Case Studies

Situation/Objective: A national retail chain has a variety of private label and/or house brands, but many have evolved ‘ad hoc’ over the years. The chain seeks clarity on establishing clearly differentiated brands along the lines of good, better, and best. Action: 27 brands are presented via focus groups. To ensure getting through a large number of brands […]

Situation/Objectives: A national restaurant chain positioned between QSR (quick service restaurants, or ‘fast food’) and fast casual, seeks to better understand consumer perceptions on quality, consumer cross-over purchasing behavior, and to gain feedback on some new product concepts. Action: PMI conducts a three-day online bulletin board addressing the relevant issues. During the discussions, several elements of the […]

Situation/Objectives: A blockbuster pharmaceutical brand hires a leading video-game based developer to develop an innovative videogame-like patient tutorial. The tutorial is designed to help new patients – many of them children – understand their treatment and make the transition to self-treatment. The objective of the research is to assess the tutorial/web site on the user experience: […]

Situation/Objectives: A leading food service supplier is in a bind: their moderator informs them – the day before – that he/she is snowed-in and will not be able to lead a scheduled ideation session with one of their top customers. The objective is to brainstorm new products to help both the client and the customer gain […]

Situation/Objectives: An IT software vendor has grown quickly and competes in a highly competitive market. Their product line and pricing structures are complex – licenses, maintenance, services – and have expanded in recent years. Cloud computing, or SaaS (Software as a Service) is changing the nature of the marketplace. The company wants an objective evaluation of […]

Situation/Objectives: A major grocery chain sought to understand its customers’ expectations for one of its core departments (e.g., deli, bakery, pharmacy, etc.). Though the company leads in its markets, it now competes with resurgent traditional grocery chains as well as up-and-coming non-traditional grocers such as Trader Joe’s, The Fresh Market, and Whole Foods. Action: PMI conducted focus […]

Situation/Objectives: A global manufacturer of capital intensive, highly engineered industrial equipment was seeking to re-enter the Canadian market and to better understand its customers needs, what is required to win in the marketplace, and how its products and services are currently perceived in the marketplace. Action: PMI conducted one-on-one interviews via phone with current customers, potential […]

Situation/Objectives: A major manufacturer of products used to support joints – knees, ankles, etc.- wants to update their product line and has several new product concepts they want to get consumer feedback on. Action: PMI conducts an online bulletin board. Participants are asked to upload a photo of the current product they use. Several new product concepts […]

Situation/Objective: A community college (enrollment 13,000) has experienced strong growth but has reached a crossroads: courses of study that have been its strength are at capacity; it is not sure what its ‘customers’ think of its long-running advertising campaign; and the formula for its funding from the state is changing. In addition, it needs help […]