VUE Magazine, December 2011

vue Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40033932

NANOS

FORWARD In Conversation with Nik Nanos The ‘Orange Crush’ in Quebec: What Made It Possible?

the magazine of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association

DECEM BER 2011

How Marketing Research Is Helping Canada Gain Recognition as a Global Leader in eDemocracy Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec 2011: Getting Students Excited about Marketing Research

Be Seen. Be Heard.

Showcase Your Talents in Beautiful Newfoundland & Labrador as a Speaker, Sponsor, Delegate or Exhibitor.

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Owshegettinonb’ys?1 Yes, the MRIA Conference is heading to the Rock and preparations are well underway. Showcase your company by exhibiting at the 2012 MRIA National Conference. If you have a leading-edge methodology or new technology, this is an ideal opportunity to introduce it to the marketing research industry. You will have access to prospects who are looking for new ideas and affordable insights into marketing research.

At this time, we are also seeking presentations that embrace the theme of this year’s conference “Sample the Edge” by focusing on solutions to new challenges and research that brings a new twist to old things. If you’ve done something cool you would like to share, we want to hear about it. Deadline: December 20 2011.

Provided to our 2012 Exhibitors • Welcome Reception in the tradeshow area • An 8 ft x 10 ft booth space, with draping • One complimentary full conference registration per booth (value CDN$850) • Breakfasts served exclusively in the exhibit area • All coffee breaks, exclusively in the exhibit area • Additional passes CDN$350 each (includes 2012 Awards Gala Dinner) • Publicity in Vue, Pulse, LinkedIN and MRIA website Anastasia Arabia, Chair, Tradeshow Tel.: 780-485-6558 ext. 2003 Fax: 780-485-5085 anastasia@trendresearch.ca

1 Owshegettinonb’ys [Ow-she-get-in-on-byes] Newfoundland & Labrador slang. A colloquial greeting framed as a rhetorical question regarding the current status of life, love and the universe in general.

For complete information, visit our 2012 Conference Website at www.mria-arim.ca/Conference2012/NEWS/index.php

DECEMBER 2011

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Cover: Nik Nanos In this month’s features: (L to R) Nik Nanos, Sébastian Dallaire, Adam Froman, Anastasia Arabia

ADDRESS The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association L’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing

FEATURES 12

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IN CONVERSATION WITH NIK NANOS Canadian pollster Nik Nanos talks about his career in marketing research, about the changes he has seen in technology, the industry and its methodologies, and about the future of marketing research.

by Anne Marie Gabriel THE ‘ORANGE CRUSH’ IN QUEBEC: WHAT MADE IT POSSIBLE? The most intriguing and spectacular story of the past federal election was the meteoric rise of the NDP in Quebec and the downfall of the Bloc Québécois. How did it happen?

by Sébastien Dallaire HOW MARKETING RESEARCH IS HELPING CANADA GAIN RECOGNITION AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN eDEMOCRACY The Town of Markham has become a leader in eDemocracy and provided a model research environment for other political jurisdictions across Canada and around the world.

by Adam Froman CANADA’S NEXT TOP AD EXEC 2011: GETTING STUDENTS EXCITED ABOUT MARKETING RESEARCH University students’ involvement in the “Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec” competition demonstrates their interest in marketing research, but we need to do more to promote our industry as a career option.

by Anastasia Arabia

COMMENTARY 6 8 10

Editor’s Vue President’s Letter Message from the Executive Director

INDUSTRY NEWS 26 27 28 31

36th Annual CASRO Conference: Success in the Redefined World Qualitative Research Registry (QRR) People and Companies in the News Research Registration System (RRS)

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 33

Mr. CMRP Goes to Ottawa – and Toronto, Quebec, Victoria, Fredericton, Winnipeg …

COLUMNISTS 36 36 36 37

QUALITAS RAC A Duck Walking through the Court of Public Opinion CSRC

MARK YOUR CALENDARS Net Gain 6.0 January 25, 2012 St. Andrew’s Club , Toronto

2600 Skymark Avenue, Bldg. 4, Unit 104 Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5B2 Tel: (905) 602-6854 Toll Free: 1-888-602-MRIA (6742) Fax: (905) 602-6855 Email: vue@mria-arim.ca Website: www.mria-arim.ca PRODUCTION: LAYOUT/DESIGN LS Graphics Tel: (905) 743-0402, Toll Free: 1-800-400-8253 Fax: (905) 728-3931 Email: info@lsgraphics.com CONTACTS CHAIR, PUBLICATIONS Stephen Popiel, PhD, CMRP Tel: (416) 271-8454 stephen.popiel@td.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF David Hamburg, Hamburg Consulting (514) 748-1827 david.hamburg@sympatico.ca MANAGING EDITOR Anne Marie Gabriel, MRIA amgabriel@mria-arim.ca ASSOCIATE EDITORS Kevin Hare kevin.hare@rci.rogers.com Claire Bazley claire.bazley@maritz.com COPY EDITOR Siegfried Betterman 2011 ADVERTISING RATES Frequent advertisers receive discounts. Details can be found by going to: www.mria-arim.ca/advertising/vue.asp Please email vue@mria-arim.ca to book your ad.

The deadline for notice of advertising is the first of the previous month.

