Market Insight Team Project Update
This update lists the Market Insight team projects that are currently in progress or recently completed as at 24th July 2006.
The Market Insight Team:
Ed Brown, Market Insight Manager
Jason Clark, Market Intelligence Assistant
Neena Dâvé-Potter, Market Insight Manager (temporary)
Kirstie Godwin-Day, Head of Market Insight
Avril Jamieson, Market Intelligence Co-ordinator
Timo Riiali, Market Insight Manager (temporary)
Rupert Smith, Market Insight Manager
Product Marketing and Market Intelligence sub-unit
OU Marketing & Sales
Project
Name
Project No.
Supplier
Key Objective(s)
Research Methods
Phase
Internal
Client(s)
Funding
Source
MI Team
Contact
Total
Budget
Link to
report in
MR
Collection
Arts MA
Review
MRC2006/15
(CIG 5637)
OU IET
To inform development of
Masters degree in Arts
Online survey with current
students
Dissemination Arts (Clive
Baldwin)
n/a
n/a
EB
To be added
to MRC by
end August
2006.
MA
Humanities
Review
MRC2006/05
(CIG 5629)
OU IET
To find out students reasons for On line survey of current MA Dissemination Arts (Derek
applying to OU to study for their Humanities students.
Matravers)
MA and their reactions to a
proposed change in the structure
of the MA from a 3 year course to
a 2 year course.
n/a
n/a
EB
To be added
to MRC by
end August
2006.
Religious
Diversity
MRC2006/32
(CIG 5641)
England
Marketing
To gauge appeal of possible
CPD product ('Religious
Diversity') amongst employers.
Desk research and depth
interviews.
Fieldwork
CCPD
CCPD
TBC
TR
Strategic
Languages
MRC2006/31
(CIG 5643)
TBC
To measure appeal of potential
courses for arabic and chinese
mandarin.
TBC
Briefing
FELS (Sharon PMMI
TBC
Ding)
(Marketing)
TR
New MA
course
proposal for
FELS
MRC2006/33
(CIG 5650)
TBC
To inform development of a new TBC
MA course, Leading and
Supporting Work-Based Learning
Briefing
FELS (Sharon PMMI
TBC
Ding)
(Marketing)
TR
* Curriculum Intelligence Group (CIG) prioritises requests for curriculum-related market research.
28/07/2017
Page 1 of 7
Project
Name
Project No.
Sports-related MRC2006/02
Foundation (CIG 5634)
Degrees
Supplier
Key Objective(s)
Research Methods
Phase
Internal
Client(s)
Funding
Source
MI Team
Contact
Research
First
Testing market potential for 3
In depth interviews amongst Dissemination FELS (Sharon PMMI
£13,000
proposed Foundation Degrees in key employers across the
Ding)
(Marketing)
sports-related subjects: sport & three proposed areas.
fitness, leisure management
and/or coaching.
Total
Budget
Link to
report in
MR
Collection
TR
http://intranet
.open.ac.uk/m
inet/mrlib/sea
rchresults.asp
?CatNo=MR
C2006/02A
http://intranet
.open.ac.uk/m
inet/mrlib/sea
rchresults.asp
?CatNo=MR
C2006/02C
Social work in MRC2006/07
Ireland
(CIG 5631)
ASE Dublin
Explore and understand demand Depth-interviews with
for employment based learning employers and individual
for Social Workers and Social
enquirers.
Care work force; Establish what
(if any) perceived benefits there
are from employment based
learning, for employers,
particularly with regards to
retention and recruitment
Dissemination HSC (Monica
Dowling)
PMMI
£23,000
(Marketing)
TR
PostQualifying
CPD for
Social
Workers in
Scotland
MRC2006/28
(CIG 5645)
England
Marketing
To measure appeal of proposed Desk research and depth
CPD social work courses in
interviews.
Scotland.
Fieldwork
PMMI
£5,200
(Marketing)
TR
Foundation MRC2006/06
Degree &
(CIG 5624
other courses & 5627)
in familyrelated
curriculum
Harris
Interactive
Explore and understand interest Depth-interviews and web
Dissemination HSC (Ronny
in and potential take up for the
surbey with current and past
Flynn)
proposed Foundation degree and Y156 students
other existing courses in the OU
Family Studies curriculum.
