas of development rather than consumer

behaviour in this segment. It was designed used a research site call Survey monkey accessed via

www.surveymonkey.com. It is a website designed to create questionnaires and store the results all

on one web page. These questionnaires are sent out to representative members of the target

audience via social networking sites, university e-mail and personal e-mail accounts. The participant

is given a link and then they have to direct themselves to the correct web page.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/

10

Finally, laddering interviews were used to extrapolate much richer qualitative data. As a result of the

significant time consumption of this method they were only used on a small sample of the target

audience, twenty individuals. They were designed to gain the following:

Identify the salient attributes most valued by this segment

Identify the basic ends that a consumer seeks when purchasing a mobile phone

A deep understanding into consumers purchase motivations for a mobile phone

Understand the consumer-product relationship with their mobile

The primary question that was used on all the laddering interviews to keep the topic of conversation

consistent began with:

“If you were in the market for a new mobile phone, what are they main attributes that you look for?”

This was the key topic of conversation. However, in order to probe further and questions then took a

basic form of:

“Of these factors you just mentioned, which are the three most important?”

Due to the nature of interviews and individuality of participants the following questions were then

dependent on the participant’s response. However, the basic form is to probe deeper and deeper

why these factors are important until they cannot give any other reason behind their views. The

result is to discover the true underlining values that are not subconsciously at the top of one’s mind.

The laddering interviews would then be analysed and developed into means-end chains to display

the attributes, consequences and values that the participants collectively valued the most.

11

Sampling Method

The sampling method chosen is a non-probability convenience sampling method controlled purely

by judgement of estimated age due to the location of where data collection was conducted. The age

group of 18 to 24 year olds was controlled purely by positioning ourselves on campus of the Lincoln

University to specifically target students at this university. A more detailed description of the

breakdown of the target markets characteristics such as demo and psychographics are shown below:

Physical Questionnaires

Distributed to 100 participants based in the vicinity of Lincoln University. There were fifty males and

fifty female students and the rest of the participants characteristics were purely random based on

the style of conveniently asking anyone who was present at the time of collection.

Survey Monkey Questionnaires

One the other hand, for this questionnaire the characteristics of the participant were more difficult

to control. Although we had hoped to recruit an equal gender difference in responses data collection

was dependent on participant’s willingness to respond therefore, in order to achieve our target of

100 responses this would mean pushing the link to whomever, was willing male or female. However,

Sampling Method

The target audience that Blackberry wish to gain an

insight into are both male and female students aged 18-24

years old from a wide variety of demographics and

psychographics. Shown following is fuller description of

the typical individual who will possess the relevant

information for this research design.

Attitudes towards mobile phones: seen as a necessity,

really tech savvy and used as a status symbol.

Finance: Usually living off student loans or part time job

wages, have limited disposable income

Living: Parents, or shared apartments, houses with friends

Work: Purely university academic work or a part time job

as well.

Leisure: Gym, Clubbing, Socialising

Transport: No car (due to financial status) or quite old 2nd

hand car.

Gadgets: Phone (sometimes more than one), laptop, TV,

games console, MP3 players, netbooks.

Taste/Fashion: highly brand conscious and trend aware,

use fashion and branding as major status symbols within

certain subcultures.

VALS: Strivers & Experiencers.

12

we were able to control whether they were students or not through only forwarding the link through

the university contact list, known emails and to participants on social networks where we sure they

were students.

Laddering Interviews

This was also based on a convenience sample of twenty participants who were on campus and were

free at the time of data collection to participate in an interview process. Although, they were all

students there again was less control over the distribution of gender.

13

Field work and data collection

Process

Questionnaires

These were distributed by hand on campus to 100 participants, aged 18 – 24 years old, visiting the

University of Lincoln Library between February 8th and February 12th 2010. In order to gain a

representative sample amongst the gender of students, we designated each pair of the field workers

to specifically collect fifty questionnaires on the male gender and the other fifty on the female

gender. Participants were selected on a purely ‘first come, first serve’ basis or opportunistic sample.

Participants were greeted kindly and asked if it would be possible to help with some research into

mobile phones by conducting a short questionnaire. If they were willing to help they were given a

questionnaire and told we would return to collect it in fifteen minutes if that was alright with them.

This gave them sufficient time without any pressure to fill out the questionnaire. On collection they

were told that all data would be kept confidential. All data will be analysed using SPSS.

Survey Monkey

The Online survey distributed via university email accounts, social networking site called Facebook

and through other known email addresses. Although we set out to gain the response of one

hundred participants uptake was slow and therefore, it was decided a cut off point of eighty

participants would be sufficient. The process began by emailing and sending out the following link

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G77ZL37 to a random selection of individuals that had the key

characteristics of being students aged between 18-24 years old. Other than that they would have

mixed gender and socio demographic statuses. Survey monkey records all questionnaires that have

been filled out and logs them on an accessible data site where results are viewable at any given

point in time. All data collected has been analysed using excel.

Hypothetical Laddering Interviews (HLI) & Means end Chains

The process for these interviews was slightly more complex as it required sufficiently more time and

accuracy in the recording of data. Again the twenty participants were selected purely at random

based on convenience. They were conducted in the Tower Bar of Lincoln University between

February 8th and February 12th 2010. This provides a familiar, relaxed atmosphere, where people

would be more willing to participate. They were asked if they had time to participate in an interview

on mobile phones. If they did they were escorted to a private table and briefed that the information

gained will be kept highly confidential and that they could withdraw at any point. They were then

asked a series of questions set out in the research design. All data was recorded by hand in full

sentences as far as was possible. Although this lengthened the process of the interview due to

recording errors it was necessary for reasons of accuracy. A tape recorder would have been more

efficient however, this may have reduced validity due to added demand characteristics to play up to

the recorder and a more surreal and awkward setting. All data was analysed in light of the MECCAS

model.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G77ZL37

14

Ethics

The field workers were required to act in a professional and courteous manner at all times. They

must be friendly and grateful in order to encourage the motivation of participants to participate in

the research. More importantly they must ensure that the following are abided by:

Gain participant permission

Brief and de-brief participants to prevent any apprehension or dissonance

Ensure that they are aware that they can terminate the process at any time

Ensure that the participant is not under any harm during the process such as offensive or

disturbing questions

Ensure that all data collected abides to the confidentiality and privacy regulations

However, as a variety of research designs were used there were some specific ethics that needed to

be considered for each method.

Survey Monkey

Invasion of privacy due to distribution method, social networking sites used for private use

shouldn’t on an ethical basis be used for distribution of marketing material.

