JK Business School Bhondsi, Gurgaon Mid Term Examination

Batch : 2010-12 Date: 14th Sep11 Time Duration : 1 Hour CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR Trimester : IVth Max. Marks: 20

Consumers perception of wine packaging: a case study

Benedetto Rocchi and Gianluca Stefani
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

1. Background
In recent years wine demand has modified its features turning towards consumption styles where the assessment of quality becomes more and more important. Even in European countries such as Italy and France, where per-capita consumption, though substantially reduced through the second half of the XX century, remains at the highest level in the world, an increasing share of consumers evaluate both material and immaterial characteristics that make the quality of wine (Nomisma, 2003). At the same time as an increasing share of quality wine is marketed through the modern retail sector, consumers often make their choices among a large numbers of alternatives in a very short time (Britton, 1992). In this context packaging becomes a fundamental marketing tool for the winery. The shape of the bottle, the colour of glass, types and drawing in the label should attract the attention of the potential purchaser, distinguishing a specific wine bottle from several competitors.Moreover the packaging has to communicate to consumers the relevant and appropriate information about the quality of the wine, in some way replacing the salespersons action (Tootelian and Ross, 2000). Using the total food quality model proposed by Grunert (1996) as an interpretive framework, the packaging of wine can be considered as a quality cue contributing to define the expected quality of a product. The consumer uses this cues to assess alternative products with respect to his system of values following a set of subjective rules (Hall and Winchester, 2000; Reynolds and Gutman, 1998). The more the psychological involvement connected with the research of quality, the more the role of packaging as a quality cue becomes relevant and asks for an effective approach in packaging design. In this article the results of an exploratory survey on consumers perception of wine packaging are presented. The study has been carried out as a consultancy for a winery which is leader in the quality segment in Italy. The company had planned to improve the design of the packaging of two wines (a white denomination of origin wine and a rose` table wine) marketed through the modern retail sector in the premium segment. An evaluation of the current packaging of the two products, preliminary to a possible improvement was necessary. However the management of the company felt that the packaging restyling needed to be grounded in a better and more general understanding of how consumers look at bottles of wine. It is worthwhile to stress the exploratory nature of the research design. Indeed the main objective was to elicit as many as possible dimensions of the wine packaging relevant for the purchasing decision, more than the evaluation of preferences about them. Moreover, the focus on the relationship between visual perceptions and purchasing process has several psychological implications that need to be taken into account. Thus, the repertory grid (RG) approach was

adopted as a suitable methodological framework. The paper is set out as follows. In the second section the main features of the RG approach are outlined. In section 3 data collection and the interview protocol are presented. The analysis of data is carried out in sections 4 and 5. The former of these sections refers to the quantitative analysis of RGs while the latter deals with a qualitative analysis of interview transcripts.

2. Methodological framework
The RG is an interview technique developed by Kelly as a part of his Personal Construct theory (1957). The personal construct theory was proposed by Kelly to analyse the way people look at and evaluate the world surrounding them. According to this framework people adopt a scientific attitude, formulating and testing hypothesis about people, events and things and verifying the existence of possible relationships between them. The general way these hypotheses are formulated is through bi-polar constructs. These are implicit dimensions describing contrasting poles existing at different levels of reality and are organized in a hierarchy (e.g. sympathetic vs. antipathetic, traditional vs. modern and so on). The RG technique of interview was developed as a tool to elicit the constructs that people adopt to describe the elements (as people, events, things) the researcher is interested in (Fransella et al., 2003). The adoption of a RG is a promising strategy for exploratory surveys as it allows respondents to freely express their perceptions. This is because no descriptive categories are suggested by the researcher. In fact, during a RG interview people are asked to define by themselves the dimensions suitable to describe differences between alternatives. The interviewer role is simply to submit the alternatives (elements) to be described helping respondents to express the contrasting poles of the constructs they use. Although the relevance of RG technique in marketing had been debated from a methodological point of view (Marsden and Littler, 2000), there are several feature of this approach that make it attractive for consumer behaviour studies (Gains, 1994). First, unlike other forms of interviews, the RGT eliminates the interviewer bias in the definition of descriptive dimensions. Second, as the descriptive dimensions elicited through RG in-depth interviews are expressed in a terminology defined by the respondent himself, RG represents a valuable tool in the definition of marketing strategies. Finally the way a RG interview is developed reduces to a relevant extent the difficulties that usually arise during non structured interviews when respondents are asked to freely describe the characteristics of a specific product. Conversely, within the RG interview the description of the products directly emerges from the elicitation of the differences perceived by respondents when they face alternative expressions of the same element. For instance, following the so called triadic approach (Fransella et al., 2003), the respondent is systematically asked to identify one of three alternative objects (e.g. three different packages of the same product) that is perceived as different from the other two. The choice is then synthesised with an expression (a word, a simple proposition) representing the construct underlining the separation that has been made. The RG approach has been applied also in food marketing research, to study the acceptability of foods (McEwan and Thomson, 1989) and the evaluation of beverages with respect to different contexts of consumption (Gains and Thomson, 1990). In the latter study the grids containing the constructs used to describe a set of alternative canned lagers are used as input in a consensus analysis performed with the generalized procrustean technique. This leads to a mapping of the different products in a descriptive space defined by the elicited constructs. The same approach was adopted in our study in order to provide a first assessment of the relative positioning of a set of competing wines that includes the two products of the winery that promoted the research. In addition, due to the exploratory nature of the study, the multivariate analysis of grids has been complemented by a content analysis of the transcript of the interviews, with two aims: to clarify the meanings attributed by respondents to the elicited constructs and to explore the attitudes and the motivations behind the elicited system of constructs. In the next section the research design will be described in detail.

