TMRE International Session Spotlight: Role of Genetic Algorithms in NPD Concept Optimization

Leading up to The Market Research Event, we'll profile the keynotes, tracks and themes at the 2011 event.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be looking at the international sessions new to the event.  For more information on TMRE, taking place November 7-9, 2011; in Orlando, Florida, download the brochure now.  If you register by October 14 using code TMRE11BLOG, you can save $300 off of the standard registration rate plus the first 10 to register get a free FlipCam!

Featured Region: European Union
Featured Session: Role of Genetic Algorithms in NPD Concept Optimization
Featured Speaker: Michelle Gansle, Innovation & Category Insights Manager, CMI, MARS FOOD
About the session:  Based on a case study from MARS Europe, this session will detail how “Survival of the fittest” techniques can be combined with a choice-based consumer input to deliver better concept scores.

Insight Driven Innovation: The Case of Facebook

Let’s talk about Facebook, shall we?
Innovative? Yes.
Driven? Yes.
Insight driven? Meh.

In case you haven’t logged into your Facebook account recently, you have missed a few… changes. “Top stories” are broken out on the top of the homepage, followed by “recent stories,” and a “ticker” now provides a live-feed of all ongoing information (a Facebook inside a Facebook?). Innovation – great. Problem? Outrage. User outrage. They flocked to Twitter and soon “new Facebook” among the top discussed topics on the social media site.

Where did it go so wrong? I once heard someone say (I wish I could remember who) that innovation is only meaningful if the consumer wants it and it solves a problem. By this statement, innovation is only meaningful if it is insight driven. I believe that many B2C organizations understand that technology is important, social media is almost imperative, and increasing sales are a must. With increasing pressure from stakeholders to perform, innovation, it can be argued, is at the forefront of many conversations. Without a need from the consumer for such innovation however, it’s pointless and provides a reason for the consumer to believe that the organization can’t meet their needs – it doesn’t understand them.

Facebook is in a unique position that many organizations wishes they were in. It seems that any changes, good or bad, cannot keep people away from the social network. In part, I believe that’s because they have invested so much in the original innovation that is - Facebook. Users will get used to the changes, and move on. Can your organization afford to take that risk?

Other examples of insight driven innovation will come in the weeks leading up to The Market Research Event. But, you should know, there will be some interesting discussion around the topic at the actual Event in Orlando, Florida this November.

Garrett McGuire is a Consumer Insights Analyst for a major retailer. His areas of focus are advertising research, brand equity, and providing consumer insights for many marketing initiatives. Prior to his current position, he was a graduate student at Michigan State University where he began his blog, "The Journal of mAD Man," that explains the theories and methods of advertising.

What if we were paid for clients’ Return On Insight?

Last week I dreamt an unusual dream: I landed up in market-research-future-land...  

The market research world there had changed, everything was different. Much of the dream didn’t make pretty much sense to me from today's perspective. 

But one part of the dream I had to think about a little bit longer:

Like in today’s time ROI was one of the key parameters for the assessment and classification of success. At least because of this interesting post it becomes clear that it is not always easy to determine ROI as return on investment for market research services. But in my dream’s market-research-future-land however much more research activities were rated by clients on the basis of ROI considerations. 

How could that be?  

How did they resolve the problem of a clear definition and inter-individual clarity of what ROI means?

It didn’t last long until I realized that ROI wasn't meant as Return On Investment but as Return On Insight. What had happened?  

Central changes in the market research industry, which could be slightly observed and forefelt today, had been manifested in new concrete requirements and business areas.

Market research’s clients were no longer willing to pay for (high) expensive and highly specialized external service providers and service units. Shortage of information about markets and market participants became increasingly smaller, the value of the complex gathering and surveying of this information declined as rapidly as continuously. 

Most of the information and the most important parts of it for the companies were easily accessible via intelligent social media monitoring approaches and progress in the DIY market research – without a large investment. The MR-agencies, which had focused on the information gathering, were caught in a negative relevance swirl and thereby lost income until they lost all of their justification they once had.  
Quality, efficiency, methodology and last but not least price had been arguments in which the MR-agencies did not differ a lot from each other. 
Consequently, the investment, which the purchasers of market research have issued to the agencies for the collection of data and information, had become vanishingly small.

Nevertheless, the industry had not disappeared from earth, but it had changed significantly. Insight became the central proof to evaluate the performance of market research. The generation of insights had detached itself from the value of data gathering, this was already re-integrated within the organization of commissioning companies. To connect relevance and significance to existing data and results had become the most important competence, and clients paid a lot for it and loved to do so.