“Green” Method, ecologically considerate, no use of paper etc.

There is a need for anonymity; otherwise consumers can feel pressured about comebacks if

they give negative responses towards the brand or service.

Due to the increase of hackers and malware in computers Insight should ensure the safety of

the program/server is top class to ensure there is no transmission of malware, and also it’s

encrypted so information cannot be illegally shared.

Social exclusion of poorer demographics who couldn’t access the medium of distribution

Physical Questionnaires and Hypothetical Laddering Interviews

Due to the highly descriptive nature of HLI, participants could feel they are giving too much

away and feel invaded.

The act of having to approach people during there every day goings on could be an invasion

of privacy and also a nuisance, they could be running to a lecture, for a train home etc.

According to Jobber, D (2007)“Sugging” may have occurred. This is where you are perceived

as using your research as a sales mechanism. The leading questions used can make the

process feel as though it is being masked as a sales pitch therefore, need to make question

design as objective as possible.

Subliminal messages- using things such as body language and head nods to guide the

respondent to answer in a way you want to tailor your findings to your preferred goal.

Terminology and Validity - using complex marketing terminology to unknowledgeable

respondents could make them scared to ask for help therefore ask the question without

understanding it, clouding the validity of the results.

15

Preparing and Analysing Data

In order to analyse our data we used a combination of methods:

Handout Questionnaires – SPSS

Survey Monkey Questionnaires –Excel

Hypothetical Laddering Interviews – Word

However, throughout all our analysis despite the variation in methods we used a consistent

methodology adapted from Malhorta, N.K.(2004):

Preparing prelimiary plan of data anyalsis - Plan of how you are going to analyse the data collected.

Questionnaire Checking (If used this design) - Check for completness, eligability, missing pages etc

Editing - A review of the data with the objective of increasing the accuracy and precision of data by screening out illegible, incomplete, incosistent and ambiguous responses.

Coding - Assign a code to each possible response

Transcribing - Transfer the coded data into a programme e.g. SPSS

Data Cleaning - Check for consistency and missing responses.

Statistically adjust the data

Select a data analysis strategy

16

Although we found no significant relationship between the brand choice that participants choose

and:

A number of influential factors (Advertising and Promotion, peer pressure , brand familiarity,

persuasion from in store sales, Parents and other) - See Figure 12

Service given - See Figure 13

Shopping companion - See Figure 13

Trial opportunity - See Figure 13

It is still likely that they have a prominent influence on the consumers’ choice of phone even though

they may not be prominent salient factors. Therefore, these factors must not be neglected in the

strategies an organisation uses to promote a phone but, should be embraced as additional benefits

that may make the consumers experience of purchasing a phone much more valued.

In addition it was found that there was no significant difference between brand choice and gender

therefore; the student market is not likely to be segmented in this way, See Figure 14. However, an

organisation could benefit through targeting the student market through price as data showed that

the majority would only be prepared to pay £0-2 for a third party application See Figure 23. Thus,

favoured the low price and suggested that they would be relatively price sensitive. Results also

showed that the student segment’s behavioural characteristics suggest that it was a rare

circumstance for them to be loyal to a specific brand with 42/80 participants See Figure 19, stating

that they were not loyal to a specific brand. This is then reflected in the ever changing and dynamic

leader board and the nature of the dynamic market that involves according to Datamonitor Industry

Profile (2009) high rivalry as a result of a high penetration of mobile phones being consistently

released into the market thus, a high tendency to switch based on innovative advancements in

design and technology.

Their perception of brands was also very different from the market as a whole in terms of

favourability. According to secondary statistics, Gartner (2010) the leader board is as follows:

Company

4Q08

Sales

Market

Share 4Q08

(%)

4Q07

Sales

Market

Share 4Q07

(%)

4Q07-4Q08

Growth

(%)

Nokia 15,561.7 40.8 18,703.3 50.9 -16.8

Research In Motion 7,442.6 19.5 4,024.7 10.9 84.9

Apple 4,079.4 10.7 1,928.3 5.2 111.6

HTC 1,631.7 4.3 1,361.1 3.7 19.9

Samsung 1,598.2 4.2 671.5 1.8 138.0

Others 7,829.7 20.5 10,077.3 27.4 -22.3

Total 38,143.3 100.0 36,766.1 100.0 3.7

17

Whereas, the student market suggest that a

leader board should look something like the

following:

Samsung

Nokia

Blackberry

LG

Ericsson

Iphone

Motorola and Network Brands

HTC

Toshiba

As you can see the choice of brand is relatively dispersed across the market however, it was clear

that for a large proportion of consumers, 42.5 % the importance of the brand was important to

them. This was then clearly supported by the laddering interviews where a key salient attribute was

the brand which was then followed by the two of the top sought after end values as being social

status and self-esteem. Consequently, this suggests the student market place a high value on the

brand in helping them to achieve a place and a sense of belonging in their social environment.

The top sought after end values were:

Happiness 50%

Social status 19.6%

Self esteem 14.2%

As part of a trial research we wanted to discover a growing aspect in the mobile phone industry to

identify an area where Blackberry could find a

key salient factor. One which was identified in

the laddering interviews was applications.

Top 3 attributes:

Applications

Camera

Aesthetics

Ericsson

Motorola

Network Brand

Iphone

LG

Blackberry

Toshiba

HTC

Samsung

Nokia

Brand

18

Data then showed that third party applications were highly valued by the student market and even

though in the initial question 45% said they were indifferent about applications enhancing the

functionality of their phone See Figure 21 76.3% actually agreed that there were an enhancement

rather than and unnecessary complication See Figure 24. However, the type of third party application

is likely to be critical in their response to this question as they need to be relevant to the lifestyle of

the type of person purchasing the Blackberry otherwise they may be seen as an unnecessary

complication. Therefore, the idea that 24% See Figure 22 were in favour of a business application

would be suitable to their needs is a promising area of development that Blackberry may benefit

from looking further into.

19

Limitations

Although we have tried to control the conditions as much as possible to encourage results to be as a

reliable and valid as possible in terms of the constraints that the organisation faced, the research will

still comes with its limitations. Therefore, although research should not be ignored it should not be

solely depended upon to support any strategies taken. Initially there are some obvious limitations to

the research methods used:

Physical Questionnaires

The sample used was relatively small in proportion to the number of students in the UK

therefore, the responses of 100 participants from the Lincoln area is not sufficient enough to

generalise to other areas.