3. Research design and interview protocol

A convenience sample of 30 in-depth interviews was carried out. The sample selection criteria were agreed with the partner winery that asked to recruit participants really interested in wine consumption; in other words, the survey was purposefully designed to investigate the perceptions of typical classes of consumers. Indeed, the exploratory nature of the research suggested a composition of the sample compatible with the elicitation of the broadest range of constructs (rather than being representative of some reference population). As a consequence, different stratification criteria were simultaneously implemented: sex (50 per cent male, 50 per cent female), socio demographic condition and consumption attitude (students 33 per cent, fortyyears-old 33 per cent, connoisseurs 33 per cent). The interviews were equally divided between the two wine typology (15 for white and 15 rose` wines). A pack of six bottles of wine was given to participants as incentive. All interviews were completely recorded. The management of the partner winery choose also two sets of competitors wines to compare with its own products during the interviews, selecting items with the same price quality ratio. Each interview consisted of two phases. The first formal phase was devoted to the elicitation of constructs using the RG technique while the second consisted in a debriefing (non structured conversation). Only at this stage was the name of the sponsor winery revealed to participants. During the RG phase groups of three bottles were showed in sequence to respondents asking them to answer to the following question: How are two of these bottles alike in some way but different from the third? For each perceived difference the respondent was asked to synthesise the construct used in the task. The interviewer encouraged the respondent to express each construct in a bi-polar way, i.e. choosing two opposite concepts appropriately encompassing all the possible position of the objects (in this case the bottles) with respect to the construct. Triads have been proposed to consumer adopting an experimental balance incomplete block design according to which each triad must include a bottle from the previous one and each bottle is proposed to each respondent the same number of times. After the full sequence of triads had been submitted, respondents were asked to evaluate each bottle with respect to each elicited construct, using a Likert seven levels scale anchored to the opposite poles of the construct. The second part of the interview began asking respondents to rank bottles following their preferences about packaging. Starting from the answer a free discussion followed during which the researcher stimulated the respondent to comment on his choices and what motivated them. Following the protocol outlined above two typologies of data were obtained through the survey: a set of RGs (one for each respondent) containing the scores assigned to each wine on the basis of the elicited constructs; and a set of transcripts with the complete recording of the interviews. These materials have been used to carry out two different analysis: a generalized procrustean analysis (Krazanowski, 1998) to build a consensus configuration on the basis of the RGs, the results of which will be presented in the following section; and a content analysis of the transcripts, aiming to a better interpretation of the consensus configuration, that will be the object of section 5.

4. Consensus analysis
An example of RG for rose` wines are illustrated in Table I. To simplify the table constructs are identified with only one of the two poles elicited by the assessor. The higher the score assigned to a wine the more the pole indicated in the column header is perceived as appropriate to describe the wine corresponding to the considered row.

