By: Rachel Gustafson, Melissa Hallaway, and Cheree Johnson

Marketing Research
A Team!
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Rachel Gustafson
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Senior
Major: Marketing Communications
Minor: Business Administration
Thesis
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Senior
Major: Business Administration
Emphasis: Marketing
Sigma Beta Delta
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Senior
Major: Marketing Communications
Minor: Psychology
Thesis
Marketing Assistance and Research Solutions
Congress of Minnesota Resorts Finalist
Melissa Hallaway
Cheree Johnson
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David Nolle
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Scout Executive and CEO of VAC
Eagle Scout
12 years on camp staff
Vigil honor member in the Order of the Arrow
Served as Lodge Chief
Ernie Stauffenecker
 Board Member of Central Region Standards of
Leadership Committee
 Member of Strategic Planning Committee
 Masters in Social Work
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Hermantown, MN
 Promotes the BSA in northern Minnesota,
northern Wisconsin, western upper peninsula
Michigan
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Vision
 “To be the premier youth organization providing
character development opportunities to a diverse
and inclusive membership.”
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Declining membership
Determine a reachable audience
Discover positive and negative opinions
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Research Question
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▪ What is the general public’s
perception of the Boy Scouts
of America?
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Evaluate the overall perception of the BSA
Discover differences in opinion based on gender,
age, and income levels
Determine participation levels
Find a deeper understanding of the public’s
perceptions
Significance
▪ Understand how the program is viewed
▪ Discover what changes need to be made
▪ Correct a potential negative public perception of the Boy
Scouts of America
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Research Design
 Descriptive research
 Qualitative Questionnaire
 Short and simple survey – easy to understand
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Sample Design
 Target population – northeastern Minnesota
 Sampling Frame – Minnesota Gold telephone
directory
 Every 835th number was called until 150 responses
were collected
 Random numbers table used to select first number
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Data Collection
 Placed telephone calls
using calling list
 Collected opinion and
demographic responses
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Analysis
 Microsoft Excel, Word, and
SPSS (Statistical Package
for the Social Sciences)
 Cross-tabulation
▪ Compare questions
▪ Find relationships
 Purpose: to provide
recommendations
1) How many males and females (18 years of age or under) are in your immediate
family?
Males______
Females_____
Other_____
Most of the households surveyed did not have anyone under the age of 18 within their
immediate family. This table is a cross tabulation of the number of males and females (18
years of age or under) within the respondent’s immediate family. This represents the
potential amount of children eligible to be in the Boy Scouts program.
2) Are there or have there ever been any members in your immediate family in the
Boy Scouts program? If so, how many?
Yes_____ No
Forty-four percent of the respondents said that there is/was an immediate family
member in the Boy Scouts program. Fifty-six percent said that there has never been,
or there are not any, immediate family members in the Boy Scouts program. This
table shows that a majority of households surveyed have never been involved in the
Boy Scouts program.
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3) What is the highest rank they achieved?
Researchers created this question
to determine the level of
involvement of the Boy Scout
member. Generally speaking,
more involvement and a higher
ranking may result in more
knowledge about the program..
4) I have a (positive, neutral, negative) opinion of the Boy Scouts of America.
A majority of respondents stated they had a positive opinion of the Boy Scouts program,
with only two respondents having a negative opinion. However, 20 neutral responses do
not necessarily translate to a good public image.
5) I am going to read you the following statement. "The Boy Scouts teach valuable life
lessons". Do you: Strongly Agree, Agree, Indifferent, Disagree or Strongly Disagree
Almost 91% of the respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. This
question confirmed that a majority of the respondents have a positive perception of the
Boy Scouts program.
6) I am going to read you the following statement "The Boy Scouts program trains
young men to be active and responsible members of society". Do you:
Strongly Agree, Agree, Indifferent, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
Similarly to question 5, over 91% of the respondents either agreed or strongly agreed
with the statement. This question also confirmed that a majority of the respondents have
a positive perception of the Boy Scouts program.
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7) Do any of the following categories in the Boy Scouts program need to be
changed?
Merit Badge Requirements
Yes
No
I don’t know
Fundraising
Yes
No
I don’t know
Ranking
Yes
No
I don’t know
Scout Masters
Yes
No
I don’t know
Community Service
Yes
No
I don’t know
Meetings
Yes
No
I don’t know
Sponsorships
Yes
No
I don’t know
Other: __________________________________________________
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8) Describe the Boy Scouts of America in 3 words.
Researchers created this question to determine the attitudes and beliefs
held about the Boy Scouts program by the general public.
9) What is your gender?
Male
9) What is your gender?
Female
Male
Other
Female Other
Out of the 150 respondents, 42.7 % were male, while 57.3% were female. This
could result in a bias in the data collection, skewing the results.
10) Please stop me when I have reached your age category.
18-30, 31-50,51-70,71 or above
A majority of the respondents were between the ages of 31 to 70, which confirms that our
sample was taken from the middle to elderly portion of the population. This could result
in a bias of opinion as respondents answer questions using past knowledge and
experiences within the Boy Scouts program.
11) Please stop me when I have reached your income category.
25,000 and under, $26,000-$50,000, $51,000-$70,000, $71,000-$90,000,
$91,000 or above
Seventy-seven percent of the respondents earned no more than $70,000 per year.
Approximately 11.4% earned $71,000 or above per year. This question was significant to
determine whether or not there is a relationship between income and involvement in the
Boy Scouts program.
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Sampling Frame: Minnesota Gold telephone
directory
 Reached older population while excluding the
younger population
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Small sample size
 150/125,256
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Non-response error
 Same opinion could be help by
those who declined
 Potential to skew results
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Results could be based on past experiences
and older information
 103 - currently no males eligible to participate in
the BSA
 47/103 - had a family member who participated in
the program at some time.
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127 respondents conveyed a positive opinion
of the BSA program
 20 respondents -neutral opinion of the BSA
▪ researchers cannot draw an accurate conclusion
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Respondents more involved with the program
had a more critical opinion of the BSA
Majority of respondents had a positive opinion
 Neutrality increased as age increased
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Income did not play a factor in opinion
 One-third of respondents made $50,000 or less per
year.
 28/31 respondents making $25,000 or less had a
positive perspective of the BSA
 Out of the highest income bracket, 6/7 respondents
had a positive perception of the BSA
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Increase awareness of the BSA
 Public is unaware of the BSA’ s specific programs
 Promote in a way to aid in understanding
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Expand fundraising options and
products
Target a younger demographic
to attract a new generation of
members
Strengths
• Well established organization
•Positive perception
•Volunteers
•Nation wide
Opportunities
•Many eligible participants
•Endorsements
Weaknesses
•Declining membership
•Poor fundraising
•Lack of awareness
•Old fashioned
Threats
•Other social programs
•Cost of participation
•Technology
•Decline in social interaction