All advertising material must be at the MRIA office on the 5th of the month.

Original articles and Letters to the Editor are welcome. Materials will be reviewed by the Vue Editorial Team. If accepted for publication, they may be edited for length or clarity and placed in the electronic archives on the MRIA website.

The opinions and conclusions expressed in Vue are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association.

Publishing Date: December, 2011 © 2011.

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association or the author.

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RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association L’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing 2600 Skymark Avenue, Bldg 4, Unit 104, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5B2 Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40033932 ISSN 1488-7320

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Editor’s Vue David Hamburg

What a busy year it’s been on the revolution side; it makes me all that more thankful that we live in a well-governed country like Canada. Which brings us to this month’s issue, where we focus on government and its relation to our industry.

Our feature piece is an interview with one of the nation’s pollsters, former MRIA president Nik Nanos, who ruminates on the marketing research industry, where surveys and focus groups are now just part of the mix. I’ll vote for that, and so much the better if I can do it online, as Markham citizens have done in their last three elections. Read Adam Froman’s fine article about how that great leap into cybervoting came to be.

There’s so much to speculate about with regard to elections, so many variables that come into play, that even the best pollsters are left with mouths agape. Explain this year’s federal election and the “orange crush” in Quebec, where the NDP took the province like a tsunami. Well, Sébastien Dallaire, at Leger Marketing, does a good job in his analysis of the NDP’s Quebec breakthrough.

Rounding out this month’s issue is Anastasia Arabia’s feature on the winning students of the “Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec 2011” competition, and on getting students excited about marketing research – a challenging task, today, with so many evolving technologies vying for the brightest newcomers.

But enough said. It’s time to throw back some eggnog, toss a few logs on the fire, and enjoy the holiday season.

Best wishes to you all.

Quelle année ce fut sur le plan de la révolution; on ne peut être que plus reconnaissant de vivre dans un pays bien gouverné comme le Canada. Ce qui me mène au numéro de ce mois qui est axé sur le gouvernement et ses relations avec notre industrie.

Notre article de fond est une entrevue avec Nik Nanos, un de nos spécialistes nationaux de sondages et ancien président de l’ARIM, qui rumine sur l’industrie de la recherche marketing où les sondages et les groupes de discussions ne sont plus qu’une partie du mélange. Je veux voter à ce sujet, et ce serait tellement mieux si je pouvais le faire en ligne, comme les citoyens de Markham l’ont fait au cours de trois dernières élections. Lisez l’excellent article d’Adam Froman sur le grand bond que représente le cybervote.

On peut spéculer sur tant de choses concernant les élections; il y a tant de variables en jeu que même les meilleurs spécialistes de sondages en restent bouche bée. Allez donc expliquer l’élection fédérale de cette année et l’envoutement orange au Québec où le NPD a balayé la province comme un tsunami. Eh bien, Sébastien Dallaire, de Léger Marketing, nous offre une bonne analyse de cette percée du NPD au Québec.

Pour boucler la boucle ce mois-ci, il y a l’article d’Anastasia Arabia sur les étudiants gagnants du concours Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec 2011 et sur la façon de stimuler l’intérêt des étudiants pour la recherche marketing – une tâche exigeante aujourd’hui, quand tant de nouvelles technologies rivalisent pour recruter les nouveaux venus les plus brillants.

Assez dit. Il est temps de vous verser un lait de poule, de jeter quelques bûches dans le foyer et de profiter de la saison des Fêtes. Meilleurs vœux à tous et toutes.

David Hamburg, Market Research Consultant, Hamburg Consulting Editor-in-Chief, Vue / Rédacteur en chef, Vue • Email: david.hamburg@sympatico.ca • (514) 748-1827 •

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Letter from the President Kimberlee Niziol Jonas

Self-Regulation: The Hallmark of a Strong and Respected Industry

L’autoréglementation : la marque d’une industrie forte et respectée

One of the strengths of the marketing research industry in Canada is the fact that we are self-regulated. Self-regulation means that an industry has in place standards of ethics and practice, enforcement procedures, and other initiatives that serve to protect the public; improve the knowledge, integrity and professionalism of members; and enhance the image and public perception of the industry as a whole.

But no matter how it’s defined, being a self-regulated industry requires dedicated and sustained effort and attention.

We should be proud of our industry’s positioning, and of MRIA’s self-regulatory regime in support of it.

This month, I want to take the opportunity to remind you of some of the key member services and benefits that our association delivers, and which serve to convince government that our industry is legitimate, organized and ethical, thereby preserving our hard-won self-regulatory status.

First and most fundamentally, MRIA’s Code of Conduct and Good Practice is rooted in the statistical science–based practice of marketing research and its history in Canada; in the ICC/ESOMAR Code on Market and Social Research; and in the principles underlying our federal privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA ). Our code applies to all members’ research activities undertaken for the collection and/or analysis of data – from individuals, households or organizations – relating to attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, articles in their possession, or any other characteristic.

Sections of the code are fully binding on members when the phrasing states that a member “shall” or “must” abide by the procedure or action indicated. Violations of the code could result in disciplinary action as per the association's disciplinary procedures, which were revised in 2010.

