Final Chapter

    This week will be my last blog that I will be writing for the semester.  I really hope you enjoyed reading my posts each week and learning more about the research tools that the fast food industry uses in order to collect valuable information about their services.  For this week, I will again discuss two of my classmate’s blog posts that I have found really interesting throughout the semester.
    The first blog I would like to discuss is Lisa’s blog on entertainment.  Throughout the course of the semester, Lisa has given a wide range of interesting topics regarding entertainment whether it  pertained to radio, television, fashion, ect.  Lisa has done a great job relating our class discussions to current events.  One of her most recent blog posts discusses the research method of surveying.  Lisa decided to talk about the November month which signifies election time.  She goes on to talk about the survey process that goes hand in hand with the voting process.  The act of voting consists of a individual doing a survey.  It’s interesting to know that surveys are used in order to decide who is going to run our country.  It makes you realize how important this research tool really is.  I really liked how Lisa connected our registration for classes to the survey process that QU students use.  For example, I use ratemyprofessor.com during each registration period and without these survey’s the class selection process would definitely be more of a  tedious process. 
    The next blogger I will be discussing is Rachel B’s blog  that focuses on Google’s success and it’s future expansion in regards to public relations.  I found this blog extremely interesting because Google is a search engine that people use everyday.  It has been known to be one of the most successful search engines available on the internet today.  Rachel does a exceptional job researching the current issues that Google has experienced and the different research methods used in order to deal with crisis management and public awareness.  In her latest blog about surveys, Rachel discusses a job description that was found posted on Google’s corporation website that is entitled survey research scientist.  Rachel uses this to explain how important research, especially survey research is to every industry.  The role of this particular job  was to have the opportunity to design, execute and analyze surveys across the most important parts of Google’s business and products.  This was interesting to read about because many corporations hire individuals just specifically for survey analysis.  This shows how important these research methods really are and shows the time and effort put into them. 
    Well it has been a real pleasure not only writing my blog but having the opportunity of reading what my classmate’s have to say about the world of PR research.  I’ve learned that research methods are used so often that they have become such a vital part of the public relations industry.

Experimental Research Design

          This week in class we discussed experimental research which is a type of quantitative research.  Experimental research is a method that involves testing some sort of hypothesis.  A experiment involves one or more independent variables that are manipulated in order to determine the effect of a dependent variable. Many times the purpose of the design is to find some sort of causal relationship between two variables.  During a experimental research there are two groups; the control group and the experimental group. These two groups are exposed to the same environment, asked the same questions and given the same treatment . The only exception is that the experimental group gets some sort of variable that is different than what the control group gets. 
    Instead of doing my usual blog where I look up a article on a past experimental design I decided to set up a experimental design that could test a potential hypothesis instead.  The hypothesis for this experimental design says that listing calories on a menu will not affect a customer’s choice in buying fast food.  The set up would include a group of customers at a McDonald’s restaurant.  These participants would not be aware whether or not they were in the experimental group or the control group. This is known as a blind experiment. The experiment would be to test the relationship between calories and people’s food choices at McDonalds.  Instead of looking at the menu above, the participants are handed menus that show the indicated meals for the day.  The only variable that is different between the menus is that one set of menus have the calories listed and the other menus don’t.  The researcher however, knows which participants are in the control group and the experimental group.  If this was not the case, the experiment would be known as a double-blinded experimental design because both the participants and the researcher would be unaware of who is in the contol group and who is in the experimental group.  The experiment is testing whether or not the people who received the menu with the calories listed beside the foods would make healthier decisions when ordering their meals at McDonalds.  The experiment tests the causal relationship between calories and people’s diet choices.  Many people who see the calories right in front of them could feel more guilty when ordering from a fast food place.  People who remain unaware about the health conditions of the McDonald’s meals also may feel that they can order whatever they want without feeling guilty afterward. 
    As you can see this experimental design would help show how calories influence people’s diet choices.  The initial hypothesis saying it doesn’t would be tested after the participants ordered their food.  This is a example of what a experimental research design would look like in the fast food industry.     