What I especially liked about market-research-future-land was the fact that clients included Return On Insight as a flexible component into their pay. Only those agencies, that had been able to provide insights that were able to influence the client companies’ success in a positive way, were also paid with the flexible part of the fee.

I'm sure that Return On Insight for market research is as difficult to be determined as Return On Invest. But I'm also sure that the assessment of our performance by our clients via Return On Insight is trend-setting. For this we would be forced to:

- give up our silo-thinking,  

- deal with marketing and advertising in a more extensive way

- be less of craftsmanship and more to believe in relevance and

- ultimately be prepared for the future

We ourselves have not yet tried to agree with the client about a flexible part of our fee, depending on the quality of the Return on Insights we deliver. But we are thinking about it, and who knows, maybe it will happen soon that we are working with one of our clients on such a trend-setting model.

I'm curious how ROI will be discussed at The Market Research Event in Florida. IIR, USA, the conference organizers have put it on the agenda.

About the author: Christian Dössel is blogging about market research in German language here and here. After having worked for TNS, TBWA\ and other strategy and market research agencies he now holds the position of Senior Research Director at MM-Eye in Hamburg / Germany with special responsibilities for MM-Eye's new media and online research approaches.

Qualvu Launches a New Platform that Encourages Researcher-Stakeholder Partnerships by Enabling Market Research Data Sharing and Encouraging Discussions that Lead to Innovation

Denver, CO – September 23 – Qualvu is known for empowering businesses to connect with their consumers in a more meaningful way so that they can make better business decisions. And the leading video-based qualitative research provider has just launched a platform that takes business empowerment to the next level: Qualvu Share.

Qualvu Share enables stakeholders and researchers to share consumer stories and insights that emerge from rich video highlights via a blog environment. It allows businesses to tap into a private platform that leverages social media dynamics and interactions to share unprecedentedly rich video consumer insights while empowering internal company teams to take a collaborative approach to research data analysis and interpretation. In addition to enabling multi-media sharing, discussions built around consumer candid video comments can be downloaded in the form of a PDF, enabling internal teams to share content not only within their company but also with external stakeholders. “Ultimately, our goal is to empower researchers to become more of a thought partner within their organizations by providing transparency and collaboration throughout the research process,” said John Williamson, Qualvu CEO & Founder.

Insights drive new questions, and new questions drive new opportunities. Businesses can now share and discuss findings on a wider scale, sparking ideas that lead to more innovative, accurate, and inspired business decisions. Empowering stakeholders to share and create conversations around newly discovered insights helps inspire creative business solutions as well as new areas of exploration. By providing a platform on which businesses can share and discuss collected data and insights, Qualvu provides an end-to-end solution that keeps them engaged, gives them a voice, and drives cross-organizational decision-making.

Learn more about Qualvu Share by registering for our upcoming webinar.

Qualvu is a sponsor of The Market Research Event 2011.

TMRE International Session Spotlight: Consumer Practice As A Starting Point For Innovation

Leading up to The Market Research Event, we'll profile the keynotes, tracks and themes at the 2011 event.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be looking at the international sessions new to the event.  For more information on TMRE, taking place November 7-9, 2011; in Orlando, Florida, download the brochure now.  If you register today using code TMRE11BLOG, you can save $300 off of the standard registration rate plus the first 10 to register get a free FlipCam!

Featured Country: Finland
Featured Session: Consumer Practice As A Starting Point For Innovation
Featured Speaker: Oskar Korkman, Consumer Analytics & Insights, Insights& Creation, NOKIA
About the session:  In this session, Oskar Korkman, Consumer Analytics & Insights, Insights Creation, NOKIA will share how consumer insights is fueling innovation success at Nokia – specifically how consumer practice is a source for innovation. Leveraging ethnographic research and modeling practices, the insights creation team has built insights around many different opportunities that Nokia is pursuing. Thus making the insights creation team a vital component of innovation success at Nokia.

• - Leveraging ethnography to identify opportunities for innovation
• - Employing breakthrough modeling techniques to prioritize ideas
• - Insights as an owner and champion of innovation

Coca-Cola Research Boss Bets On Passive Listening Over Response, Social Media Over Surveys

“Research Insighter” Interview Probes Call to Reinvent or Face Irrelevance

By Marc Dresner, IIR USA

Stan Sthanunathan believes market research—both as a profession and as an industry—may be on a collision course of potentially Titanic proportions with an iceberg called change, and he’s urging all hands on deck to help turn the ship around.

