Team projects

The team projects will help you to apply the concepts learned in class to get a better understanding of how they apply to marketing research problems currently faced by companies. Working in a team will also allow you to learn from others and help you to practice dealing with group dynamics.

You will work with your team members as a team of "consultants" on five marketing research problems, report in writing (all five projects), and present your findings in class (for one project).


Peer evaluations

Note that we will use peer evaluations (also administered through a form on the website) to avoid ‘free rides’. Note that you may drop the lowest grade on the team projects.


Signup now for a team!

You can sign up for a team through a form on the course website. When joining a team you may want to try to create a team that is as diverse as possible so that you can profit from the complementarities of backgrounds and skills. This will provide the best learning experience.


The reports

You and your team members will write a short report for each of the five projects (2-3 pages text plus a maximum of 10 pages for appendices). The team project descriptions will be made available on the web and handed out in class. All projects will deal with a realistic marketing problem faced by a company. Additional information is needed to support the decision. Your team will act as a team of consultants that is hired to collect that information and provide a recommendation to the board of directors of that company.

The reports are due before the start of the class in which the project is presented (see the weekly syllabus for the exact dates). Submit your report in Word or PDF format online through the course website (limit 2mb). If you want you can submit a hardcopy as long as you also submit an online copy.

You will work on the projects during the ModLab sessions and in your own time. See the grading criteria for team projects for details on how your report will be graded.
 

The presentation

Your team will prepare a PowerPoint presentation for one team projects and present this in class (Teams 1 and 2 present team project 1, Teams 3 and 4 present team project 2, etc. See the weekly syllabus for the exact dates). As your presentation time is limited, it is extremely important to carefully prepare and coordinate, focusing on the most important issues in your presentation. See the grading criteria for team projects for details on how your presentation will be graded.

Duration presentation 15 minutes
Duration discussion varies
Audience Assume your audience is the board of directors that has hired you as a consultant to solve one of their marketing research issues. When one team is presenting, the other team will serve as the board of directors. The board of directors and I will raise serious questions on the research and suggested solutions, to which the presenting team will have to respond.
Presentation media 1. Upload your PowerPoint file to the course website before your presentation.
2. Print six copies of your slides as a handout and pass them on to the board and me.


Award

The team that is most successful at presenting the team project will receive the prestigious Marketing Research award! You will provide feedback on each team presentation and online. Your ratings will be used as a basis to select the winning team. Please rate each team's project presentation (except your own team) on the course website. Commenting on anther team's presentation will help you to think about how to improve your own presentation skills and how to avoid common mistakes. The feedback you receive by others will help you understand how your audience reacted to your presentations. In the past, students have included this award in their CV.