Surveys

        As we discussed in class, the survey technique is the most popular method for quantitative research. Survey’s provide a typically easy and inexpensive way to get measurable results that provide structured answers.  Almost every company in the industry conducts surveys in order to get feedback about their company, client or service. It is the easiest way to receive public opinion in the most straightforward  possibly way.  Many times people are hired and designated to conducting and distributing surveys out. 
    Fast food companies such as McDonald's, Wendy’s and Arby’s want their customers to fill out as many survey’s as they offer.  A important plan for marketing and business strategy comes from the feedback received from survey’s.  They want to know how the public perceives their new products and service.  While browsing online about this issue I came across a article that showed some of the tactics used by restaurants in order to get customers to fill out survey’s.  Because online surveying is one of the easiest ways to conduct this type of method, many fast food restaurants offer free food in exchange for the completion of a survey.  For example, Arbys and Wendy’s printed free food offers on the back of their receipts in order to urge customers to go online and fill out their survey.  The article also briefly explains how the surveys work.  For example, the customer would go to the website printed on the receipt, and answer a survey that usually takes 5 minutes.  Many of these survey’s ask you for the store # in order to get specific responses to that store location.  After the survey is completed you get a validation code which you bring back to the restaurant to receive your fast food items. 
    Giving away free food is worth it to these fast food industries because they need these survey responses to conduct market research and keep in touch with the opinions of the customers.  Many times when a new commercial or product comes out surveys are given out at the actual fast food restaurant in order to get immediate feedback from the costumers.  Surveys will continue to be part of the fast food industry because customer service is always a main priority for business planning. 

Classmate's Blogs

          This week I am going to take the time out of my topic in order to comment on two of my classmates blogs.  The first blog I would like to comment on is Brittany’s blog that she wrote last week entitled “Street Fashion.”  In this excerpt Brittany talks about how people form qualitative data about fashion on a daily basis.             Throughout her blog, Brittany expresses that qualitative data on fashion is obtained every day by just simply walking down the street.  I personally thought this was very interesting because everyday we are surrounded by people that each have their own unique tastes when it comes to fashion.  While reading this blog I began to think about when I walk around and see different people wearing different clothing.  The expression “fashion-statement” definitely goes hand in hand with this  because when I see someone I quickly make my own opinions about what they are wearing. Brittany then goes on saying that  fashion derives not just from clothes but from attitudes and personality as well.  I believe this to be a very valid statement.  I really liked how Brittany exemplified what she was trying to get through in her message by sharing her initial thoughts about the picture of the girl she posted.  “When I look at this picture I first see a girl who sloppily tossed her hair up and threw on sunglasses to cover her face that she didn’t have time to put makeup on.” She also comments on her facial expression and how her outfit perceives her confidence.  Although Brittany reinsures her readers that the assumption may not be correct, it still shows the ability to form qualitative observations instantly.
    Another blog that I found really interesting was Christina’s blog about qualitative research.  Christina approached this method by posing a question about whether or not the government or the President himself uses such research to find valuable results.  Christina’s research was very successful because she explored a current issue going on today.  Obama’s plan to allow homosexuals to freely be open and serve in the military has been a controversial issue.  However, qualitative research has been used in order for the government to interpret people’s reactions for this plan.  For example, focus groups were used in order discuss the positive and negative attitude of repealing the law. I thought this blog was very interesting because it shows that qualitative research is used many prominent industries such as the government. 