“We all must accept one truth in life: Change is not optional, but acting or not acting is a choice we make…We either act or we will become irrelevant and maybe even perish,” Sthanunathan said.

Coca-Cola’s global head of marketing strategy and insights has never been one to mince words or shy away from controversy, and his views may be unsettling in some research quarters.

In this exclusive podcast interview for “The Research Insighter” series, Sthanunathan argues the industry urgently “needs to reinvent who we are, what we stand for and how we add value to business” or risk losing out to a rising class of non-traditional competitors that will include the Facebooks and Googles of the world.

He predicts conventional response-based research will “probably be irrelevant in the next decade” and that “social media services could potentially become the biggest insights generators in the industry.”

And, Sthanunathan pointed out, these emerging competitors have an advantage over traditional research providers and most client-side departments when it comes to attracting talent: They’re willing to pay more for a more diverse range of skill sets within a culture that encourages experimentation and provides the freedom to fail forward.

How can researchers compete in this environment?

Sthanunathan insists the time has come to focus on next practices—not best practices.

“No driver has reached their destination by looking through the rearview mirror in a car,” he observed.

“If you focus on consumer insights, you will develop consumerist strategies,” Sthanunathan said. “But if you focus on understanding the human condition, then you will understand people’s lives in totality and, therefore, probably have a much better chance of coming up with breakthrough ideas.”

Listen to the interview here.

Read the transcript here.

Editor’s note: If you’re intrigued by the issues raised in this podcast, you won’t want to miss TMRE 2011, because this year’s conference theme is “Leading in a New Direction: Revolutionizing an Industry in an Era of Transformation.”

For information or to register for The Market Research Event 2011, taking place November 7-9 in Orlando, Florida, please visit TheMarketResearchEvent.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR/INTERVIEWER
Marc Dresner is an IIR USA communication lead with a background in trade journalism and marketing. He is the former executive editor of Research Business Report, a confidential newsletter for the marketing research and consumer insights industry. He may be reached at mdresner@iirusa.com. Follow him @mdrezz.

How Mobile Is Changing Research

Remember when cell phones were primarily used for emergencies? My first phone did have a color screen, but games were limited, texting was unheard of, and minutes were saved with a two-way walkie-talkie function. Oh, and I didn’t get one until I was old enough drive.

Today, for the most part, mobile phones are known as smartphones; they make information instantly accessible and where the Internet can’t help, I’m sure I have an app that can. These phones are not exclusive to particular age group, ethnic heritage, or social class and are with us when we wake up, go to bed, and most of the time between.

For researchers, mobile advances have provided a faster and more interesting way to reach desired respondents. Of course, the tricky part is identifying the appropriate use of mobile surveys.

It’s important to note that mobile can not replace traditional research methods, but it certainly can help increase response rates during times and events that people are not expected to be near their computers. Because the survey is likely being taken on a smartphone, photos of products, places, and people can be shared (photos really can be worth a thousand words) offering the ability of fewer words to be used and more ethnographic-type research to be completed.

Technology in general, including smartphones, is evolving market research methods and the respective businesses we serve. With immediate consumer perceptions, we can make more effective and efficient recommendations to business leaders.

As research methods evolve to include mobile and other technologies (like iPads and other tablets), we must understand the appropriate times for traditional and new data collection methods. More importantly, we must understand the data we can collect and how we can use it to make more informed decisions.

For more on this topic, join us at The Market Research Event this November in Orlando, Florida!

Garrett McGuire (@GJMcGuire) is a Consumer Insights Analyst for a major retailer. His areas of focus are advertising research, brand equity, and providing consumer insights for many marketing initiatives. Prior to his current position, he was a graduate student at Michigan State University where he began his blog, "The Journal of a mAD Man," that explains the theories and methods of advertising.

Is facebook a research platform? And if so, how could we use it?

Stating the obvious social networks have changed communication among people as well as the communication between brands and their users significantly. And it is no secret that facebook is currently the largest social network (and according to this infographic will probably remain No. 1).

In times where communication channels change to that extent, this should however challenge market research. Because we are dependent on the communication between people to learn and explore with our entire tool box of methods, what people think, feel, and how they might behave.

