Case Study Analysis: Management Problem

Case Study Analysis
Student’s Name
Institution
Case Study Analysis
Management Problem
The management problem asks what a decision-maker should do to remedy a situation (Iacobucci & Churchill, 2018). The advertising agency at Bakhill Foods wants to create an appealing advertising copy for Bakhill Coffee. Thus, the management problem is testing which advertising approach will be effective between using the attractive and unattractive model as well as using a female or a male model. The marketing manager and the advertisement agency have differing opinions on the issue. The former thinks that an attractive female would be suitable while the latter thinks that unattractive males are more suitable in making an appealing advertisement for Bakhill Coffee. The management needs to decide whether to use an attractive male/female or unattractive male/ female. One of the factors influencing this decision is the nature of the product being advertised. The advertisement agency posits that coffee is not a “romantic product” (Case, n.d.) and using attractive people will romanticize it. Another factor is human nature because as revealed in the case study, people (consumers) are attracted to beautiful things and they use physical attributes to decide whether something is beautiful.
Research Problem & Objectives
The research problem involves establishing what information is required in making the most effective decision (Iacobucci & Churchill, 2018). In Bakhill Foods’ case, the research problem is:
* How do the physical attributes of models influence consumers’ perception and attitude towards a product?
Since the management is interested in finding out whether to use physically attractive/ unattractive male/females in the advertisement campaign, the research objectives are:
* To assess the effectiveness of an attractive male model on an advertisement campaign
* To determine the impact of the model’s gender on the effectiveness of the advertisement campaign
These research objectives will provide the management with information about how consumers feel about both the gender and the physical attributes of the models used in advertisement campaigns. Based on the research findings, the management will make an informed decision on how to proceed with the advertisement of Bakhill Coffee.
Methodology
* Research Design
The study utilized a causal research design. Causal research designs are used when the researcher wants to establish a cause and effect relationship between variables (Iacobucci & Churchill, 2018). The variables include an independent and dependent variable. The researcher manipulates the independent variable to establish if it affects the dependent variable. The independent variables in the Bakhill case were the models used in the advertisement. The manipulation involved changing the gender and /or physical attractiveness of the model. The dependent variable, in the Bakhill Coffee case, was the attitude of the consumers. The participants were treated to four ads. The first ad was of an attractive male, the second of an unattractive male, the third of an attractive female, and the last one of an unattractive female model. Each model, based on thei...