Hand in glove with the code of conduct, and an integral appendix to it, our Charter of Respondent Rights clearly articulates to Canadians the industry’s commitment to respect respondents’ time and their privacy, and to honour the societal contribution they make by voicing their opinions. The charter

Une des forces de l’industrie de la recherche marketing au Canada est le fait que nous sommes autoréglementés. L’autoréglementation signifie qu’une industrie a mis en vigueur des normes d’éthique et de pratiques, des procédures d'exécution et d’autres initiatives visant à protéger le public, à accroître les connaissances, l’intégrité et le professionnalisme, et à améliorer l’image et la perception publiques de l’ensemble de cette industrie.

Quelle qu’en soit la définition, une industrie autoréglementée doit redoubler de vigilance et d’efforts sérieux et soutenus. Nous avons raison d’être fiers du positionnement de notre industrie et du régime d’autoréglementation de l’ARIM en appui.

Ce mois-ci, je veux saisir l’occasion de vous rappeler certains des principaux services et avantages que notre association offre aux membres et qui servent à convaincre le gouvernement que notre industrie est légitime, organisée et éthique, préservant ainsi notre statut durement acquis d’industrie autoréglementée.

Tout d’abord il y a l’aspect le plus fondamental, le Code de déontologie et règles de pratique de l’ARIM qui est ancré dans la pratique de la recherche marketing fondée sur la science statistique et son histoire au Canada, dans le Code international ICC/ESOMAR de pratiques loyales en matière d’études de marché et d’opinion et dans les principes sous-tendant la loi fédérale sur la protection des renseignements personnels, la Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels et les documents électroniques (LPRPDE). Notre Code s’applique à toutes les activités de recherche de nos membres touchant à la collecte et/ou à l’analyse de données – provenant d’individus, de ménages ou d’organisations – relatives aux attitudes, croyances, articles qu’ils possèdent ou toute autre caractéristique.

Certains articles du Code s’appliquent obligatoirement à tous les membres quand le libellé souligne qu’ils « doivent » respecter la procédure ou l’action indiquée. Les violations du Code peuvent entraîner une mesure disciplinaire selon les procédures disciplinaires de l’association qui ont été révisées en 2010.

Parallèlement au Code de déontologie dont elle est une annexe, la Charte des droits des répondants explique clairement aux Canadiens l’engagement de l’industrie à respecter leur temps et leur vie privée, de même que la contribution sociale qu’ils font en exprimant leurs opinions. La Charte est notre engagement formel envers les Canadiens; elle leur prouve que nous prenons au sérieux

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is our covenant with Canadians; it lets them know that we are serious about our commitment to respecting their rights as research project participants, and it enables them to better distinguish between legitimate research and fraudulent “selling under the guise.”

Our Research Registration System (RRS) is a long-standing, vital, self-regulatory mechanism. The RRS allows invited respondents to obtain independent verification of the legitimacy of a research project before participating in it. It allows our industry to address some of the underlying motivations that have produced a number of serious regulatory threats over the years, threats that potentially could have jeopardized the health of the entire research industry. The RRS proves to the government that our industry is doing a good job of self-regulation by keeping protection of the public and respondents at the core of our activities – especially when combined with the Charter of Respondent Rights.

All good self-regulatory initiatives are rooted in protection of the public and, secondarily, they enhance the transparency and integrity of the industry. MRIA’s Qualitative Research Registry (QRR), however, is a self-regulatory mechanism that benefits the industry as much as it protects the public.

The QRR was created to address the needs of those who do not want to be contacted, or should not be contacted, when recruiting for qualitative research studies. It is a comprehensive “do not call” list of those who have participated in qualitative research, those who have asked not to be contacted further, and those felt by recruiters and moderators to be best served by not being contacted. These respondents are marked as “do not call,” in accordance with MRIA–Quality Research Division guidelines. The QRR works effectively to increase the quality and integrity of the qualitative research process.

Protecting marketing research participants and the societal value they create is serious business. The co-operative relationship that our industry enjoys with Canadians is our bread and butter, and the sine qua non of the industry’s existence.

That cherished relationship is also the reason that privacy and consumer rights are core drivers for the education and continuing professional development that we demand from individual practitioners; for the adherence to high standards that we demand of individual and corporate members; and for the strict measures we maintain as leaders in corporate responsibility.

In closing, as this interesting and challenging year of 2011 winds down, I wish all members a joyous, reflective and rejuvenating holiday season. Above and beyond our holiday gift-giving at this time of year, may we all come to a greater appreciation of the gifts that we experience every day, and be inspired to approach 2012 with a sense of renewal and a takecharge, self-regulatory vigour.

notre engagement à respecter leurs droits de participants à un projet de recherche, et elle les habilite à mieux distinguer entre une recherche légitime et une frauduleuse de « vente déguisée en recherche ».

Notre système d'enregistrement des sondages (SES) est un mécanisme autoréglementaire en vigueur depuis longtemps. Le SES permet aux répondants invités d’obtenir une vérification indépendante de la légitimité d’un projet de recherche avant d’y participer. Il permet aussi à notre industrie de tenir compte de certaines motivations de base qui, au fil des ans, ont créé de graves menaces règlementaires qui auraient pu mettre en péril l’ensemble de l’industrie de la recherche. Le SES prouve au gouvernement que notre industrie fait un bon travail d’autoréglementation en maintenant au cœur de nos activités la protection du public et des répondants – en particulier quand il est combiné à notre Charte des droits des répondants.