The wording of the question is critical to the reliability and validity of the data collected. For

instance, the results from questions. For instance, on survey monkey one question asked a

similar concept however, the results proved to be very different. Initially it was asked how

far the participant agreed that third party application were an enhancement. The majority

were indifferent. However, when it was then asked whether they thought they were an

enhancement or complication the majority said they were an enhancement. Therefore,

suggesting the limitations of reliability as a result of the type, order and wording of

questions.

High in demand characteristics. Very often participants try to answer in a way in which they think you want them to answer due to demand characteristics or social desirability where they may change their answers to make themselves/the product in question appear better/worse than they are

Leading questions can affect the reliability of the results, if the participant was lead towards answering a question in a certain way to match the researcher’s hypotheses.

The mixed style of questions we used, both qualitative and quantitative in the same method, meant the data analysis format of SPSS was difficult to get around, due to the mix of scale and nominal response, meaning a standardised analysis method was almost impossible to achieve.

According to Jahoda, et al.(1962) and Walonick, (1993) the fact we as researchers designed the questionnaire ourselves meant our overall objective was skewed from the beginning as we boxed in certain topic areas, giving little or no opportunity for further scope or description from the respondents as to their choice of response.

According to Franzen and Lazersfeld (1945), although this type of distribution isn’t liable to direct interviewer bias, the lack of an interviewer limits the researcher's ability to probe responses.

Survey Monkey Questionnaires

Control is limited as the service provider has the ability to control how, what, when and

where the questionnaire is available. We were limited in the length and type of questions

that could be asked.

It is extremely difficult to control the sample of participants who answer as it is not possible

to identify who actually answered the questionnaire.

20

Although the participant experiences much greater anonymity it is still possible for them to

exert demand characteristics.

Financial limitations meant this medium couldn’t be used to its full capacity as in-depth

research analysis on these websites costs money which insight could not afford with the

budget given, therefore research was done by basic graphs and by hand, meaning reliability

of analysis was lowered slightly.

Time of distribution meant there was much higher difficulty in finding willing respondents

due to the clash with university deadlines and submissions, meaning this method was

exceptionally time consuming in terms of information gathering, which therefore had a

knock on effect limiting time for analysis.

Laddering Interviews

Social desirability characteristics are high as the participant may feel pressured to answer

questions in a certain way.

Sample size was extremely small as result of the resources that it requires. Therefore, results

are difficult to generalise.

Qualitative data analysis involves a high amount of decoding such as breaking down highly

colloquial responses and interpreting ambiguously answered questions. Both interpreting

and decoding involves a high level of subjective understanding from the analyst, meaning

validity of the decoded message is fairly low.

The choosing of the top salient beliefs was only based on number of identical responses not

on the relative strength of feeling towards the belief in question. Thus, the validity of the

salient choices is low.

21

Conclusions and Future Recommendations

Targeting the student market is clearly going to be a challenging task in terms of developing a

strategy that appeals to them, as the data that we have received has been extremely fragmented

and difficult to gauge any strong and continual results. However, an area which proved to positively

perceived by the youth market is the development of third party applications. Therefore we have

come up with the following suggestions that Blackberry could take into account when targeting the

youth market:

Target both male and females with a similar strategy that is implemented in consideration of

their price sensitivity.

Improve their application diversity, especially though third party collaboration as these applications were commonly mentioned as being a salient attribute that was affectively and cognitively considered during phone choice.

Rather than change or modify the brand continue to use the well known business brand perception to appeal to the youth by promoting the academic benefits of using of the phone during their studies through perhaps the introduction of accompanying applications such as a timetabling application.

Encourage more specific advertising strategies targeted specifically at the student market. For instance, one could use the “Love What You Do” tagline which is shown alongside. This theme could be used to communicate to the student market a Blackberry is designed to help

them love what they study academically. In order to do this Blackberry could develop a communications strategy that is more relatable to this new student market, though promoting a certain lifestyle that they aspire to such as, social acceptance and heavily communicate their strong corporate image on mediums that are capable of reaching

the student market.

In light of the limitations Insight suggest that further research into the suggesting of implementing third party applications is conducted on a much broader market to identify whether it would be positively accepted by a greater majority the student market and to identify a specific application that would be most relevant to the brand and the consumers lifestyle.

22

Appendix

Figure 1

Shown following is an example of the physical handout questionnaire that was used:

How important is your Mobile Phone?

1. Gender?

Male

Female

2. Do you own a mobile phone?

Yes

No

3. What brand of phone do you have?

.................................................................................................................................

4. Do you own any other products of the same brand as your phone?

Yes

No

5. If yes what products?

....................................................................................................................................

6. Where do you normally purchase your phone from?

Internet

Network Stores

Manufacturer stores

Supermarkets

7. On a scale of 1-5 how do you rate the importance of a good service when purchasing a mobile?

1 2. 3 4. 5.

Not important at all Very Important

8. Who do you take with you when purchasing a new phone? a) Alone b) Friends c) Family Member

23

d) Partner

9. How important is “try before you buy” when shopping in-store, on a scale of 1-5?

1 2. 3 4. 5.

Not important at all Very Important

10. What is the biggest influence on your choice of brand when purchasing a phone? a) Advertising/Promotion b) Peer Pressure c) Brand Familiarity d) Persuasion from in store sales e) Parents f) Other

24

Figure 2

Shown following from figure 2 to figure 11 is the analysis of the physical questionnaire using SPSS

Gender of Participants

Figure 3

Phone Ownership

FemaleMale

Male/Female

50

40

30

20

10

0

Co

un

t

Yes

Yes/No

25

Figure 4

Brand Dispersion

Figure 5

Ownership of other products of the same brand

Ericsson

Motorola

Network Brand

Iphone

LG

Blackberry

Toshiba

HTC

Samsung

Nokia

Brand

NoYes

Yes/No

80

60

40

20

0

Co

un

t

26

Figure 6

What Products of the same brand

Figure 7

Location of Purchase

Digital Camera

Digital Photo Frame

Games Console

Netbook

Multiple Items

MP3 Player

Laptop

Ipod

TV

N/A

Product

SupermarketsManufacturer StoresNetwork StoresInternet

Purchase Place

50

40

30

20

10

0

Co

un

t

27

Figure 8

Importance of service

Figure 9

Purchase Partner

Very ImportantQuite ImportantImportantNot Very ImportantNot Important at All

Importance of Service

40

20

0

Co

un

t

Partner

Family Member(s)

Friends

Alone

Who do you buy your phone with

28

Figure 10

Importance of ‘try before you buy’

Figure 11

Brand Influence

Very ImportantQuite ImportantImportantNot Very ImportantNot Important at All

Try Before you Buy Importance Scale

35

30

25

20

15

10

Co

un

t

Other

Parents

Instore Persuasion

Brand Familiarity

Peer Pressure

Advertising/Promo

INfluence on Brand Choice

29

Figure 12

Relationship between Brand choice and Influences:

Advertising and Promotion

Peer pressure

Brand familiarity

Persuasion from in store sales

Parents

Other

We used a simple regression analysis on SPSS to identify the following:

R square is 0.001 and the predictor variable of influences has explained 0.1% of the variance in the

dependent variable of the brand. Beta value is -0.38 and Sig is O.706 which is > (greater than) 0.05.