Actually, the conditions for utilizing facebook for market research purposes are very good. Facebook as an internet platform is easy and always accessible from anywhere at any time. It reaches outs in a wide range of target audiences and markets. In most markets the penetration of the regular user base hits high double-digit percentages. And the typical question-answer logic is widespread among the users.

So the question is why this utilization works so poorly and nearly only from the social media monitoring perspective.

I have noticed a number of reasons for that. Here I will focus on three of them.

1. Market research is used to standardization, social networks are not to standardize

One of the main parameters of market research has been the degree of standardization of their tools. The lower the need for adjustment of solutions the higher is the value. This golden rule is now tried to be adopted on social networks and therefore on facebook. This is supposed to be a deadlock, for two reasons.  

First of all, because facebook is continuously changing and evolving, in certain areas with unnoticed changes, it is absurd to create standardized page templates. Requirements, guidelines and other conditions for pages are also changing constantly.
Second, facebook users show a communication behavior on the social network that can be controlled only in very, very few cases by someone in the role of a market researcher. Discussion paths, topics and content areas on the sides are specified, structured and extended by the users themselves,. This works well without a moderator.

2. The possibilities for the use of Facebook in the DIY market research mode are relatively comprehensive (Poll / Questions) and therefore there is no need for "real" market research 

Building "surveys" on facebook

Facebook is a platform that’s added values are mainly recognized and exploited by marketing departments. Mechanisms of market research, such as short polls and One-Question Surveys have always been popular within marketing departments to build relationship between brand and users. These modules are no substitute for market research with users of brand’s fan-sites on facebook . Many marketers, however, prefer the use of marketing-oriented marketing research methods on facebook. An understanding of the needs for "real" facebook-market research is only slightly developed.

3. Facebook is confused with community  

Though online research communities are a growing field in innovative research methods, there are clear differences between them and facebook. Facebook or a brand page on Facebook is not per se a research research community. A brand and fan page on Facebook can provide very good services for brand building and communication of brand content. They are very well suited to increase brand loyalty or brand engagement. But it is very difficult to achieve, that the user of a page do not only talk with the brand but talk with each other. Even those brands, which manage to do this, have only limited success in turning this conversation into real relationship

However, there are ways to get quick and easy information about users of facebook brand page. If you agree to the following methodological issues and assumptions, a survey on facebook is very useful:

- The target population is defines as people who have connected to a brand page by the "Like"-button. All results are only valid for this group and generalizations for brand users, potential, etc. should be treated with caution.  
- In order to control the response there is just the number of completed interviews. Since the population of the users is unknown in its structure, the set of participants with regard to their structure cannot be compared with anything. 

There are many use cases for such a research: 

- qualification of existing "fans" in order to learn more about their structure,
- evaluating and optimizing the Facebook pages,
- recruitment of research participants for studies outside of facebook, e.g. online research communities
- for sites with high "fan-numbers" special surveys in target groups which are in general very difficult to reach.

http://www.facebook.com/Lesetipp

For mein-lesetipp.de, Germany's leading facebook page dealing with books and reading, we have developed a number of different facebook surveys in the past. 
From our experience, above all you must ensure that the barriers for participation on this surveys are as low as possible. It is true that establishing the look and feel of the facebook environment is very important for users. But it is also true, that the use of applications are barrier, at least because of privacy reasons. Additionally, the use of apps on Facebook, as previously reported here, is below average.

In this research triangle of DIY, Social Media and Community Research, new potential and opportunities for market research occur. These issues are addressed at The Market Research Event in November 2011 in Orlando, Florida. It will be interesting, how our industry will talk about these issues on that conference organized the IIR, USA.

About the author: Christian Dössel is blogging about market research in German language here and here. After having worked for TNS, TBWA\ and other strategy and market research agencies he now holds the position of Senior Research Director at MM-Eye in Hamburg / Germany with special responsibilities for MM-Eye's new media and online research approaches.

TMRE International Session Spotlight: Great Britain: Satisfying the Need It Now Mentality Without Sacrificing Quality

Leading up to The Market Research Event, we'll profile the keynotes, tracks and themes at the 2011 event.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be looking at the international sessions new to the event.  For more information on TMRE, taking place November 7-9, 2011; in Orlando, Florida, download the brochure now.  If you register today using code TMRE11BLOG, you can save $300 off of the standard registration rate plus the first 10 to register get a free FlipCam!

