Liquor Brand Awareness Survey

SURVEY: LIQUOR BRAND AWARENESS LAURA GILLIGAN

Liquor Brand Awareness 1

INTRODUCTION The relationship between liquor brands and younger consumers interest me. Alcohol brands, especially hard liquor brands, have taken steps to advertise to an increasing younger audience. These liquor brands like Smirnoff and Absolut create a young brand image by appealing to younger lifestyles in their advertising campaigns.

In addition to this relationship, It is interesting how people choose brands and their purchasing patterns. Choosing which alcohol brand and type to buy is a fairly low-effort decision making process. There is generally not a very high risk in buying a bottle of liquor. In low-effort decision making, consumers use choice tactics to simplify the decisionmaking process. These tactics are pretty much a checklist of consumers’ wants in a product. Choice tactics include price tactics, affect tactics, performance tactics, normative tactics, habit tactics, brand loyalty tactics, and variety seeking tactics (Hoyer, 246). These tactics that consumers use in their purchasing decisions depends on the product he or she is buying. I generated this survey to figure out what tactic consumers base their liquor purchase decisions on, and what would make consumers switch to a different brand.

What I am particularly interested in, though, is brand loyalty and consumers. There are many different reasons why a consumer is loyal to a brand and it’s interesting to determine at what point consumers will switch brands. Brand loyalty is considered as buying a brand continuously that satisfies your need more than any other brand can of that product category (Hoyer, 251). Brand loyalty can result from many different experiences. It can result from a positive customer service encounter, a positive experience relating to the quality of the product itself and a positive encounter when a consumer becomes skillful in how to use that particular brand. Brand loyalty pretty much results in low-effort decision making. Since purchasing liquor is already a low-effort decision process, It seems like the two main options when buying more liquor is to either stick with your brand or to variety seek.

I developed this survey to get a better idea of why consumers are loyal to their favorite brand of liquor and what choice tactics the he or she uses to choose their preferred brand. I wanted to get a look inside why consumers would possibly purchase a different brand if certain attributes changed.

Research Questions: •

Why do consumers stick to the same brand or choose to variety seek?

•

How likely are consumers to switch brands due to different purchasing circumstances?

DESCRIPTION The sampling size for this survey was 75 participants. I shared the link of my Qualtrics survey on my Facebook and Twitter timelines as well as on my Tumblr blog. Out of my 2,195 friends on Facebook, 496 followers on Twitter, and 8,332 followers on Tumblr, only 75 people responded to my survey. I posted the link multiple times on each outlet while I also sent the link directly to people who I wanted to take the survey. My response rate was low at 0.007 percent.

This number would mean that all of my friends and followers would have to have seen the post for the response rate to be true, which is not the case. I know that only a portion of my friends and followers on these three social media Liquor Brand Awareness 2

accounts combined saw my post linking the survey. On Twitter, my tweet sent out with the link had 184 impressions and eight clicks making the response rate for Twitter 23 percent. The other social media sites I used did not have a way to measure the response rate or clicks on the link.

I used a non-probability sampling method for this survey. I arbitrarily selected people to send the survey to as well as putting it out on my social media for friends and followers to participate in. This non-probability sample was a convenience sample. Convenience sampling is done where the researcher is conducting research in a high-traffic area.

I used my social media accounts as my means to reach many people.

There might be some biases with my data since I resorted to a non-probability convenience sampling method. For the most part, the people who I’m friends with on Facebook are in the same demographic as me and similar to me. I hoped to gain a different demographic by posting on my Tumblr blog to reach different people.

The method I used to answer my research questions was an online, Qualtrics survey consisting of a variety of different closed-ended and open-ended questions. Included in my survey were many-response multiple choice questions, fill in the blank questions, Likert Scale questions, and basic multiple choice questions as seen in my survey in Appendix A. I wanted to use a variety of question types to add interest in my survey; I didn’t want my survey to look or feel monotonous. I broke up each question into its own, separate page to the have respondent only focus on that particular question. It could be easy for the respondent to feel overwhelmed with a huge sheet of questions in front of them. I also chose to add the progress bar on the bottom to show the participant how close he or she is to completing the survey. I think that focusing on the design of the survey as well as the content helps the survey flow easier.

Within the survey I used the auto-skip feature two times. For the first question asking, “Do you drink alcohol?” if the participant checked no, I auto-skipped to the next block which consists of the demographic information. The survey is about brand loyalty and purchasing patterns when buying liquor, so I would just be wasting the participants’ time if he or she didn’t drink. In the intro, I stated that participants who don’t drink are still valuable due to their demographic information. The second time I used the auto-skip function was on the question “How often do your purchase hard liquor?” If a participant answered “never,” I used the auto-skip button to skip down to the next block of demographic information then the end of the survey. The remainder of the questions were relating to purchasing liquor. If the participant never purchases liquor, then the rest of the survey doesn’t apply to that participant.