Therefore, this indicates that from this data there is no significant relationship between consumers

brand choice and the indicated influences.

The following extract from SPSS shows this data. Circled in red are the figures mentioned above:

31

Figure 13

Relationship between Brand choice and:

Level of service

Shopping companion

Trail opportunity

We used a multiple regression analysis on SPSS to identify whether or not there was a relationship

with any of the above.

R square is 0.009. For this sample, the predictor variables of “service”, “shopping companion” and

“trial” have explained 0.9% of the variance in the dependent variable of brand. Beta value for service

is 0.354 and Sig is 0.067; Beta value for shopping companion is 0.290 and Sig is 0.523; Beta value for

trial is 0.082 and Sig is 0.493.

Therefore, none of them have any significant relationship with brand choices.


32

Regression

[DataSet1] H:\SPSS Blackberry.sav

Variables Entered/Removed(b)

Model

Variables

Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 Try Before

you Buy

Importance

Scale, Who

do you buy

your phone

with,

Importance

of

Service(a)

. Enter

a All requested variables entered.

b Dependent Variable: Brand

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std. Error of

the Estimate

1 .095(a) .009 -.022 3.105

a Predictors: (Constant), Try Before you Buy Importance Scale, Who do you buy your phone with, Importance of

Service

ANOVA(b)

Model

Sum of

Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 8.371 3 2.790 .289 .833(a)

Residual 925.819 96 9.644

Total 934.190 99

a Predictors: (Constant), Try Before you Buy Importance Scale, Who do you buy your phone with, Importance of

Service

b Dependent Variable: Brand

Coefficients(a)

Model

Unstandardized

Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig. B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 4.544 1.376 3.303 .001

Importance of Service .024 .008 .354 .947 .067

Who do you buy your

phone with .186 .068 .290 .642 .523

Try Before you Buy

Importance Scale .210 .305 .082 .688 .493

a Dependent Variable: Brand

33

Figure 14

Gender Difference in Brand choice

On SPSS we used a T-Test to identify whether there was any difference between gender (male and

female) and their choice of brand.

F=0.384, Sig=0.537 which is > (greater than) 0.05, this means that the assumption of homogeneity of

variance has not been violated, and the equal variances assumed. If p (less than) < 0.05, t-test

shouldn’t be used because the population variance are not equal. Therefore, the result from the

analysis indicates that there is no significant difference between male and females in terms of their

brand choices. T value =0.584 and Sig=0.561, which is > (greater than) 0.05. Thus, the relationship is

not significant.


34

T-Test

[DataSet1] H:\SPSS Blackberry.sav

Group Statistics

Male/Female N Mean Std. Deviation

Std. Error

Mean

Brand Female 55 5.07 3.185 .429

Male 45 4.71 2.951 .440

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for

Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed)

Mean

Difference

Std. Error

Difference

95% Confidence Interval

of the Difference

Lower Upper

Brand Equal variances

assumed .384 .537 .584 98 .561 .362 .620 -.868 1.591

Equal variances

not assumed .588 96.447 .558 .362 .615 -.859 1.582

35

Figure 15

Shown following is an example of the online Survey Monkey questionnaire that was used:

1. Gender

Male

Female

2. Do you own a mobile phone?

Yes

No

If no, why?

3. How important is the brand of a phone that you would purchase?

Not

important at all

Not very

Important

Slightly

Important Important

Very

Important

4. Are you loyal to any specific brand of phone?

5. Other than phone calls and texting, What feature of your phone

do you use most often?

6. "3rd party applications enhance the functionality of a mobile phone." How do you agree with this statement?

Strongly

Disagree Disagree Indifferent Agree

Strongly

Agree

7. In terms of 3rd party applications, which type would you find to

be most fitting to your needs?

Shopping Application

Games

"Google Maps"

Instant Messenger

Banking

Business Application (e.g. Email)

36

8. How much would you be willing to pay for a 3rd party

application for your mobile phone

£0-£2

£3-£4

£5-£6

£6+

9. Do you consider 3rd party applications as a unnecessary complication or an enhancement to the use of your phone?

Complication

Enhancement

10. Out of the following "Smartphone" brands, which do you find to be most appealing?

Blackberry

Iphone

HTC

Nokia

Toshiba

37

Figure 16

Shown following from figure 16 to figure 25 is the analysis of the physical questionnaire using excel

Participant Gender

Figure 17

Ownership of a mobile phone

Figure 18

Importance of the Brand

Surveymonkey Participant Gender

Male

Female

How Important Is The Brand Of Phone

That You Purchase?

Not at all

Not very

slightly

Important

Very important

Yes No

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Do You Own A Mobile Phone?

No

Of R

espo

nses

38

Figure 19

Loyalty to Brands

Figure 20

Commonly used features

36 37 38 39 40 41 42

Yes

No

Loyalty to a Brand

Feature Of Phone Used Most Often (other than

calling/texting)

10%

32%

30%

5%

8%

5%4%

6%Music

Internet

Camera

Alarm

E-amil

Calendar/Time/Date

None

Other

39

Figure 21

Attitudes towards third party applications

Figure 22

Suitability of third party applications

Figure 23

Reasonability of the price of third party applications

"3rd Party Application Enhance The

Functionality Of Your Mobile Phone" -

How do you agree with this statement?

0 10 20 30 40

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Indifferent

Agree

Strongly Agree

Resp

on

se

Number of Responses

Series1

Which 3rd Party Application

Would Best Fit Your Needs?

Shopping

Application

10%

Google

Maps 19%

Games

15%

Instant

Messanger

21%

Banking

11%

Business

Application

(e-mail)

24%

How Much Would You Pay For

3rd Party Applications?

48

23

5

4

0 20 40 60

£0 - £2

£2 - £4

£4 - £6

£6 +

Pri

ce

Number of Responses

40

Figure 24

Enhancement versus Complication

Figure 25

Smartphone Brand Dispersion

Are 3rd Party Application An

Unnecessary Complication, Or

An Enhancement To Your

Phone?