Featured Country: Great Britain

Featured Session: Managing an Efficient and Effective Department: Satisfying the Need It Now Mentality Without Sacrificing Quality

Featured Speaker: Tom Crawford, Director, Head of Portfolio and Concepting, Nokia Consumer Analytics and Insights

About the session: In this session, Tom Crawford, Director and Head of Portfolio and Concepting in the Nokia Consumer Analytics and Insights team, will share insights into how to effectively and efficiently manage an always on insights department. With continue pressures from end users, management and partners, how do you prioritize and respond efficiently whilst maintaining the integrity of quality in data and strategic guidance.

• • Asset development to enable fast and effective consumer focused product development
• •When, and when not, to rely on ad-hoc methodologies

Cracking the code: Shopper Insights

As market researchers, we know that high gas prices, high unemployment, and stagnant incomes have changed the way consumers make decisions. We know that these factors, among others, contribute to less discretionary spending, more conscious spending and fewer shopping trips. These are macro-trends that are likely effecting how consumers decide where, what, and how products will be purchased.

Despite the economy and altered decision-making processes, your shopper still needs to shop. Let’s assume for a moment that you are retailer. What do you know about your shopper’s behavior in regards to your particular store? Is she making less frequent trips? Purchasing fewer items? Is she switching to different brands or price points? Is she using more coupons? What is she looking for in your store, and are you delivering?

Behavioral information, as used by by shopper marketing, can offer powerful insights to marketers seeking more effective ways of influencing decisions within the store. Shopper insights can help gauge perceptions, opinions, feelings, and attitudes of shoppers as they specifically relate to your store. By narrowing the focus from macro consumer trends to shopper insights, we can garner a much more robust and colorful picture of how shoppers are approaching their decisions within our stores (assuming limited irrationality with high price sensitivity and need for value).

By attending TMRE this year in Orlando, you’ll learn much more about shopper insights and how shopping can become more personal, and a much more experiential activity for those entering your retail space.

Garrett McGuire is a Consumer Insights Analyst for a major retailer. His areas of focus are advertising research, brand equity, and providing consumer insights for many marketing initiatives. Prior to his current position, he was a graduate student at Michigan State University where he began his blog, "The Journal of mAD Man" that explains the theories and methods of advertising.

Social Media Research Debate Raises Questions About Industry's Future

Social Media Research Guidelines: Regulatory Preempt or Potential Handicap?

By Marc Dresner, IIR USA

In case you haven’t heard, market research has officially entered the age of “Big Data.”

This revelation came not by way of proclamation or edict, per se, but manifested itself in the earnest efforts of several key market research industry trade organizations this summer to wrap standards around the collection, analysis and use of data sourced from social media—primarily from an ethics/privacy standpoint.

ESOMAR in cooperation with CASRO respectively released guidelines for social media research (the latter’s are still in draft stage) and the UK’s MRS issued a discussion paper on the subject that will presumably lead to creation/adoption of standards along similar lines. I expect our other trade organizations will in short order follow suit with their own rules and/or officially defer to their sister orgs’ lead.

The primary concern and ostensible reason for these guidelines—aside from obviously trying to preempt regulation that could potentially harm the industry—centers on anonymity and informed consent with regard to data harvested in the online public domain (as opposed to conventional opt-in MROCs and comparable private gardens).

The problem is that these social media research subjects are not respondents, and securing informed consent is, under the circumstances, an unreasonable and unrealistic expectation. Protecting people’s identity is also more complicated than it seems, and proposals to “mask” individuals’ remarks, while promising, probably need a little more thought.

The only solution appears to be to apply principles akin to those governing passive observation practices in public spaces in the analogue world to the digital space, with a particular emphasis on two rules of thumb: 1. Do no harm and 2. Don’t sell.

Sounds perfectly reasonable. But as you probably already know or suspect, the matter isn’t quite cut-and-dried.

For those not up to speed, I strongly recommend as a primer listening to the recent “Great Market Research Privacy Debate” webcast organized by NewMR, MRGA, GreenBook and Next Gen Market Research.

Fascinating conversation on several fronts, not the least of which being that the panelists—including representatives from the trade organizations mentioned above—to varying degrees addressed the question of whether or not the imposition of any guidelines governing social media research is a fool’s errand.

Compelling arguments were made on both sides, but the jury is still out.

Personally, I’m inclined to agree with GreenBook’s Editor-in-Chief, Leonard Murphy, who hosted the debate and blogged afterward that such guidelines, while well-intentioned, are unenforceable. (Check his full commentary here—an exceptionally insightful and provocative read!)