Toute bonne initiative autoréglementaire est ancrée dans la protection du public et, de plus, elle améliore la transparence et l’intégrité de l’industrie. En fait, le registre des recherches qualitatives (RRQ) de l’ARIM est un mécanisme autoréglementaire qui avantage l’industrie autant qu’il protège le public.

Le RRQ a été créé pour satisfaire aux besoins des personnes qui ne veulent pas qu’on communique avec eux ou avec qui on ne devrait pas communiquer quand on effectue le recrutement pour des études de recherche qualitative. Il s’agit d’une liste exhaustive des « numéros de téléphone exclus » de personnes ayant déjà participé à une recherche qualitative ou ayant demandé qu’on ne communique plus avec elles, de même que les numéros de celles que les recruteurs et modérateurs gagneraient à ne pas contacter.

Ces répondants sont classés comme ayant un « numéro de téléphone exclu » conformément aux directives de la Division de la recherche qualitative de l’ARIM. Le RRQ améliore efficacement la qualité et l’intégrité du processus de la recherche qualitative.

La protection des participants à la recherche marketing et de la valeur sociétale qu’ils créent est une tâche sérieuse. La relation de coopération avec les Canadiens dont notre industrie jouit est à la base de nos revenus et de l’existence sine qua non de l’industrie.

Cette relation précieuse est également la raison pour laquelle la protection des renseignements personnels et les droits des consommateurs sont au cœur de la nécessité de formation et de développement professionnel continus que nous exigeons des praticiens individuels, du respect des normes élevées que nous exigeons des membres individuels et corporatifs, et des mesures rigoureuses en matière de responsabilité corporative que nous maintenons en tant que chef de file.

En terminant, en cette fin d’année 2011 qui a été si intéressante et pleine de défis, je souhaite à tous les membres une saison des Fêtes joyeuse, calme et vivifiante. Au-delà des dons que nous faisons à cette époque de l’année, je souhaite que nous en venions tous à mieux reconnaître les dons que la vie nous réserve tous les jours et que l’approche de 2012 nous inspire à adopter une autoréglementation vigoureuse de renouvellement et de prise en main de notre situation.

Kimberlee Niziol Jonas, Market Research Manager / Directrice de la recherche marketing, GlaxoSmithKline Email: kimberlee.a.nizioljonas@gsk.com • (905) 814-3500

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Message from the Executive Director Brendan Wycks

Bringing Members Relevant and Timely New Standards and Guidelines: MRIA Adopts ICC/ESOMAR Code

De nouvelles normes et directives pertinentes et opportunes pour nos membres : MRIA adoptera le Code de l’ICC/ESOMAR

As President Kimberlee Niziol Jonas highlights in her message this month, a key credibility test for a self-regulated industry is its code of ethical and practice standards. More specifically, how rigorous is that code, how frequently is it reviewed, how current and relevant are its provisions, and how are they enforced?

In that connection, I’m pleased to share with members news of a bold and critically important standards-related decision that was taken by your MRIA national board of directors in late October.

At a meeting held following a two-day strategic planning session focused on a new Vision 2014 for the association, the board unanimously adopted the following motion:

Comme notre présidente Kimberlee Niziol Jonas le souligne dans son message du mois, le code de déontologie et normes de pratique d’une industrie autoréglementée est son test de crédibilité. C’est-àdire, jusqu’à quel point le code est-il rigoureux, à quelle fréquence le révise-t-on et de quelle façon est-il mis en vigueur? À ce sujet, j’ai le plaisir de partager avec nos membres la nouvelle d’une décision hardie et fondamentalement importante en matière de normes que le conseil d’administration national de l’ARIM a prise à la fin d’octobre.

Au cours de la réunion qui a eu lieu après la session de planification stratégique de deux jours sur la nouvelle Vision 2014 de l’association, le conseil d’administration a adopté à l’unanimité la motion suivante : Que le conseil d’administration de l’ARIM adopte le Code international ICC/ESOMAR de pratiques loyales en matière d’études de marché et d’opinion et remplace de ce fait le Code de déontologie et règles de pratique de l’ARIM par le Code de l’ICC/ESOMAR, auquel s’ajoutera un addenda concis de normes spécifiquement canadiennes, incluant au besoin des exceptions et des normes supplémentaires; et Que le Comité des normes de l’ARIM, se fondant sur les commentaires de l’ensemble de ses membres, soit responsable de • créer un addenda de normes spécifiquement canadiennes; • coordonner la participation de l’ARIM à l’élaboration des modifications et additions futures que proposera l’ESOMAR; • examiner chaque modification ou addition effectuée par l’ESOMAR et recommander au conseil d’administration de l’adopter ou d’ajouter une exception appropriée à l’addenda.

Le Code de déontologie et règles de pratique de l’ARIM a été examiné et modifié en profondeur en 2006-2007 et des modifications et additions mineures y ont été apportées par la suite.

Cependant, il y a eu depuis des changements majeurs dans l’environnement de la recherche marketing. L’utilisation accrue des outils de médias sociaux en recherche et l’arrivée des autres nouvelles technologies continuent d’étendre les frontières de l’éthique de notre industrie et des droits des répondants à la protection de leurs renseignements personnels.