Obviously, number of columns and column headers are different across grids as theyd epend on the set of constructs used by each respondent in describing the bottles of wine. Each grid can be seen as the representation of the object (the bottle) in an n-dimension space the dimensions of which are defined by the constructs. Due to the quantitative nature of the collected data a multivariate technique could be used to compare these representations. The procrustean approach offers a tool appropriate to this scope (Krazanowski, 1998). In a procrustean analysis two or more alternative configurations of the same set of objects in an n-dimension space are transformed through translation, rotation and dilation of the space itself. All these operations, without influencing the internal relationship existing between points, tend to create a new space in which the individual configurations match as possible. The outcome of such transformation can be analysed from two points of view: by describing the consensus configuration, represented by the centroids of the individual points in the transformed space; and by analysing the differences existing between individual configurations. Following Gains and Thompson (1990), in order to perform a generalized procrustean analysis and obtain a consensus configuration, the RG dimensions were standardized. All the grids were enlarged to the maximum size defined by the assessor which had elicited the maximum number of constructs, adding to the other grids the appropriate number of zero columns. The GP analysis was carried out separately for white and rose` wines using the GENPROCRUSTES procedure of the Genstat package for statistical analysis. Table II shows the percentage variance accounted for by projecting on the consensus axes the final configuration for each assessor. An acceptable homogeneity between individual profiles and with respect to the consensus configuration seems to emerge. The columns show an increasing variation of data across assessors moving from the first through the fifth factor.

Noticeably, the first two factors accounts for more than 80 per cent of total variance in the consensus configuration and the largest part of the variance of the individual final configuration (at least more than 65 per cent). As a consequence they can be used to synthesise the results of the analysis. In Figure 1 the consensus configuration is rotated on the first two axes. Each factor has been interpreted through its correlation with the original constructs expressed by the assessors (Gains, 1994). The scripts on the graph report constructs most highly correlated with principal axes: only constructs with a correlation higher than 90 per cent in absolute value have been included. Moreover, as the objective of the analysis was the interpretation of consensus, only the constructs with a coherent sign in their correlation with axes have been included [1]. The interpretation of the two axes appears to be quite a straightforward exercise. The horizontal axis seems to refer mainly to the shape of the bottle and the colour of glass. Both these features are associated to a more abstract construct relative to tradition vs. innovativeness of the bottle.

Conversely, the constructs most highly correlated with the second factor concern the way bottles are dressed with labels and capsules. Different features of these components of packaging are connected again with the descriptive dimensions referring to the tradition/innovation dyad. The same consensus analysis for the set of rose` wines is illustrated in Table III and Figure 2. Again, even if to a lesser extent, the first two factors account for the major part of the total variance (more than 70 per cent). All the same, the interpretation of the axes is not so clear as in the previous case. Constructs referring to the components of packaging tend to be highly correlated both with the first and the second axis (capsule, label), although with emphasis on different functions. For example, the first axis is connected with carefulness in the capsule design (contrasted with its eventual anonymity) whereas the second factor appears to be inversely correlated with darkness of the capsule colour. While the second factor talks above all about more objective features of packaging (shape and dimension of bottle, colours) the first seems to outline a more abstract dimension referring to the dyad elegance/importance contrasted with anonymity (associated with cheapness). To check for the existence of clusters of assessors with similar configurations a principal coordinate analysis was carried out using the residuals of individual final configurations with respect to the consensus configuration[2].

Table III. Percentage variance accounted for by final individual configurations for the rose` wines In Figures 3 and 4 the assessors are plotted against the first two extracted factor, divided by sex. The first two axes account respectively for 69 per cent of variance in the case of white wines, and 70 per cent for the rose` case. As a consequence, the plots can be considered a good picture of the relative position of each assessor with respect to the consensus configuration. No evident cluster seems to emerge. Only in the white wine case the first factor (horizontal) seems to discriminate between men and women [3].

Figure 3. Principal coordinate analysis on the residual of individual configurations for the white wines As a consequence a separate GPA by sex was carried out. A better interpretation of the factors is achieved in the rose` case, with men reproducing the description of bottles with the two fundamental dimensions of bottles and dress already found in the white wine case; moreover the womens consensus configuration gives rise to an interesting opposition between the concepts of refined and youthful. From the consensus analysis seems to emerge a quite clear picture of the main descriptive dimension that the interviewed consumers use to describe and assess different bottles of wine. However constructs are synthetic definitions of concepts that can present a variable and, in some cases, high degree of complexity and abstractness. In this context a more qualitative approach appears to be a necessary to complement the multivariate analysis on RGs. In the next section some further findings from the analysis of the transcripts of the interviews will be presented.

5. Content analysis
As recalled in the third section, both the structured and the unstructured phases of all interviews were recorded. After a complete transcription of the tapes, a qualitative analysis of the answers was performed.