Qualitative Research

            This week’s topic is going to be focused on  the general topic of qualitative research.  The main question people usually have when talking about qualitative research is; What are the main differences between qualitative and quantitative research?  Well, I was personally one of these people until we spent many classes distinguishing between the two. Qualitative research represents a research method that is targeted more toward interpreting individual’s experiences rather than predicting it before hand.  For example, while conducting a observation the researcher is not trying to predict what is going to happen, they are actually watching it happen and analyzing it after wards.  Along the same lines, during a focus group, the researcher can’t predict what the participants emotions and attitudes are going to be until the actual focus group is conducted.  This research aims toward understanding human behavior and the reasons why they perform such behavior.  On the contrary, quantitative research focuses more on measurement and numbers.  With this type of research, the researcher is able to test a certain hypothesis and analysis statistic measurements after wards. 
        There are many different types of  qualitative research methods that include observation, ethnographic research and focus groups as well as some others.  As I was researching yet another way to link research methods to the fast food industry I came across a website that is dedicated in analyzing the industry.  One way that the fast food company performs qualitative research is by asking consumers to compare one of their new food products to a competitive item in terms of quality and even price.  This sort of thing could be conducted through a focus group where participants are asked their views about a certain product, idea or service.  For example, a focus group could be conducted that asks consumers to express their feelings about the French fries at McDonald’s and the French fries at Wendy’s.  This way researchers get results immediately through the participants reactions and emotions towards the two products.  Another form of qualitative research is ethnographic research.  This is rarely used in the business field because it usually is very time consuming. However, one way a ethnographic research could be set up among the fast food industry would be to have a researcher actually work inside a fast food restaurant.  For example, if a researcher wanted to know how employees of  McDonald’s were treated he may actually become a employee himself.  Here, he can research the attitudes among the other employees by acting like he’s one of their own.  This is a good way to become familiar with a certain subculture of a group of people. 
        Many people feel that qualitative research is not as effective as quantitative research because it usually is time consuming and the results are difficult to actually generalize into measurable results.  Qualitative data is in the form of words and objects while quantitative data is in the form of numbers and statistics.  This is shown to be more efficient.  However, I feel that qualitative research is still a important aspect of public relations.  In the fast food industry or even any industry, human behavior is one of the most essential things to be aware of in order to maintain your company.  Qualitative research helps show what and why people behave the way they do and I think this is essential to the communications world. 

What everyone else has to say?

    So, last week I offered you guys a little taste of unobtrusive research that occurs in the fast food industry.  Now I want to know what my other classmates have to say about this method.  This week’s blog focuses on two of my fellow classmates and their interesting insights on unobtrusive methods.
    Jordana Carideo’s blog focuses on the American Cancer Society.  This is definitely significant because it is currently October which means it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  In her blog about unobtrusive research Jordana basically uses secondary research  in order to find out how many women and men are affected by the disease.  In order to do this, she read the American Cancer Society’s  Facts and Figures of 2010.  The data she received is a example of secondary research because she received it from another credible source.  This allowed her to get accurate results quickly and easily.  I thought this was a very interesting way to show how the method works because it shows how secondary research can help you receive the exact results you are trying to get in a matter of minutes.
          Another blog that I really enjoyed reading was Jessica Tessier’s blog about sports.  Within the sports area, unobtrusive research is such a vital method that is used everyday.  Jessica talks about how teams and organizations use this method to find out who is being talked about among professionals and the public.   This is really important in public relations because you need to know where your client is being targeted and towards what public.  In her blog, Jessica starts off her research by simply browsing the web and coming across a article about Roy Halladay.  She then wanted to dig deeper into the issue and began finding different websites that compared the Phillies and Reds and their different stats. 
         Both these blog’s research methods are considered unobtrusive.  This is due to the fact that people’s lives and environments were not intruded upon while conducting the research.  Both researchers used the Internet and secondary research to get their information.  No participants, or interviews were needed. 

