Research World 62 January February 2017

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No 62 | February 2017
Continuing project
ESOMAR Growth 2020
How tech is transforming
market research
Preventing sex trafficking in India
Learning from storytelling
Encouraging, advancing and elevating market research worldwide
PROPELLING
RESEARCH
INTO THE
NEXT ERA
Industry leaders on new
partners, new competition
Five strategies for survival,
growth and profitability
ENCOURAGING, ADVANCING AND ELEVATING MARKET RESEARCH, WORLDWIDE.
16
ProPelling research
into the next era
Capital investment in market research and analytics is shrinking overall
but two areas will push growth.
25 37 46 52
New technology, Five strategies for Learning from Preventing sex
new partners, new survival, growth and storytelling trafficking in India
competition profitability What can film and theatre How research helped Red
We talk to four influential Confronting the crisis of teach us about insight? Alert to communicate with
industry leaders about the middle-sized market the key stakeholders
how the world of insights research firms
is adapting.
4 RESEARCH WORLD | February 2017

February 2017
editorial
Simon Chadwick
6 Understanding woman in the Middle East Partnership – The market

Women are spending more time with their
smartphones and on social media and women in the research model of the future
Middle East are no exception.
F
ifteen or so years ago, Randy Emond was head
13 Continuing Project ESOMAR Growth – 2020
We talk to ESOMAR’s new Council of market research at Philips Consumer
Electronics. Uniquely among his peers in the
22 Can big data predict tomorrow’s tastes today? industry, he loved to blow things up – research
How to marry molecular and data science with methodologies, received wisdom and the way in
brand identity which research worked. He probably still does, though
these days he is a consultant and not a client.
29 The Insight Show Nonetheless, he made a suggestion at an ESOMAR
Advertorial conference that enraged research suppliers the world
over: he (strongly) suggested that he, as a client,
30 How tech is transforming marketing research
should have the right to take the expertise of Supplier
And the risks and rewards when choosing
A, match it with the methodology of Supplier B and
a particular solution
hire a consultant from Supplier C to pull it all together.
34 Learning from Maleficent From the reaction of the assembled community, you
Communicating changes in the insights we seek would have thought that he had just asserted the
right to sell all our daughters into slavery.
42 Success stories from medium-size companies Fast forward to 2017 and I suspect that Randy is
Flexible, specialist and innovative players can laughing all the way to the “I told you so” bank.
win the game Partnering is now not only an accepted part of the
research process but it is a de rigueur strategy for
survival and growth. Evidence of the power of
partnering is now all around us – you just have to look
at the winners of Ogilvy Awards or indeed of
ESOMAR Congress Best Papers to see multiple
regulars insights providers working together to bring impact
to their clients’ businesses.
10 Up and counting 45 Dr. Pete The difference between then and now lies in the
What will clients be The walk-in clinic for diversity of techniques, methodologies and specialties
doing more or less of research ailments that can and need to be deployed in the pursuit of
in the next five years insight-driven impact. Back in Randy’s day, the
50 RW Connect suppliers he was talking about were primarily full
33 Reflect. service market research suppliers. Today, there are so
Necessity is the 51 ESOMAR Lounge
many different specialties – social media monitoring,
mother of invention
big data analytics, MROCs (you name it) – that no one
57 Marketing case
company can offer it all (unless your name is Kantar).
40 The next wave history
How to learn to stop How consumers It is therefore incumbent on research companies to
worrying and love search online – and make alliances, seek partners and co-create
our industry on the go approaches with companies that can also be their
competitors. This is the new entry level business
58 Calendar 2017 model to which we all now must subscribe.
We are all the richer for it.
RESEARCH WORLD | February 2017 5

robert heeg Regional Profile Middle East
Understanding woman
in the Middle East
Women are spending more time with their smartphones and on penetration. “This has made it
possible to reduce the need for
social media and women in the Middle East are no exception. Has human interaction and intrusion of
private space. Other technologies are
the advent of technology made it easier for brands and researchers also helping collect insights without
the need to ask questions, like eye-
to understand this traditionally difficult to reach demographic? tracking and neuroscience
applications.”
Rafik el Noumeir, senior insights-
T
he internet and social media their lives. One of the key findings is strategy and marketing professional
are increasingly important for that women in the Middle East have MENA at Pepsico, UAE confirms this
brands and retailers in the broad access to the internet: seven in progress. “While we have been
Middle East, but also for ten have access to the web, ranging understanding women as shoppers
researchers. Young people in the from 99% in Kuwait to 54% in and consumers for a long time,
region spend an average of 15 hours Morocco. Across the region, 86% of advances in technology in the insights
a week on social media, according to women with internet access use social field now allow the interaction to
a report by North Western University media. YouTube is the top social become deeper and more meaningful
in Qatar. And last November Ipsos media platform, used by three- and, more importantly, on-going. The
launched “She speaks”, a quarters (75%), but all the key social use of apps or online forums or even
comprehensive syndicated research media platforms: Facebook (71%), the mining of social media, now gives
effort on female consumers in the Instagram (64%) and Snapchat (59%), brands the capability to interact with
Middle East and North Africa (see are used by a majority of women. women in the region that wasn’t
box). The title is significant, as the available a few years ago.”
study sheds light on a traditionally Private sPace Mohammed Minawi, regional senior
hard-to-reach segment offering a It is this widespread adoption of all director at Ipsos MENA, describes
better insight into women’s attitudes, things tech and online that is now another area where technology is
aspirations, lifestyles and behaviours, helping to provide a better improving the understanding of
and a more holistic understanding of understanding of women across the women: “Mobile ethnography has
this segment across various aspects of region; something that has in the past given us an ability to truly immerse
been quite difficult due to the diverse ourselves in the day-to-day lives of
range of customs. “The MENA women in the region on their own
remains one of the most complex terms and in real time. We can now
regions when it comes to conducting reach some areas of their lives that
market research”, confirms Ziad Skaff, might not have been possible using
managing director MENA, Hall & more traditional methods, thus giving
Partners Dubai, United Arab Emirates. us a deeper understanding about their
“This is due to the usual reasons attitudes, behaviours, and lifestyles.”
ranging from social to national
security. The advent of technology FeMale gaMers
has helped overcome some of those These research breakthroughs are
Ziad skaff is managing director at Hall & Partners, rafik el noumier boundaries.” He explains how vitally important because the role of
is senior insights-strategy and marketing professional MENA at
collecting information today is more women in the region is certainly
Pepsico and Mohammed Minawi is regional senior director at
within reach thanks to high social changing, as shown by a study by
Ipsos MENA.
media consumption and mobile J. Walter Thompson’s Innovation

More FreedoM
“Mobile ethnography has given us an ability Despite technological advancements,
Skaff warns that cheap and simple
to truly immerse ourselves in the day-to-day information can come at the price of
quality. “Hence scrutiny is always
lives of women in the region on their own needed to ensure validity prior to
making costly decisions. Nowadays,
terms and in real time.” mixing data collection methods,
though complex and sometimes
more expensive, is proving to be
even more useful especially in large
scale and strategic studies.” Big
steps may have been made, but
reaching women in some parts of the
Group MENA. Perhaps the most surprise some that Iranian women region can still be tricky, he adds.
profound trend it identifies is the spend three times more on makeup “This remains a challenge when going
emergence of the new Arab woman, (4.5% of annual wages) than women after very specific audiences such as
who expects brands to work around in France, Germany and the UK, high-net-worth individuals or those in
her and her needs, more than ever according to data from the Iranian rural areas, though not to the extent
before. The study also reports that Association of Cosmetics, Toiletries it used to be five or ten years ago.”
‘female gamers are driving a whole and Perfumery Importers. Minawi agrees that some
new rhetoric around women, while Meanwhile, the Beautyworld obstacles remain. “Interviewing
luxury designers across the globe are Middle East blog reports that Arab women in some parts of the Middle
taking notice of the young, stylish youth is more exposed than ever to East using traditional research
Muslim woman’. Brands will be keen Western brands and influences from methodologies, which still constitute
to learn such detailed new insights both online sources and international a large portion of the research
into sometimes-unexpected travel. For instance, some 160,000 conducted in MENA, does pose
behaviour. For instance, it may Saudis return home each year after some challenges, particularly when it
graduating from Western universities. comes to researching topics which
‘These young Middle Eastern are considered culturally sensitive.
10 things you need to know about women in Mena consumers are driving beauty trends These topics could either be related
and increased consumption of to specific sectors or product
The Ipsos “She speaks” study on female consumers in cosmetics’, the blog states. categories that are not publicly
MENA focused on women’s attitudes, aspirations,
El Noumeir emphasises the spoken about, or more general topics
lifestyles and behaviours. Conducted between January
and June 2016, it covered UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Jordan, growing importance of the related to their lifestyles and social
Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon. Here are the demographic. “Research on shoppers habits, in addition to their opinions
10 highlights: and consumers has been going on for on public issues.”
1. Amongst women who are heads of their household, years and women, naturally, have However, he expects many of
8 in 10 are responsible for shopping, with Egypt (94%) been at the centre of that as an equal those hurdles can be overcome with
topping the list. proportion of consumers for many the help of technology. “Our
2. Female household heads’ involvement in key purchase
brands. Women, like men, represent research shows that as more and
decisions is high, especially in personal care products
(96%) and food and beverage purchases (93%).
a huge opportunity to brands. more women embrace the digital
3. In the Middle East, 66% get their primary income from Unlocking a true tension or insight revolution sweeping the region, they
an allowance, and just 16% derive theirs from paid work. helps give brands the window to tap are much more comfortable
4. 55% of women are more focused on choosing quality into this opportunity.” Skaff stresses expressing their opinions online.
or a trusted brand name, whilst 45% give preference to why an even deeper insight into this They consider the internet as an
a lower price or offers and promotions. group is needed. “As they remain the outlet that offers wider freedom for
5. 50% of women stick to the brands they know, but 57% major group of consumers that most self-expression. As such, shifting from
are always on the lookout for the best offers and deals.
brands are interested in, we’ve traditional interviewing methods to
6. 53% always look for information before buying a
product. witnessed an increase in market online research is allowing us to
7. 69% of women have access to the internet. studies aiming at developing speak to women more freely about
8. For 74% of women, traditional media is the main source marketers’ understanding. Knowing more culturally sensitive topics, with
of information on products or brands. the greater role that emotions play in better response rates and more open
9. 49% have interacted with their favourite brands, for comparison to their male responses.”
instance on Facebook (in the Gulf countries this figure counterparts, advanced methods and
is much higher than average).
tech-based solutions could prove to
10. Despite high internet access, just 14% of MENA women
be more integral to the research
have ever purchased a product online.
design here.”

uP and counting
What will clients be doing more or less of in the next five years
© PASCAl TIEMAN

For more information
see page 36.