61

19

0

20

40

60

80

Unnecessary

Complication

Enhancement

Opinion

Re

sp

on

se

s

Which 'Smartphone' Brand Do You Find Most

Appealing?

10

26

39

4

1

0 10 20 30 40 50

Nokia

BlackBerry

iPhone

HTC

Toshiba

Bra

nd

Of

Sm

art

ph

on

e

Responses

41

Figure 26

Shown following are the laddering interviews that were conducted and their MECCAS Analysis

Female, 20, English Literature St Assume that you are in the market for purchasing a new mobile phone. What are the key features that you look for?

Hmmm well, to be honest I do like to try and do one better than what my friends have got (I'm not

Gonna lie) lol!! But I like to go for something that's not too big, and it has to have loads of cool

things on it, like ma cool blackberry that I've got now, lol!! Oh and another thing that makes

difference is the actually contract that they offer me!!

What are the three most important features out of the ones you just mentioned?

Hmmm the camera has to be decent. Its got to be able to do lots like applications etc and

Errrrrmmm have one better than my friends and not be behind on having a cool phone.

Why is having a decent camera important to you?

Well you never know when you’re going to have to take a picture so, having a decent camera means

You will get a good quality picture.

Why is taking pictures important to you?

Because i love taking pictures to savour the memories.

Why are memories important to you?

Because i like to look back at things that i might have forgotten about as this makes me happy.

Why use a mobile phone for pictures over a digital camera?

Because a phone is practical, i have it with me all the time where as a camera I only take out if I know i’m

going to use it.

Why is it important to have a lot of applications?

It means that I can do a wide range of things on one little device.

Why is it important to be able to do a wide range of things on one device?

On this phone it means I get all of my emails straight to me. I can use msn and access the internet as

Well as adding other applications like tracking so, if you get lost you can find where you are! So, it is

convenient to be able to have all these things at hand.

Why is convenience important to you?

Because I am a very busy person always on the go and need to regularly access things via my phone

while I am walking to university or work etc.

Why is it important to have one better than your friends?

Because I don’t like being jealous because someone has got something better than me.

Why is not being jealous important to you?

Because jealousy makes you unhappy and in this case it is preventable as I can have the better phone.

42

Features Consequences (Benefits/Disadvantages) Valued End State

Good Camera

Keep Memories with you all the time

Happiness and sentimental values

Lots of applications

Conveinence of having everything to hand and saves time that can be spent on doing more

important things

Happiness and satisfaction

More up-to date than friends

Prevents jealousy and unhappiness

Achieveing a level of social acceptance and enhancing ones ego.

43

Female, 21 Medicine Student

Assume that you are in the market for purchasing a new mobile phone. What are the key features

that you look for?

Something that is stylish, no big grey brick. Definitely a colour screen and camera and video function.

Internet access available so that I can check my Facebook and emails. I’d also want it to be easy to

use and easy to text on. Ermmm I would definitely want it to have lots of cool features included on it

like good games etc.

What are the three most important features to you out of the ones that you just mentioned?

Hmmm look good, easy to use and has a camera and video features because I use my camera all the

time.

Why is having a phone that looks good important to you?

Because I don’t want to look out of fashion. I think I dress in fashion and up-to-date with the latest

styles so I want my phone to match my self image.

Why is having a fashionable self image important to you?

Because it makes me feel better about myself knowing that i look good and fit in with society.

Why is fitting in with society important?

For me I have spent years standing out for all the wrong reasons and it’s nice and makes me happy

to be normal.

Why is ease of use important to you?

Because I am all about quickness. If it’s too complicated I just don’t bother using all the features. Like

my new phone the n97mini is quite easy to use but, there are some things that require reading up to

use them so, I just don’t bother.

So, if you knew how to use the features would you use them?

Yes, but not if it takes ages to learn how to use them and, only if they were good features i probably

would go to a bit more effort to learn more about the important features but, things i don’t really

care much about I wouldn’t bother I don’t think. I only really use it to download games, facebook

and my camera.

Why is having a good camera and video important to you?

Because I always have my phone with me and I love taking pictures of my friends and family. Every

time the dog does something cute I take a picture and when I can’t find my phone when I need to

take a picture I freak! Lol. I take pictures of funny things I see when I am out to show Rory or just to

have because it’s funny or cool. Also, as I work night shifts and get bored I like to make sure I take

loads of pictures so I can look through them when I am bored.

Is sharing memories important to you then?

Yes, i guess it is as it’s something I do everyday

44

Why use a mobile phone for pictures over a digital camera?

Because that would mean carrying unnecessary things. I can’t take my digital camera to work and I

certainly don’t want to look like a tourist everywhere I go. I do have a new digital camera that I take

on nights out and holidays but that is it as using my phone is much more convenient.

Why is convenience important to you?

Because I am a busy woman always on the go and need to be able to have things to hand when i

need them without having to remember 101 things.


Appearance Matches my self-

image, looks trendy and up to date ,

Social Acceptance and Happiness

Easy to use Minimises time spent using phone so, more time for other things.

Happiness

Has good camera/video

functions

Convenience, ability to share and keep

memories.

Happiness and Sentimental Value

45

Male 22, Sports Studies Student


that you look for?

I would want a good camera, a substantial memory for music, looks stylish and unique, number of

applications, games and internet capabilities.


Camera, Games and memory for music.

Why is having a good camera important to you?

Errmm just so i don’t have to buy a digital camera as well as it saves me money and is conveniently

in the same things.

Why is having this convenience important to you?

Because It’s just easier to have everything all in one for storage reasons when carrying such devices

around with you every day.

Why are having games on your phone important to you?

Because when I am bored they provide me with good entertainment value.

Why is being entertained important to you?

Because it keeps me busy when I am waiting for things etc and this makes me happy because it

passes time.

Why is having a substantial memory on your phone for music important to you?

Because it enables me to store more songs so I am able to listen to a wide variety of music from one

device without having to keep on updating it.

Why is music important to you?

Because it plays a big role in my life as I enjoy listening to music all the time from when im in the

bath to when im working. As it makes me happy and keeps me motivated.

46


Camera Saves money and is

more conveinent Happiness and

satisfaction

Games Have good entertainment

value when in a boring situation

Happiness

Memory

Listen to a wide variety of music all from one device without having to overwrite old music

Happiness and Sentimental value

47

Female, 19 Media Student


that you look for?

Bluetooth, a big memory, smart looking, reasonably easy to use


Just Bluetooth and a big memory

Why is having Bluetooth important to you?

