Jamshedpur, Jan. 17: Memorable character Gajodhar Bhaiya aka Raju Srivastava came alive at the annual urban consumer fair MAXI organised by XLRI School of Business and its human resource department on Sunday at the B-school grounds here.
The two-day annual marketing fair of XLRI, popularly known as MAXI Fair, concluded with a positive note at the XLRI Jamshedpur campus ground.
Maxi Fair was pioneered by XLRI senior faculty Sharad Sarin in 1979 and since then the event has been replicated in other B-schools in the country wherein the B-schools conduct research on market and consumer behaviour through innovative and simulated games.
�Games are designed as surrogates to the actual research questions. Through projected research techniques we try to elicit accurate information about consumer perceptions and preferences,� said Sanjeev Varshney, a member of the MAXI Fair organizing committee.
Varshney went on to inform that the behavioural lab wing of the MAXI is also trying to analyze the reasons for rash driving through simulation games wherein youths would ride four bikes on a one-km stretch of road inside the campus crossing traffic signals (written and symbols) and would have to recall the signals after completing the ride. They would also have to fill up questionnaire on their awareness about traffic norms.
The results of the findings would undergo research at the behavioural lab and then submitted to the district traffic police.
MAXI is the oldest market research fair in the country, and a household name in Jamshedpur. With several successes in the past involving major FMCG Brand names, the MAXI Fair has been commended by legends such as Philip Kotler and Ted Levitt, and is now replicated at other B-Schools across India and abroad.
The partners for this year�s edition include consumer goods giants such as Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Glaxo Smith Kline, Johnson & Johnson and SAIL.
Another group of XLRI students tried to study the consumer behaviour pattern of Jamshedpur. This was meant for academicians and companies either for case studies or product launch. The students roamed around the ground to conduct the survey, which asked the participants about their lifestyle patterns, things they are dissatisfied with and their mindset.
This year, the Maxi Fair, on the other hand, had five kiosks for their disguised marketing research that it’s known for. They had five kiosks titled — Big Boss Double Trouble; Big Boss ka Ghar; Samay ki Sair, CID and Panchpan Bhog. A market survey was also conducted for Reckitt Benckiser to study the lifestyle of people in Jamshedpur (especially pertaining to cleanliness and Swachh Bharat Mission).
Every year, prominent Indian corporate houses bring their marketing research problems to XLRI students, who design elaborate games to solve them. The public attend the fair and play the games and, in doing so, provide data about their preferences. The students then analyze the data and answer the questions posed by the companies.