CONTENTS

Coupon Redemption and Cheese Purchase Timing

Manager's Viewpoint

Why Economic Analysis in the Evaluation Strategy

Editor's Notes

Director’s Corner

Selected Readings

Next Meeting

NEC-63 Spring 1996 May 26-27, 1996 Cancun, Mexico Agricultural Commodity Promotion Policies and Programs in the Global Agrifood System

Editor's Notes

by John E. Lenz

With this issue, we begin the second year of publication of the NICPRE Quarterly. We thank all of you who took the time to respond to the reader survey we included in the last issue. Your responses will help us continue to provide a timely compilation of important program evaluation issues for your consideration.

In our lead article in this issue, Brian Gould summarizes his recent research on the impacts of coupon redemption on the timing of consumers’ cheese purchases. His results indicate that coupon use does result in more frequent cheese purchases, but that the impact of coupon use varies depending on the type of cheese being purchased and the type of household doing the purchasing.

Rick Naczi, in this issue’s Manager’s Viewpoint, discusses some key issues related to program evaluation. He points out that the necessity for a successful evaluation process to encompass the entirety of the organization’s marketing plan can require the use of a large variety of measurement tools. Rick also sounds a cautionary note regarding the quality of data used in evaluation, and suggests that there are times when a manager must move beyond the data and the guidance provided by evaluation and make decisions based on his or her skill and intuition.

As you will notice when you turn the page, Harry Kaiser is now writing the Director’s Corner. In his first column, Harry uses the occasion of Olan Forker’s retirement to highlight several of Olan’s many accomplishments during his career as an agricultural economist.

Although Olan has officially retired, he retains an active interest in commodity promotion economics. In this issue he shares some thoughts on why it is important to include economic analysis in any evaluation strategy.

In May, NEC-63, the research committee on commodity promotion, will be meeting in Cancun, Mexico in conjunction with the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association’s World Agribusiness Conference. For those of you who may be interested in participating, we’ve included some information on the back page.