PMMI
£18,000
(Marketing)
TR
HSC (Monica
Dowling)
* Curriculum Intelligence Group (CIG) prioritises requests for curriculum-related market research.
28/07/2017
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http://intranet
.open.ac.uk/m
inet/mrlib/sea
rchresults.asp
?CatNo=MR
C2006/07A
To be added
to MRC by
end August
2006.
Project
Name
Project No.
Supplier
Key Objective(s)
Research Methods
OU Brand
MRC2006/04
Reinvigoration:
Marketing &
Course
Materials
Evaluation
Discovery
Research
To evaluate the new marketing
communications, print and
electronic, against the brand
guidelines; to explore the new
suites of administrative and
student course-related materials
with potential students and
current students.
Focus groups with enquirers, Dissemination LTS, IET &
students and staff. In-home
Marketing
depth interviews with
enquirers and new students.
Maths Level 3 MRC2006/22
Curriculum
(CIG 5639)
OU IET
To inform development of Level 3 Online survey with current
maths and stats curriculum.
students.
Maths
MRC2006/30
Education
(CIG 5647)
Course
('Developing
Mathematical
Thinking with
ICT')
TBC
OU Logo
Awareness
MRC2006/18
OU
MRC2006/19
Merchandise
Development
Total
Budget
Link to
report in
MR
Collection
PMMI
£40,000
(Marketing)
KGD
To be added
to MRC by
end August
2006.
M&C (Derek
Goldrei)
n/a
EB
To measure appeal of proposal Online survey with students. Briefing
30 pt level 3 course 'Developing
Mathematical Thinking with ICT'.
M&C (Hugh
Robinson)
PMMI
TBC
(Marketing)
EB
Ipsos UK
To provide quantitative feedback A nationality representative
on the awareness of the OU
general public omnibus
shield; To determine how
(Ipsos's Capibus)
awareness has changed since
2004 when this research was last
undertaken.
Analysis
Marketing
PMMI
£2,500
(Marketing)
RS
TBC
To evaluate 50 to 150 products
for desirability and price; to
understand the brand fit of the
products with the new renewed
OU brand and to clarify whether
the brand or the crest should be
used; to understand when
products are purchased and to
identify key gifting occasions and
to gauge a level of interest in
these.
Briefing
Marketing
VCE
NDP
Likely to be a qualitative
approach with current
students, staff and alumni.
May also require some
quantification.
Phase
Fieldwork
Internal
Client(s)
Funding
Source
MI Team
Contact
n/a
TBC
* Curriculum Intelligence Group (CIG) prioritises requests for curriculum-related market research.
28/07/2017
Page 3 of 7
Project
Name
Project No.
Supplier
Key Objective(s)
Phase
Internal
Client(s)
Funding
Source
Professional MRC2006/35
Bodies Study
OUIET
To determine membership of
Online survey with OU
professional bodies amongst OU alumni.
alumni (and perceptions of
service).
Briefing
Marketing
CES
TBC
(Marketing)
EB
Project
Rainbow
Stakeholder
Research
Janet Hosken To gain detailed views of the
Research
stakeholders across the OU of
the current performance of
Marketing & Sales; and to
determine expectations of the
'Marketing & Sales' function
within the OU.
Depth interviews with 56 key Dissemination Marketing
stakeholders and 10
marketing staff.
Marketing & £35,000
Sales
KGD
Local Visibility MRC2006/21
Measures
Ipsos UK
A nationality representative
general public omnibus
(Ipsos's Capibus)
Dissemination Marketing
Brand
Marketing
RS
Prospectus MRC2006/08
Review 2006
Janet Hosken To provide feedback on current
Research
Prospectus, to ensure that it
meets enquirers’ expectations
and needs – and ultimately
maximises registrations.
Group discussions with
recent OU enquirers.
Dissemination Marketing
PMMI
£25,000
(Marketing)
RS
To be added
to MRC by
end August
2006.
Public
Awareness
and Image
Study GB
2006
MRC2006/01
Ipsos UK
To measure awareness and
perception of the OU in GB
A nationally representative
general public omnibus
(Ipsos's Capibus).
Dissemination Marketing
PMMI
£21,000
(Marketing)
RS
To be added
to MRC by
end July
2006.