Simultanément, la portée des activités des membres de l’ARIM devient de plus en plus mondialisée. Ils veulent donc des normes plus pertinentes et à jour. Or, étant donné les ressources limitées dont l’ARIM dispose, il est de plus en plus difficile d’assurer la mise à jour et la pertinence constantes des normes existantes, tout

That the MRIA board of directors adopt the ICC/ESOMAR International Code on Market and Social Research, and thereby replace MRIA’s Code of Conduct and Good Practice with the ICC/ESOMAR code, augmented by a concise addendum of Canadian-specific standards, including both exceptions and additional standards as appropriate; and That MRIA’s standards committee, utilizing input from members at large, be responsible for • creating the addendum of Canadian-specific standards • coordinating MRIA’s input to the development of any future changes or additions proposed by ESOMAR • reviewing each change or addition effected by ESOMAR and recommending to the board of directors that it be adopted or that an appropriate exception be added to the addendum.

The MRIA Code of Conduct and Good Practice was last thoroughly reviewed and modernized in 2006-07, with minor changes and additions being made subsequently. However, there have since been significant changes in the marketing research environment. The increasing use of social media tools in research and the advent of other new techniques continue to push up against the industry’s ethical boundaries and respondents’ right to privacy.

Simultaneously, MRIA’s members are becoming increasingly global in the scope of their activity. And they are looking for more relevant and up-to-date standards. Given the limited resources at MRIA’s disposal, however, keeping existing standards 10

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up to date and relevant while adding new ones in a timely manner has become increasingly challenging.

The board of directors unanimously supported the standards committee’s recommendation, based on the following considerations: • MRIA will be able to leverage the capabilities of ESOMAR, a global organization with access to a breadth and depth of international perspectives, and to the critical mass of volunteer and staff resources needed to produce globally relevant standards on a wide range of topics on a timely basis, including staff dedicated to this portfolio. ESOMAR’s recent standards development includes social media research guidelines, mobile research guidelines, and an updated online research guideline that addresses digital fingerprinting and behavioural tracking.

• ESOMAR routinely does a very good job of consulting with national industry associations around the world whenever it updates its code and guidelines or drafts new guidelines. MRIA past-president David Stark currently serves on ESOMAR’s professional standards committee, thereby providing a Canadian voice and perspective.

en ajoutant de nouvelles normes de manière opportune.

Le conseil d’administration a appuyé unanimement la recommandation du Comité des normes en se fondant sur les considérations suivantes : • L’ARIM pourra profiter des capacités de l’ESOMAR, une organisation mondiale ayant accès à l’ampleur et à la profondeur des perspectives internationales, de même qu’à la masse critique de bénévoles et de personnel requise pour produire des normes mondiales pertinentes sur une vaste gamme de sujets, de manière opportune, y compris l’accès au personnel affecté à ce portefeuille.

Les normes récentes élaborées par l’ESOMAR comprennent des directives sur la recherche par médias sociaux et par appareils mobiles, et une directive mise à jour sur la recherche en ligne qui traite de l’empreinte numérique et du suivi des comportements.

• L’ESOMAR a la bonne habitude de consulter systématiquement les associations nationales de l’industrie partout dans le monde chaque fois qu’elle met à jour son code et ses directives ou qu’elle rédige de nouvelles directives. Le président sortant de l’ARIM, David Stark, siège actuellement au Comité des normes professionnelles de l’ESOMAR, y assurant ainsi une voix et une perspective canadiennes.

• Many MRIA members already consult ESOMAR documents for guidance in situations where an issue is not covered in the MRIA code. Indeed, ESOMAR has developed guidelines addressing mystery shopping, passive data collection, observation and recording, and customer satisfaction studies, as well as mobile research and social media research, which MRIA’s code currently addresses only obliquely.

• Un grand nombre des membres de l’ARIM consultent déjà les documents de l’ESOMAR comme guide lorsqu’ils font face à un enjeu qui ne figure pas dans le Code de l’ARIM. En effet, l’ESOMAR a élaboré des directives traitant du magasinage mystère, de la collecte, observation et mise en mémoire passives de données, des études sur la satisfaction de la clientèle, et de la recherche par appareils mobiles et médias sociaux que le Code de l’ARIM ne traite actuellement qu’en diagonal.

• While MRIA members will have to become familiar with a new code, the learning curve will not be steep. ESOMAR’s code is principles-based and much shorter than the current MRIA code.

• Bien que les membres de l’ARIM doivent se familiariser avec le nouveau code, la courbe d’apprentissage ne sera pas trop élevée. Le code de l’ESOMAR se fonde sur des principes et il est beaucoup plus court que le code actuel de l’ARIM.

• Adoption of the ICC/ESOMAR code will enable MRIA to have the best of both worlds. We gain access to timely and relevant global standards, while still having the flexibility to maintain and set specific standards that apply to the practice of research in Canada. For example, we will retain, in a Canadianspecific addendum, MRIA’s disciplinary procedures, our detailed qualitative research standards (which are not currently covered by ESOMAR’s code), our interviewing validation requirements, and references to applicable Canadian laws.