In formulating my survey, I thought of what questions would be most beneficial and interesting toward my research questions. I only chose to include 14 questions in my survey, making it short enough to complete in five to ten minutes and long enough to gain valuable insights from the data. I asked my friend, who is also in this research class, to pretest my survey before I sent it out on my social media. Before her input, questions using the Likert Scale in my survey now were multiple choice questions stating the different scales of likeliness. These questions using the Likert Scale are shown in Appendix A. By changing those questions to scales, I added more variety to my survey to help it flow smoother and to have the questions and answers to be better understood.

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RESEARCH FINDINGS AND INSIGHTS Demographics Out of 75 participants who took this survey, 57 are in the age group 18-24, 11 in the age group 25-34, and seven in the age group 55-64. The majority of the participants are female, 65, while there were only 10 male participants.

I sent this survey out to my friends and family through my social media sites. My friends are mostly the same age as me, around 20-years-old. A majority of my friends go to Texas Christian University as well. There are more women in attendance than men. The exact enrollment for the Fall 2016 semester is 6,203 female students and 4,191 male students (TCU Office of Institutional Research, 2016). The majority of the participants IP addresses were located in Fort Worth. Since I sent this survey out to my friends, I am assuming that these participants attend TCU. Along with age and gender, ethnicity was not surprising. Out of 75 participants, only two marked “other” for his or her ethnicity; all of the other participants are white. Since I’m assuming most of the participants of the survey go to Texas Christian University, it makes sense that the majority of the participants are white. Out of the total population of Fall 2016 students, 70.9% are white (TCU Office of Institutional Research, 2016).

The average participant in this survey is a white woman aged 18-24 located in Fort Worth, Texas.

Frequency The first section of my survey is related to the frequency of consuming and purchasing hard liquor. The majority of my participants drink alcohol which helps my research findings. Since this survey is about purchasing liquor, it is irrelevant to those who don’t drink alcohol. Out of 76 participants, 69 drink alcohol and seven don’t drink alcohol. Most people who drink hard liquor do so 2-4 times a month. Out of 68 responses on this second question shown in Appendix A, 27 responses were 2-4 times a month and 21 responses were monthly or less.

It makes sense that the 2-4 times a month response was the most popular. These participants who are drinking liquor could be doing so every weekend in the month or less since there are four weeks in a month. The participants who drink monthly or less could do so just at special events each one goes to like a celebration or a birthday party. The majority of the participants are in the age group 18-24, so more 21st birthday parties are taking place. Either people in this age group are throwing their own 21st birthday party or attending friend’s’ birthday parties. At these parties, people tend to celebrate and consume liquor more than normal.

Another point I found interesting about frequency is the frequency in which the participants purchase their liquor.

Out of 68 responses to this question, 16 were answered never. The participants who answered never are still people who drink liquor. I was thinking what could be the case for this. Friends or significant others could possibly buy hard liquor for the participant. These 16 out of 68 responses could also potentially be people who are underage and are not legally allowed to purchase any kind of alcohol.

So the average participant, frequency-wise, drinks alcohol and drink liquor 2-4 times a month while purchasing liquor once a month.

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Likeliness This survey measured the likeliness of staying with the same brand and switching liquor brands. This survey also measured participants likeliness to switch brands during different situations. I wanted to include a variety of different questions about staying brand loyal and switching brand to see at what extent people will switch brands at.

On a 10-point scale, the mean response to “How likely are you to buy a different brand of liquor each time you go to the liquor store?” is 3.83. This means that the participants are more likely to stick with their favorite brand than to buy a new brand. These participants are more likely to stick to the same liquor because they like the taste of it and because they like the price. In the survey, 73.08% of the participants said they stick to the same brand for the taste and 61.54% said they stick to the same brand for the price. Some of the participants who like the taste of their favorite brand also like the price of their favorite brand. These participants are using price-related tactics to choose their liquor. In relation to the young demographic, this makes sense. Consumers who use price-related tactics are more worried about losing money and more concerned about price (Hoyer, 253). Younger participants in the 18-24 age range are people who are in college or just starting their jobs or careers who have little money to spend. These people with lower incomes look for prices as one of the main factors in the decision making process while purchasing products.