Unobtrusive Research: Keeping it Natural

     As we learned in class unobtrusive research is a method of studying social behavior without the research actually affecting it.  The researcher is not required to intrude in the research context.  This method is very helpful because it forces the respondents to act in a natural way.  Sometimes they alter their behavior because they know they are being studied.  For example, when it comes to the topic of fast food, respondents may be too ashamed to admit on a survey that they eat fast food 2 to 3 times a week.  However, unobtrusive research does not require the researcher to directly ask them.  In this case the researcher could study the respondents in a non-direct way. 
     One type of unobtrusive research is content analysis.  Content analysis can be used a lot in the fast food industry.  Suppose a company wants to compare the number of times McDonald’s is said in a commercial to the number of times the word Wendy’s is heard in a commercial. Researchers could study this by simple content analysis.  All they have to do is record how many times they hear each word by listening to the audio.  For example, in this commercial, Wendy’s is said four times throughout.  In the McDonald’s commercial, McDonald’s is said twice.  By recording this data, the researcher has now used content analysis to get the results needed. 
    As I was looking for articles that could represent unobtrusive research that has been done in the past concerning fast food industries I came across a study done that tested if dietary restraint scales affected caloric intake at a fast food place.  The researcher went to a popular chain and recorded the types of different foods available.  The menu ranged from low fat salads and fruit drinks to French fries and double cheeseburgers.  The researchers saw that it was possible for participants to consume low-calorie meals if they wanted to.  After each patron was done eating the researcher recorded the types of wrappers that were left on each tray.  The data was collected during breakfast, lunch and dinner.  After the data was collected it was proven that calorie restraint scales do not affect the caloric intake.  For example, most people still consumed the high calorie unhealthy meals rather than the healthy ones.  This is an example of unobtrusive research because the patrons weren’t aware that the food that they were about to eat would be recorded for a study.  If they had known then they may have made a different decision that altered their behavior.  

What Do Casey and Kayla Have to Say?

    Today I would like to take a time out from my usual rant about the fast food world and focus my attention on the different blogs that my classmates have posted.  During this past week, I have had the opportunity to look at some of my peers blogs that have been posted throughout the past couple of weeks.  It was really interesting to see the different perspectives that each individual had to offer.  Everyone approached their topic in a different way which really helped make each blog unique. Also the topics of the blogs were all very different which really helped me expand my knowledge on the different issues associated with PR.  Today, I would like to focus on two of my classmate’s blogs. 
    As a big contributor to this social network phenomena that exists today, Casey’s post  about the article titled “Surviving a Social Networking Crisis” really caught my attention.  As a member of networks such as Facebook and Twitter, I know that PR news can travel within minutes by a simple click of a button.  If you feel that a company is not reputable all you have to do is post a excerpt on your status on Facebook or Tweet about it.  Casey gives really great insight about how she would handle a situation like her client receiving bad PR.  She says “I would address the situation right away.  I would not want to let the negativeness linger for everyone else to read. I need to quickly get a response out there by being prepared with the best media contacts and keeping my cool.”  Reading this was really interesting because it represents the exact approach that anyone should take when in a crisis.  I really liked Casey’s blog because it focuses on a different PR articles each week which really helps you get a broad view of the updated PR news.
    I also came across Kayla’s blog about Fashion PR and thought her post entitled “Fashion Research Results” was really interesting.  In this post Kayla discusses the research efforts of the store Lovely Bridal Shop.  She talks about how advertising towards the target you are trying to reach can really help raise awareness for your company.  For example, Lovely Bridal Shop tries to reach women between the ages of 25-30.  “By targeting these women they then must advertise accordingly: in certain magazines targeted toward women (especially bridal magazines) radio station ads, Facebook, and Twitter pages, and even a commercial aired during The Bachelor or Dancing with the Stars would suffice.”  I think this was very insightful, especially the part of advertising during The Bachelor or Dancing with the Stars.  When you think about these two shows you would assume that more woman are drawn to it than men are.  Kayla makes a really good point about helpful tactics to raise awareness for a store. 
     Each and every one of my classmates blogs really have something unique about them that makes them very interesting.  They are all well thought out and organized to fit the standards of a great read.  Casey and Kayla's blogs are just two that have stood out in my mind.  Good job guys! 
    