• En adoptant le Code de l’ICC/ESOMAR, l’ARIM pourra profiter du meilleur des deux mondes. Nous obtenons l’accès à des normes mondiales pertinentes en temps opportun, tout en conservant la possibilité de maintenir et de fixer des normes spécifiques s’appliquant à la pratique de la recherche au Canada. Par exemple, nous conserverons, dans un addenda canadien spécifique, les procédures disciplinaires de l’ARIM, nos normes détaillées sur la recherche qualitative (que le code de l’ESOMAR ne couvre pas actuellement), nos exigences en matière de validation d’entrevues, et les références applicables aux lois canadiennes.

• MRIA has played a central role in shaping the development of global marketing research standards through its involvement with ISO over the past decade. The Canadian voice has proven to be influential and highly regarded. The time is ripe for MRIA to leverage our expertise and shape the future development of ESOMAR standards and guidelines, as we are the single authoritative voice of the Canadian marketing research industry and a large player among the 52 national marketing research associations that have already adopted the ICC/ESOMAR code.

• L’ARIM a joué un rôle clé dans le façonnement de l’élaboration des normes mondiales sur la recherche marketing par sa participation à l’ISO au cours de la dernière décennie. La voix canadienne a prouvé qu’elle avait de l’influence et qu’elle était grandement appréciée. Le moment est propice pour l’ARIM de faire valoir notre expertise et de façonner l’élaboration future des normes et des directives de l’ESOMAR, en tant que voix unique qui fait autorité au Canada et comme participante importante au sein des 52 associations nationales de recherche marketing qui ont déjà adopté le code d’ICC/ESOMAR.

Brendan Wycks, BA, MBA, CAE, Executive Director / Directeur général, Marketing Research and Intelligence Association / L’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing Email: bwycks@mria-arim.ca • (905) 602-6854 ext./poste 8724

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In Conversation with

Nik Nanos

Canadian public opinion pollster Nik Nanos talks about his career in marketing research, about the changes he has seen in technology, the industry and its methodologies, about the concept of triangulation, and about the future of marketing research.

Anne Marie Gabriel

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Thank you for agreeing to this interview for Vue. You mentioned three themes you wanted to develop in this article on marketing research – first from the perspective of a practitioner, then as a business owner, and also as past president, board member, and fellow of MRIA looking to the future and to changes ahead.

About 25 years ago, when I started in the marketing research industry, I really thought I’d be spending my career doing telephone surveys and focus groups. But when I look at the type of work that we are doing now, it’s pretty clear, from a professional viewpoint, that the methodologies have become more dynamic, more complex, and far more interesting.

Much of this has to do with the advent of the Internet, not only as a vehicle to reach out to respondents, but also as a very powerful addition to the researcher’s tool kit.

We are doing more triangulation of multiple sources of data and providing a higher level of strategic advice to clients.

In the past, a client had a problem; researchers did primary research and developed solutions. Now what’s happening is that we are doing primary research (phone, Internet, qual) along with secondary desk or data research, business intelligence research, what’s happening on the Internet – all these different intelligence sources are pulled together for a more complex and fulsome picture. It’s robust, richer for the client, and more interesting for the practitioner.

the best and worst example is SurveyMonkey. Whereas organizations in the past retained a research firm, some now experiment or try to conduct their own surveys in-house.

This self-help model poses great risks for clients, in terms of the reliability of the results. It is the equivalent of legal or medical self-help, where people go online and diagnose themselves. Clients should beware of such options.

What I have seen recently is that the pendulum is swinging back, because of issues related to proper questionnaire design and the interpretation of results. Ironically, after one or two experiments with do-it-yourself surveys, in my experience, clients return to researchers; and they actually have a better understanding of the value we provide.

The other risk or threat raised by the technology has to do with standards. When any industry experiences powerful technological change – like the onset of the Internet to deploy research – it’s a bit of a Wild West phenomenon.

There’s a rush to be the first mover. As new technologies emerge, we need new and relevant standards to manage these tools. Part of the problem is that the do-it-yourself movement, coupled with technology, leads to greater risk and the devaluing of research in general. Standards are going to be increasingly important to the industry as a whole, and also to MRIA as the keeper of standards.

What I have seen recently is that the pendulum is now swinging back. After one or two experiments with do-it-yourself surveys, clients return to researchers, and they actually have a better understanding of the value we provide.

Please elaborate on what you mean by “triangulation.”

In my opinion, a higher level of complex triangulation of various sources of data is the future for our industry. We might, for example, do a traditional survey (either online or by phone) for a specific customer base. Then we would do an analysis of respondent behaviour, based on other transactional or activity data that the client has (transactions for example).

While we’re comparing – triangulating – those data sets, we’re also adding focus group research into the mix to hear what people like to do; and then we also look to the Internet or what competitors are doing in the marketplace. All of this results in a rich intelligence gathering output and something in which one can have a very high level of confidence.

Does the new technology pose greater risks or challenges?

There are at least two major risks or threats related to the technology. One is the do-it-yourself phenomenon. Probably

How do you convince clients that the added value of triangulation is worth it?

I ask most clients, “How important is this piece of research to your organization?” And their answer to that question will give us a good idea as to how much they are willing to invest in research. The best example would be if a business is making a major decision around its product mix or the services it provides to customers. Then, it will want to invest the money in order to have all the benefits that a marketing researcher can bring, in terms of a diversity of data sources – quantitative research, focus groups, data mining, and competitive research.