I would also stress that they may potentially put law-abiding research citizens at a competitive disadvantage.

Facebook, for example, has been dogged by privacy complaints for years, but I could see why a research provider would rather put the onus on Facebook’s ToS than defer to a trade association’s guidelines in a world where companies that don’t fit the conventional research mold and don’t have any interest in doing so are unencumbered by the additional layer of rules I’m following.

I’m not suggesting that the ability to effectively compete and adherence to research guidelines are mutually exclusive, nor that researchers should abandon core principles, but I wonder whether the industry’s efforts to self-regulate in order to avoid being regulated in this case may handicap it.

Here I’ll circle back to the “Great Market Research Privacy Debate,” whose purpose was, in part, to explore how to reconcile research orthodoxy with today’s reality.

Panelist Ray Poynter, EVP at Vision Critical and author of “The Handbook of Online and Social Media Research,” suggested that in an “attempt to stay ever purer” the industry’s professional organizations are effectively narrowing the definition of market research to methodologies and practices that constitute a shrinking portion of the overall sphere of commercial insight/information services.

Panelist Tom Anderson, CEO of Anderson Analytics and Founder/Chairman of Next Gen Market Research—an outspoken critic of research association policies in the past—argued that non-traditional techniques like social listening and text analytics are an entirely different animal from traditional response-based research and shouldn’t even fall under the jurisdiction of establishment research organizations whose primary constituents, Anderson suggested, lack the expertise and incentive to craft suitable guidelines. (Tom elaborated on the topic here.)

I inferred from this that Tom considers social media analytics to belong to a new incarnation of the research industry, one that includes players that don’t necessarily identify as market research companies.

If that’s the case, is market research suffering from an identity crisis? What distinguishes “legit” market research from, say, information services provided by Facebook?

At the end of day, I believe it’s really the client’s call.

Coca-Cola’s current global research head, Stan Sthanunathan, predicted a few years ago that Facebook, Google and the like will eventually become major competitors with top Honomichl firms. And he stands by this claim today. (I know because I just interviewed him for our podcast series, The Research Insighter—shameless plug, I know.)

And Michelle Adams, PepsiCo’s head of shopper insights, recently remarked that research “has become a game of connecting the dots, thinking like a consultant and being able to pull all kinds of disparate information together to tell a story that will grow the business. The skills and expertise required for the role today make staffing for success difficult. There’s enormous pressure to evolve the function into something much more than it was historically.”

Adams also said that “social analytics is where we’re moving, and data analytics will be the research currency of tomorrow.”

So as the industry draws its line in the sand in a world of rapid, continuous change, are we at risk of regulating ourselves into irrelevance?

Insight – does the content always match the label?

If someone asked me today, "What is an insight?" I have to ask back first "Who wants to know?".

In my personal perception, there is no other word that has taken a faster rise on the market research hype cycle than insight.

And the faster the rise, the larger becomes the range of possible meanings.

Photo by Thea Kamilla

To the same extend differentiating power and accurate meaning of insight has suffered. Insight planning, insight management, consumer insights, strategy insight, insight-based segmentation,etc.; in German and other non-English languages these sound fantastic (they are not translated into locallanguage). That in fact might contribute to the confusion and disorientation.

For me it has always worked well to define the insight-concept, depending on the discussion partners and their backgrounds (target group-oriented approaches are known to have never hurt anyone ;-) ).

From my experience with clients from various industries, it makes sense to distinguish especially between how an insight is generated on the one hand and how it is than utilized and implemented on the other hand.

You will find alot of different definitionsof insight. However what all definitions have in common, is: An insight…

- has to be unexpected and previously unknown

- is strong enough to create change

- can be used for unique benefits and / or brand or product USPs.

The following definition is a little more related to market research: "An insight is a key piece of in-depth understanding about a target audience thatwill unlock a true business potential"

Regardless of which direction one goes or what definition one sets, it becomes clear, that for well founded insights it is necessary to think outside of the research-box.

How else would you be able to estimate insights' business-potential?  
How else would you evaluate whether an insight is unexpected or new?

Therefore we always emphasize to clearly consider all aspects of a certain project's context, such as market, competitors, former communication in the category, etc. (for more details about "insight and context" read here)

It is in the nature of insights that they need time to evolve, spontaneous moments of Heureka are very seldom. Market research here only contributes parts of the insight (the rest is strategy consulting, advertising, PR, marketing & sales, etc.). Interdisciplinary skills are needed and much appreciated.