Finn raben On behalf of the new ESOMAR Council
continuing Project
esoMar growth – 2020
As the author Khalil Gibran wrote: companies of the past 20 years – InSites Consulting – but
he has also been an active member of Council for the
“Yesterday is today’s memory; past three terms and is intensely involved with the
development and growth plan for ESOMAR.
tomorrow is today’s dream.” A passion for innovation and discovery lies at the
heart of InSites Consulting’s success, and this same
desire now underpins Niels’ wish to see ESOMAR build
further on the investment and growth plan initiated four
J
anuary 1, 2017 heralded the start of the new years ago.
Council’s term in office, as well as our 70th With an updated, fit-for-purpose Code, a stronger
anniversary! and empowered team of national Representatives and
This Council – elected by YOU, our an improved communications platform, Niels believes
members – retains a number of key members from the that ESOMAR is now uniquely placed to offer greater
previous Council, and is further enhanced by the addition support to the client-side and to further augment the
of representatives from Southern Europe (Italy), latin presence and role of the youth as an intrinsic part of the
America (Venezuela) and India. It is important to stress ESOMAR community.
that once again, the entire Council is made up of The previous Council set up an initiative with the
practicing researchers, involved on a daily basis with the working title “Project ESOMAR Growth 2017”. The first
needs of, and demands on, our profession. This will phase of that development plan was to ensure that the
ensure that as we mark 70 years of being the global voice Code – which lies at the heart of our membership – was fit-
for the research and data analytics sector, and actively for-purpose in our ever evolving profession. We were
encouraging, advancing and elevating the cause of delighted that with the support of our joint
evidence-based decision making with clients, legislators stakeholder – the ICC (International Chamber of
and the public, that we have a wonderful team to not Commerce) – the updated Code was overwhelmingly
only celebrate our achievements, but also to keep approved, and allowed us to reframe the relevance of
building on the many great things we do! the Code for new entrants into the insights sector, young
Niels Schillewaert, our President, brings a very special professionals and of course clients. In parallel, initiatives
perspective to the role; not only is he a founding partner centering on artificial intelligence, ESOMAR television
of one of the most successful research and advisory and the start-up communities helped to further spread

the new esoMar council
niels schillewaert is President of ESOMAR,

bv Pradeep is Vice-President
the word about the value, importance and contribution of

research to a much wider audience, and also underline
ESOMAR’s key role in facilitating our profession’s
relationship with academia and governments.
“don’t stoP Me now” (Freddie Mercury)

While the first steps have now been taken, the relentless
digitisation of our profession requires us to adopt a
philosophy of Kai Zen (continuous improvement), and
embrace change at a more fundamental level. This has
perhaps best been articulated by our new Vice-President
BV Pradeep of Unilever: “ESOMAR has enormous
potential to be bigger and stronger as a top global
industry body. ESOMAR’s strategy now goes beyond
traditional research boundaries, drawing in the
technology entrants, data scientists and leveraging social,
mobile and passive data. Having started this process, and
as the future of research is largely being shaped by client-
side demands, I am delighted to be on Council to
support ESOMAR with valuable insights to continue to
future-proof its strategies and action plans”.
Given the above strategic focus of building a bigger
and stronger ESOMAR community, we have already
taken the first steps to be highly inclusive of all growing
segments of the industry, including a significant step up
in client side involvement, by putting in place a strong
program, which began last year, with full ownership and
leadership from all the ESOMAR country reps. The following are council members: Joaquim bretcha, luisa
The need to be relevant and appeal to a much wider Mercedes ravelo, anne-sophie damelincourt,
business intelligence community is a goal resoundingly umesh Kumar, Kristin luck, Pervin olgun,
Marcello sasso and Pieter Paul verheggen.
supported by other members of Council:
Anne-Sophie Damelincourt (France) has long been
supporting her clients’ business information needs and
strongly advocates for ESOMAR’s role in advising and
guiding the role of new practices and new stakeholders,
to ensure that “the organisation remains the leading
global resource for knowledge, advocacy and information
exchange”.
Joaquim Bretcha (Spain) similarly believes that
ESOMAR “must be involved with the broader MR
landscape, and support everyone involved with data- laurent Flores is ex-officio and Finn raben
driven marketing strategies”. is Director General.
Pervin Olgun (Turkey) – with a canny eye for the next
generation of researcher – says: “Young talent is attracted

BV PRADEEP:
“ESOMAR’s strategy now goes beyond

traditional research boundaries,
drawing in the technology entrants,
data scientists and leveraging social,
mobile and passive data.”
by innovative technology; today, as the research We know that change is a “many-splendored thing,”
industry creates synergies with the technology industry, and that the pace (and indeed relevance) of
the research profession is becoming as exciting as any transformation varies considerably, depending on
other and my focus will be to raise awareness of this whether you are on the client or the supplier side – not
opportunity among young people.” to mention the additional variable of local market
Umesh Kumar (India) echoing Anne-Sophie, believes infrastructure. In this regard, we are also fortunate to
one of ESOMAR’s key strengths is its ability to: “in have Kristin luck on Council for a second term, who,
partnership with local associations, create awareness of, as a growth strategist, can play an important role in
and raise the profile of research at a local as well as ensuring that ESOMAR achieves against its objectives
regional level; creating a networking platform for both for the coming two years, to continue “ensuring that
buyers and suppliers to learn and benefit from new ESOMAR is uniquely positioned as THE global
methods and technologies.” association that promotes the value of market, social,
This sentiment is also very close to the heart of and opinion research and data analytics in illuminating
Marcello Sasso (Italy), for whom increased networking real issues and supporting effective decision-making, in
activities, and the ability of members to interact with a fast-evolving industry”.
both the local representatives and ESOMAR, is key to And so, we return to a mantra that Niels Schillewaert
the success of the organisation: “This will lead to better has supported for many years: namely that the research
collaboration, higher participation and engagement world comprises suppliers AND buyers. All too often
(value), and the elevation of both the association and the client side’s views are not incorporated into topical
the industry.” debates, and yet at ESOMAR, we actively encourage
client side representatives to join in our efforts to
“toMorrow is oFten the busiest day oF continually raise the profile, role and perceived benefits
the weeK” – sPanish Proverb of evidence-based decision making; in partnership with
While lots of opportunities now present themselves, we Niels, Pradeep and the entire ESOMAR team, this
must equally ensure we do not lose sight of our current Council will ensure that “we continue to create leverage
responsibilities, while looking to the future. with research at the client side so that research is better
Pieter Paul Verheggen (The Netherlands) is very clear used and understood right up to the boardroom.”
on this: “With so many new developments, the While we – as Council – have committed ourselves fully
ESOMAR organisation is not only the best facilitator for to facilitating and accelerating this growth plan, we
sharing knowledge and best practices, but it is also the cannot do it without you. ESOMAR is an organisation
premium gatekeeper on quality and ethics”; not just to support the industry and its members like yourselves.
how they might apply in the future, but also how they Without your support, your input and feedback, these
apply today. initiatives will not achieve what we wish them to. So,
luisa Mercedes Ravelo (Venezuela) is of the same during the course of our coming Council term, please
opinion: “my aim is to contribute to the continued do not hesitate to contact any one of us with your
diffusion of best practices and quality standards within thoughts or ideas, and let us ensure that we continue to
the industry; with the support of ESOMAR we have build upon – and extend – all of ESOMAR’s great
better professionals, provide better insights and ensure achievements to-date.
our profession grows at the same pace as the
information highway!”
And Umesh (India) is also strong on this aspect:
“ESOMAR does, and must continue to, play a vital role
in guiding the global research industry to adopt
international standards of research practice”.

siMon chadwicK Trends

PROPELLING
RESEARCH
INTO THE
NEXT ERA
Capital investment in market research
and analytics is shrinking overall
but two areas will push growth.
2015 saw a substantial decline in inward capital investment in
the market research and analytics industry, and inflows again
decelerated considerably in 2016, according to the Cambiar
Capital Funding Index (CCFI).
I
n total, the Index counted 106 opposed to US$ 22.3 million last year
transactions last year (down from and US$ 35 million in 2014.
120 the year before and 152 in
2014) amounting to US$ 1.67 investMent in MarKet
billion – a 35% decrease year on year. research
Since CCFI probably only captures When CCFI first appeared in 2011,
around 80% of total transactions investment in market research firms
(many are not announced publicly), slightly outstripped that in analytics.
this would equate to just under US$ Even though this was strongly
simon chadwick is 2.1 billion in aggregate, a far cry reversed in the following years, there
managing partner of from the heady days of 2014 when remained strong interest in the
Cambiar and editor-
nearly US$ 5.8 billion found its way market research side of the equation
in-chief of Research
into the coffers of new entrants into all the way through to 2014. last
World.
the sector (graph 1). year, interest in market research
Ultimately, what this represents is declined markedly and this year it
the beginning of an end to the has disappeared almost entirely
Funding definitions: infatuation with big data analytics as (graph 2).
well as a period of maturation for This is not to say that investors
Seed: very early stage funding, usually at the beginning of many of the investments made over have no interest in market research
a company’s life
the past three years. While there are as a sector. On the contrary, there is
Series A through E: sequential rounds of equity funding as
the company grows, with “A” being the first in the series; sectors that remain vibrant (mobile vibrant involvement in this side of the
usually these rounds are funded by venture capital or private and predictive analytics in particular), insights industry but it rests
equity funds which then become shareholders of the there is evidence that appetites are elsewhere than venture capital. As
company waning for investing large amounts in the more established partner in the
Debt: funding, often carried out by banks, that injects capital the industry as a whole. Not only was provision of marketing insights to the
into a company; that capital then becomes a debt obligation the total invested down but so too corporate world, market research is
for the firm – funders become creditors rather than
was the average amount invested today more aligned with the interests
shareholders
IPO/Stock Issuance: a public stock offering to raise capital
per transaction – US$ 16.3 million as of Private Equity, particularly at the
larger end of the industry. Nielsen

be that surprising. Most funds
that VCs manage have a three-to-
five-year investment cycle, after
which they concentrate on
management of their more
successful investments with a view
to eventual exit. The lifetime of an
average fund is about ten years.
On this basis, many of those who
invested so heavily in our industry
from 2012 until now are adjusting
to the management phase and
are doubling down on those firms
that have been successful.
Others are already exiting their
represented the pinnacle of PE younger, more recent addition to the investments, as the recent sale of
involvement in the sector and larger insights eco-system is more attuned Sentient to the analytics network
players such as lieberman Research to investment by Venture Capital. W2O demonstrates.
Worldwide, ORC, SSI, FocusVision This interpretation of current
and Research Now are all PE-owned. the bacK story trends is supported by analysis of
Shortly, they will be joined (in part, at In many ways, the decline in VC distribution of investments by their
least) by GfK. Analytics, being a investment in the sector should not stages – a proxy for the life-stage of
graph 1. total investment (us$ billions) graph 2. investment by business category (us$ billions)
6 12 month periods 6 Market research

ending November Analytics
30 of years shown
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
0 0
2012 2013 2011 2014 2015 2016 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Source: Cambiar Capital Funding Index 2016 Source: Cambiar Capital Funding Index 2016

the company receiving the which suggests that a new cycle is While social media analytics
investment (graph 3). beginning, more on which later.
2016 sees the largest funding (in While these meta-trends are remain an area of interest,
both dollars and percentage of total) interesting, so too are those which
in Series-E investments since CCFI point to the types of firms and the two areas that post the
was established in 2011. Series-E services of the future by which
investments are those that typically investors are most intrigued. It is most growth are mobile and
may be classed as “late stage” in the clear that “big data” – at least as it
company’s early lifecycle – that is, the relates to marketing – is of waning predictive analytics.
company has already received four interest. Or, put another way, the
or more investments in its lifetime huge amounts invested in this area
and has proved itself sufficiently in the past two to three years have
robust to warrant further funding sated VC appetites and this is now
with a view to preparing for sale in an area for doubling down and exit
the near future. Essentially, these (graph 4).
investments represent the venture While social media analytics
capital investors doubling down on remain an area of interest, the two
their previous capital injections in the areas that post the most growth are
clear expectation of making a mobile and predictive analytics. We
significant return in the short term. predict that both will continue to
At the same time, we can also see grow as investment destinations in
an increase in Series-A investments the years to come – mobile, arguably
graph 3. investment by stage (us$ billions) graph 4. analytics investment by subcategory (us$ billions)
6 IPO 1.6 2012

E 2013
D 1.4 2014
5 C 2015
B 2016
1.2
A
4 Debt
1.0
3 0.8
0.6
2
0.4
1
0.2
0 0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Big data Social media Web Mobile analytics Predictive
Source: Cambiar Capital Funding Index 2016 Source: Cambiar Capital Funding Index 2016

at the core of big data sources, will Another dozen or so have made five
continue to gain in importance, or more investments over the last
while the need to gain competitive three years, but what is interesting is
advantage through the medium of that almost all invested very little
prediction will only become more this year, further bolstering our
pressing. theory that we are now in a period
This is supported by analysis of of investment consolidation.
the Series-A investments made So, is it the end of the golden era
during the year. Remember that of investment in market research and
these were at a higher level than we analytics? Given the early stage
categories have seen in the past, suggesting interest in mobile and predictive
the beginning of a new cycle – a analytics, we would suggest not.
The terms used to describe the various
types of analytics firms in which
possibility that is bolstered by the As new funds come onstream, we
investments have been made are fact that 36% of all transactions were expect these two areas in particular
largely those used by the firms Series-A involving 16% of dollars to pick up more serious investment
themselves to describe their core invested. Of these, 43% bet on and to power the sector into the
businesses. Some of these (“social either mobile or predictive analytics. next era.
media analytics,” “mobile analytics” Finally, who is doing most of the
and “predictive analytics”) are self- investing in our industry? Amazingly,
explanatory. Others, such as “big data
over the last three years alone, the
analytics” and “web analytics” are
looser and are often used more CCFI has counted 604 separate
broadly to describe a variety of investors in this sector. However,
different approaches. However, “big there are a few that appear to have
data” is usually used to describe the significant faith in the sector, making
ability to mine extremely large and/or multiple investments over multiple
diverse data sets and derive patterns years. Predominant among these are
and insights from them; “web
Sequoia Capital, Battery Ventures
analytics” is more usually used to
describe patterns of behavior.
and Intel Capital, all of whom have
invested in ten companies or more.

