ZMET Analysis

This week in my marketing research class, we had a huge project due. We had to provide exploratory research to a nonprofit radio station based in Billings, MT. This whole process was very educational and allowed my group to incorporate many of the principles and techniques that were learned in Consumer Behavior. For instance, we used the ZMET to interview a few people. While interviewing subjects was useful to see what people liked to hear on the radio, the ZMETs were helpful in finding out why they liked those certain things. It gave our group a deeper understanding on the subconscious view of radio to the public.

For those that are unfamiliar with the process, the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) is a technique that explores both the conscious and unconscious thought that consumers have towards a particular product or service. This technique proved extremely successful for Coca-Cola. After hiring Gerald Zaltman, the developer of the ZMET, to conduct the process, Coca-Cola was able to create new commercials and campaigns that would better sell their product. The ZMET revealed that Coca-Cola had large ties to family. This allowed them to strike up a new ad campaign that focused on the family aspect. Today, they are still very successful with their ads and the family/sharing aspect of the soda.

Anyways, through conducting ZMETs, we found that there is still a large social aspect to listening to the radio. While many people use music downloads and digital streaming to access music, the radio seems to still have a large roll when people are socializing, typically when in the car. Another interesting finding was that people change their taste in music based on who they are around. Of the subjects interviewed, many stated that they would change the station when around others to allow the music to appeal to the other occupants. This can be further supported through the aspect of passing the auxiliary cord around the car. When you get the aux cord after someone has already had it, you are far more likely to listen to a similar genre to what was previously played, even if it is known that you enjoy listening to a completely different genre regularly.