Clearly not every research without insights is worthless – because not every research is designed to gather insights. Many market research studies remain at the level of results and answers, and that is more than okay.

But if this is the case, please avoid the word "insight", let's call it result, finding, information, … 
In order to keep things simple it is important to deal with the term "insight" in a responsible way.

Insights in general are going to be on the agenda at “The Market Research Event” in Orlando, Florida this year, which is organized by the IIR. I'm very curious about the discussion.

About the author: Christian Dössel is blogging about market research in German language here and here. After having worked for TNS, TBWA\ and other strategy and market research agencies he now holds the position of Senior Research Director at MM-Eye in Hamburg / Germany with special responsibilities for MM-Eye's new media and online research approaches.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Cannot Afford to Miss The Market Research Event in 2011

What are the 10 Ten Reasons you can't miss The Market Research Event?

1. 1. TMRE is the most comprehensive conference in the world for elevating the business value of insights to advance the industry forward. With 175+ Speakers and 140+ Best in Class Sessions, it’s the experience of 8 conferences in one trip.
2. 
   
3. 2. TMRE is the only event focused on the BUSINESS VALUE OF MARKET RESEARCH
4. 
   
5. 3. TMRE invests in the highest caliber of keynotes – bringing you visionaries that will transform your thinking.
6. 
   
7. 4. All the hottest topics in market research are covered in depth, including: Social Media & Communities * Trends * Segmentation * Ad & Media Research * Technology & Mobile * BRIC * Shopper Insights * Activating Insights * Marketing Research & Brand Insights * ROI & Performance Measurement * Insight Driven Innovation * Data Analysis & Integration * Insight Leadership * Business to Business Research * Innovations in Tools & Methodologies * What’s Next?
8. 
   
9. 5. Year round insights and networking. Get access to the private TMRE online community and post event webinar series.
10. 
    
11. 6. No commercialism from the platform. Every session is reviewed by our content advisory board to ensure the highest integrity of content.
12. 
    
13. 7. More meaningful networking. Over 12 hours of dedicated networking time to enable you to make the right connections PLUS you have the opportunity participate in the EPCOT’s world renowned International Food & Wine Festival.
14. 
    
15. 8. TMRE has a proven record of uniting the more client-side participants than any other industry event in the world. More than 60% of our attendees are from client-side companies.
16. 
    
17. 9. You have more choices. At TMRE you always have anywhere from 7-9 concurrent sessions running at the same time, making sure you can always choose a session that is relevant to you and your business.
18. 
    
19. 10. The event with the greatest representation of researchers from around the world. We've scoured the globe to bring you the best of the best in market research. (Look for the sessions with the flags in the brochure to see those that have a global focus.)

Download the TMRE Brochure to see the full updated program.

If you mention priority code TMRE11Blog and save $300 if you register by Friday! If you have any questions about the event, please feel free to contact Jennifer Pereira at jpereira@iirusa.com.

The BRICs are Coming!

This is a great example of why market research is so interesting.

To be successful in understanding potential changes in business, we must be able to know when to look at things through binoculars and when to look through a microscope. BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) is a great example of this because I would be here for months typing and researching every minute detail of why we should be thinking about the changing economies and consumer trends that are now shaping Brazil, Russia, India and China. But, I can’t do that. Well, I could – but I won’t. For three reasons: 1) I’m sure someone already has; 2) that will not help me drive strategic decision-making for my organization; and 3) you’re not really that interested. I’ll take you on the path from binoculars (still focused on idea, but not the details of that idea) to the microscope (the important, relevant details).

Binoculars The four countries that make the BRICs currently account for more than a quarter of the world's land area and more than 40% of the world's population They are considered to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development that is expected to create a much larger market of middle class consumers.

If you’re not sure what this means for your business, then you have to focus your lenses…

Refocused As the economies in these countries continue to explode in the next 10-20 years, the number of people that shift from poverty into the discretionary-spending middle class will likely grow faster than the overall economy.

So, now I know that BRICs is important for me to understand because there will be more spending power, and more demand for discretionary products and services.


Microscope
What, specifically, is going to cause these changes and for what industries/products/services?


Consider the following (as provided by Deloitte, 2010):

1. As countries become more developed, the opportunity for women to become educated increases, thus leading to increased female labor participation. The rise in two-income households leads to increased demand for the convenience of modern retailing.

2. As the middle class rises, there is often an increase in the availability of consumer credit that leads to more lending and higher-ticket purchases.