JOHAN LANGENBICK Research boundaries
Can big data predict

tomorrow’s tastes today?
How to marry molecular and data science with brand identity
As tastes become more diverse, one of the Food and data science aren’t the products. Their development
most obvious partners, but cycle is shorter than multinational
biggest challenges for companies looking consumer behaviour data is central companies, creating a shorter
to bring innovative flavours to the market to CFI because of the conclusions time to market.
we’re able to draw about which
that will become successful is shortening flavours or trends consumers are Together, this creates a generally
the fuzzy front end. At Foodpairing, interested in. risky environment for companies to
launch new flavour line extensions.
we do this by offering brands the tools PALATES ARE CHANGING To alleviate these challenges, we use
We developed this approach after a three-pronged research method
to answer the question “What new flavour
we noticed that companies are that provides brands with timely and
should we launch next?” facing three increasingly on trend flavour extension
pervasive challenges in options.
W
hen companies tackle this coming up with new Our food scientists
question, they frequently flavour lines. begin by analysing
spend too much time in 1. Consumers are no food ingredients at a
the fuzzy front end. At this stage in longer exclusively loyal molecular level. Here,
flavour line development, they often to brands – the millennial we identify the aroma of
rely on intuition, which can prove flavour palate is evolving at the food ingredient and can
risky and costly, or on generalised a rapid pace and new products say which ingredients would go well
trend reports and expensive surveys. are constantly hitting the shelves together based on this molecular
At Foodpairing, we acknowledge in order to keep up. analysis. Next, we analyse public
that the fuzzy front end can never Johan Langenbick 2. 76% of new product line consumer data from search engines
be eliminated, but we’ve developed is co-founder of extensions fail within a year. and social media, trends detected
a different approach to market Foodpairing. 3. A new generation of agile via blogs, menu and recipe sites and
research that shortens that process companies has entered the scene. chef data from our own website
for brands. We call this hybrid Local craft producers, for Foodpairing.com. These
approach Consumer Flavor example, create strong brands sources give us an
Intelligence (CFI). with high quality, on-trend

accurate composite image of flavours 76% of new cardamom match the brand identity industry towards using data to direct
that would work well on the market. of the rum, better than the star anise. product development strategies. We
Finally, we evaluate the brand’s product line Once we have completed these hope, through a multi-dimensional
tone of voice and personality as well analyses of the spirit, it’s branding, approach, we can prove that this
as the product’s attributes like taste, extensions fail and forward-looking trends within distrust is unfounded. Big data has
texture and aroma. This ensures that the relevant market, we can make a revolutionised industries such as film
the proposed flavour matches the within a year. recommendation. Such a conclusion and finance and we feel the time is
brand identity – a key success factor may suggest that given the spirit’s right to embrace data science in the
when launching a new line extension. recipe and the popular trends of the food and drink industry.
upcoming season, a lightly spiced
HOW IT WORKS cardamom flavour line would be
If a spirits company, a flavoured rum successful in the coming months
for example, was looking to extend We see that this approach reduces
its product line by releasing a new the cost of trial and error for R&D
flavour, we could provide insights into teams. It also gives marketing
what would be successful with today’s managers the tools to make
consumers. informed decisions that are
An analysis of the spirit’s aroma based on data. This is a shift
molecules could inform us that there from the current environment of
are ingredients that pair well with market research, which
cardamom or star anise. Our data favours retrospective rather
scientist, in the meantime, would than predictive analysis.
mine data from the public web and We continuously invest
the pairings that chefs and bartenders in having more unique data
are creating on the Foodpairing partnerships with key players in
website to verify that cardamom is a the market. This will strengthen
rising trend. Finally our brand team our prediction power.
would identify how the Currently, there is an atmosphere
flavour attributes of the of distrust within FMCG and food

Jo bowMan Research issues
NEW
technology
NEW
partners
NEW
competition

Technological advances are giving researchers new tools
with which to help their clients, but are also fuelling fresh
competition for insight budgets. We talk to four influential
industry leaders about how the world of insights is adapting.
W e don’t think the big question

is about whether we’re doing
more ongoing studies versus custom,
that help us do a better job – to simplify our processes,
speed up our activities and lower prices. We can store and
analyse information better, and there are new ways of
or syndicated versus one-off. We working. We’re also developing new initiatives and
think it’s all about how you position services coming out of behavioural sciences, and putting
yourself with solutions that meet or things together in new ways for our clients.
beat clients’ expectations. Our clients, Many of the new entrants have been successful because
whoever they are – public institutions, they’re highly specialised, with one or two services, and
corporations, media agencies, and so those that diversify their client base or their offer too
on – need a flow of information about quickly have problems. At the same time, it’s true that our
markets and people – and we can see clients want to integrate information from a profusion of
from the recent US elections that sources, and we need to be able to manipulate and
understanding people is no easy art! contextualise it, to show them the value in it. There are
So it’s all about providing interesting more and more opportunities to link information coming
and useful insight, because if it from the social networks with survey-based information,
doesn’t get used, there’s no point and not just verbal information but also photos and videos,
doing it. If we’re really being client- which provide a lot of insight into what the consumer is
centric, we’ll get away from thinking. Some aspects of what we do haven’t been
comparing different segments of the didier truchot, chairman and CEO of Ipsos evolving fast enough, but technology is helping us speed
market and understand what they’re up our own innovation processes.
ready to pay for. From a staffing perspective, that means we need to have
New technologies bring both Didier Truchot: specialist technical skills but also work in a consistent way;
positives and negatives. New we need to do both at the same time and find the right
developments enable start-ups to “From a staffing balance between the two.
move into our market with a different There’s still the same need for simplicity, neutrality,
offering, and in many countries perspective, we need to accuracy and speed; all of this is important. But I’d say
there’s a lot of money around to clients need more to feel you’re close to their business and
support them. That’s good for them have specialist understand their needs at a time when the world is
and a challenge for us. On the increasingly complex, competition is strong and the
positive side, there are technologies technical skills.” consumer is volatile. It’s a fascinating period!

T here will always be some need for survey research, but
there’s no question we’re seeing a shift in spending
towards more always-on, every day measurement and
few years ago. And, as we integrate
datasets that were not originally
designed or intended to be put
analytics. Clients are investing more in analytics that will together, the metadata, data science,
help them determine what they need to do this week, and data integrations skills required
tomorrow, or even today in order to drive sales, protect to do this well are more important
market share or improve their competitive position. In than ever.
today’s challenging growth environment, this is what’s Our competitive space has
most valuable to them. Our product portfolio has shifted changed markedly. The traditional
and adapted accordingly. You can see it in initiatives like players are now overlapping with
our Total Audience Measurement system for our media companies like Oracle, SAP, IBM,
clients, and our Connected System for our FMCG clients. Salesforce and Adobe. Cloud-based
We’re in the midst of this incredible evolution in technology firms are making serious
technology, but in many ways, the avalanche of big data headway in providing marketing
resulting from digital platforms, mobile, the Internet of intelligence. This is in addition to the
Things and others sources will continue to be the main scores of tech-based start-ups
driver of change in the years ahead. In most cases, these focused on point solutions that are
new datasets require more and better data science, on our radar as well.
reference data (or ‘metadata’), and data integration Mitch barns, CEO of Nielsen This means research companies
capabilities to make them useful. And they require new must broaden their scope. It means
platform architectures and/or cloud capabilities to make thinking of ourselves as not just
them efficient. Additionally, because in most cases, no one research firms but as essential sources
company will own all of the datasets that are required, Mitch Barns: of marketing information. As
collaborative business models are increasingly important. companies focus on how they can
The change required to take full advantage is multi-faceted. connect data and information, open
The diversity of data available alone makes this an “Research companies platforms will more often prevail
amazing time to be in this space. There’s passively gathered over proprietary systems.
behavioural data that is allowing for an understanding of must broaden their Partnerships and collaborations,
consumers at levels of granularity and efficiency that just especially with technology players,
was not possible in any practical sense as recently as just a scope.” will be increasingly important.
T here has been a decline in one-off surveys. Two

reasons stick out: the rise of free or low-cost, self-
service solutions, and a growing understanding that
Gerhard Hausruckinger:
business questions can also be answered with passive data “Results will be more
or data already held by market researchers or clients. And
there are approaches that combine measurements from relevant if you measure
different angles, like our Crossmedia Link Panel. I believe a
smart combination of surveys, panel data and passive behaviour, rather than
measurement offers huge potential for our industry.
Passive measurement and analyses of secondary data are just ask about it.”
two of the biggest changes in our industry. Also, anything
that makes subconscious or spontaneous decisions and
behaviours “measurable”. Take shopper behaviour in a
store: results will be more relevant if you measure
behaviour, rather than just ask about it – and do so in a real
or close-to-real environment. Combining such findings
with additional data lets us really understand (digital) We can evaluate publicly available
shoppers. So, these new technologies are making research data like social media or weather data,
gerhard hausruckinger, speaker for the more relevant while offering higher speed and global use. as well as data provided by panelists,
Management Board and Chief Commercial Researchers are increasingly incorporating data streams such as smartphone GPS or sensor
Officer at GfK from other sources, too. data, their IT behaviour or purchase

T here are a couple of big themes
going on. Clients are generally
spending more money with consulting
because of budget pressures or because they need speed or
because they need less information than they did
historically, just want to get things done quickly. Hence,
companies at the moment; lots of you either need to partner with somebody who’s doing
reorganisation of marketing and that, or have that resource yourself.
insights functions is happening; a lot of So, we’ve got to be playing in both those spaces as well
customer segmentation work that 10 as in the traditional space. Then there’s analytics, and this
years ago would have been done area’s growing pretty fast. A lot of clients have grouped
mostly by the insights community is insight with analytics, particularly in the US. This
now done by McKinsey and BCG, and industry’s always had good analytics capability but there’s
often they sub-contract the insight and an increased push there now as budgets grow in this area.
analytics bit to a research company, There’s also a lot more accountability around what we
because they’re actually after the do for our clients. Years ago it used to finish with the
change management elements that presentation, but now there’s a real focus on the business
come about as activation of the new impact. The interesting thing is that, in the US, around
segments is driven through the 60% of the buyers of insight have a market research
business. That’s one of the reasons background, so they’re obviously interested in the
Kantar has grown their consulting business impact (of research) but also very interested in
businesses, to take on some of the travyn rhall, CEO of Kantar Insights methodology and approach, and the quality of the
threats coming from consultants information being used. The other 40% are from
getting more involved in the marketing consulting, advisory, analytics or other backgrounds and
organisation within companies. approach insights gathering from a different angle. We
The other big issue is pressure on Travyn Rhall: need to adjust our approach.
client budgets, and the fact there are When we recruit, we know the reality is that people
many more choices in how things are can’t do everything – there aren’t many people who are
done. Some of the technology “When we recruit, we fantastic consultants, understand the insight industry well,
companies like Zappistore and Google have a great analytics background, strong technical
GCS are pretty small at the moment know the reality is that capabilities and who can tell stories. I think in the end, we
but they’re growing fast, providing a recruit people for the areas of expertise that we need, and
self-help option for the client. I think people can’t do then create a team who can collaborate to really answer the
we all realise collectively that clients client’s specific business issues. We’re building a lot of
want options, and some clients, everything.” complementary skills across our business.
data. I would say: if there’s data, we can most likely make Gerhard Hausruckinger have more data sources at hand than
good use of it. The key to success is not so much the data, ever before, and we can combine new
but combining it accurately and smartly, and making data sources with our market insights
relevant conclusions focused on the business challenges of “We need teams with and research science to create value
clients. for our clients. And as markets change
As the marketing intelligence sector expands, some deep market knowledge, with ever-faster speed and agility, we
companies are both competitors and partners. For also have to redesign our basic
example, we co-operate with Google in fields like cross- sound market research processes accordingly. For that, we
media panels, while, in the field of self-service surveys, we need teams with deep market
compete. Despite the growth of new players, I see the capabilities, and data knowledge, sound market research
market research industry standing strong in certain capabilities, as well as statistics and
areas – like our ability to analyse huge amounts of data, or analytics skills.” data analytics skills. We continue to
the trust consumers and clients place in our high standards focus on helping our clients
around aggregation and anonymity. I also see great understand their customers better,
partnership potential in technologies that market research and creating relevant insights for
can leverage. Take voice analytics, for example. We do not critical business decisions and
need to invent it, but we build on developments in this provide orientation in our hyper-
field and create relevant applications from a market connected world. And we work hard
research perspective. to present these insights to clients in
The future of market research is exciting – not despite, an easy-to-digest way so they can act
but because of, the change that influences our industry. We on them fast.

