13 minute read
REFLECTIONS ON ATTENDING ESOMAR CONGRESS 2022
PHOTO COURTESY OF HUMBER TEAM MEMBER
In the last edition of SPARK, we brought you some photos from the latest conference hosted by ESOMAR, the international organization for market, social and opinion research. Our team from the Office of Research & Innovation represented Humber College at the event which was held from September 18 to 21 at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto.
Now, three of our writers share some of the things they saw, learned and discovered during those four days, when major names and brands in market research, insights and analytics got together to discuss new trends for their industry. Read along to see what they found out.
JEREMY GUTSCHE, CEO OF TREND HUNTER
INTIMIDATED BY INNOVATION? IT’S NOT THAT COMPLICATED!
by Janice Saji
INNOVATION HAS ALWAYS SEEMED DAUNTING to me; and innovators—elite beings belonging to a special species handpicked by a greater power in the universe.
Think about it. A man woke up one day and decided walking wasn’t enough; he now wanted to fly. Little ol’ me would’ve thought he was bonkers, trying to achieve an impossible feat.
But the Wright brothers went ahead and did the impossible— they created a device that let humans fly among the clouds. We went from using candles to being illuminated by light bulbs, from writing letters to video calling our loved ones using smartphones, and from using libraries to creating computers that let us store it all. All of this seems nothing short of witchcraft or a special sort of genius to me.
So, when I was given the opportunity to attend ESOMAR Congress 2022, a conference attended by the leading and emerging innovators in the world, I was understandably a little intimidated. I attended the conference with members of Humber’s Office of Research & Innovation, including Anju Kakkar, IMBB™, the Managing Editor of Humber Press; Dianna Dinevski the Associate Dean of Research & Development; Raeshelle Morris the Innovation Program Manager; Barath Michel the Senior Project Manager; Camila Perez Pena the Strategic Innovation Manager; David Weisz the Director of StoryLab; Saran Davaajargal the Editor; and Felipe Narcizo the Social Media & Marketing Coordinator. I was also accompanied by my fellow research assistants Esha Rana, Lucas Cunha, and Muge Abac.
So, what do I do among innovators and professionals who use terminologies beyond my understanding to come up with these complex ideas?
The answer is: OBSERVE, INTERACT, LEARN.
ESOMAR was an eye-opening experience. It taught me that a driving catalyst for innovation is quite simple and understated. It begins with listening to people and leads to “collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data,” as researchers and innovators like to say. A deeper conversation on what the term “innovation” means led me to learn that when the generation of novel ideas (creativity) leads to creating something new (invention) and creates value by bringing the desired new product/service to the marketplace/community–only then can we call it “innovation.” Read Issue #3 of our quarterly research and innovation magazine SPARK to read an article by Dr. Sharon McIntyre.
Listening to the keynote speakers at the ESOMAR Congress talk about using market research and insights to enhance and create services people want makes me realize that data, data analysis and data analytics are at the core of all innovation.
Every innovation is triggered by someone’s inconvenience or need to make life easier for themselves and others. And identifying these needs through data analysis helps prompt ideas that create tailored products or services.
ESOMAR WAS BRIMMING WITH A FLURRY OF THESE IDEAS.
At the ESOMAR Congress, every business, representative or professional, including the YES group (Young ESOMAR Students), had an idea towards improving data analysis and methods to further improve their understanding of people and their needs.
The presenters taught me that analyzing people and data helped enhance services that people wanted and created those they didn’t know they wanted. The professionals displayed a variety of methods to enhance market research. For example, Christopher Martin’s FlexMR presented their method of using emotional reactions to identify people’s preferences, while German company Epap used consumer receipts to get target audience insights.
THE CENTRAL THEME OF THE CONGRESS WAS, “WHAT IF?”
What an apt theme for a conference hosting professionals who support innovation. Because within those two words, “What If?” lies the crux of all innovations:
• “What if” the impossible was actually possible?
• “What if” there was an instant food-cooling device that contradicted the microwave? It would make baking and storing food convenient.
• “What if” there were sensors that alerted you every time you forgot your keys in the car? It would reduce car thefts by a significant margin.