However, if it’s a low-grade priority, businesses are more likely to procure the research in a way that’s akin to buying a pencil: they’ll just go to the lowest-cost provider and not be engaged in the methodology. That approach makes the research more transactional than transformative in nature.

The other thing about technological change is that, in the industry, we really have to watch out for new players from vue December 2011

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outside our research family who will try to eat our lunch.

Because the future of the industry places us at the crossroads of data and intelligence gathering, it also means that there will be other interests – from ad agencies through to communications firms, to people who provide advice on Internet strategies, to management consultants – who would be looking to attempt to deliver a comparable service to marketing researchers. One of the big challenges in the long term is to define the role of the researcher in a way that keeps us at the crossroads as the key players, so we don’t get crowded out by other professions. I believe we are in a lucrative business field, and will continue to be so.

What is the value proposition for gathering the intelligence?

In the future, I expect the value proposition – for the new entrants and other “I” players under our industry umbrella – to be about standards. The association is very well positioned to take many of the standards we have developed for traditional research and apply them to newer research methodologies. Standards can be the main draw, followed by accreditation. Here, MRIA has to make sure that its curriculum continues to reflect all the new areas important to the industry, that it remains a place for dialogue on the standards of intelligence gathering, and that its members keep providing top quality advice to clients.

My personal perspective is that we really have to embrace the “I” in MRIA, because it demonstrates that the industry is with, and not behind, the times. One of the brand vulnerabilities the industry has, is that many of our key members are perceived to be doing only phone surveys, and some members to be resistant to change. By embracing the intelligence portion of the MRIA mandate, we are not only with, but ahead of the times. MR now is a much more rewarding professional experience. We bring much more value and play a higher-level role at the corporate table.

Let’s talk a bit about your experience with the media, changes seen over the past twenty years, and what is happening currently.

When I first started releasing polls in the 1980s, there would be two calls: a call from a journalist to do a substantive interview on the content of the survey; then a second call from another member of the media organization doing due diligence on the research, asking questions about the methodology, the sponsor, and so on. Twenty years ago, many media organizations had a dedicated polling partner, were involved with the research, and had a solid understanding and intimate knowledge of what they were buying.

Fast forward 25 years and what we have now are fewer media partnerships with pollsters, more polls being put out as press releases, and fewer due diligence resources on the part of the media organizations. In the past, there was a type of 14

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internal brain trust, within a media organization, on any public opinion research it was writing a story on. They could properly analyse polls and decide which polls were worthy of being reported. However, today, almost any poll will be reported, because media organizations do not have the same resources and knowledge they had in the past, and there are multiple people writing articles on polls. If the media did the same due diligence on a poll released in the public domain as they would on a consumer product press release for a bar of soap, there would be a significant change in terms of which polls would be reported and how they would be reported.

Not only do we need to engage and educate the media, but we also need to continue to educate research buyers and the general public. The importance of having active research buyers in MRIA is another critical element of a positive future for the association. Research buyers need to be engaged in the greater role that MRIA plays in providing education – on what is good about the research industry and on the function of research – because they are our ambassadors in the executive suite. On the quality front, we have the same challenge that many industries have, in that we have thousands of surveys produced every year, most executed exceptionally well. And yet when that one rogue or poorly designed survey gets out, then people think that it is indicative of how our industry operates.

I think a broader dialogue with the key media players is needed, and a solid first step is to suggest that media treat a polling release as they would any other release and do the same due diligence. This would be a positive and very simple first step.

Should MRIA set up a council of sage advisors on polls as a resource for the media ?

Setting up a council of sage advisors as a resource for the media, as had been suggested by some MRIA members, is a good idea. Many times, however, the devil is in the details. If there were such a council, I would be more comfortable if it were independent, if it were comprised of academics and retired researchers, and not those active in the craft. In this way, the council would be impartial and transparent, and it would have credibility on the issues facing the industry.

What are your views on the decline of the traditional quant survey and its potential replacement by clients’ making sense of the constant streams of data?

We are in an era in which the judgment of researchers, in terms of selecting the right tool for the right job, is paramount. In the past, a few traditional options tended to be the catch-all tools. You have a problem? We’ll do a survey. Doing ads? We’ll do focus group testing. Surveys are not going the way of the dodo bird; however, I do believe the context in which surveys are employed will become narrower and more focused. When looking at all the possible data sources out

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there now, for clients it is like drinking from the fire hose, which is why marketing researchers are needed even more now – in order to make sense of it all. The internal data points are very rich in terms of understanding current customers, but not as rich for companies looking to grow market share, to develop new products, and to expand. In those areas, primary quantitative research, to reach beyond a company’s customer base, will continue to be very important.

I believe the days of the survey as the single, catch-all solution are over. However, surveys will continue to have a significant strategic place as part of a research tool kit, particularly for any company that wants to expand or grow.

Part of the solution to avoiding the trap of reliance on internal data, such as transaction information, is not to drink one’s own bath water. Otherwise, one risks feeding the same core customers and becoming strategically static, as opposed to growing share.