3. Demand for travel and leisure services is expected to grow as the number of automobiles increase as they allow from great emphasis on entertainment and leisure. Automobile ownership allows for greater freedom in choosing where to shop or be entertained. It enables spending larger amounts on each shopping trip, and thus allows for less frequent shopping farther from home.

4. Middle-class consumers, with discretionary spending power, have the ability to set aside some their income for future needs such as retirement, healthcare, or children’s education. An increased ability save leads to increased demand for financial services.

(Did I make that look too easy?)

In closing, the BRICs may be an important focus for many of your organizations that, of course, would require much more investigation than the blanket example I provided. Market research can be very complicated, especially in the four developing nations that are expected to change the face of middle-class around the world. We all know that once you pull out the microscope you find more to investigate the story becomes much more complex. In regards to BRICs, you’ll learn what other companies have discovered by attending this years The Market Research Event in Orlando.

Garrett McGuire (@GJMcGuire) is a Consumer Insights Analyst for a major retailer. His areas of focus are advertising research, brand equity, and providing consumer insights for many marketing initiatives. Prior to his current position, he was a graduate student at Michigan State University where he began his blog, "The Journal of a mAD Man," that explains the theories and methods of advertising.

TMRE Keynote Spotlight: Seven Dimensions For Shopper Marketing Success

Leading up to The Market Research Event, we'll profile the keynotes, tracks and themes at the 2011 event.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be looking at the exciting keynote sessions.  For more information on TMRE, taking place November 7-9, 2011; in Orlando, Florida, download the brochure now.  If you register using code TMRE11BLOG, you can save $300 off of the standard registration rate!  This rate expires Friday, September 16, 2011.

Featured Presentation: Seven Dimensions For Shopper Marketing Success

Featured Presenter: Dr. A.K. Pradeep, Chief Executive Officer, NeuroFocus, Inc.

About the session:
Retail is a riot today—a riot of signage, product displays, shelf talkers, in-store video, and so much more. All these stimuli overwhelm the cognitive brain—our ‘conscious’ mind that we think makes all our decisions.

But it doesn’t. In fact, the subconscious portion of our brains actually makes as much as 95% of our daily decisions, without us even being aware of it. Our senses flood our brains with 11 million bits of information a second, but our conscious minds can only process 40 bits a second.

What does this mean for retail marketing? If you learn what the brain loves, what it looks for, and what it avoids, you can create products and packaging, marketing materials, and store and aisle designs that attract the subconscious — that ‘iceberg’ inside our heads that lies submerged below the much smaller surface of our consciousness.  Join Dr. Pradeep for a fascinating look into how neuromarketing is remaking marketing and retailing in the 21st century.

Research and innovation – experiment and observe...

It has been a long time since Paul Lazarsfeld, founder of modern empirical social science, has shown how powerful observational methods are. His famous piece of work "Die Arbeitslosen von Marienthal" is a classic for everybody interested in sociology. Sociographic was the order in those days.

Today it looks to me as if observational methods within market research are on the rise again; especially the increasingly used online qualitative methods such as online research communities or social media monitoring.

The use of these methods is beneficial not only for generation of insights, but is becoming increasingly important for innovation management process. This is partly due to the nature of innovation on the one hand, and, on the other hand because of the - for years underestimated - power of observation.

* Foto by jcolman

From the most common method focus groups to modern behavioral economics, observations bring forth new insights, perspectives and new thinking. The usefulness of observations has nearly always been proven in our studies.

In particular for the innovation process, we have found that this method can be ideally combined with other methods. Thus, a social media monitoring approach as a precursor and input for a consumer study is ideal. Furthermore, we have seen that the combination of asynchronous methods (e.g. community research) can provide a high density of information if it is combined with synchronous elements (e.g., chat)..

For a contemporary view of innovation, it is important both to establish working practice and environments that support the idea process. And again, that is a perfect field for the use of observational method. Because consumers don't tell what they think, don't think what they feel, and don't always act as they tell us how they feel and think... an old but familiar dilemma..

There will be lots of more thoughts and talks about obversation and innovation at the The Market Research Event 2011 in November in Orlando, Florida, hosted by IIR USA.

About the author: Christian Dössel is blogging about market research in German language here and here. After having worked for TNS, TBWA\ and other strategy and market research agencies he now holds the position of Senior Research Director at MM-Eye in Hamburg / Germany with special responsibilities for MM-Eye's new media and online research approaches.