I was left thinking all one needs to do to awaken the innovator within themselves is to ask, “What if?”
I walked into ESOMAR dreading the thought of innovation and analysis but walked out of it realizing how human these topics are.
Because at the end of the day, there will always be endless possibilities to make life easier. We need to give life to those possibilities by pausing, reflecting and listening to people and learning to use qualitative as much as quantitative tools for data collection, analysis and generating insights.
FROM NERVES TO NETWORKING TO HAPPY ENDING: THE STORY OF MY FIRST CONFERENCE
by Esha Rana
Apprehensive.
That’s how I felt when I learned that the first big thing I’d be doing at my new workplace was interviewing professionals at a conference. And not just any conference, but ESOMAR Congress 2022, the market leader of market research conferences.
WRAPPING UP THE INTERVIEW WITH ANNE-SOPHIE DAMELINCOURT AT ESOMAR CONGRESS 2022
“It’s a great opportunity to network,” my boss said, looking meaningfully at us as she gave the brief.
Internally, I wrung my hands and let out something between a sigh and a wail. I don’t think I’m prepared!
“Conference” conjured up pictures of a serious, formalwear event where learned scholars and experts convened to discuss matters of high import using terminology that no outsider or amateur would be able to understand. The added prospect and pressure to get something out of it made me more nervous.
Sternly, I reminded myself that this was a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and practice being the competent communicator I aspired to be. So, I adopted the founding value of my new organization as my North Star: research, and, by extension, preparation.
I pulled up the schedule for the Congress on my screen and painstakingly wrote down the sessions I wanted to attend along with their presenters. I looked at their LinkedIn profiles and websites to familiarize myself with their work, so I could at least approach them with a starting talking point if I wanted. I was well aware I might not get the time or opportunity, given how I had to be available to interview at the drop of a hat, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared, right?
By the time the conference rolled around, I felt excited. Of course, there were still a lot of unknown variables, but at the very least, my approach (and my wardrobe) was decided.
We arrived at the venue — the spacious Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Toronto — and sat ourselves down for the inaugural session. It was the first of the three accelerator sessions about asking the right questions. My curious, journalistic side was sitting ramrod straight in the seat.
From there on, it was a whirlwind of talks, interviews, meeting people, having delicious food and topping those up with the generously provided free drinks. After the first session, the first interview, and the first introduction, things didn’t seem so daunting anymore. I had a much more invigorating time than I had anticipated.
Here are my overarching takeaways from ESOMAR Congress 2022:
BEING CURIOUS IS THE ANTIDOTE TO NERVES
Market research is not my field. I was at ESOMAR purely from a communications perspective. The professionals I interviewed, however, shared different facets of the industry that I found nothing short of interesting.
Anne-Sophie Damelincourt, the founder of Blue Lemon Insight & Strategy, shared how the French market research industry’s Achilles heel was the fact that it was siloed. Annie Petit, Chief Research Officer at E2E Research, gave an excellent example of how Walmart was able to predict pregnancy through a woman’s shopping list when the woman herself was unaware of this. Grant Feller, Chief Storyteller at WeAreStoryMakers, and Leanne
Tomasevic, Managing Director at Truth, emphasized the importance of asking different questions like ‘and what else?’ in your organization. As an outsider to the market research industry, I left almost every conversation thinking, “Fascinating.”
THERE ARE MULTIPLE WAYS TO NETWORK
My first-time conference-attendeeself relied on research to navigate the unknown waters of networking. However, the secret I discovered was a wonderful balance of being prepared, being ready to be surprised and having a solid conversation opener.
A couple of hours of preparation gave me the confidence to approach Grant Feller and learn more about the intersection between journalism and market research. Slipping impromptu in a session about inclusivity in advertising led me to talk to Deepak Varma, Global Neuroscience Insights Executive at Kantar. We had an interesting conversation about immigration, Udaipur vs. Venice and the possibilities of neuroscience. Finally, the fact that I was there to interview people made it easy to go up to them and open with, “Would you be up for sharing your insights and experiences?”