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nigel hollis Research boundaries
How tech is transforming

marketing research
And the risks and rewards when choosing a particular
solution
T
he market research industry marketers need to take both into available at a click (although the
is creating a new wave of consideration when choosing and quantity may be overwhelming and
opportunity for marketers by deploying a particular solution. the quality doubtful). luckily the
leveraging technology to Mechanisation brought with it the analytic tools available to us have
develop innovative research tools to ability to automate physical tasks. evolved to match the task, allowing
gain insight into consumer behavior Digitisation accelerated the us to clean, parse and interrogate
and attitudes. For someone like me opportunity for automation by making huge data sets, much of it without
who has been involved in the the physical intangible and replicable. human intervention. When a project
research business for many years it’s In the space of 30 years automation does demand new data be created,
heartening to see a long-held has transformed the research industry. projects that once took weeks can
objective come to fruition. As always, And the last five have seen an nigel hollis is chief now be completed in a few hours.
global analyst at
however, there are both risks and acceleration of this transformation. The industry moved quickly from
Kantar Millward
rewards to the democratisation of Data is no longer rare and printing questionnaires to creating
Brown.
research, and researchers and expensive. It’s everywhere and digital forms, from punch cards to the

cloud, and from delivering reports to
online dashboards.
I will focus on the application of
technology to survey research, the
area that I know best, even though
I recognise that technology is both
transforming all forms of research and
unlocking completely new ones.
custoMisation
The early days of research
automation focused on process:
questionnaire creation, deployment
and data analysis. Flexibility was the
key to success, making it easy to Right now anyone can create a bad
create custom surveys of all sorts.
Today Capterra lists over 200 survey survey simply because they do not know
software products focused on the
automation of the survey process the basics of good survey design.
from installed to web-based. Perhaps
the most widely used self-serve
solution is SurveyMonkey. As it says
on the company’s web site “There are
lots of ways SurveyMonkey can help.”
And therein lies the fundamental
problem of many automated survey
tools, you can do pretty much
anything with a truly flexible survey
tool and not everything is going to
make sense. Some design pitfalls can be research and behavioral validation
For custom surveys I would argue addressed by expert-certified baked into the survey instrument.
that survey design is still an area ripe templates, which bring with them the For example, ZappiStore partners
for automation, because right now advantages of benchmarking, without with a number of research companies
anyone can create a bad survey which it is difficult to judge whether to provide automated testing of
simply because they do not know the any rating is good, bad or indifferent, brand strategy, advertising creative,
basics of good survey design. lack of but bias and lack of knowledge digital executions and more. These
research expertise is not the only remain significant issues with self- self-serve solutions allow marketers to
potential flaw. Custom surveys can serve custom research. choose a solution to meet their
deliver misleading data simply specific business needs, configure
because the creator is unaware of sPecialisation that solution to their needs, and get
their own biases or lacks knowledge Today a new breed of automated data in as little as a few hours. Online
of the topic they are researching. For research solution is evolving from the reporting lets the user explore, export
example, I once designed a survey to “do-it-all,” Swiss Army Knife-type and share data as well as compare
be fielded in Mexico that was rescued model to deliver specific survey tools results against industry norms.
from irrelevance when a colleague designed from the start to address Solutions like these minimise the
pointed out that in many Mexican specific information needs. A growing time taken to conduct the research
households the mother would visit number of online research providers and maximise the usability of the data
the local store just before the family such as ZappiStore, GutCheck and collected. lauryl Schraedly, Marketing
meal was served to buy whatever six Qualtrics are partnering with research Director, Consumer Insights and
pack of soda was in the fridge and firms like Kantar Millward Brown, to Strategy at PepsiCo – Gatorade,
cold. living in the US where almost all provide a new generation of solutions outlined the benefits of the
households have a large refrigerator to marketers who need to develop, automated solutions approach in a
stocked on a weekly basis I simply track and understand the recent webinar as follows,
had not questioned whether effectiveness of marketing at speed. “A couple of years ago, any digital
behaviour in Mexico might be This has created research tools that testing was based on clicks,
different. are not just faster and less expensive engagement and digital testing was
Crafting an effective custom survey but which incorporate decades of more of a summary of how it
takes expertise, knowledge and time. survey design expertise, research on performed. Now, having a tool to pre-

Automation is just beginning
to reveal its true benefits.
test at a speed of hours, combining in- around the world, something that and much better actionability for the
context behavioural metrics with would have been impossible based end user.
validated survey responses, has not on previous manual coding
only given us an effective way to techniques. Another company, data exPloration
pre-test digital content, it has brought Remesh, is in the business of One of the advantages of the new
together our teams spanning digital, applying artificial intelligence to scale breed of automated research
communications, insights and qualitative research to the point solutions is the confidence that the
agencies to understand the challenges where it is indistinguishable from questions, and the metrics modeled
faced from a shared point of view.” quantitative. or derived from them, relate to real
Driving out time spent on process In addition, partnership is another world outcomes. But it still helps to
allows both marketer and research factor that separates solutions like have some idea of how high is up. Is
agency more time to focus on what these from the traditional research a customer satisfaction mean score of
the results mean, what can be done model. Innovation requires not just 4.3 on a five point scale good or
today and what can be learned for the idea but the expertise and the bad? It’s tough to tell without
tomorrow. resources to make it happen. My own normative data. Interactive reporting
Of course, specialisation extends experience of developing an tools that allow end users to not only
far beyond the domain of surveys. automated research solution for slice and dice their own survey results
Companies like Affectiva, Remesh Millward Brown to test online but also compare it to industry
and Voxpopme are also seeking to advertising in the late 90s confirms benchmarks configured to their
automate other aspects of the that sometimes technology needs are a real step forward.
research domain. Affectiva is notable development is best left to Of course, benchmarking is one of
in that the automation is applied to companies that specialise in that the simplest forms of analysis, and
facial coding, capturing second-by- domain. Equally, technology technology when applied to analytics
second facial expressions and companies tend to lack the domain has had one of the biggest influences
automatically identifying the expertise to research brands, media on the research industry. I will call out
associated emotions. To date Kantar and communications. The just a couple of applications here.
Millward Brown has used this combination of the two allows each Cloud-based analytics now allow
approach to test the emotional company to play to its strengths and researchers and marketers to analyse
response to over 20,000 video ads results in a far better user experience huge amounts of data quickly and

simon chadwick is managing partner at Cambair in the USA
efficiently, whether it is data from a

brand equity survey or the entire set
of tweets related to a specific brand.
reflect.
Deriving meaningful trends from
search and social data in near real-
time relies on the application of
automated modelling to parse long-
Necessity is
term underlying trends from short-
term variances due to seasonal
influences, reaction to events and
the mother
response to campaign spend.
revolution
of invention
Writing this article has forced me to
realise just how much the industry has
changed over the years. But I also
recognise that its evolution is far from
sort. If the research industry is not
careful, just as the ad industry faces
a rapid increase in ad blocking,
T here is no doubt that technology has played, and
continues to play, a major role in the
transformation of the research industry. I would
complete. It also gives me pause to researchers might face a consumer submit, however, that technology has not itself been
reflect that the continued application backlash against surveys. The the actual driver of change but rather has been a
of technology will bring industry-wide obvious solution is to glean as much primary enabler in a dynamic of change that has its
rewards but also risks. insight from passive behavioral data origins in client needs.
For years researchers have like search and social before As Nigel Hollis correctly points out, the initial role
struggled to gather both behavioral resorting to direct questioning to fill of technology was to automate processes in the
and attitudinal data from the same in the blanks. Device-agnostic, mini conduct of market research. Much of this was due to
person to try to understand why they and micro surveys that only ask severe price compression as corporate research
behave the way they do. what needs to be known must departments responded to the need to do more with
Programmatic, combined with become the norm. less. He is also absolutely correct that this not only
artificial intelligence, offers the continues today but is accelerating with the advent of
opportunity to combine behavior and conclusion services such as Zappistore and Qualtrics.
attitudes in real-time by fusing like many industries the application Technology is also enriching us enormously by
behavioral analysis with of digital technology has helped enabling us to measure and integrate data from a
programmatic micro surveys. By democratise the benefits of market myriad of different sources, many of them passive and
combining data on the context and research. Thanks to technology, behavioral. And, certainly, the industry’s talking heads
behavior simple one question surveys marketers of all shapes and sizes write and speak of little else. But a deeper dive into
could be deployed, making the can improve their creative client behavior reveals a slightly less breathless story.
interaction far more relevant and development, advertising
The recent BCG/Cambiar/Yale study of insights
conversational. However, we need effectiveness, media spend and ROI.
management in large corporations revealed that, in
only look at the state of online Rather than simply automating the
many of the largest clients, there is precious little
display advertising today to process of research the new
budget for innovation in research itself. Rather, the
recognise that programmatic generation of automation builds
relentless push is for greater impact with less budget
targeting is still in its infancy. Done intellectual property and expertise
well programmatic advertising into the system. For potential users
and fewer resources. It should not really surprise us,
enables advertisers to combine I believe that technology can deliver
therefore, that actual client expenditure is going more
audience data with ad inventory and access to faster, cheaper and better
and more into innovations that supply research faster
deliver content to those most likely to research. It is time for all of us to and cheaper – not those that have the potential to
buy, done badly it fails to move the step outside our comfort zone and reveal deeper insights. For example, despite
needle on any key metric. Technology seek to identify how technology can predictions of huge success for neuroscience in the
on its own is no substitute for bring not just efficiencies to current industry, there has been only experimental uptake that
effective application. methodologies but open up new has barely scratched the surface and precious little
Just as the amount of digital opportunities. And I would argue investment.
display advertising has doubled in that automation is just beginning to Why is this? Because these more stretch
the last few years we might also reveal its true benefits. The best innovations are not yet scratching itches that have yet
expect technology to boost the may yet be to come, provided we to become imperatives. This is not to say that it won’t
number of surveys people encounter. focus on asking less not more and happen – it will as the avalanche of the “what?”
It is fast becoming a standard that do not overload a precious resource, provided by data analytics stimulates the need to find
any interaction with a company the people we whose behaviour out the “why?” that many of these technologies will
prompts the delivery of a customer and attitudes we seek to provide. It’s just going a little slower than many would
satisfaction questionnaire of some understand. have you believe.

betty adaMou Research issue
Learning
from
Maleficent
Communicating changes Even though basic common- 1. Use your calendar to trigger
sense dictates that after such time, regular check-points:
in the insights we seek the baby would grow to become a You’re likely juggling a plethora of
teenage girl, this story is a lesson projects, so let your calendar
and teaches us… notifications do the work for you. Set
I
n Sleeping Beauty, the evil queen 1. that Maleficent shouldn’t have reoccurring reminders to check-in on
Maleficent has sent forth her assumed everyone else clients and ask if anything needs to
minions to look for baby Aurora, understood that be changed/updated regarding your
seeking vengeance after being 2. to reconvene with teams study. Set these reminders to
snubbed out of a party invite. 16 regularly for progress updates whatever frequency is optimum. Not
years later, Maleficent goes berserk when working on a common goal only does this proactively anticipate
when it becomes clear that her 3. to improve the way we changes, but also let’s your clients
minions didn’t comprehend the shift communicate changes regarding see your conscientiousness
in what they were looking for over a common goal concerning shifts in their business
time. 4. that Maleficent should hire a and needs. In my experience, a
“16 years and not a trace of her! better HR recruiter simple “We’re just checking in that
Are you sure you searched every- 5. And that as researchers, we must these are still the target
where?!” she shouts to the terrified proactively check on changing completes/objectives/ways in which
minions. They conclude that yes, they client needs and goals. you would like the data presented to
have; every mountain, every forest, you” does the trick. About 40% of
and…every cradle. They were looking so here are 5 things the time, clients say ‘Yes! Actually,
for a baby for 16 years. Ouch. you can do to avoid could we just update x and y?”.
But upon reflection, does it not MaleFicent’s Faux Pas Having these check-ins means you
seem a little unfair that the minions These tips will help suppliers help your client achieve their goals,
were berated when a) Maleficent betty adamou, manage change by proactively and time is saved in the long run.
decides to call a progress meeting Founder & Chief staying abreast of evolving client
over a decade later and b) she ResearchGame™ expectations and/or insights sought 2. Be mindful of what your
Designer, Research
assumed they all knew the search when working on longer-term client’s business is doing:
Through Gaming
goal was evolving? studies. Is anything happening with your