BBC Trail
Awareness
Tracking
MRC2006/03
Ipsos UK
To test reactions to the new
BBC/OU Trail to commence in
February 2006.
A natinally representative
general public omnibus
(Ipsos's Capibus)
Dissemination Marketing
PMMI
£10,000
(Marketing)
RS
To be added
to MRC by
end August
2006.
Training In
Industry &
Commerce
Europe
MRC2006/14
Benchmark
Research
See MRC2005/12, but with focus See MRC2005/12, but with
on Europe.
focus on Europe.
Fieldwork
PMMI
£11,000
(Marketing)
RS
MRC2006/23
To measure effectiveness of
regional marketing actvities.
Research Methods
Marketing
MI Team
Contact
£6,000
Total
Budget
* Curriculum Intelligence Group (CIG) prioritises requests for curriculum-related market research.
28/07/2017
Page 4 of 7
Link to
report in
MR
Collection
Project
Name
Project No.
Supplier
Key Objective(s)
OU & OUBS MRC2006/16
Public
Awareness
and Image
Study France
& Germany
2006
Ipsos UK
Public
MRC2006/29
Awareness
and Image
Study Ireland
2006
Phase
Internal
Client(s)
Funding
Source
To measure awareness and
A nationally representative
perception of the OU and OUBS general public omnibus
in France & Germany.
(Ipsos's Capibus Europe).
Fieldwork
Marketing
PMMI
£13,000
(Marketing)
RS
Ipsos UK
To measure awareness and
perception of the OU in Ireland
Fieldwork
Marketing
PMMI
£10,800
(Marketing)
RS
OUBS
MRC2003/53
Lifetime
Value Project
(Progression
Study)
n/a
Trialling a segmented approach Analysis of behavioural
to customer communications.
database & motivational
clusters.
Analysis
Marketing
PMMI
n/a
(Marketing)
KGD
OUBS
Mystery
Shopping
Programme
2006
MRC2006/17
GfK Mystery To evaluate customer service for Mystery shopping of OUBS Briefing
Shopping
enequirers to OUBS courses in SRS and OUBS competitors.
the competitor context.
OUBS
PMMI
£24,000
(Marketing)
NDP
OUBS
Customer
Journey
DecisionMaking
MRC2006/36
TBC
To understand students'
Quantitative interviews by
decision-making priorities during telephone.
the customer journey (from
enquiry to progression). To
capture other priorities not on the
list of decision-making criteria
and to determine their
importance.
Briefing
OUBS
PMMI
£22,000
(Marketing)
NDP
Carrington
Crisp
Evaluating the impact and
Online questionnaire to
effectiveness of business school OUBS students and staff.
branding and marketing
programmes in the international
market.
Dissemination OUBS (James PMMI
£3,700
Fleck)
(Marketing)
ABS
MRC2005/23
Business Of
Branding
International
Research Methods
A nationally representative
general public omnibus
(Ipsos's Capibus).
MI Team
Contact
Total
Budget
KGD
* Curriculum Intelligence Group (CIG) prioritises requests for curriculum-related market research.
28/07/2017
Page 5 of 7
Link to
report in
MR
Collection
Final report
to be added
to MRC by
end August
2006.
Project
Name
Project No.
Supplier
Key Objective(s)
Research Methods
Phase
Internal
Client(s)
Funding
Source
MBA
Migration
Scheme
Study
MRC2005/11
Network
Research
To obtain necessary measures to Online survey to MBA alumni. Fieldwork
enable OUBS to be included on
the HM Treasury's MBA
Migration scheme and thereby (i)
directly drive student recruitment
onto the MBA; (ii) raise the status
and profile of the OUBS amongst
all stakeholders.
OUDO:
Project
Rashamon
MRC2006/27
OUBS (Mark
Fenton
O'Creevy)
PMMI
TBC
(Marketing)
RS
Sue Robson To understand the perception of One-to-one depth interviews Dissemination OUDO
Consulting
OUDO amongst key internal
with key internal
stakeholders; To understand the stakeholders.
attitudes of key internal
stakeholders towards OUDO; To
understand what key internal
stakeholders want/need from
OUDO.
OUDO
TBC
AB
OUW course MRC2006/34
material
review panel
TBC
To review existing course
Develop questionnaire for
Briefing
materials with respect to rewriting reviewing of course materials
for commercial purposes.
with panel of ALs.