A SUPPORTIVE TEAM MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER
I joined Humber’s Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) 15 days before the conference was held. So, while I was introduced to my colleagues, I hadn’t connected with them. The conference filled in those gaps beautifully.
I observed their interviewing skills in action and picked up helpful cues from
them. Later, the nine of us who were attending all three days sat around a table with plates of spring rolls and our choice of drinks. We shared our conference experiences, got an overview of potential departmental politics and basically talked about anything and everything that came up. Later that night, we attended the gala at Liberty Grand in our elegant best and returned home much later than expected, maxed out on dancing, laughter and the satiating glow of having had a good time with the best people around. Of course, we were back at the venue the following day — fresh-faced, professional and ready for it all over again.
For many, conferences might become taxing or boring. But, for me, the secret to a satisfying time was people. Be it the ones I already knew from the office, or the unfamiliar faces who flew in from different countries to share their experiences — actively interacting with, listening to and learning from people was the throughline that enriched my time at ESOMAR Congress 2022. I’m grateful that my first two weeks at Humber’s Office of Research & Innovation consisted of such a professionally expansive opportunity. Now, if only I could attend next year’s conference in Amsterdam!
BRAVE NEW WORDS
by Lucas Cunha
Facing a world that's rapidly changing, marketing professionals and researchers are arguing that brands should change the way they speak to their audiences
Almost a hundred years ago, the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote in his seminal Tractatus LogicoPhilosophicus that, "The limits of my language mean the limits of my world." Wittgenstein was referring to the relationship between language, philosophy and science, but this is an idea that seems to have spread its influence to different parts of our society.
Take, for example, marketing. It can be defined as the way brands and companies push their products or services to their target audiences. In essence, it's how they communicate with us. So, in a world that has seen such drastic changes in such a short span of time (think of how COVID seems somehow both yesterday's news and an everpresent threat) should the language that these same brands and companies use to reach their audiences also change?
And, if so, what does this new language look like?
This was the question Cato Hunt, Fiona McNae, Julius Colwyn, Anouk Bergner and Sui Lai Kang (who all work at Space Doctors, a British consulting firm part of InSites Consulting) decided to tackle in the paper they presented at the latest ESOMAR conference, in September of this year. Entitled New Worlds Need New Words — Why we must change the language of marketing, the paper (which also mentions the famous Wittgenstein quote) argues that, for instance, “sustainability”, long a go-to word for brands and companies that suddenly noticed the need to talk about issues like climate change, is out. “Regeneration” is in. As they point out, “We need to create a world that restores the natural systems we rely upon for survival.”
They explain how several marketing expressions might hide outdated concepts and ideas that should be dismissed if the brand wishes to keep up with the times. For example, “positioning territory” could be interpreted as “a concept of domination and rule, bringing with it assumptions of conflict and invasion. It is the aggressive language of the colonial ruler; entering a territory to own it, claim it and prevent all others from existing within it.”
In their vision, this change of tone will be accelerated by three sectors of society. Number one is the public — the paper notes how “young people worldwide view the planet’s wellbeing as of greater importance than economic opportunities.” Second comes our debilitated supply chains, ravaged by both war and pandemic. In third place, we have governmental and regulatory bodies, which “are becoming more active in guiding business towards regenerative practices by legislating around impact, investment and integrity.”
Interestingly, the authors also offer a roadmap of how to discard old market-speak and transition into new ways of thinking (and talking) about marketing: instead of “linear mechanisms”, which reeks of the industrial revolution, why not try “holistic process”? Instead of “novel disruption” go for “resilient adaptation.”
HUMBER COLLEGE TEAM ATTENDING ESOMAR
In the end, the authors seem to reach a conclusion that barely leaves room for doubts. They believe the need for change is real, urgent and not merely superficial. “Every organization will need to find a vocabulary which resonates for them, and which inspires others to use it. If we just move words around at the surface, then we simply greenwash, perpetuating ideas that represent our current failing system.”
They go on to say that, “Instead, we need to change the metaphors and meanings we use, cocreating a different language which helps us embody new assumptions and create new possibility together.”