client’s business that could impact your clients, and thus save time.
your research study? For instance, These gestures are also massively
are there significant marketing appreciated and adds value to your
communication changes, shifts in service. Whether your clients’
internal processes, or industry
reforms that may change the 4. Sense-check and risk assess company is large or small,
direction of your project? client-requested changes
An example: I’d been designing a When working on long-term studies, even the smallest changes
ResearchGame for a client, focused it’s likely that clients may request
on consumer engagement. Their alterations on things like can impact a project.
company had recently launched an questionnaires, how the data or
augmented reality app but turns out insights are presented, or in more
the client-side project manager was extreme cases, the methodologies
not aware. On sharing a news article being used. Implementing such
with him regarding its launch, this changes can take time, so manage keep them involved. Summarising
completely evolved the direction of expectations upfront on how long key points of meetings in email has
one of the game levels, as he wanted these may take to enforce. More proven especially useful in my
to understand if the app was having crucially, risk assess potential adverse experience on occasions where the
any impact. This shows that even impact that changes might incur. For client-side project manager has
something seemingly unrelated to example, does the simple moved to a new department or a
your study could result in timely introduction of a new answer option organisation, and I can refer back to
improvements. In other cases, shifts affect any redirect logic? Could these meeting summaries to keep
in my clients’ business did not yield changing the question formats new project managers abreast of all
project changes, but it’s always good impact participant engagement? important information related to the
to check. By sense-checking client requested study for a detailed hand-over.
How do you keep abreast of changes and risk assessing their
what’s going on in their business? implementation, you can help to
Keep up to date with what your ensure a smooth running study. your advice?
client is presenting on their website, Get in touch if you’re a supplier or
in the media, newsletters, Twitter, 5. Communicate client requested client and have more useful tips.
Instagram, webinars, etc. This changes with your team
can also give you a deeper While you might be aware of the
understanding of their business alterations that your client has asked
goals and customer trends. for, don’t assume your colleagues do,
even if they’ve been cc’d in emails.
3. Get to know your clients’ But before communicating project
schedules and preferred changes, ensure you do everything
communication methods listed in point 4 above, and 100%
As doing so can help save time and confirm the changes with the client.
develop more productive working Doing so means you can
relationships. For instance, one of my communicate a single clear message
clients working in a Fortune500 firm to your team and avoid confusion.
would get so overloaded with emails In the event that your client has
that key communications would often requested many updates to your
be lost. On asking if there was a study at the same time, be sure to
more effective way of communicating discuss these by phone or face-to-
with her, Whatsapp was offered as a face where possible, and summarise
solution. To this day, we still use your understanding of the requested
Whatsapp and it’s helped speed up changes in an email (because we’re
conversations, and I get to catch her human and our memories are not
attention as/when I need to. In a always infallible.) By using email as a
different example, one of my clients way to summarise key points, it also
picks her children up from school on means you can give the client an
certain days, so I know when is best opportunity to add anything that
to get in touch for meetings if they may have forgotten, and correct
needed. These things may seem you on anything you may have
small but are ways that you can flex misunderstood. This is also useful as
your working style to accommodate an artefact to share with your team to

siMon chadwicK Research Challenge
Five strategies for survival,

growth and profitability
Confronting the crisis of the middle-sized market research firms
B
etween 2005 and 2015, the traditional market now – that growth and profitability come from focus,
research industry posted a Cumulative Average specialisation and differentiation.
Growth Rate of (CAGR) of 3.82%. Organically, the But what of the those “traditional” middle market
larger companies kept pace with a CAGR of 3.6%, research firms that fared so poorly from 2005 to 2015?
feeding their actual (i.e. organic and non-organic) growth Were they undone by their lack of specialism and focus
with a spate of acquisitions from the middle and smaller or was something else at play? In part, the answer is
ranks of their competitors. Smaller firms (US$ 10 “yes”, lack of focus had something to do with it. But
million – US$ 30 million annual revenues) saw an attrition further investigation reveals a much more forceful trend
rate in their ranks of one third over the decade, some at work – lack of access to capital in a fast-changing world.
being acquired but many selling off their assets in fire simon chadwick is
sales or purely closing down. Those left standing, managing partner of the Forces at Play
however, did well, posting a CAGR of 4.33%.1 Cambiar and editor- let’s briefly review the forces lining up against not only
But what of the middle rankers – those with revenues in-chief of Research the middle rankers but all market research companies
between US$ 30 million and US$ 100 million? How did World. today:
they fare? Again, about a third disappeared into the 1. The Great Recession drove clients to deliver more
bowels of larger competitors, but those remaining did with less budget and less resource. That led to
much worse than the market average – a CAGR of just significant re-evaluation of what adds value and what
1.66%. does not.
At the same time, it has to be said that seven new 2. To meet this need, they started to turn to new tools,
entrants emerged in the “middle sector” over the notes new business models and new data sources, all driven
1. These data are
decade (as measured by the Honomichl and ESOMAR by new technology. This opened the door to a
taken from
Global 25 indices) and that these were vibrant, fast- tsunami of new investment into the insights and
ESOMAR and from
growth firms that, for the most part, brought something analytics (mainly analytics) industry in the form of over
countries that
new to the industry. Prime examples would include publish ranking
US$ 13 billion in venture capital in the last five years
dunnhumby (retail analytics), comScore (cross-media tables each year. alone. Out of this torrent of investment, we can expect
analytics) and Wood MacKenzie (secondary research in As such they to see between 60 to 80 viable new competitors
energy, metals and mining). The success of these represent the USA emerge.
companies just goes to re-emphasise what has been and the larger 3. The traditional (and always flawed) business model
common knowledge in the industry for some time European markets. whereby the collection of data was the driving force

behind pricing has collapsed as data has become top of this, clients are saying that they are going to being
ubiquitous and its collection cheap almost to the doing less in ad tracking, brand tracking, copy testing
point of being zero. That forces market research and usage and attitude surveys. These have all been the
companies into value pricing – which implies that bread and butter of many research agencies over the
there is value to be had. years – annuity income on which they could reliably
4. Standardised, routine, validation research is depend. Even the smallest research firm could probably
increasingly being automated via large and powerful boast at least one tracker. Not anymore. Now the
platforms that offer technology but no consulting. emphasis is on analytics and Customer Experience.
Some call this the democratisation of research, others
may feel that it is more populist and dangerous, but it Five strategies
is what it is. What is a research company to do? Its data collection
model has gone away, its trackers are going away and it
client sPending has to compete not only with the global MR companies
The most significant indicator of how these trends affect but all the analytics start-ups as well. Clearly, the prime
research companies lies in client spending plans for the need is to innovate in terms of products and services
next five years, as measured by the Cambiar Future of offered – how do we integrate social media, big data,
Research series. shopper insights, mobile geo-location? Even the Internet
Customer satisfaction tracking has already been of Things? This is no longer an industry with low barriers
ravaged for full-service research companies, largely now to entry – to innovate, I have to invest in new types of
becoming the purview of automated platforms. Now, on people and new technologies. But which and how?
shifting sands (% clients doing more or less in next 5 years)
doing less doing more

Data analytics/mining 4 83
Integration of multiple data streams 12 79
Digital ad optimization 15 64
Customer experience 6 60
Path to purchase 15 55
Digital focus groups 15 51
Brand tracking 28 15
Ad tracking 38 14
Pack testing 40 9
Copy testing 36 8
A&U 37 7
F2F Focus Groups 57 2
Source: Cambiar Mastering change

Whatever strategy you choose,
ensure that you double down on your
specialties and what differentiates you.
All of this implies access to capital. that meet your needs – these could be in social media
My new competitors have it – they are drowning in monitoring, big data analytics or even advanced
venture capital. My global competitors have it – they can mobile solutions.
draw upon large corporate investment pools and the 4. Similarly, take a good look at your vertically-integrated
banks. Even my larger middle market competitors have business model. Too many research companies have
it – they are now Private Equity owned. Just look at gone down because they insist on doing everything in-
lieberman Research Worldwide, Research Now, SSI and house. In a fast-changing technological world, this is
FocusVision – they are all funded by deep-pocketed just not feasible anymore. Find strategic outsource
Private Equity. What is a “smaller middle” traditional partners for things you do not absolutely have to do
research company to do? internally – and that which you do, automate!
From our own experience of success at this level, there 5. Move as far and as fast as you can to an independent
are five strategies that, in various combinations, can lead contractor model. Not everybody on your team has to
not only to survival but to growth and profitability: be an employee. Many of the talents you need are
1. Seek to gain in size, resource, capital and required on demand, not as permanent functions.
differentiation through like-to-like mergers and look to some of the more successful of these models
acquisitions. Whereas in the past most M&A involved to work out how you can do it too – Mizzouri, for
the very large acquiring the smaller, now most activity example.
in this area involves mid-sized firms acquiring other
mid-sized firms. One potential outcome of such activity And, whatever your strategy, excel at what you do! Being
is that you become more attractive to Private Equity. in the middle is not an automatic death sentence. You
2. Whatever strategy you choose, ensure that you double can access capital both internally and externally and you
down on your specialties and what differentiates you. can compete – all it takes is imagination and intestinal
Whether it be your dominance in a particular vertical, fortitude!
expertise in a special slice of your clients’ business or
your track record of innovation, make this your defining
feature. Even today, that can lead to a strategic sale or,
again, interest from the PE community.
3. You can’t do it all on your own. Seek out strategic
partnerships to bring to market products and services

GIULIA GASPERI
The next wave
How to learn L
1.
et’s play a guessing game. Which of these exist
today? Machines that…
can react to queries in depth and without the
to stop worrying
need for lengthy contextual explanations
2. beat champions in the world’s most complex
board game
3. simulate human intuition, or recognise cats
and love
4. accelerate how we identify, read, summarise
and visualise huge amounts of text (read:
machines that could technically build research
reports)
our industry Hint: they all exist. They are the Google Homes,
AlphaGos, deep-learning systems (and that includes
cat-recognising ones) and Ellipses of this world,
and they are a few of the reasons why the research
community is abuzz with the notion of change.
Ironically, for an industry that boasts predictive
powers or the ability to infer what consumers want
before consumers do, we have surprisingly few
answers to the question: “How will AI and automation
impact our future?”. In the words of Robert Davidson
“Understanding where Artificial Intelligence fits into
market research may be the last research project we as
humans take on.”
Nightmarish visions come to mind of frantic space
races to the edges of market research, starring HAL-
9000-type machines that guide, control and murder
based on complex frameworks of logical (and flawed)
data processing.
Suddenly, being a market researcher went from
trying to scratch off the “stereotypical dowdy librarian
who is still punching books out” label to holding on for
dear life. It seems like at some point in the past few
years the industry went from something you stumbled
upon in your career to a workplace threatened to be
taken over by machines.
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
Instead of arguing whether that is or isn’t the case, I’d
like to change the paradigm. There has never been a
better time to actively (re-)think a role in market
Giulia Gasperi is research
research than today. Whether you’re just starting out
director at InSites Consulting
or are at the top of your career, now is a great time to

find your sweet spot, and here are 3 ideas on how to Vogue Magazine in September 2016: “Whether it’s
get started. good or bad depends on how you use it”. Machines are
machines – but the way we interact with them can say a
1. Consider that if machines can learn, so can we. lot about how we interact with one another. The article
We’re the ones who taught them to learn, after all! We touches on Darling’s first MIT publication, which argued
are raised to view learning as something we do to the importance of extending legal rights to robots – in a
prepare ourselves for the next chapter in life – working. similar way as animals are protected from abuse. This
We learn to accomplish a job in an “if and then” sort matters. Not just on the micro level of how you and
of way. I individually interact with what we envision to be
On a recent trip to Peru I discovered that working pseudo-sentient technology of tomorrow. It matters on
and learning were two equally important values a macro level: it could be the key to protecting us from
throughout Inca people’s lives – together with love and the nightmarish machines that destroy us instead of
harmony, they unlocked the power of reciprocity, of making us better. Because after all, how we use them is
exchanging energy with others in your path through life. still in our hands.
Market researchers, by definition, never stop learning. “People have always used technology as a lever to
We are constantly exposed to new realities, new improve lives and increase productivity. But at the
stories – and for many of us, it is a reason to stay in the beginning of every cycle of invention, there’s a
industry. Knowledge makes us better at overcoming temptation to focus on the risks that come with a new
fear. Be it fear of change, the unknown or of what technology instead of the benefits it will bring.” – Mark
comes next. And if we’re teaching machines how to Zuckerberg for Wired Magazine, October 2016.
do our jobs, it’s probably time for us to think bigger.
What could extra learning time bring to you, your
organisation and your clients? That leads me to the
next point.
2. Let the machines automate. That will give you

