ABSTRACT
Companies that understand the importance of marketing niches are eager for more information about their heavy users and potential heavy users. The traditional research approach has been too general for the new era of niche marketing. Chicago advertising agency executive, decided to solicit the Sanford Ink account; Sanford was a manufacturer of inks, mucilage, and stamp pads. Several major ad agencies in Chicago were also interested in the Sanford account. The competitive ad agencies created campaigns that focused on the quality and value of the Sanford product line. The ads that tested best were presented to Sanford by Herweg's competitors. In the instance, focus group research findings mirrored the predetermined conclusions of the advertising agency's executives. In the 1940s, many marketing people believed that consumers mainly wanted to hear about the quality and value of a product. Retailers, ad agencies, and radio stations continue to use broadbased, mass-market demographic cells to define their advertising targets.
