SFU Library blog, BUEC Buzz, with colourful banner showing students

A current awareness resource for students & faculty members in Business & Economics


Sustainable at all stages: changing the fashion industry

Published by Mark Bodnar

Cover of ebook: "Designing Fashion's Future: present practice and tactics for sustainable change"
A couple years ago I collaborated with our Interactive Arts & Technology Librarian on a series of posts about one of the "wicked problems" of our modern world: sustainability in the textile & fashion industries.

Green line drawing of clothing hanging on a laundry line
That series was published to support an interdisciplinary cohort of students in our Business of Design program, all of whom were working on projects to change the way fashion and its materials are designed, produced, purchased, and discarded... change of the sort that our world so desperately needs.

The word "change" is key here. The Business of Design program has changed to Make Change Studio, but the students involved are still trying to change the world, and they've returned to the topic of fixing fast fashion.

<Read on for an update and expansion of the original posts on fixing fast fashion!>

On meal kits: Primary research questions & secondary resources

Published by Mark Bodnar

Line drawing of a bowl with chopsticks
One of our BUS 345 sections (hi, D100!) will be doing some primary market research focused on meal kits this term.

The students have a huge amount of flexibility when it comes to choosing the research questions they want to explore, so it would be difficult to suggest specific resources and search strategies for them. Instead, I thought I'd try a different approach: 

Simple line drawing of two people with a light bulb above them to indicate creative ideas
I'll highlight just a few of the possible research questions to give you a sense of the range of research that goes into marketing (section A below). I'll aim to highlight the amount of lateral/creative thinking that a market researcher has to do, but my list won't be anywhere near as detailed as that of a real marketer.

Then I'll list the guides and blog posts that cover the sorts of resources I'd normally use to answer such questions (section B).

Finally, I'll return to the target product and talk about research resources that are specifically about meal kits (section C).

Here we go...   <Read on!>

A feast of resources for those researching alternative protein markets! (redux)

Published by Mark Bodnar

One of our marketing classes (BUS 345 E100) is going to be doing some primary research on alternative protein products & consumers again this semester.

In support of that class, I've listed some key resources, but students in other classes may also want to use this post as a case study to learn about some of the powerful market research tools available to SFU researchers.  Bon appetite!

<Read on for a menu of delicious databases>

New content in Vividata: Canadian consumer data

Published by Mark Bodnar

Four jigsaw puzzle pieces with a Canadian flag in the centre. The words "Opinions," "Activities," "Demographics," and "Purchases" are on the puzzle pieces.
Just a brief post to let you know that our Vividata database has been updated with Fall 2019 data from their Survey of the Canadian Consumer.

For those who haven't used Vividata yet: it's an invaluable source of information on Canadians’ opinions, demographics, and activities, as well as their product, service, and media purchases, with brand-level data in many cases.

<Read on for details about this powerful database!>

Advanced guide now available for Vividata: Canadian consumer info

Published by Mark Bodnar

This is just a brief post to let you all know that we now have an Advanced guide for our Vividata database, thanks to the hard work of one of my colleagues here in the library, Marianne!

Our Introduction to Vividata gui

de still covers the basics -- how to create and interpret a simple table -- but this new Advanced Vividata guide goes several steps further: deep into how to adjust the settings to create exactly the table you need, then how to read that table accurately.

<Read on for details!>

A feast of resources for those researching alternative protein markets!

Published by Mark Bodnar

A couple of our marketing classes are going to be doing some primary research on alternative protein products & consumers this semester.

In support of those classes, I've listed some key resources, but students in other classes may also want to use this post as a case study to learn about the powerful market research tools available to SFU researchers.  Bon appetite!

<Read on for a menu of delicious databases>

New content & functionality! Vividata for Canadian consumer data

Published by Mark Bodnar

Four puzzle pieces with a Canadian flag in the middle. Puzzle pieces are labeled: Opinions, Activities, Demographics, and Purchases.
Marketing operates on the edge of the unknown, constantly trying to predict and influence the future and reliant on an incomplete understanding of the past and the present

Information sources used by marketers (i.e., all information) will never be perfect – the need to make estimates and assumptions won't go away – but the new version of our Vividata database certainly provides a more solid foundation for marketing predictions & strategies.

<Read on for details on this powerful database!>

New & Improved! Exciting updates to Vividata's data + functionality

Published by Mark Bodnar

Our Vividata Target Snapshot database has new data and new functionality -- just in time for the busy fall semester!  

I'm still exploring it and discovering all the changes, but thought I'd pause to list what I've learned so far: 

Data: Data from the 2016 Q4 survey wave has been added. The data was gathered during the period of 06/30/2016 and 06/30/2017. Sadly, it appears that the older data has been supplanted. That's a pity as it is often useful to compare data across time periods.

Functionality: ... <Read on for the incredibly useful details...>

Vividata: New & Improved! (with practice questions)

Published by Mark Bodnar

Do you need to know...

  • which brands of energy drinks are purchased most often by young Canadians?
  • which Canadian magazines are read most by people who report having donated in the past year?
  • how many Canadians take multivitamins?
  • which major brands of beer Canadian women buy most often?
  • how opinions about global warming vary between consumers of different products?

If so, then the new version of our Vividata database may be of interest... <more>

Image of the logo of Vividata Target Snapshot database.