more time to humanise.
Spotify recently developed two great examples of Market research has
humanising cold, hard data. The global outdoor ad
campaign “Thanks 2016, it’s been weird” takes the
humanisation of technology to a wonderfully quirky and never been cooler,
close-to-home level, while a collaboration between
Spotify data analysts and designers produced 10
wonderful examples of data art. With more time to and don’t let
think, we can be, do and create more of what makes us
human. Which leads me to my final point.
the machines tell
3. Embrace the power of empathy
We might not be entirely certain about what a machine-
clad future will bring, but we have a choice to think you otherwise.
about machines in whichever way we want.
Kate Darling, Research Specialist at the MIT Media
Lab and self-proclaimed Mistress of Machines,
compares robotics to fire in an article published in

robert heeg Research issues
Success stories from

medium-size companies
Flexible, specialist and innovative players can win the game
S omewhere in between the big networks and the

boutique agencies, reside the medium size suppliers.
They have found success through extreme flexibility, highly
decision to be on the telephone. So
why don’t we ask them if they’ll do a
survey? Meanwhile, the phone world
has the opposite problem: for each
incomplete call they make zero
specialised services, a constant hunger for innovation, or all dollars. We pay carriers for these
calls in order to do a survey.”
of the above. We talked to four of these companies about Dial800 is Reconnect Research’s
what they do and how they see the future of their segment. parent company, it tracks phone calls
for companies’ marketing purposes.
Richards was Dial800’s CEO for over
a decade when he came up with
Reconnect’s unique methodology of
sample collection, calling and
surveying. “It reverses how phone
“A missed opportunity, because interaction happens. We don’t make
reaching people on cell phones outbound calls; 100% of the calls are
efficiently, cost-effectively and inbound to us.” His company
speedily is exactly what we specialise receives tens of millions of inbound
in.” Richards describes his company calls and the numbers keep growing.
as the only one that can reach people It conducts major studies for Pew
on their mobiles. This is increasingly Research, Bank of America, TNS,
important as some 60% of US callers Nielsen, RTI and others.
only use their cell phones, where Richards is confident he offers
they are notoriously difficult to reach the go-to technology for highly
by researchers. representative telephone research,
Richards says that each month and believes his firm’s MIDI call
150 billion calls are transported volume will fast grow from millions
across the North American today to over a hundred million.
reconnect research numbering plant, covering the USA, “Our strategic advantage is speed and
Type: inbound calling surveys
Canada and the Caribbean. Five to scalability. From working with big
CEO: Scott Richards
ten billion of those calls never reach research networks, we’ve learned
their intended recipients. These calls that we move significantly faster than
are referred to by the acronym they are accustomed to. Most of all,
H ad American pollsters used

Reconnect Research, Donald
Trump’s victory would not have
MIDI: misdialled, incomplete,
disconnected, inbound calls. Callers
that make a MIDI call typically hear
we solve this tremendous pain of
how to communicate with people on
cell phones. We’re competitive with
come as such a surprise according to an intercept message such as ‘Your online research costs and currently
Scott Richards, who founded the call couldn’t be completed as dialled’. about one quarter to half the cost of
company three years ago. With 30 years’ experience in telecom, outbound telephone studies, whilst
“According to Bloomberg, he decided this was a huge waste in getting the same representative
pollsters could not speak to resources. “The research world sample.”
Americans fast enough right before would love to speak to these people, info: reconnectresearch.com
the elections”, says Scott Richards. who have already made a conscious

“A greater in the late 1980’s as one of the fastest solution. That solution may involve in-
growing firms in the U.S., the company person research, or any other method.
challenge we was first listed in the annual Top 50 Our sole focus is our clients. This has
List of research firms in the U.S. in not changed from when we were a
see is helping 2001, and has remained there since. In small company. And, we see this client
2015 it also made the Global Top 50 focus as key to the future of the
clients socialise List. Still, it ranks as a medium-size middle market.”
agency; a status with benefits, says info: mv-research.com
insights and McMullen. “Our clients tell us we offer
more customisation and flexibility, and
implement take more time to ask questions and
understand their unique situation. We
solutions.” do not see how being larger or having
scale helps in these areas.”
MarKetvision MarketVision feels comfortable in
Type: full-service
the middle market although McMullen
President: Tyler McMullen
recognises some of the current
challenges, such as the need for clients
to do more with less, the rise of data
I n a fragmented industry of global

conglomerates and hip start-ups, it’s
refreshing to see a mid-size, family-
analytics, and technology enabling
new approaches. “Yes, we see these
challenges for clients. Middle market
owned company doing well. Tyler companies seem very capable of
McMullen tells us why his company is addressing these. A greater challenge
so successful. we see is helping clients socialise lrw
MarketVision has about US$ 35 insights and implement solutions. This Type: full-service
million in revenues and very healthy seems to be more the domain of CEO: Dave Sackman
growth. It’s family-owned in the truest consulting rather than technology.”
sense; president Tyler McMullen As for the rise of data analytics,
joined the company in 1999, following
in the footsteps of his father Don, a
corporate researcher who started
including the surge of non-traditional
suppliers – he does not perceive this as
a threat. “Data analytics is a great
A s a midsize supplier LRW offers
personal attention as well as
global resources. In a challenging
MarketVision in 1983. According to opportunity for us all. It does not market this proposition has kept it on
the corporate website Don ‘focused on replace research, but is another tool in a path of continuous growth.
listening to clients, designing research the toolbox when working with clients. LRW, short for Lieberman Research
around their unique needs, and The opportunity is to synthesise Worldwide, was founded 40 years ago
developing long-term relationships.’ analytics with primary research in an with the goal of driving real business
The same principles ring true today, appropriate fashion to generate better impact for clients. An independent
says McMullen. “We try to operate the insights for clients.” As President of a with over US$ 100 million in revenues,
company in accordance with our full service firm McMullen has a the company is developing fast
values of authenticity, craftsmanship, neutral view on how technological through innovation, says CEO Dave
and thoughtfulness.” developments change the industry. Sackman. “We’ve averaged growing
This approach has been very “Our focus is value-added research and double digits in sales for over 30 years.”
successful; twice named in the Inc. 500 insights. Clients want the best He thinks LRW differs from other

research companies. “We’ve never seen Considering its continuing growth, “Most competitors, aren’t as good at
ourselves as information providers but we may wonder how long it is before
as people who know how to pick the the company joins the larger market integrating and synthesising the
information and transform it into segment. Sackman expects to be a
business action and impact. That’s US$ 300 to 350 million integrated multiple data streams.”
ultimately what drives us.” data analytics company by 2020. “The
Central to the company’s activities strategy is to keep focussing on the
is ‘pragmatic brain science’ the smaller business units and our very
intersection of neuroscience, entrepreneurial culture. That
behavioural economics and cognitive encourages employees to try things
behavioural and social psychology. and innovate.” Whether LRW will
LRW also distinguishes itself through stay independent is more difficult to
a strategy of being data-agnostic and predict though. “We always listen to
integrating multiple data streams with the market. My expectation is that
survey and qualitative research data. we’ll explore all avenues. But
“Most competitors, even when they I wouldn’t be surprised if we were still their customers’ opinions. Max Israel
have those facilities, aren’t as good at independent five years from now.” was his own first client. Running the
integrating and synthesising the info: lrwonline.com small chain of Gymboree Play &
multiple data streams.” Music retail stores in Seattle, he found
This year the company is expected that he couldn’t get real-time,
to do US$ 140 million in sales, again actionable online feedback from his
showing substantial growth. The customers. And so, 15 years ago, he
secret, he explains, is the way the hired a programmer to build the best
company is organised uniquely in customer feedback platform. “We
several US$ 5 to 20 million business were so successful that my retail
units that are run quite autonomously. customers got interested in the
He concedes that sometimes the software. That was the genesis of
competition of global players can be Customerville.” He still runs his retail
overwhelming. “We handle large chain, Israel is the franchise owner for
global brand trackers for companies the Seattle area, but clearly
like Disney and Nike. But it’s very Customerville is now dominating
tough to compete with the large much of his agenda. Because of its
networks for 30 or 50 country studies.” blue chip client list, including Iberia
That’s why the company is always and Toyota, many people think the
looking to acquire other small to custoMerville firm is larger than it is, he says. “Part
midsize companies in the region of $5 Type: customer experience
of that is because we have grown
to $60 million. “That’s our sweet spot platform
100% a year, for several years now.”
for acquisitions. A lot of those CEO: Max Israel
The secret behind its success is
companies are struggling because the frustration. “Americans get asked for
small to middle market is having a feedback 40 billion times, and they’re
tough time. We find that the more
innovative companies – particularly
the ones making greater use of
T he days of online surveys
looking like tax forms are
numbered. Customerville’s goal is to
sick of it. What fuels our growth is
that clients realise they can’t spend
$100 million on an amazing customer
communities – tend to grow faster.” radically alter the way companies ask experience, and then have this survey

dr. Pete is Pete cape, global knowledge director at ssi.
dr. Pete
The walk-in clinic for
research ailments
Send your questions to Dr. Pete care of angela@esomar.org
that looks like a Soviet Union tax dear dr Pete

form.” Israel is convinced this I’ve put out to tender a full service project that involves
approach is hopelessly out-dated. collecting data passively. The costs I have had back are
“People are incredibly sensitive wildly different. This is strange as I normally gets costs
feedback devices. Even someone that are in alignment for other projects from these same
arching an eyebrow can mean a lot of vendors.
different things. Yet, when researching How can I judge which one is best?
experiences at scale, using the web or Bill Mellin
smartphones, the industry is stuck in
this terrible mode where they think hi bill
you and I have nothing better to do Thanks for your letter. Always nice to receive some
than fill out a form. That isn’t the way “snail mail”. Takes a bit more effort to put pen to paper
human conversation works.” then get a stamp and go the post office etc. etc. And of
Customerville is trying to make course this is analogous to the solution to your problem.
feedback gathering a richer online You need to consider where the real ‘work’ is being done
experience by taking cues from all “Americans get asked and the real value added. From the provider point of
kinds of artistic fields. “We can make view these are not always the same as where the profits
it replicate a real conversation in ways for feedback 40 are made, although they should be. Companies in the
that get better engagement and higher past (and perhaps today) focused too much on marking
quality information. And then we billion times, and up their direct costs, which of course are very visible,
distribute it: we can make this and less on where the value to you – the consumer – is
information live in compelling and they’re sick of it.” being produced. Since data collection was normally the
visual ways, even within a very large largest share of costs it was relatively easy to not worry
organisation.” too much about the real costs of designing the survey
Still, he admits that even and analysing the results
Customerville’s advanced surveys are Now with automated data collection there are fewer
based on a methodology that is over direct costs, and yet value is still being created for you,
half a century old: giving people but where? Certainly in the design of the project there
something to respond to and grading will be some intellectual input. Also in the technology
it. His next step therefore is to that is being used to collect the data – is this all much
reinvent the concept. “We’re creating of a muchness?, or are some software solutions tangibly
interactive stories where people can better than others? And then what about the output?
tell their own story in real-time and What are you being offered here? How knowledgeable
see a visual representation of it. And are the vendors about your industry such that they can
then we can draw statistical data out give you good advice?
of that. It feels a lot closer to how All these are the sorts of questions you ought to be
people tell stories and share asking your partners (regular readers will know I don’t
experiences in the real world. We like the word vendor) rather than relying on price to
broke the model of what a survey make the difference. Ask them and you may be
should be and now we want to pleasantly surprised.
completely destroy the entire concept
of it.”
info: customerville.com

nicK coates Research in business
Learning from
What can film and theatre teach us about insight?
Business and communications are changing dramatically–
the language of “fail fast”, “agile”, “lean” innovation is
everywhere and people communicate using a complex
web of learning styles, technology, and politics.
© PAWEl KUCZYNSKI

