Casey, I enjoyed reading your post and I found it to be very well thought out and put together. I felt that the scripture you used to support your argument was very appropriate. Pepsi needs to demonstrate patience throughout their research so they can obtain the best results possible. In order for Pepsi to select the proper research method, it is important to first define the difference between quantitative research and qualitative research. “Quantitative research attempts precise measurement of something.
In business research, quantitative methodologies usually measure consumer behavior, knowledge, opinions, or attitudes” (Cooper, 2014). I agree with you that quantitative research is a great tool for Pepsi to use to gauge their marketing campaign effectiveness. The other research method that Pepsi could use is the qualitative research method.
Qualitative research “includes an “array of interpretive techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world.” Qualitative techniques are used at both the data collection and data analysis stages of a research project” (Cooper, 2014). Here, the question is, what research method would be best to help Pepsi determine if their “Live For Now” campaign is resonating with worldwide audiences? I would submit that the best way for Pepsi to determine if their new campaign is resonating with worldwide audiences would be for Pepsi to use a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research. I believe that the best way for Pepsi to research the effectiveness of their “Live For Now” campaign is to conduct an ongoing qualitative study while at the same time conducting several quantitative studies. These quantitative studies would be used to support the qualitative study and provide a gauge for how the campaign has resonated with worldwide audiences. This use of both research methods is known as triangulation. “By combining multiple observers, theories, methods, and empirical materials, researchers can hope to overcome the weakness or intrinsic biases and the problems that come from single-method, single-observer, single-theory studies.
Often the purpose of triangulation in specific contexts is to obtain confirmation of findings through convergence of different perspectives. The point at which the perspectives converge is seen to represent reality” (Jakob, 2001). “Such combination can either incorporate two quantitative approaches or qualitative and quantitative, while the latter is highly recommended because of its tendency to improve validity of outcomes in research undertakings” (Yeasmin, 2012). Pepsi must determine ways to conduct research to obtain knowledge on how their marketing campaign is doing.
If Pepsi is hasty in doing this, they may miss out on a successful marketing campaign. For Pepsi to determine if their campaign is successful, I believe that conducting more research and spending more time on a triangulation method would benefit Pepsi. Proverbs 19:2 says that, “Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way” (ESV).