Research in the Fast Food Industry

     When you think of the word research, what pops out in your mind?  Is it something you think you do every day when you go onto a search engine such as Google or Yahoo.  Yes, that is of course a type of research that is definitely the most obvious.  However, in the world of PR, research takes on a whole different level.  Research is one of the most essential tools of the PR field. It is a necessary component to maintaining your company.  If you haven‘t heard, research tactics help companies save money, adapt to change and have a gain on competitors.  So when starting this week’s blog and doing my “Google research” one question came to mind.  How do fast food chains contribute to the research world in order to keep their businesses afloat?     
     As I was perusing articles on a website called Fast Food News I came across something that actually made me laugh.  This must have been the most hypocritical move that any of these fast food chains could have pulled, and of course it was the one and only, McDonalds.  So instead of funding research that can help their own products prosper, McDonalds is taking the sympathetic approach towards research methods.  This article probably will make you shake your head due to this ridiculous attempt for McDonalds to basically save their butts.  For years McDonalds has been getting backlash for contributing to childhood obesity.  HELLO! Of course you are, you are serving children foods that contain so much saturated  and trans fat that kids walk in normal size and walk out obese in the matter of minutes!  Okay exaggeration, but seriously this isn’t so absurd to think that McDonald’s and other fast food chains are getting the heat for this growing epidemic.  So now the hero’s, also known as McDonalds, have been contributing money to scientific studies on the causes of childhood obesity. “McDonald’s has donated $2 million to the Scripps Institute for a collaboration regarding research and educational initiatives to drive progress toward a solution to childhood obesity and Type-2 diabetes.”  What it really should say is “2 million dollars has been donated to get McDonald’s out of the spotlight of causing childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes.”  If McDonalds really wanted to stop this epidemic they would stop advertising and marketing their fatty foods towards children.  This funding is just a way for them to feel that they are off the hook. 
    So now that you heard that ridiculous story, let’s move on to another article I’ve come across that actually describes a food chain that researches their own products in a successful and helpful way.  When the New Crunchwrap Supreme came out, Taco Bell tried to target the product toward America’s growing habit of eating on the go.  So one of the main research studies that was conducted was to find out how convenient this product was compared to other competitor's quick and easy meals.  The survey studied the rate of messiness, convenience and portability of these products at leading fast food restaurants.  Participants were randomly selected at drive-thrus and surveyed after eating. 85% of the passengers agreed that they could eat the Crunchwrap Supreme with only one hand and that it was the perfect “on-the-go” meal.  When fast food chains conduct studies like this they actually can gain results that can either show them they are on the right track or allow them to know what changes are needed.  This study concluded that this product targets the perfect audience.  

Give a Hand to Taco Bell!