storytelling
T
hese changes, compounded by new forms of to land points when we don’t have the
competition bubbling up across the research scope for a War and Peace session.
market, are recalibrating expectations of insight. Archetypes can also represent parts of the
In this context we need to deliver greater impact self. We have “majors and minors” and
and action, for less. multiple intelligences. So more complex
A paradigm shift is required – away from an approach consumer psychology can be unpicked by using
that values scientific method and linear delivery and archetypes to represent internal dynamics.
towards an approach that recognises how we engage Plot: All of the best stories follow a pattern:
with, and act upon, new information. Situation => Inciting incident => Conflict =>
Across all cultures, telling stories has been the way we nick coates is Resolution => lesson learned
share ideas, teach our children, make sense of complex creative consultancy This is exactly how we go about storytelling in
director at C Space.
human experience. It’s essential to what it means to be research, framing commercial challenges as quests,
human. players as heroic archetypes and using the five-step
Businesses are made up of humans trying to get on story structure has led to direct improvements in
with life. And we’ve noticed that senior decision makers everyday reporting habits.
are also (often, not always) great storytellers. They know Rhetoric: Story-forming is often best done together.
that stories do two key things: Over the past couple of years we’ve increasingly put
• Increase empathy and drive action by humanising the effort into the practice of collaborative analysis. We
outside world and making it accessible establish characters, facts, settings and then rebuild
• Create dramatic effect by bringing business decisions the story using structural tricks and our five ‘added
and consumer issues alive. flair’ Ps:
• Know the power of three (“friends, Romans,
As a result they can make it simpler to build conflict or countrymen…”)
present the answer that many business decisions require. • Try playing with time (Wolf of Wall Street starts
Better stories mean faster decisions. Framing is when he’s already made it)
everything. • Make it personal (listen to the opening of
How do we apply these ideas in a commercial setting, Goodfellas)
in a 21st century insight function? let’s examine our • Use props for effect (Steve Jobs use of the iPod in
storytelling value-chain and how we applied some of his pocket)
these principles to our work at Walgreens Boots Alliance This article is based • Park something (Hemingway’s six word story:
and C Space. on a presentation “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”)
“Learning from
the insight scriPt Lucas: What can the insight Production
Any good story needs a script and a script has three crime drama, The world is littered with decent scripts that never made
basic elements: characters, a plot and a quest. movies and theatre great films. Form and content are both important, and
teach us about
Characters and archetypes: Archetypes are a powerful we’ve been trying lots of executional solutions,
insight?” given by
tool for brand building, market analysis and storytelling. channels, media types, styles, to bring our work to life.
Nick Coates of
In insight, segments are the most obvious manifestation Along the way we’ve learned a few tricks.
C Space and
of archetypes. But we can use them for structuring the Richard Drury of Try branding your project! Stakeholders are busy and
cast of helpers and hinderers that make up most popular Walgreens Boots we’re rarely the most important thing in their week. But
stories. Alliance, UK at we can create distinctiveness if we think laterally. For an
They work because they’re instantly recognisable and ESOMAR's 2016 exploratory, non-linear, study about how to get first-
short-cut to the collective unconscious (we all know what Qualitative timers to love Boots Opticians, we decided to create a
“Jesters” are like). Archetypes speed up the time it takes Conference. sleuth theme for the whole project which infused every

Jack Miles is
Insight Director at
Chime Insight and
Engagement Group
Marketing and Science

The skills of the insight storyteller
element of the way the project felt, from kick-off
meeting invite to the final debrief. O ne of the emerging tools of insight practitioners is
the ability to tell powerful and engaging stories.
This has meant that insight professionals have often
Try creating cross-cutting narratives: One of the
major storytelling initiatives created at Boots is a been told to adopt the skill sets of adjacent disciplines
programme of distillation: taking everything we know, in order to do this effectively. Such disciplines include
or have learned, and turning it into simple decks, graphic design, journalism and entertainment.
videos, animation, infographics. Something that anyone However, we can simplify this by stating that we just
joining the business, from top to bottom, can use to get need to think like our clients – to think like marketers –
up to speed. We call this “Closer to Customers”. even at the most basic level.
It’s a bit like Shakespeare: the plays are individually Getting our work to stand out can be done by the
interesting, but often it’s the themes across the plays application of some of marketing’s most basic
that give the viewer most pleasure and value. In fact principals – a unique identity that is readily available for
meaning only really exists when you consider them engagement and consumption. In short, a brand that
together. has strong mental and physical availability – the
Over the past three years we’ve covered eyecare, fundamentals of brand growth.
healthcare, beauty, omnichannel, advertising and retail, Further to this we need to make sure that insight
but in each case the output is the same: we’ve taken stories are built in-line with wider customer experience
many thousands of pages of data, findings and turned trends. Such examples include:
it into much shorter, snappier narratives. • A reflection of the 140 character culture in which
One of the successes of this programme has been to bigger is rarely better – 90 second videos vs. one
create a unifying visual world (just like lucas did with hour long video clips
the Star Wars universe), a visual language, and a set of • Applying the mechanics of the experience economy
characters. Each pack has a narrator or guide who pops to ensure greater stakeholder involvement occurs to
up from time to time to narrate important moments. better induce understanding and promote
Try dramatising complex themes: Insight goes action – insight theatre vs. ‘attending’ a presentation
beyond reportage, by definition. The best insight is • The sharing of insight across multiple channels in a
both true and lasting. To achieve this we often need to consistent way to widen involvement and drive our
connect and explain insights. Sometimes trends or insight messages home – much like omni-channel
behavioural science or psychology are the extra layer marketing vs. a single sharing platform
that’s needed. But these things can be hard to explain.
For a study on wearing glasses we found that However, we must remember the hardened commercial
transactional analysis (parent/adult/child) provided nature of the narratives we tell. This means the plots
we build and the characters we bring to the fore must
be grounded in robustness and scientific rigour with
regards to research design, sampling and analysis. This
grounding means that when the lessons we teach are
applied by a business they are best placed to develop
profitable returns vs. a narrative that lacks commercial
depth.
So whilst adjacent skills are recommended, insight
professionals will serve themselves well to remember
how valuable our foundational skills are
in the telling of impactful stories.

a ‘sticky’ model for understanding how wearing glasses it in a prime location by the shop for all to
feels. To bring this to life we decided to get a colleague see was a great way of getting attention.
(Chris) and his son to ‘play’ psychological roles (the Within a week, the team had enquiries from
nurturing parent and the free child). They became the people across the business.
heroes of our film.
Bigger is rarely better
insight as theatre One of the videos we made was no longer than
“Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. 90 seconds, and delivered a hard-hitting message
Involve me, and I will understand.” Confucius, c.450BC about key areas where Boots could up its game. It
We know that learning is not a deficit process. We was shown to 1,000 store managers at an event at
can’t just pour “missing” knowledge into people. They Wembley Stadium, and spread like wildfire, including
need to experience it for themselves. Activate it through at board level.
doing. So one of the basic things we’ve been doing is to
make debriefs more immersive. The Boots suncare team so what?
created a beach for one session. We have typically We’re not saying that movies like Star Wars are the
debriefed technical/evaluative work using a ‘news future of insight, nor that we need to build film
anchor’ and ‘gallery’ format where one team member studios instead of data farms. There are hard skills
introduces and then others man stations in the gallery. we need to bring into our discipline. Design,
Just as Secret Cinema have mastered the immersive copywriting, data visualisation are all increasingly
aspect of what they do, so we need to get better at useful. But it’s less about a shift in hiring than a
transforming insight from lecture (viewing) to exploring shift in mindset. Finish and polish aren’t always
mode (interactive theatre), from the holiday your friend the point with stories. The thinking is. Coupled
tries to convince you was amazing, to going on with the drive to do things a little differently.
the holiday yourself. We should all watch more, read more, play
more. Ask what we can learn. And see
the insight obJects where it takes us.
The build up to the launch of The Force Awakens
in 2015 was an object lesson in how to create social
capital and fuel copying. It was full of teasing, intrigue,
treats and temptation. In the same way, we need to work
out how to make insight a social object – worth sharing,
worth looking at everyday, memorable, something you
can pass on and build on.
Make it unavoidable…
One of the by-products of storytelling practices is the
upskilling of the team in simple tricks like thinking more
disruptively about formats and channels. In the Boots
support office in Nottingham, everyday, hundreds of
people walk down the corridor to the staff shop to pick
up lunch, or personal items. So, creating an intriguing
illustrated output from a co-creation debrief and putting

Read more at: RW Connect, ESOMAR’s online magazine bringing the latest in market research techniques, case studies, trends and opinions.
To contribute, contact Neda Eneva at neda@esomar.org rwconnect.esomar.org
how MarKet research assisted

hurricane Matthew victiMs
A tale of engagement and education
Is it possible to recruit a difficult to help with the emergency. So we

audience of physicians in both came up with the idea of developing
developed and emerging markets a survey that we thought would be
without paying them a dime? interesting for our target, asking
Common sense in our industry would doctors in several countries in latin
clearly say no. When it comes to America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina,
doctors, money seems to be the only Colombia and Chile) and in the US
means of engagement amongst a and Canada, not only about the main
multitude of social media and online challenges in their own profession
activities, in which market research but also about how prepared the
could be just one of those. Americas were to cope with natural
Well, let’s see a “natural disasters.
experiment” that may prove us
wrong in assuming this too readily. their homes and a significant death When it comes Diego Casaravilla is Managing
toll. The situation could not have Partner of FINE, a latin American
to doctors,
engaging with Medical been worse. Add to all of this, the fieldwork agency
ProFessionals fact that Haiti was still recovering money seems
On 4 October 2016, Matthew, a from the terrible earthquake suffered
category 5 Hurricane, impacted the in 2010 and the outbreak of cholera to be the only Read the full piece on Research world
shores of Haiti, the poorest country in that followed afterwards. means of Connect: rwconnect.esomar.org/how-
the Americas. The consequences Only a week later, we received a market-research-assisted-hurricane-
were devastating: thousands fleeing call from a humanitarian organisation engagement. matthew-victims
70 years oF innovation. esoMar MeMbers, are you ready to Meet ana?

2017 is a particularly momentous be exclusively accessed by our development over time, adding
year for us at ESOMAR and cause members. ANA allows you to search more content and new
for a huge celebration – it is our through all 70 years of ESOMAR functionalities.
70th anniversary! knowledge and content (now After receiving member feedback
including the most recent papers at 2016’s Congress – we continued
It will be a busy year at ESOMAR free of charge), in the form of papers, testing the platform with a number
HQ, with our biggest Congress to ANA keeps video presentations and webinars. of members, to help ANA learn
date in September, new product learning – Want to ask ANA a question? ANA more. We are now ready to officially
launches and a number of other combs through the ESOMAR launch the Beta version of ANA to
planned activities to celebrate this each time a archives to extract the information all our members and invite you to
milestone, which makes us excited most relevant to the user. start asking your questions today,
member asks
to introduce our first innovation We are incredibly excited about every question you ask will continue
of the year! a question, this new AI search engine. The best the learning process and help ANA
part? ANA keeps learning – each develop and improve. log in to
Meet ANA it becomes time a member asks a question, it ANA, test her functionalities and let
ANA is the first artificial intelligence more becomes more intelligent. It is more us know what you think!
search engine for market research than a search engine – ANA is smart –
with AI learning capabilities and can intelligent. with promising continued ana.esomar.org

