Flemington, NJ, August 7, 2009 – A new national media study among 307 viewers of a video regarding the recent cookie controversy involving Wal-Mart and the Girl Scouts of America revealed that the majority of Girl Scout parents (58%) have a more negative perception of Wal-Mart after watching the news clip.
The study was conducted by HCD Research using its MediaCurves.com® website on August 6, to obtain viewers’ perceptions of a news clip featuring the recent cookie conflict between Wal-Mart and the Girl Scouts of America.
The study also revealed that an overwhelming majority of Girl Scout parents (96%) are Wal-Mart shoppers, with 54% reporting that they are frequent shoppers and 42% reporting that they are occasional Wal-Mart shoppers. More than one-third of these parents (35%) also reported that they are now less likely to shop at Wal-Mart stores after learning of the Girl Scout cookie controversy.
Among the findings:
“Please indicate how frequently you shop at Wal-Mart.”
|
|
Total |
Girl Scout Parents |
Non-Girl Scout Parents |
|
Frequently |
50% |
54% |
49% |
|
Occasionally |
44% |
42% |
44% |
|
Never |
6% |
4% |
7% |
“Has this story changed your perception of Wal-Mart?”
|
|
Total |
Girl Scout Parents |
Non-Girl Scout Parents |
|
Yes, I have a more negative perception of Wal-Mart |
37% |
58% |
31% |
|
Yes, I have a more positive perception of Wal-Mart |
4% |
1% |
5% |
|
No change |
59% |
41% |
64% |
“I am:”
|
|
Total |
Girl Scout Parents |
Non-Girl Scout Parents |
|
Less likely to shop at Wal-Mart now |
22% |
35% |
18% |
|
More likely to shop at Wal-Mart now |
8% |
3% |
9% |
|
No change |
70% |
62% |
73% |
While viewing the video, participants indicated their levels of agreeability by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants were also asked to respond to post-viewing questions.
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net). You can also receive updates from MediaCurves.com by following us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mediacurves and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flemington-NJ/MediaCurves/86691908820
HCD Research, a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. MediaCurves.com® (www.mediacurves.com) is a media measurement website that provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.
Your intent may be right, and your research methodology may be adequate, but your video clip is wrong. The clip is a misrepresentation of the Walmart cookie question, and I should know. I'm the blogger who noticed the situation and wrote about it originally.
I'd like to invite you to http://AuthenticOrganizations.com to read the original post where I discuss the underlying question:
If a business has many choices about which new business & markets to enter, should they choose to begin competing directly with an already established non-profit?
It is important to assess in real time how audiences are responding to items in the media. Yet, it is more important for the media to represent the story accurately and present it in a sensible way that promotes discussion rather than misconstrual and overreaction. I'd be interested to see how the pubic perceives the real issues.
CV Harquail, PhD