Because I like to be able to send songs

Why is sending songs important to you?

So that I can have up to date music as my ringtone and message tones.

Why is having up to date ringtones important to you?

So you can change them whenever you want and have your own personalised tone.

Is personalisation important to you?

Yes

Why is personalisation important to you?

Because I like to put my own things on it to express my individuality and make it my own especially

considering the ones that come on it are boring.

Why is being individual important?

Yeah because we are all different and I don’t like being like everyone else as that is just the way I am.

Too many people spend their lives following others.

Why is having a big memory important to you?

Because then I can fit more songs, photos and messages onto my phone.

Why is important to be able to keep lots of things on your phone?

I like to be able to have a wide variety of stuff on my phone and I also like to be able to look back at

things like old photos and old hit music which makes me smile.

Why is being able to look back at the past important to you?

Memories are precious things that can cheer you up on a bad day, remind you of happy times, and

keep those close to you who aren’t always around just that little bit closer.

48


Bluetooth Have up to date

music as ringtones to express individuality

Social Status and Happiness

Memory

Keep a wide variety of interesting things on one device and have

acces to memories at all times.

Sentimental Value and Happiness

49

Female, 20 English Student


that you look for?

A sleek stylish look, substantial memory, easy to text off, internet capability, and lots of features.

What are the two most important features to you out of the ones that you just mentioned?

A sleek stylish look and lots of features.

Why is having a phone that is sleek and stylish important to you?

I am quite a trendy person more sophisticated than high street crazes and I like to keep up to date

especially with technology.

Why is being trendy important to you?

I think that appearances can speak volumes especially in today’s society where we are frequently

judged on initial impressions. I like to look smart as I feel it says something about my personality

that I am conscientious kind of thing.

Why is conveying you personality through your style important?

I am not really sure but I think it is so I feel comfortable in myself and people can see and feel what I

am about if that makes sense.

Why are having lots of features important to you?

My turn around with technology is terrible and wasteful. I get bored of my phones easily and tend

to sell it and purchase another in order to satisfy my need. However, if I have a phone that is a lot of

features on it that are useful then I am less likely to get bored. But, there needs to be a balance

between style and features. As if I get bored of the way it looks I will also want to change my phone.

Why is not being bored important to you?

Because when I am bored I tend to look at the negatives of things. I always like to be on the go and

have something to do so, being bored just makes me unhappy.


Stylish

Enhances my trendy personality, helps people to encourage impressions of what I am about , and

makes me feel comfortable in myself

Social Status/Acceptance and happiness

Applications

Prevents bordem of a phone and in turn

lengthens lifetime of the phone.

Happiness

50

Internet Browser

Been able to check email on the go

Makes Life easier and more efficent

Touch Screen

Gives an air of professionalism

Enhances ones Ego

Black

Looks sleek and professional

Enhances ones Ego

20 Year Old Male Business Studies Student

If you were in the market for purchasing a new mobile phone what are the key features you would

look for?

Primarily and internet browser, then a touch screen and lastly it would have to be black.

Why are these three features so important to you?

Because of my course i like my phone to look professional and business orientated, these three

features do that

How does the internet add to this professional look?

It allows me to email and check social networking sites on the go. Not so much social networking but

I know checking email on the go would be very important to me when I get a professional job post

graduation.

How does a touch screen add to the professional look?

It is technologically up to date, which in my mind makes you seem professional

Why do you think this?

Because in order to look professional you have got to give people the impression you have money

Why is the focus of professionalism so important to you in terms of your mobile?

Because I want to taken seriously in terms of business and as a student that’s hard to achieve and

anything helps.


51

Memory

Can hold photos & music in large

quantitys

Happiness, contentment

Music Player

Eradicates the need for an MP3 Player

Happiness

Camera

No Need for a Digital Camera

Happiness

21 Year Old Female Forensics Student


look for?

Lots of memory for music and a good camera

Why are these two features so important to you?

Because I like to keep the amount of things I carry with me to a minimum, music on my phone

eliminates the need for an mp3 player and the camera saves me having to take a camera on a night

out

Why do you like to, let’s say, “Travel light”?

Because I always end up losing stuff from my handbag on nights out or on the way to uni somehow

and the less I carry the less likely I am to lose things because I have fewer things to keep tabs on.

Why do you think you lose things a lot?

Because I’m clumsy and ditzy, not much more to it. (Laughs)


52

Loudspeaker

Been able to listen to music on the go


Big Screen

Can watch videos on it

Happiness, Fun

Camera

Recording nights out

Happiness, Fun

18 Year Old Female Nursing Student


look for?

It has to have a loudspeaker, good camera and a big screen.


I use my phone primarily for fun, like recording drunken videos of me and my mates i like the good

camera and big screen for playing them back.

What about the loud speaker?

People always seem to phone me at awkward times, like when I’m putting my make up on or getting

ready so it’s important to me that the loudspeaker is good because I need to use it a lot when I’m in

a phone call and multitasking

Why do you think your phone is primarily for fun?

I’m a student, I’m making the most of having a phone for having a laugh with before I need to look

for features such as conference calling and email and all that kind of business stuff.

What do you think dictates this outlook?

Primarily, my age. Plus I can worry about professionalism when I’m studying and graduating any

spare time I have is for me.


53

Colourful

Stand out from the crowd

Happiness, peer diversity

Interchangeable Covers

Reduces boredom Fun, Peer diversity

QWERTY

Faster to type texts


21 Year Old Male Drama Student


look for?

A good keypad for texting, I prefer QWERTY and I like it to stand out a bit be a bit colourful, like

interchangeable covers etc


Because I’m quite a loud person and into my loud colours and like my phone to match me. And I

text, ALOT, so like it to made as easy as possible.

How does QWERTY help with this?

It makes it much more like typing on my laptop which I’m also very used to what with essays and

MSN etc, so it’s just familiarity that makes it faster and easier for me to use.

Why is efficiency so important to you?

My course is really hectic and I always seem to busy, everything I do I have to do as quickly as

possible; anything that help with it is a godsend.


54

Camera

Compactness, Money Saving

Happiness & Fun

Internet

Email on the go, and facebook

Happiness, makes life easier

Games

Passes Boredom Fun, Happiness

21 Year Old Female Criminology MA Student


look for?

Firstly an internet browser, fun applications and lastly a good quality Camera.


When I’m at work it’s usually quite dead and I can use my phone behind the desk, so I use the

internet for things such as Facebook and email. The applications are used just for fun and to pass

boredom and I like the camera for nights out.

Why is the “fun” element so important to you?