My next section of the survey asked about the participant’s favorite type and brand of liquor. Among the results, 48.08%, or 25 participants chose vodka. Of those 25 participants who chose vodka as their favorite type of liquor, seven people said that Tito’s is their favorite vodka brand. If there was a discounted price on another brand, six participants said they would switch over to the discounted brand and 11 participants said that they are equally likely and not likely to switch over to the discounted brand. Only two participants said that there is no way they would switch over to the discounted brand. This makes me think that more younger people are interested in the price of the product more than their loyalty to their favorite brand.

More participants would switch brands if the different brand has a limited-edition packaging or a new package design rather than a drop in price. Seven participants chose the highest likeliness compared to six choosing the highest likeliness choice in switching to a discounted brand. This is interesting to me because it illustrates that the sample is conscious of price, but is also more interested in a limited-edition package design. Even though more people would switch over to a brand with a limited-edition package design, more participants, 10, chose “not at all likely” to switch over brands. This is greater than the two participants who chose “not at all likely” to switch over brands when there is a discounted brand. Many people display their liquor bottles on top of their cabinets after finishing the bottles.

Having limited-edition bottles to display could be something that person is proud of or a sign of status. Do-it-yourself repurposing is also very popular. Bottles can be turned into candles, drinking glasses and more. Limited-edition bottles would be a valuable addition to those projects.

All in all, I noticed that my participants value the price in considering switching brands. These participants are in the younger demographic which means they are college students or just starting their jobs or careers. The participants are more concerned with price since they’re potentially at a lower income level due to their young age.

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CONCLUSION One of the most difficult parts of this survey was writing the introduction to this survey. I wasn’t sure how in-depth I should take it and exactly what topics I should add to the introduction about the contents of the survey. I ended up making my introduction shorter and to the point. I did this to try to have the participants more likely to read it, and to not be intimidated by the introduction before the participant even started the survey. In the future, I will want to improve how I structure my introduction to make it more descriptive of the study.

For a survey in the future, I would change how I ask demographics. I realized that I forgot to include important answer choices for my gender question in this survey. I forgot to include options other than male and female. I chose the autoresponse option in Qualtrics without double checking that one question. In future surveys, I will make sure to add more answer choices to the gender demographic question.

I enjoyed conducting survey research. It was interesting to see what people chose when their answer choices were limited. The responses were easier to analyze due to the fact that the data were more quantitative rather than qualitative. The responses to easier to analyze due to the fact that I saw how many people chose a certain answer then gained insights about the amount of answers a certain choice got.

Although I enjoyed conducting this research, the one aspect of this survey research that I didn’t like is the fact that I want to extend my research and ask these participants why they chose the answer they did. I could extend my research by conducting an ethnography of participants who answer the survey. This means that I could sit with each participant while he or she completes the survey. I would then ask each participant why he or she chose each answer in this ethnography of the participants.

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Works Sited Hoyer, Wayne D., Rik Pieters, and Deborah J. MacInnis. Consumer Behavior. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage

Learning, 2013. Print.

“Student Characteristics.� TCU. N.p., 7 Sept. 2016. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

<http://www.ir.tcu.edu/factbooks/2016/student_data.asp>.

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Appendix A: Questionnaire

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Appendix C: Copy of Data Set The copy of the data set is attached after this page

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Q5 Do you drink alcohol?

Q6 How often do you drink hard liquour?

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1

4 3 3 4 2 2 3 4 3 1 4 4 2 2 3 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 3 4 2 3 2 1 3 3 2 3 3 2

1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

3 3 3 3 2 3 4 3 2 4 2 3 3 2 4 3 3 5 2 4 4

4 2 4 3 2 2 3 2 3

Q13 How often do you purchase hard liqour?

5 7 7 6 7 7 7 6 8 8 4 8 7 8 7 6 6 7 6 7 6 7 8 6 8 8 6 5 8 7 8 8 7 5 7 7 6 7

7 7 7 7 8 7 7 7 8 7 7 6 7 7 6 7 7 4 7 4 4

6 8 6 8 8 8 7 7 6

Q14 How likely are you to buy a different brand of liquor each time you go to the liquor store?

