Gum survey

by Yuan-Kwan Chan

Ah, nothing like group projects at the university level. This was completed for an Advertising BUS456 class at William & Mary. Years later, the results still amuse. Here's the entire "scientific study":

Based on our findings in our focus groups, we developed a survey that was distributed through e-mail. We felt that e-mail was the best method to disseminate a survey because it is fast, convenient, and did not cost us anything.

Our sample reflected participants, many of whom were college students, between the ages of 18 and 25. Most resided in the United States, but there were a fair number of respondents from Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Although we chose to focus on the U.S. market for our campaign, the responses from foreign countries were useful in case we wanted to expand our campaign to a multinational one.

The results revealed that young adults worldwide have similar reasons for buying gum, purchase behaviors, and desired advertisement characteristics. Over half of the brands mentioned fell under the Wrigley company product line. Wrigley’s closet competitor, Warner-Lambert, was mentioned less than one-third of the time, its brands including Trident and Cinn-A-Burst.

The survey also showed that while gum chewing is popular and that 17-stick multi-paks were most preferred, buying habits were sporadic, infrequent, or nonexistent. This signified a potential untapped market. Also, flavor was the most cited aspect that a "perfect" TV advertisement would feature. Because Juicy Fruit does not freshen breath nor is it minty, responses to the perfect ad question as well as where one would chew a stick of Juicy Fruit gum enabled us to create settings for our TV advertisements.

Because a fair percentage of respondents live and/or attend university in a country other than his or her own, the countries represented reflect the ones that the responses were sent from. For example, an Indonesian attending school in Australia was listed under Australia. The reason for the adjustment is that chewing gum purchase patterns depend on current convenience; products offered in some countries are unavailable in others.

Total respondents: 39
U.S.A.: 26; Canada: 4; England: 4; Australia: 2; Chile: 1; Malaysia: 1; Austria: 1

[Note: More than one response was allowed for each question. Percentages reflect responses divided by number of responses, not number of respondents. Also, for fun, I have given special awards to some of the, uh, more creative answers not highlighted in the report that was actually turned in. J ]

Where do you normally buy chewing gum? (Total responses: 39)
21 convenience store (53.8%)
14 supermarket (35.9%)
5 Other, includes: Target (2), Price Club, campus bookstore, toy store

How often do you buy gum? (39 + 2 non-responses)
12 Once a month (30.8%)
8 Not often/never/mooch off of friends (20.5%)
7 Once a week/weekly (17.9%)
4 Twice a month
3 Once every two months/few weeks
3 Whenever I feel like it/run out
2 Twice a year
2 No response

Which brand(s) do you normally buy? (51 + 3)

Wrigley’s Total: 27 (52.9%)

• 10 Extra
• 6 recognized the Wrigley’s brand but did not name a specific product
• 3 Juicy Fruit
• 3 Big Red
• 2 Spearmint
• 2 Orbit (Austria/England)
• 1 Doublemint

Warner-Lambert Total: 15 (29.4%)

12 Other brands/no response/inaccurate answer, includes: Carefree (2), Bazooka Joe (2), Sanrio, Bubble Yum, BigTime (Chile), Excel (Canada), Icebreakers by Breath Savers

Would you prefer to buy a: (40)
18 17-stick pack (multi-pak) (45%)
12 deluxe (bag of several packs) (30%)
10 5-stick pack (25%)

Why do you chew gum? (77)
31 freshens breath (40.3%)
26 taste/flavor (33.8%)
9 gives me something to do during class
2 social reasons
9 Other, includes: good for your teeth after you eat meals (3)

Lone Answer to Win An X-Rating: "Keeps with the rhythm during sex."

What aspects of gum would turn you away from it? (52 + 2)
11 May rot your teeth/Too much sugar/other health-related reasons (21.2%)
9 Bad flavor
7 Stickiness/messiness/gets all over the place
6 Hard or dry
5 runs out of flavor quickly
4 Cost
3 makes mouth tired
2 bad ingredients
Other/no response: 7

Tastiest Answer Award: "If it had nasty animal ingredients."

If you were to see the perfect television advertisement on chewing gum, what factors in it would make you want to buy the gum? (56 + 2)

20 Flavor (35.7%): 10 Long-lasting, 10 Good taste
6 Breath freshener
6 Nothing/do not purchase based on commercials (one mentioned free samples)
4 Beautiful people/cute guys and girls
3 Sugar-free
3 Benefits for teeth
3 funny or clever
3 Would help me get chicks (like the Big Red ads)/kissing guarantee
2 Can blow big bubbles
8 Other/no response: includes "not cheesy like those Mentos ads’ and use of celebrities like Sandra Bullock and The X-Files co-stars

Nicest Answer Award: "That’s an awful question, there’s obviously nothing inherent about gum that can be expressed in a TV ad, so the only things that could effect [sic] me would be unconscious."

100% Testosterone Award: "It would have this really hot chick (naked, of course) chewing gum slowly and sexy who said that if you chew this gum, all the beautiful women in the world will find me absolutely irresistible and will come running to me and beg me to…what was the question again?"

Gum is packaged in different types of wrappers. Which do you prefer? (37 + 1)
22 Foil (59.5%)
8 Paper
Other/don’t care/no response: 8

Suppose you had a stick of Juicy Fruit gum. When would you typically chew it? (44)
15 During class (34.1%)
8 After dinner
4 At a party
17 Other, includes: don’t like Juicy Fruit (3), driving (2), playing sports, when I don’t have another brand, When I’m craving sugar—late afternoon, in place of hard candy, before and after sex