esoMar lounge
I
am delighted to be Society. This is always a difficult esoMar’s inter-
balance to achieve, but I am a national stage at
writing this piece as your strong believer in achieving this insights show 2017
balance as it will then allow us to
President, so let me also say make whatever further For this year’s edition of the
investments are necessary in the Insight Show, ESOMAR is happy to
a BIG thank you to all of you coming years. add a global perspective to the
event, shining a spotlight on three
who voted for me! Finally, let me say how much I value of the top nominated papers
hearing from you; at ESOMAR’s core presented at our 2016 Congress in
As you may have seen in the little is its fundamental desire to serve you New Orleans.
video that was put up on the better; we cannot do this without
ESOMAR website, I have three knowing what it is you like, or what Join lucy Davison, Managing
principal themes that I would like us you don’t like. To that end, I look Director at Keen as Mustard and
all to concentrate in the coming two forward very much to meeting as ESOMAR UK Representative, as she
years: many of you as I can at our different moderates the stage and takes us on
1. The first is to increase the events, and even if we don’t have a a journey exploring impressive
participation of end clients in chance to meet, if you would like to brand-building learnings, from how
ESOMAR; whether it is as a share some thoughts with me, then the youth identify with brands to
member, as a speaker, as a please don’t hesitate to contact next level causal path modelling to
delegate, or as an advisor, the me at: Niels.Schillewaert@esomar.org understanding cultural issues
clients’ perspectives on, and through journalism.
demands from our profession, are Hear from Viacom and Third Eye
most often the driving force(s) for Research out of India, Success
change. we can learn a lot from Drivers out of USA/Germany and
the demands of their daily Strive Insight and luxottica Group
challenges, and so I have out of the UK and Italy.
committed our full team to These are sessions you won’t want
growing their participation in to miss!
ESOMAR. www.insightshow.co.uk
2. Secondly, I would like to see an
increase in our younger members. And to continue your insights journey,
From a slightly selfish perspective, following the Insights Show, ESOMAR
I would like ESOMAR to have a would like to remind you of the MRS
significant, committed, younger 2017 Impact event the following week,
member base, who will become 14–15 March.
our “succession plan”. I am sure www.mrsannualconference.com
you will all agree that it is one of
our great privileges to be able to
facilitate, guide and lead the next
generation of researcher, and
I would like to see them well
ensconced in our community!
3. Finally, I would like to see the
financial position of our Society
stabilised. we have invested in a
significant number of
developments in the past couple
of years, and I believe that it is
now time for those investments to
provide the return to you – our
members – in terms of new
niels schillewaert is
services, but also to reduce the
president of ESOMAR
ongoing costs of running the

elca grobler Research in society
Preventing sex trafficking in India

How research helped Red Alert to communicate with the key stakeholders
I
t is estimated that there are 20 demand for and supply of trafficked personal experiences and
million commercial sex workers in girls to prevent trafficking. perceptions.
India, of whom around 80% are The aim was to understand the
victims of sex trafficking.1 In decision-making of at-risk families what we Found
recent years, the average age of girls and to identify levers to sensitise, Demand side: The living and working
trafficked for sexual exploitation, has alert and empower such families in conditions of rural migrants and poor
fallen from 14–16 to 10–14 years.2 source areas so that the parents young men in the city are
Trafficking and sexual slavery of protect their daughters. And to characterised by loss of control
women and children violates human understand the decision-making of leading to anxiety, distress and
rights and subjects its victims to elca grobler is young men at destination areas who uncertainty. These feelings may
founder of My
cruelty, torture, degrading work and visit brothels, and identify ways to lead to avoidance of purchasing
Choices Foundation
inhumane living conditions. To find a change their behaviour and attitudes. sex if the coping potential is low
solution, the dynamics of this (generating self-pity, submission
problem must be understood and contextual research and helplessness), or towards buying
addressed from both the supply-side The research started with sex if opportunities to create and
(the rural ecosystem in areas from ethnography-style immersions and maintain an illusion of control are
where girls are trafficked) and the observations to understand the available (giving rise to aggression
demand-side (the urban hubs where dynamic context within which and domination).
the girls are forced into commercial behavior is embedded, to generate As it is so difficult to break habits,
sexual exploitation). a set of hypotheses that can be to prevent men from buying sex,
In India, at least 85% of parents updated continuously to reflect the they must be targeted at the
have no idea that the trafficker is not realities from a behavioral and consideration and trial stages which
making a legitimate offer to help. cognitive science perspective. are closely linked with the context of
They care for their daughters and We also conducted parallel peer groups.
agree to let them go because they research to generate and update Equating paid-for sex with rape or
are tricked. Most sex customers do hypotheses, visiting villages, trafficking is unlikely to work because
not know or accept that they are meeting NGOs and agencies peer groups already have strong
sexually exploiting victims of involved in solving this problem rationalisations for such behavior and
trafficking and slavery and the and drawing learnings from avoidance mechanisms of self-
situation is perpetuated by their deployed programmes and research. attribution and will ignore messages
ignorance as much as the evil of the We used Ethnolab, a game that that cause negative self-imagery.
traffickers. simulates the actual context of the Instead, a positive self-image should
Final Mile Consulting was participants in order to solicit real- be promoted, capitalising on the
commissioned by Operation Red world reactions and behaviors. This tendency and desire to see oneself in
Alert of My Choices Foundation to Final Mile proprietary research a good light, for example by
notes
conduct the research and apply technique enabled us to study the portraying an interesting and
1 Zero Traffick:
learnings from cognitive emotions and mental models that relatable group of young boys
Eliminating sex
neuroscience and behavioral influence the behavior of those talking about will-power and self-
trafficking in India,
economics to understand and September 2013
involved. control or using group affiliations
influence the behavior of both at-risk 2 Times of India, This was followed by a hot-state such as sports teams or celebrities,
families and men who buy sex. “India becoming a interview session, which was to create new norms.
This study was conducted to hub for child designed to elicit the participants’ Supply side: the community
identify the levers to change prostitution”, emotions. These conversations are prescribes the social roles and
behavior and reduce both the January 30, 2010 crucial for gathering insights about responsibility of each member of the

Messaging: Our research suggests
People underestimate the risks relating to using a strong, positive message
focused on the inherent and
a girl’s migration to the city because they aspirational good in each person. The
vulnerabilities that these men face are
lack information about the adverse outcomes fixed, but messaging can address
these stresses by strengthening
and their probabilities. decision-making and in championing
the good in people, create an
aspirational value to doing good. The
father’s focus of making decisions for
his family, or a young man’s search for
significance in his life is to make the
best decision he can with the
household in rural areas, through conclusion expectations and information
peer-pressure, community sanctions Our research on both the supply and available. By redefining “good
and reputation. The father’s role and demand side reveals a common decisions”, men are encouraged to
responsibility are to maintain approach for solutions to focus on feel good about themselves because
appropriate living standards for the three areas: vulnerability, compulsion they are making well informed, long-
family’s nutrition, health, happiness and messaging. term decisions. Operation Red Alert
and safety; to provide the children Vulnerability: The traffickers has developed messaging for urban
with education, skills and support and exploit poverty and mindsets that mass media and for rural grassroots
to ensure his daughter is married into undervalue girls and women. A using the research findings.
a good household. father who believes his daughter is The Village Toolkit uses positive
Their lives are characterised by worth as much as his son, would not messaging for each stakeholder
economic hardship and a struggle to consider selling her and young men through a first of its kind prevention
fulfill their responsibilities and who value and respect women would programme, shaping the approach to
maintain their reputation. The not buy sex. media and grassroots outreach. The
traffickers exploit this by approaching Compulsions underlying behavior: key leave-behind is a comic book
the household in times of scarcity or The fathers’ decisions stem from a telling a story about four heroes, and
crisis, offering the daughters jobs, desire to meet social norms and it is a flyer with targeted messaging for
money or marriage. This offer fits the in the effort to be a good father that each stakeholder including “Good
father’s needs, providing relief to the they send their daughters away, Fathers”, “Informed Mothers”,
family, and hope in releasing the mitigating the risk by assuring “Guardian Girls” and “Cool Boys”.
burden of the girl from an already themselves that it is the best option These comic books are designed to
overstrained household. for the family. The decisions young educate about trafficking and inspire
People underestimate the risks men make to buy sex are rooted in readers to make a difference and
relating to a girl’s migration to the city the desire for better things in life, stand up against this exploitative
because they lack information about and to be good enough. form of slavery.
the adverse outcomes and their
probabilities. Usually there is no
communication with the girl after she’s three stages in the decision to buy sex
trafficked and even if a girl is rescued,
her living conditions are hidden from
the family because of shame and the
associated stigma. And in any case,
most girls are never rescued. Consideration: Anticipation of Trial: Feelings of doubt and Habit: Sequence of cues,
Anticipation of regret is pleasure and relief, desire for anxiety are addressed with repeating actions and rewards
control, sexual frustration and various triggers/enablers such as leads to the formation of a habit.
instrumental for both approach and
scorn for women create peer group, intoxication, payday, The cues are the enablers
avoidance tendencies and is the key tendencies for approach etc. and the tendency is acted (alcohol, salary, peer group) and
mediating emotion for evaluating behavior. Anticipation of guilt, upon leading to rewards such as the action (purchasing sex) and
cost and rewards when making a shame and regret plus self- instant gratification, confidence, rewards, (positive feedback from
decision. Traffickers employ various image concerns create feelings relief, enjoyment, pride and a the act).
tactics to turn the balance towards of unease and anxiety, which act sense of control.
approach tendencies – strengthening as barriers to such behavior so
the anticipation of regret for rejecting the person is undecided and
doubtful even if there are strong
the offer or reducing the anticipation
pulls towards it.
of regret for accepting it.

earl l. taylor
Marketing
case
How consumers search
history
online – and on the go
From: Bart J. Bronnen-

berg, Jun B. Kim, and
Carl F. Mela, “Zooming
D igital footprints left by consumers
searching and shopping online have
become a major source of observational data
search on Mobile
Surveys show that the majority of online
searches are conducted from mobile devices,
in on choice: How do
that avoids some of the problems of self- adding yet another challenge (and opportu-
consumers search for
cameras online?”
reports and survey data. Unless this is nity) for researchers. While consumers can
Working paper (2014),
combined with other online and offline data, and do use the mobile web, the use of
and Stephan Daurer, however, we risk developing a myopic view of smartphone “apps” is fast becoming the
Dominik Molitor, Martin consumer behavior that will cause default mechanism for such searches. By
Spann, and Puneet misallocation of marketing resources. combining barcode scanning and location-
Manchanda, To illustrate, Carl Mela (Duke University) based services, such apps deliver highly
“Consumer search shared findings from a recent study at MSI’s relevant information about products, prices,
behavior on the mobile “Marketing Analytics in a Data-Rich and retailer locations and promotions.
internet: An empirical Environment” conference. Mela and his A recent study by Stephan Daurer (Baden-
analysis.” colleagues examined online data for nearly Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University),
MSI Report No. 15–111. two million consumers over three months, Dominik Molitor (New York University),
using data filtering and text scraping methods Martin Spann (Ludwig-Maximilians-
to cull a sample of 1,000 digital camera University of Munich) and Puneet
purchases. Combining this data with Manchanda (University of Michigan)
comScore log files and retailer html page files challenges conventional wisdom that most
yielded complete consumer browsing and consumers conduct product information
transaction histories including retailer search at or close to the point of purchase in
attribute assortment and pricing information. time and space. Drawing on a behavioral
In contrast to the 2–3 searches typically dataset from a provider of mobile product
reported in studies using online data, the information applications, they analyse over
researchers found that consumers conduct an 80 million observations to model location-
average of 14 searches across domains, based search behavior of over 2.5 million
camera models, and time. As Mela noted, individual consumers.
“search ‘in the wild’ is extensive in terms of The type of information sought depends
items visited, but exceptionally narrow over on factors such as context, product category,
the product attribute space.” Consumers user experience, and availability of (other)
“funnel in” on attributes in the course of their information. Providing access to one type of
decision journey as the time between search information can affect search for and the
steps decreases. While they discover chosen impact of other types. For example, access to
brands and stores early on, specific product-related information reduces search
combinations of models and stores come up on price information, suggesting that it can
later in search. lower price sensitivity. Plus, mobile search
Mela concludes that these findings have does not seem to be focused at the point of
earl l. taylor is “implications for how firms can target their purchase as search activity is not different on
chief marketing communications during the search process.” Sundays compared to weekdays. Finally,
officer at the Given the contracting window of opportunity geographic travel (mobility), the availability
Marketing Science to influence search, he suggests that firms of specific types of product information and
Institute. You can
focus on increasingly narrow contextual factors such as economic
contact him at
alternatives – from category and brand to surroundings, competition, and weather
etaylor@msi.org.
store and product model – as search proceeds. influence search intensity.

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Encouraging, advancing and elevating market research worldwide

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6 Understanding woman in the Middle East Partnership – The market

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niels schillewaert is President of ESOMAR,

the word about the value, importance and contribution of

“don’t stoP Me now” (Freddie Mercury)

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“ESOMAR’s strategy now goes beyond

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6 12 month periods 6 Market research

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6 IPO 1.6 2012

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Can big data predict

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W e don’t think the big question

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T here has been a decline in one-off surveys. Two

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THE INSIGHT SHOw

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How tech is transforming

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efﬁciently, whether it is data from a

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Five strategies for survival,

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shifting sands (% clients doing more or less in next 5 years)

doing less doing more

Source: Cambiar Mastering change

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The next wave

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2. Let the machines automate. That will give you

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Success stories from

S omewhere in between the big networks and the

H ad American pollsters used

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I n a fragmented industry of global

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that looks like a Soviet Union tax dear dr Pete

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