I’m just a fidgety person and like the fact I can use my phone as like part games console, part phone,

and part camera. I like the compactness of having everything in one.

Why is this?

Because I’d rather have everything in one, then buy loads of separate things it saves me money and

space in my bag.


55

Female 19 – Advertising Student

Assuming you are in the market for a new mobile phone, what features do you usually look for when

selecting which one to buy?

It has to be a sliding phone. I like a good camera and the ability to store music. I generally look for a

pink one, and it needs to be small.

Of the features, which would you consider to be the 3 most important to you?

I think it would have to be the camera, the size of the phone and being able to store and listen to

music.

Why is the camera feature important to you?

I like to take pictures and send and receive them

Is having pictures on your phone important to you?

Yeah, I like to have pictures of my family and my friends with me

Why is that?

It makes me feel good, being able to open my phone and have my friends and my family there, I feel

kind of safe

Is feeling safe important to you?

Yes, I like to feel secure, I think everyone does.

Okay, you also said that the size of the phone is another important feature, why is that?

I need it to fit in places, like my pocket and my bag, I don’t usually carry a big bag and so I don’t

want a phone that won’t fit in easily, I like it being convenient

Convenience is important to you?

Yes

What if the phone you liked was too big to fit in the bags you were currently using?

I guess it depended on how much I liked it, but I don’t like to change everything just so for the sake

of my phone

You also mentioned music earlier. Why is that an important feature to you?

I like to have good songs on my phone, I hate those generic brand ringtones that you get built in

with the phone. And I like to use it as my mp3 player when I’m out and about

Why don’t you like the brand ringtones?

Because everyone uses them, the people who aren’t very fashionable do anyway

Being fashionable is important to you?

56

Yeah it is I suppose. I like to think so, anyway, I wouldn’t say that I’m a trend-setter or anything, but I

do like to follow some of the fashions that are out at the minute, which includes the latest songs,

clothes and technology, stuff like that

And your phone is an important part of you being considered fashionable?

Yes it is I guess, I like having a phone that is new, that has new functions and stuff I can experiment

with, and when other people are talking about it, I know what they are talking about

You like to get in to social conversations about your phone?

Yes


Camera Take and receive

photos of loved ones Safety and Comfort

Size Conveinence and

means don't have to change formed habits

Personal Well-being

Music Good ringtones which

are recognised as being fashionable and trendy

High self-esteem and social acceptance

57

Male, 19 – Photography Student

Assuming you are in the market for a new mobile phone, what features do you usually look for

when selecting which one to buy?

The quality of the camera is something I always look at. The size of the phone, and the colour has to

be nice. The price can be pretty important. The size of the memory and definitely the network


I guess I'd say the network it was available on, the price and the memory

Why is the network important to you?

I want to have a phone that's on a good network

What makes it a 'good' network?

One that I can get lots of allowances on. You know, like free minutes and texts when you top up, free

internet, stuff like that

Why are those things important to you?

I like to know that I'm getting the best deal for my money, and some networks can be more

expensive than others. I usually like to stick to one network, so I can keep the same number

Is having the same number is important?

Yeah, it's just convenient, I don't have to send my number to everyone when I get a new phone, I

can just keep the same one

You mentioned price again. Why is the price important to you?

I don't want to pay too much, I don't like getting ripped off, but then I don't want to pay too little for

it, something in the middle

Why would you be willing to pay a little more?

I guess I don't trust the cheap ones, think they're not very high quality. Just cheap basics

So the price is important, but quality also comes into it?

Yes. I would never buy a 'home-brand'-type phone. I would rather pay a little extra for a brand I

know is decent. The price needs to reflect what I'm buying it for

What do you mean by 'buying it for'?

The other things that are on the phone, applications and stuff. I guess it's all the other features that

I've mentioned

Okay. When you spoke about the size of the memory, why is that feature important to you?

I like to keep a lot of stuff on my phone, like pictures, music and games. My phone needs to be able

to store all of those things and have enough room for my contacts and stuff

Having personal things stored on your phone is important?

58

Very. I want to have all that stuff with me where ever I go. Being able to just open up my phone and

have it all there is kind of nice

Your phone is very personal to you?

Extremely. It's like part of me. That’s why it needs to be good, reliable, and has plenty of room for all

my stuff to go on it

So you use your phone for almost everything?

Yes. I use it for music, pictures, the calendar. And the usual stuff like texts and phone calls

So you make use of the applications that come with your phone?

Yes. I like to explore all the things that come with my phones. I like variety

Variety is important to you?

I don't like things to be simple. I like to experiment. Doesn't everybody like gadgets?


Network Keep the same number and

sim card - Conveinience Stress-free and happiness

Higher Price Higher quality moible phone and don't feel like been ripped off.

Longer term satisfaction from

purchase

Large Memory Can store things and use it as an extension

of my peronsality

High self-esteem and social image

59

Male, 22 – Law Student



It has to be able to play music. I like a touch screen, plenty of games, easy to use and looks good


I would say touch screen, easy to use and music capability

Why is having a touch screen important to you?

I loved the idea of them when they first came out. I like using the touch screens; they just feel so

much better than using the buttons on regular phones. You can use your finger, or the little pen that

usually comes with the phone, much better options

So you are a fan of versatility?

Yes, a big fan. I bought my first touch screen a few years ago and had them ever since, it’s just so

attractive

Would you ever go back to using a button phone?

No, I don’t think I would, unless I had to, but I doubt it

When you say it is attractive, what do you mean?

The way that touch screens look. They are much more professional, elegant. I like being seen with it

Why is the way it looks important to you?

I like to have a phone that looks good. It reflects me, I have everything on that phone, it is a part of

me, and I want me to look good

Why is looking good important thing to you?

It’s the way other people see me.

What others think is important?

To me it is, yeah. I want other people to know that I take pride in the way I look

And your phone contributes to that?

Of course. I always have my phone out, using it, talking and texting. It’s the thing that everyone

see’s, and when they see my professional looking phone, they think that of me too.

Okay. You mentioned earlier that the phone needs to be able to play music. Why is that important

to you?

Like I said, I always have it out with me, so when I’m not talking or texting, I want something to do.

What do you do with the music that is on your phone?

I listen to it on my way to and from work, but I like to send and swap with people too. I have a good

collection of songs at the moment. I get songs from friends, colleagues, even strangers on the train

60

Do you use your music as a topic of conversations with people?

Yes, sometimes. I can chat to people on the train about what songs are out at the moment that we

both like, and what we don’t like

So you can make friends with people based on the music on your phone?