OUW
TBC
TR
The Nature of MRC2006/10
Britain
(CIG 5640)
IPSOS
To inform development of
products around 'The Nature of
Britain' BBC programme
A nationality representative
general public omnibus
(Ipsos's Capibus)
OUW, OBU, £6,000
Marketing &
Sales
TR
http://intranet
.open.ac.uk/m
inet/mrlib/sea
rchresults.asp
?CatNo=MR
C2006/10A
Testing
MRC2005/30
Potential For (CIG 5628)
a Course in
Level 1 Ethics
and PG
Ethics
Ipsos UK &
Continental
Research
Gauge level of interest for
proposed ethics courses
amongst general public &
businesses.
Questions on general public Dissemination PDG/Ethics
PMMI
£9,000
and SME omnibus surveys.
Steering Group (Marketing)
TR
http://intranet
.open.ac.uk/m
inet/mrlib/sea
rchresults.asp
?CatNo=MR
C2005/30C
Competitor MRC2006/12
Benchmarkin
g Study 2006
n/a
To monitor competitor pricing
(and other elements) of a
selected group of OU
programmes.
Desk research.
EB
To be
completed
September
2006.
OUW
Dissemination OUW
Briefing
MI Team
Contact
Planning Office PMMI
n/a
(Fees &
(Marketing)
Financial
Support Project
Board)
Total
Budget
* Curriculum Intelligence Group (CIG) prioritises requests for curriculum-related market research.
28/07/2017
Page 6 of 7
Link to
report in
MR
Collection
Project
Name
Project No.
Supplier
Key Objective(s)
UG Price
Sensitivity
Research
2006
MRC2006/11
BDRC
Postgraduate MRC2006/20
Courses in
(CIG 5611)
Social
Science
Harris
Interactive
Social
Sciences
(Janet Fink)
DD100
Remake
MRC2005/27
(CIG 5610)
OU Mystery
Shopping
2006
MRC2006/09
Customer
MRC2004/21
Contact
Model/Studen
t Experience
Framework
Research Methods
Phase
Total
Budget
Link to
report in
MR
Collection
To model the impact of price
15 tele-depth interviews with Dissemination Planning Office PMMI
£67,000
changes on the likely take up of current students, enquirers
(Fees &
(Marketing)
key coures; To understand how and potential students;
Financial
important price is within the
1,500 telephone interviews
Support Project
decision making criteria (post top with current UG students &
Board)
up fees); To understand which
enquirers;
goods and services compete with and an online survey with
OU course fees, from disposable c.500 potential students.
income.
EB
To be added
to MRC by
end August
2006.
To enable the Open University to Online bulletin board with PG Analysis
optimise the impact of the
and Level 3 students.
proposed course changes
amoung current and prospective
students for Social Science PG
courses
PMMI
£23,000
(Marketing)
TR
Sue Robson To explore, evaluate and develop Focus groups and depth
Dissemination Social
Consulting
proposals for the replacement
interviews with enquirers, OU
Sciences
DD100 course.
students and Birkbeck
(Janet Fink)
students.
PMMI
£45,000
(Marketing)
KGD
GfK Mystery To measure current service
Shopping
delivery criteria (against results
from 2005 pilot study where
possible – MRC2005/18).
Mystery shops to take place Briefing
in Autumn 2006 – number,
channels, etc to be agreed.
Student
Services &
Marketing
Student
TBC
Services &
Marketing
AB
Sue Robson To record students’ experiences
Consulting
as they progress through their
course, exploring: study
experiences, pathways,
expectations of OU
communications and service,
experience of OU
communications and service,
experiences when students
contact OU, and communication
channels.
Phase 1. Extended focus
groups in November 2004.
Phase 2. Longitudinal
research with selected
students starting courses in
Feb 2005.
Student
Services &
Marketing
Consumer £39,000
Marketing
KGD
Complete
Internal
Client(s)
Funding
Source
MI Team
Contact
* Curriculum Intelligence Group (CIG) prioritises requests for curriculum-related market research.
28/07/2017
Page 7 of 7
To be added
to MRC by
end August
2006.
http://intranet
.open.ac.uk/m
inet/mrlib/sea
rchresults.asp
?CatNo=MR
C2004/21A