Research design

In order to get more insight into such novel product as a smart cloth we will use several research methods which will serve different goals.

1. PEST analysis, analysis of the environment and context

The goal of our research is to market smart jacket in Russia. It is very different from the developed markets which were the primary focus while developing the product. Russian citizens have less disposable income, Russian climate is different, Russian cities are different from the European and American ones. Thus, city dwellers live in a different environment and face different problems.

Expected outcome:
As a result of the first part of the analysis we will be able to define a context for the product, get a glimpse of what problems potential consumers face. This will be the basis for a further field research.

2. Field observation + semi-structured interview: walk with a potential consumer

Current prototype of production has such properties as switching music tracks and broadcast directions to the destination chosen on the map on smartphone.

The goal of the walk is to identify which needs were not satisfied properly with existent technologies and how Levi's® Commuter X Jacquard could substitute the existent technologies both from smart devices (smartphones, watches, fitness bracelets etc.) and modern clothes technologies (dirt and water resistance, general look etc.).

For the completion of task, we suggest to include some typical situations which could occur on the walk:

· “standard” walking: it could be a commute or just chilling around the nearest park

· using of public transportation

· using own car or bike

· walking in the rain etc.

In order to get more information from the process of walking we would address questions to friend for collection of his/her responses. Such questions could include personal evaluation of existent technologies (for example, “is it convenient enough for you to pay by transport pass in the bus?” or “would it be useful if music in your player could be played without actual using of smartphone?”)

Expected outcome:
We expect to identify and clarify pain points and behavioral scenarios to propose the requisite functions for the product.

Netnographic research: unbiased insights about the existing customer experience

Since our product has been on the market for more than a year already, we will analyze the reviews left about the Jacquard jacket online. The goal of our netnographic research is to reveal the points of customer satisfaction and disappointment for existing jacket users. Their honest opinions and attitudes towards the jacket features will help us build a better product offering for the Russain market. And though the reviews on the web are from American customers mainly, we expect to find valuable insights and match them with the Russian market specifics.

The structure of our netnographic research is as follows:

• Collect online reviews about the jacket from the official Levi’s website and other open sources.
• Identify what customers value most in the product and which features disappoint them.
• Build conclusions about consumer perception of the jacket features, positioning and value.
• Analyze the insights and match them with Russian consumer and market findings developed in the previous stages.

Expected outcome:

By applying netnography, we expect to develop a better understanding of the product-market fit and build a more viable marketing strategy.