First of all a qualitative profile for each wine was drafted with reference to the main descriptive dimensions emerged in the consensus analysis. Moreover, a comparative analysis was carried out with reference to the different components of the packaging (bottles, labels, capsules and so on). Through the analysis of RGs at least two different levels of the construing system (Fransella et al., 2003) of the respondents, with a different degree of abstractedness, are identified. Constructs referring to more concrete attributes of packaging contribute to define constructs concerning more abstract ones. Bearing in mind this finding, coding has been finalized also to the identification of quotations that allow a better understanding of the exact meaning attributed by consumers to constructs and hierarchical relationships existing between them. In the remaining part of this section the interpretation of the most important descriptive dimensions used by the respondent will be discussed. In the presentation of the content analysis we will move from the more concrete attribute of the bottles towards the more abstract constructs. At a very basic level of perception stand colours. All respondents talk about colours both to stress differences and to express preferences. The following quotations well represent the different role assigned to colours: . . . it looks like a low valuable wine . . . glass and wine appear too light I want to see the colour of wine, I do not like dark glass . . . . . . the capsules green is warmer . . . I like the combination with the colour of label . . . In the case of white wines the colour of glass is the material attribute of packaging most frequently considered: it seems able to discriminate across wines with a different perceived level of value. Colours are critical also for rose` wines but in a more complex way: consumers look for harmony, coherence in the use of colours, also with regard to the content of the bottle. Among the material attributes of the packaging also the shape and the size of the bottle are often cited by consumers as important features to be considered in the comparison between alternative products. As is shown by the following quotation (as well as by many others) the size is a clearly perceived visual signal but does not show a clear correlation with particular messages: it is simply recorded at a very first level of perception by consumers. These are both shorter . . . Conversely, in the white wines case the bordelaise was clearly considered the traditional type of bottle, contrasting to different shapes that are immediately observed: These two bottles have the same long and narrow shape . . . it is an innovative feature The flat bottom, in both white and rose` wines, has been associated to a lower value assigned to the bottle, as stressed by the following quotation: The bottom is flat, it looks like a bottle for water . . . The level of abstractedness increases considering the constructs related to labels. Labels are assessed with respect to their position, shape and size, usually jointly with the bottle dimensions. Summarizing the message emerging from the transcripts, labels seem to be assessed contrasting the information they bring to consumers with their ability to evoke more abstract functions assigned to the consumption of wine. While front label is usually considered for evocation, back label is expected to provide to an informative function, containing the relevant technical information about the wine: This one contains no information . . . that one has a complete description in the back label . . . innovative labels, searching for a new message . . .

Front and back labels are often jointly assessed: the coherence between the two is considered as a signal of care in packaging design. Moreover, there appears to exist a problem of equilibrium and appropriateness in the use of the labels, well expressed by the following sentence: . . . the web site on the back label . . . it doesnt work for an important wine. Finally the (global) message about the wine mainly passes through the choice of colours (particularly for rose`), materials and graphic elements of the labels: . . . watermarked paper has a positive effect on me . . . gives me the sensation of a valuable wine The two following quotations can be used to introduce the analysis of the more abstract (second level) constructs concerning the distinction of a wine. . . . the bottle is made with care, is longer, with a thorough graphic, golden inscriptions, the mark on the capsule . . . . . . it looks cheaper, it seems made carelessly The words important, polished, refined seem to refer to the same construct and generally contrast with cheapness and anonymity. Often respondents link distinction with the care spent to design the bottle, assessing the coherence in the use of characters, clear printing, homogeneous graphical signs on different parts of the bottles and so on. Some attributes are indicated as inconsistent with the distinction of a wine: flat bottom of the bottle, vivid colours in labels and capsules and a light-coloured glass in the case of white wines. A recurring theme is also synthesized by the opposition between tradition and innovation, often associated to the term classic opposed to modern. The following sentence is a part of a longer quotation where the respondent also talks about bar codes and ISO certification mark, elements that were present in one of the proposed bottles: . . . the e-mail on the back is not right . . . it is better a simple, traditional feature . . . The value attributed to traditional features, that can or cannot be connected with distinction, is variable with the attitude of the respondent. In some cases tradition is interpreted as a sign of reliability; in others as a sign of lack of innovation. . . . it is too alternative . . . it doesnt convey a sense of tradition . . . . . . it is inspiring, the new shape of the bottle, so different from the canons of Tuscany, the dark label . . . Finally, innovativeness is generally appreciated if associate with care in details. Questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What consumers mainly see in a bottle at first glance? Which packaging elements are relevant in the comparison among alternative products? Which pattern of features is better at inducing purchase? What is the general perception of consumers towards a wine bottle? Do you think, interview method will be effective if we try to conduct the same study in India? Support your answer. 6. After reading this paper, draw a promotional strategy for this target group.