6 8 3 5 7 7 3 6

1 7 10 2 3 2 4 2 5 7 4

7 2 6

3 1 9 2 1 0

4 3 1 1 0 5 8 2 7 0 2 1 3 3 5 2 3 4 5

2 7

3 2 3

Q15_1 Why are you more likely to buy the same liquor brand? (Mark all that apply)-I like the taste 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1

1 1

1

1

1

1 1 1

1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1

1 1 1

Q15_2 Why are you more likely to buy the same liquor brand? (Mark all that apply)-I like the look of the bottle/packaging

Q15_3 Why are you more likely to buy the same liquor brand? (Mark all that apply)-I like the price 1 1 1 1 1 1

1

1 1

1 1 1

1 1

1 1 1

1

1 1

1 1

1 1

1 1 1 1

1 1

1

1

Q15_4 Why are you more likely to buy the same liquor brand? (Mark all that apply)-My friends like that brand 1 1

1

1

1

1 1

1

Q15_5 Why are you more likely to buy the same liquor brand? (Mark all that apply)-I normally buy different liquor brands

1

Q15_6 Why are you more likely to buy the same liquor brand? (Mark all that apply)-Other (please specify)

1

1

1

1

Q15_6_TEXT Why are you more likely to buy the same liquor brand? (Mark all that apply)-Other (please specify)-TEXT

It's what I know

I like the quality

Gluten Free

I have a recommendation from a recipe

Q16_1 Why are you more likely to buy different liquor brands? (Mark all that apply)-I want to try different brands 1 1

1 1 1

1

1 1 1 1 1

1

1

1 1

1

1

1 1 1 1 1 1

1

1 1

1

1 1

Q16_2 Why are you more likely to buy different liquor brands? (Mark all that apply)-I haven't found a brand that I want to

Q16_3 Why are you more likely to buy different liquor brands? (Mark all that apply)-I look for the cheapest option

1 1 1 1

1

1

1 1

1 1 1

1

1 1

1

1

1 1

1

1 1

Q16_4 Why are you more likely to buy different liquor brands? (Mark all that apply)-I look for different bottle/packaging d

Q16_5 Why are you more likely to buy different liquor brands? (Mark all that apply)-Other (please specify) 1

1

1

1

Q16_5_TEXT Why are you more likely to buy different liquor brands? (Mark all that apply)-Other (please specify)-TEXT Friends Like It

Taste

I buy the same brand

Q16 What is your favorite liquor type/brand?

Q16_TEXT What is your favorite liquor type/brand?-TEXT Titos Firestone & Robertson TX Blended Whisky Amsterdam Jack daniels Jack Daniels

1 3 4 3 3 2 5 Captain Morgan 1 Burnetts

1 burnetts 1 Grey goose 3 1 1 1

808 Whisky svedka Svedka Grey goose

1 1 2 2

Skyy Svedka patron Patron

5 Coconut Bacardi

1 1 Absolute 1 Deep Eddy's

2 Jose Cuervo 1 Belvidere 3 2 Jose quervo 1 Kettle One 1

1 Titos 3 Knob Creek 1 Svedka 1 Tidos 1 Tito's 3 single malt scotches & American ryes 1 Tito's 4 3 Craiggenmore 2 jose cuervo 5 1 1 2 5 3 3 6 1

Black Seal Ruby red Deep eddy's Patron Silver Ml Kentucky delux Macallan Wine Titos

1 Deep eddy 2 Patron

1 Tito's, Ketel One 3 Blantons 2 Jose Quervo Silver

Q17 Think of your favorite liquor brand from the previous question. How likely are you to switch bra...

6 3 8 6 5 10 7 10

5 5 5 4 4 10 6 4 3 8 5

8 8 5

7 2 6 2 3 3

0 5 10 0 1 5 10 5 3 1 2 1 4 1 7 8 3 10 7

4 9

5 5 8

Q18 How likely are you to switch brands if another brand was offering limited-edition bottles/packaging?

6 2 3 0 7 3 6 4

1 1 5 5 3 6 2 0 6 5 3

5 4 6

3 5 0 1 3 2

0 0 0 2 2 2 2 3 0 0 7 5 0 3 3 5 3 2 4

5 1

5 0 2

Q19 How likely are you to switch brands if your friends enjoy a different brand of liquor?

6 8 5 6 7 5 8 10

2 6 4 4 6 7 2 4 1 7 5

7 4 7

6 2 5 4 4 6

3 7 6 4 4 2 5 7 4 0 6 5 8 5 6 1 3 8 7

2 7

5 6 2

Q20 Q9 Is there any other reason why you would switch brands? (If not, skip to the next question) How old are you?

I found a liquor I like better

If I am having people over and know somone has a specific preference.

if price went up or i tried a different one that i liked better

I would switch brands if a friend or colleague highly recommended a different brand.

Better quality for a similar or slightly higher cost

3 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 6 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 6 2

A tasting that introduced me to something I liked better.

If I tasted it at some special event

If something tasted as good and was cheaper

New local brand

2 2 3 2 2 2 3 6 2 2 6 2 3 2 2 2 6 2 2 2 2 6 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 6 2 3 2 2

Q10 What is your gender?

Q12 What is your ethnicity?

2 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 2

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 1

2

1