           Imagine this, you are sitting in your office on a normal work day and BAM, you receive a phone call and your day has now been turned upside down.  A crisis in your industry has just been leaked and it is your responsibility as part of the public relations staff to act as quickly and as ethical as possible.  Figuring out the best way to act on a situation that may or may not save the company you are working for is definitely a major obstacle in the public relations field.   Being ethical and responsible for the actions of your company can really help a business maintain their legitimate and professional reputation. 
          In the fast food industry, one focus that came to my mind that represented a time of quick ethical action was the Taco Bell E.coli incident.  In 2006, a E.coli outbreak was linked back to a Taco Bell restaurant in Philadelphia.  Followed by that, at least 22 people tested positive for E.coli in New Jersey and then the outbreak continued on into Long Island.  In this situation, I feel Taco Bell had two options here; either take full responsibility for the issue and find a solution as quickly and repairable as possible.  Or deny that it had anything to do with Taco Bell’s product and go on with normal activity without making any kind of statement.  This article discusses the actions that Taco Bell did in fact take after the E.coli outbreak.  The company spokesman Rob Poetsch stated in the article, “We have taken every precaution, including temporarily closing the restaurant until the investigation is completed, as nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our customers and employees.”  I personally think Taco Bell did exactly what they had to do here.  The company took full responsibility for what had happened, and made sure the public knew that they cared.  This is a great example of a ethical, quick action being made.  Taco Bell was able to survive this E.coli crisis by coming out and being completely honest and aware of the issue to the public.  Another article that I came upon describes what steps Taco Bell took after the incident had passed in order to ensure customers that this was not going to happen again.  I believe this was another great PR tactic on Taco Bell‘s part.  The President Greg Creed made a statement in a news release that stated “I want to reassure our customers that it is absolutely safe to eat at Taco Bell.” The company also planned to create a coalition of government regulators, competitors, suppliers and other experts to develop improved guidelines.  I give a hand to Taco Bell for completely picking up the pieces of their own mess in this situation.   Their ability to remain ethical in a time of stress really helps them maintain the reputation they have today.
          On another completely different topic of ethics, I started to think about the whole fast food chain industry on a whole.  Is this really a valuable service catering to consumer needs?  Yes, McDonald's for example, does offer a service that is inexpensive and easy accessible for people who don’t have time to cook meals.  And today, so many parents work all day and just don’t have the time to cook meals for their children at night. So what’s wrong with going to McDonald’s three times a week?  A growing health issue is the problem that I’m not sure everyone realizes.  For me, growing up, McDonald's had always been a once in a while treat for my brothers and I whenever we behaved well.  I just don’t understand how people go to these fast food chains two, three times a week and don’t expect major health issues in the long run?  I also think it’s clever how McDonald’s advertises more toward kids. Ethical, no but clever yes.  You have the big goofy Ronald McDonald character and the commercials for Happy Meals and the toy that you receive if you just come to McDonald’s!  These marketing skills result in eating habits that last a lifetime.  So is it right for McDonald’s to draw in young children so that they grow a habit to the unhealthy eating trends?  That is a question I guess no one can answer.  It’s the same as saying is it right for cigarette adds to target more toward teens to draw them in?  These are all issues of ethics that are left open for discussion.

Fast Food Chains, What's the big deal?

    Whether it be a crispy Crunch Wrap Supreme from Taco Bell or a juicy Big Mac from McDonald's, fast food throughout the United States has been everyone’s guilty pleasure at one time in their lives. As a college student myself, I know these trendy chains are very popular among my peers.  Everyone wants to join in on the late night drive in to McDonald's, Wendy’s or Taco Bell. It’s cheap and fast!  And after a long night of partying, this seems to be the thing to do. What else could a college kid want?
    However, as the world’s growing obesity problem flourishes, how do these chains continue to successfully reach out to the public? It seems to me that places like McDonald’s have been able to keep a perception going on in consumer’s minds for years now.  For example, I personally don’t even like McDonald’s hamburgers, but as anyone else, I’m guilty of eating them. 
    As I was browsing through the internet trying to come up with a focus for this blog, I perused upon a article I found on yahoo.com by consumer reports.  This article, 
http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/428/best-burgers/, asks the same question that has so often come to my mind?  A online survey of 28,000 subscribers rated burgers at 18 fast food restaurants. Ironically McDonald’s was the biggest loser shortly followed by Wendy’s and Burger King.   The number one winner was the In-and-Out burger.  I personally never heard of the In-and-Out burger however, as I've learned, it‘s a West Coast chain.  Still, McDonald's holds more of a sense of brand loyalty among consumers that continues to draw them in.  For example, when you are driving along the highway, the number of McDonald's advertising that you see is almost unbearable.
    If you haven't already caught the drift, my blog will help focus on the different research methods that fast food restaurants such as  McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell use in order to keep their consumer rates high.  I hope to explore these different topics and really get to expose the secrets behind fast food chains.