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Market Research
The
audience that the UVa Social Norms Marketing office focuses on is
UVa undergraduate students. Thus, we find it imperative to get their
feedback on all of our ideas and materials before, during, and after
their introduction and/or publication. We do this in three different
ways -- by conducting intercept interviews, focus groups, and talking
with "connectors."
Intercept
Interviews
Intercept Interviews are most often conducted in order to assess the
Stall Seat Journals. However, they are also used to evaluate the other
materials used in our campaign.
Focus
Groups
Focus
groups take place when our office is seeking feedback on a number of
materials or on more conceptual ideas for a campaign. Our office holds
numerous focus groups, each consisting of approximately 8-12 students.
The sessions last for one to one and a half hours and are most often
led by the Social Norms Marketing undergraduate intern, who has been
trained to moderate focus groups under the guidelines of Richard A.
Krueger and David A. Morgan's Focus Group Kit. Focus groups give
students the opportunity to be "experts," thus providing them
with an open and comfortable space for honest dialogue. After hearing
from students, our office reevaluates the materials and initiatives
and then makes the necessary updates.
Connectors
An emerging
idea that our program has begun to incorporate is the concept of "connectors"
(influencers). This subject is discussed in a new book by Malcolm Gladwell,
The Tipping Point. A researcher at Kansas State University, Dr.
Fred Newton, put this theory to work in a survey instrument that he
developed. The instrument contains a number of questions regarding influential
people on grounds as well as people who tend to know a variety of people
across the university. Dr. Newton gave permission for the instrument
to be used on Grounds in order to determine who the influencers are
for UVa. The idea is that by determining the connectors at UVa and their
issues of importance, it may be possible to tailor UVa's social norms
marketing campaigns to affect a decrease in alcohol consumption.
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