The Strategy Team, Ltd.
614.447.8844
3805 North High Street, Suite 202
Columbus, OH 43214
Research in action – projecting demand for a second campus
One of my favorite parts of applied research is… well… its application. Back in 2003, TST helped Columbus State Community College project demand for a second college campus and determine where said campus might be located. We used GIS mapping, surveys and focus groups with students and stakeholders as well as a RDD survey of the four county area surrounding Columbus to provide CSCC with the information they needed to make a good decision. TST documented and projected enrollment trends, created demographic and lifestyle profiles of current and potential future students and highlighted potential barriers and supporting factors that could impact demand for (and construction of) a second campus.
Artist rendering of second Columbus State Community College campus
On June 28th, the ribbon cutting for the second campus (located very near one of the locations we suggested 7 years ago!) will take place. I’d like to think we helped provide the foundation for that building – pun intended.
Visualizing the BP Oil Spill
There appears to be no limit to the horrors associated with the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, from the initial loss of the eleven rig workers to the mounting disaster threatening life and livelihoods along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
Although I vacationed in the Gulf of Mexico a number of times as a child, I admit to having an impoverished sense of the Gulf’s scale – its immensity. Perhaps that’s why I was taken aback when I learned of this website, http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/, which takes oil spill data gathered by the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and then maps it onto your geographic location. Such an exercise reveals that the main axis of the oil spill stretches a distance equivalent to the space from Cincinnati, OH to Cleveland, OH.
This graphic provides support for the argument that presenting data in a creative, visual manner can often have more of an impact then presenting data solely with the written word.
For those who are interested in exploring and creating other data visualizations of the BP Oil Spill, check out this NOAA website.
The Psychology of Outlet Malls – Driving Far to Save Money
When I think of “outlet malls,” I think of making a long drive from an urban/suburban area to a shopping oasis in a rural area. Once there, one typically finds a jumbled pile of brands advertising high quality items at low cost (“Get the best brands at the lowest prices!”). For example, outside Columbus OH, there’s Prime Outlets – Jeffersonville – about an hour’s drive from Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton. Outside Philadelphia PA, there are the outlets in Reading and in Limerick, both of which are about an hour’s drive from Philly. And judging by this map showing the locations of Tanger Outlets throughout the US, the average drive time from any given Tanger Outlet to the nearest major municipality appears to be about an hour. Hmmm.
Assuming this is a real pattern, why are outlet malls located like this? Because the cost to develop such properties in low population-density areas is less than the cost to develop in high population-density areas? Possibly. Because locating an outlet mall between two (or more) major metropolitan areas allows an economy of scale when promoting itself and its brands? Perhaps. Because market research predicts an outlet mall can entice some percentage of the nearly-catatonic drivers moving between two (or more) major metropolitan areas? Maybe.
Another possible explanation for the success / popularity of outlet malls can be found in the social psychological literature: cognitive dissonance and one of its outcomes, attitude change via dissonance reduction. As hinted at in Ellen Shell’s recent book, Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, the act of making a substantial effort (e.g., a two-hour round-trip to buy GAP jeans at an outlet mall) to purchase an item may be justified – either consciously or sub-consciously – by changing a dissonant or conflicting thought / emotion. Consider the following:
- I don’t like to drive an hour to go shopping
- I like to wear GAP jeans
- I like to buy GAP jeans for less than full retail price (i.e., $50 at the outlet)
Assuming there is tension – dissonance – amongst these thoughts and feelings, one way to reduce this tension is to reconsider how I feel about traveling to this location. In other words, because I don’t usually like to drive an hour just to go shopping, there MUST be a good reason for why I did so. Enter the psychological mechanism of dissonance reduction! I may feel more positive (or at least closer to neutral) about driving an hour to go shopping at this outlet mall if that’s where I think I can find great deals.
Even better (for the outlet mall, not necessarily my wallet), such dissonance reduction may lead to a positive feedback loop of sorts. That is, once I’ve rationalized how I feel about driving an hour to the outlet, SURELY the next time I go I’ll find fantastic deals there. Right?
As you make your next road trip and you come across an outlet mall surrounded by miles and miles of undeveloped, rural space, take a moment to consider: how much of the decision to shop there is driven by shoppers’ rational, savings-maximizing thought vs. outlet mall developers’ savvy location and marketing?