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Question

Scenario 9-2
The Optima Bike Company manufactures broad-tire, three-wheeled, and two-wheeled bicycles mostly for the retirement market. Its primary market is seniors, usually those who live in retirement communities where there are clearly designated and safe bike paths. Seniorsand especially the younger baby boomerslike these recreational vehicles because they are easy and safe to ride. The company has had some early successes in Florida, Arizona, and California, where such communities began. Optima now wants to expand to other retirement enclaves. It has learned from two well-conducted consumer research studies that the main way that male retirees buy the Optima line is through the urging of wives who want to exercise in some way other than playing golf.
Optima decides to engage an ad agency to capitalize on this consumer insight and promote its bikes to newer golf communities. It asks two agencies to pitch for its business and gives each a meeting in which it conveys the information above.
AlphaAgency is based in Miami and insists that its creative team is best suited to promote Optima. Its managers tell the prospective client that this team is well versed in advanced animation techniques and can dramatize the features of Optima's two and threewheeled bikes in a dynamic way. They"ll focus on how fast they can go and how they can "transform the ride" into an adventurethis has worked in other ads, and this will appeal to the male consumers who need to be lured away from the golf course. Following this initial display of product prowess, they suggest a campaign that demonstrates how the bikes can be customized to be more "comfortable and attractive for the ladies," including pink seat options. They finish by asking whether the brand name can be changed to "something more exciting."
BetaAgency is based in Los Angeles and promises to serve as Optima's branding partner. It asserts that its creative philosophy is centered on long-term brand building. Its managers propose that they will develop the right message by applying the research-based consumer insight that women want to use the bikes to entice their husbands to leave the golf course once in a while. They suggest that their successful work in building regional appreciation for brands, such as Sea-Doo water vehicles and Ski-Doo snowmobiles, indicates their prowess in branding similar but not directly competitive brands. They emphasize the difference that Optima offers in the recreational-ride category, and the consumer targets that differ from other brands. They close by complimenting this prospective client on how appropriate the brand name is, given its customer base and likely target consumer.
As often happens in new client-agency relationships, Beta Agency and Optima Bike Company conduct a joint brainstorming session prior to finalizing the IBP campaign strategy. Sam Spokes, head engineer and designer for Optima, interrupts the session frequently, refuting agency staffers' spontaneous suggestions that women love bikes, a bike is like a golf club, and the bike will sell itself. He also labels them as uninformed about various technical aspects of the bicycle mechanisms. How has the behavior of Spokes influenced the brainstorming session?
a. Positively, by winnowing out the bad campaign ideas from the good ones
b. Negatively, by diminishing its purpose in inhibiting others from offering ideas freely
c. Positively, by pointing out important aspects of product design and showing expertise
d. Neutrally, by making irrelevant and immaterial comments