Week 9 Cereal Perceptual Map Assignment

Part One: I rated my cereals on the scale of 1-10 with 1 being child friendly, 5 being for both, and 10 being adult friendly. I also scaled them from 1-10 on healthiness. 1 being very unhealthy, 5 is fairly healthy, and 10 being pretty healthy. 

Kellogg's Corn Pops:

I gave this cereal a 5 because I think it can be a cereal that will satisfy both children and adults. It has a pretty neutral cereal box design so I think it could appeal to anyone at any age. 

Quaker Cap’n Crunch with Crunch-berries: 

I gave this cereal a 1 because I think it is definitely aimed towards children. It has a cartoon pirate on the front of the box and it is a very sweet cereal that children would enjoy. 

Special K- Chocolately Delight:

This cereal got a 7. I think it is meant for adults, but since it has chocolate in it I think it could appeal to some children too. It also got an 8 on the healthy vs unhealthy scale because Special K is know to be a healthier brand. 

Special K- Blueberry:

Similar to the previous Special K cereal, this one got an 8 rating. I think the chocolate in the other ceral would appeal to children more than the blueberry so this one is rated just a little bit higher. 

Reese's Puffs:

This cereal gets a 1 on both scales! It is a cereal that is meant to resemble a type of candy so of course it would be marketed mostly for children and it is very unhealthy. 

Fiber One- Caramel Delight:

This one is the complete opposite than the last. It gets a 10 on both scales. It is a high fiber cereal that is supposed to be a good addition to your diet. This is mostly marketed towards adults as a healthy alternative. 

Cocoa Krispies:

I gave this cereal a 3 on the child vs adult scale. It is a super chocolately cereal that most children love. I didn't want to give it a 1 or 2 though, because Rice Krispies can be popular among adults so I think these could be too.

Golden Grahams:

I gave this cereal a 5. I think it can be enjoyed at all ages. Its not too bad for you so adults can enjoy but it is sweet enough to please a child. 

Cinnamon Toast Crunch:

This last cereal gets a 1. I would compare it to Cap'n Crunch which has the same rating. It is very sugary and not very good for you. The box has bright colors and animated cereal that appeals more to children. 

Q1. Based on the perceptual map, which competitors are the most similar and dissimilar to your favorite brand in customers’ minds? Why? 

The cereals that are most similar are the cereals targeted toward children or adults. All the children's cereals have bright colors and characters and are very sugary. The cereals for adults are more simple and are much healthier. 

Q2. Describe the two dimensions (axes) of the perceptual map that you generated. How would you label these dimensions? Explain specifically how you decide on the label of the Dimension I and Dimension III?

I decided to use adult/child and healthy/unhealthy. I chose these because I think for the most part they go hand and hand. The cereal for children are usually unhealthy and the cereals for adults are usually healthier. 

Q3. How much of the variance does each dimension explain? What is the total variance explained by two dimensions? Do you think this is satisfactory? How would you increase the explained variation in perceptual maps? 

I think there will be more variance depending on how big your scale is and how many things you're comparing. Some cereals were a 1 and some were a 10 so there can be a lot of variance when reporting on different types of items. 

Q4. How do customers perceive the positioning of a brand among its competitors? On which attributes is this brand a stronger or a weaker competitor? Why? 

A big thing that is going to attract people right off the bat is the design on the box. That is what is going to draw people in. The kids are gonna see the characters on the box and ask their parents to get it for them. The second biggest thing is the taste. Once people are drawn in, they will try it and want to keep buying if they enjoyed it.