Yeah

Alright. What about the easy to use aspect. Why do you find that important?

Well it goes without saying really, I want to be able to turn it on and know what to do. I hate having

to get out the instructions manual to find out how to send a message


Touch Screen Nicer than buttons, seen as professiona

by others, is 'queerky' Social Acceptance

Ease of Use

Know how to use it and therefore feel as though

one is technologically intelligent

High self-esteem/ pride

Music

Something to listen to anywhere anytime and

can be used to form converstaion and thus

friendships

Pleasure, social status

61

Male, 21 – Psychology Student

Assuming you are in the market for a new mobile phone, what features do you usually look for

when selecting which one to buy?

New models, the networks they are available on, what kind of things you get with them, the look

and shape of the model, there's a lot that I look at


I would say the network, the look of the phone and how new it is

What do you mean by 'how new it is'?

Whether it is the newest model of that brand of phone

Why is that important to you?

I like to use all the new applications

Why is the network important to you?

I've been on Orange ever since I started buying phones, and I've never changed. They are the best

for me, offer me loads of stuff and I like the service that they give me

So you're brand loyal?

Yeah, when it comes to expensive stuff like that, I am

Why is the way the phone looks important to you?

I like nice, sleek phones, usually black

So it needs to look the way you like? Would you not buy something new and different?

I don't know really, I usually stick to what I know, cause I know that I like it


Familiar Network Stay with the same provider and feel

committed Loyalty

Aesthetics/ Appearance Looks the way consumers

desire it and is attractive in their perception

Happiness and control

Newest Model New applications

and feel up-to-date Social status and high self-esteem

62

Female, 20 – English Student



I don't really know, I guess I just look for the basics, but it has to be the right network


The network, the brand and Bluetooth I guess

Why is the network important?

I like to stick to the same number, on the same network. I'm on O2, and I like what I have at the

moment, and don't want to have to change to something new

You like things to stay the same?

Yes, I'm not very fond of change

Okay. Why is the brand important to you?

I like Samsung mobiles, and I think I will always stick with them

Why do you like them so much?

I know how to use them, I know they are reliable and are really durable

Why is the Bluetooth function important to you?

It's another way of getting information and stuff from people other than texting and phoning. It's a

little extra technology whilst still keeping it simple


Same Network Stay with the same provider and feel

committed

Loyalty and Happiness

Familiar Brand Relibale and know

you can trust it Security

Bluetooth

Extra mode of accesing information easily and

is conveinent also allows networking.

Happiness and social status

63

References

Apple (2010) iphone. Available at: http://www.apple.com/iphone/. Accessed: [4th October 2010]

Arnould E, Price L, Zinkhan G, (2004), Consumers, 2nd Edition, Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Pg.225-231

Blackberry (2010) Corporate Website. Available at: http://uk.blackberry.com/. Accessed: [4th

October 2010]

Business Source Premier. The real-time thing. Marketing Week (01419285), 01419285, 6/4/2009,

Vol. 32, Issue 23.

Business Source Premier. Online market research leads to community-building. By: Fitzgerald,

Michael, B to B, 15302369, 9/28/2009, Vol. 94, Issue 12.

Datamonitor (2009) Mobile phones in the United Kingdom. Available from Marketline via e-library. Accessed: [26th January 2010]

Gartner (2009) Gartner Says Worldwide Smartphone Sales Reached Its Lowest Growth Rate With 3.7

Per Cent Increase in Fourth Quarter of 2008. Available at

http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=910112. Accessed [30th March 2010]

Jobber, D (2007). Principles & Practice of Marketing. 5th ed. London: McGraw - Hill. Pg. 250-263.

Kirk-Smith, M. (1998). Psychological Issues In Questionnaire Based Research. Journal of the Market

Research Society. 40 (3)

Peter J P, Olson J, (2004) Buyer Behaviour and Market Research, 7th Edition, Boston: McGraw

Hill/Irwin

Shao A T, (2002) Market Research: an aid to decision making, 2nd Edition, Cincinnati, Ohio: South-

Western/Thomas Learning.

Unknown (2009) Sociology Research Methods. Available at:

http://www.sociology.org.uk/methodq.pdf. Accessed [29th March 2010]

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

http://uk.blackberry.com/

http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=910112

http://www.sociology.org.uk/methodq.pdf

64

Bibliography Bold Media (2009) iPhone versus Blackberry – why I’m jumping ship. Available on http://boldmedia.co.uk/2009/05/22/iphone-vs-blackberry-why-im-jumping-ship/ . Accessed [2nd February 2010] Datamonitor (2009) Mobile phones in the United Kingdom. Available from Marketline via e-library. Accessed: [26th January 2010] Malhotra, N K, Peterson, M, (2006) Basic Marketing Research: A Decision making approach,

International Edition, Upper Saddle river; New Jersey: Pearson Education

Marketline (2009) Research in Motion Limited Overview [online]. Available on:

http://www.marketlineinfo.com/library/DisplayContent.aspx?R=09B9554F-030F-4E53-9C58-

AE97FC84E2AC&N=4294843064. Accessed [2nd February 2010]

Mintel (2008) Mobile Phones and network providers – UK. Available on:

http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/my_reports/. Accessed [ 3rd February 2010]

Reynolds T “Implications for Value Research: A Micro vs. Macro Perspective.” Psychology and Mar-keting 2, 4 (1985). Pg. 297—305 Sheth, Jagdish. “Marketing Megatrends.’ Journal of Consumer Marketing (1983): Pg.5—13. The Unviersity of Texas (2008) Advantages of online surveys. Available on:

http://www.utexas.edu/learn/surveys/advantages.html. Accessed [2nd February 2010]

WARC (2009) BlackBerry / Research In Motion (Canada) [online] Adbrands, WARC. Available on: http://www.warc.com. Accessed [14 February 2010]

http://boldmedia.co.uk/2009/05/22/iphone-vs-blackberry-why-im-jumping-ship/

Background%20research%20Marketline,%20http:/www.marketlineinfo.com/library/DisplayContent.aspx?R=09B9554F-030F-4E53-9C58-AE97FC84E2AC&N=4294843064

Background%20research%20Marketline,%20http:/www.marketlineinfo.com/library/DisplayContent.aspx?R=09B9554F-030F-4E53-9C58-AE97FC84E2AC&N=4294843064

http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/my_reports/

http://www.utexas.edu/learn/surveys/advantages.html

http://www.warc.com/

market research report: rim blackberry and the smartphone market

Documents

blackberry research

youth student market

market share blackberry

data collection

analysing data

youth market value

xe market research report

research problem