Think of it this way: Apple didn’t invent the computer, the Walkman (am I dating myself?), or the cellphone; but now Apple is at or near the forefront in all those technologies. You have to operate within the current business environment but prepare for the future. When the phone and focus groups dominated, we were strong in those areas. In retrospect, I don’t think there is anything we would have done differently.

Our strategy has always been to provide a high quality offering that the market can take – not be ten years ahead of the market, because that ten-year-ahead market does not exist – yet to be nimble enough to show clients that we are on the cutting edge. Fundamentally, our organization is about three things: working on important and interesting projects, delivering quality innovative solutions, and remaining profitable.

What challenges have you experienced as a marketing research business owner?

I remember when I was national president of MRIA: We focused on getting our standards in place and then worked towards putting muscle on standards. Standards without muscle are merely a public relations exercise.

We have to be careful on one point: The association cannot regulate the quality of work – no association can.

We can only ensure that minimum standards are met and followed. Therefore, we need to be aware that complaints have to be linked to the meeting of standards. We should consider the idea of posting – in the public domain, for public scrutiny – the name of any member who does not abide by standards, who refuses to acknowledge or respond to the breaking of rules, or who refuses to change in order to comply with rules.

It is critical, however, for MRIA to contextualize potential problems with the proper review and public posting process.

Thousands of surveys are conducted each year, and only a handful are problematic. Keep confidence in the system, and stay transparent. Problems are the exception, and not the rule.

Although it is not all sunshine, I am, overall, hopeful in terms of the future. The marketing research industry continues to be an exciting place to work, and many new things are happening.

One challenge in the past was avoiding Nanos team groupthink through the hiring of analysts with similar academic or professional backgrounds. In our firm, the importance of diversity on the research team has become even more paramount in the last decade, with all the changes occurring. Ten or fifteen years ago, we were recruiting out of universities and looking for sociologists and business grads to populate the research analyst jobs.

In the old paradigm, that made complete sense; but now, with our growing complexity, we need a more diverse team with different educational backgrounds – people with geography, creative arts, technology, psychology, businesses and sociology. The profile in future will continue to be much more eclectic, but the binding elements will be an understanding of the research process and adherence to research standards.

Researchers are, increasingly, becoming problem solvers with diverse data sets, and are no longer one-trick ponies (questionnaire designers who read tables and do an analysis).

People generally thought that marketing researchers came out of a specific university stream, with a focus on mathematics.

Now, researchers are more diverse in their skill sets and capabilities.

If you knew then what you know now, what would you have done differently?

Not much. From a business perspective, you don’t necessarily want to be a trailblazer, because trailblazers don’t necessarily make money – they just blaze trails. Our strategy is usually to let others experiment as the first movers, and then Nanos comes in and does a better job.

Closing remarks around discipline, complaints and enforcement?

Nik Nanos, FMRIA, CMRP, is the president and CEO of Nanos Research. A recognized leader in the public opinion research industry in Canada, he is the official pollster for CTV News and The Globe and Mail. Nik has served as a national president of MRIA; he currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Professional Communication at McMaster University and as a research associate professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. vue December 2011

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The ‘Orange Crush’ in Quebec:

What Made It Possible?

The most intriguing and spectacular story of the past federal election was the meteoric rise of the NDP in Quebec – after decades of frustrating results in the province – and the corresponding downfall of the Bloc Québécois. While many predicted a relative decline in Bloc support after twenty years of dominance, no one foresaw this overwhelming shift, the “Orange Crush.” What happened? And how did it happen?

Sébastien Dallaire

S P EC IAL F E AT U R E

Jack Layton had been a popular politician in Quebec for many years, so his charm alone could not explain the rise of the NDP. Support for Quebec sovereignty had not waned significantly by the May 2 election date, so this fact did not explain the fall of the Bloc. Then what explains the turn of events?

A look at public opinion before, during and after the federal election shows that an angry, yet fearful, Quebec electorate had decided it was time to shake things up.

One needs to look further than federal politics alone to understand the genesis of the Québécois vote this past May. Voters in Quebec had been highly frustrated, even angered, by a series of scandals and various allegations of political corruption at all levels of government. Satisfaction with the provincial government was at an all-time low. Distrust and anger ran deep in the electorate’s mind. Yet despite the serious struggles of the Charest government, in the electorate’s mind, the opposition Parti Québécois only partially filled the void.

Quebec voters were seemingly looking for a new alternative and, in many ways, still are. In hindsight, the lacklustre performance of the PQ at the provincial level was, in light of the Charest government’s struggle, a bad omen for the Bloc Québécois at the federal level, because it pointed to this generalized search for something different.

This overall frustration with governments at all levels was visible from the start of the federal campaign, weeks before NDP support rose. In Leger Marketing’s April 4 poll (field ending on April 2), a majority of Quebec voters (54%) said the country was doing worse than before the Conservatives took power in 2006, compared to only 10 per cent who believed it was doing better. Moreover, in this same poll, nearly two-thirds (62%) of Quebec voters also said they were scared by the prospect of a Conservative government. On both accounts, Quebec had, by a wide margin, the most negative outlook of all Canadian voters, and these scores remained constant throughout the campaign. Quebec voters wanted change, and they wanted to stop a Conservative majority.

Yet, in this same April 4 poll, the NDP garnered only 15 per cent of voting intentions in the province, down 5 points from a high of 20 per cent on March 14. The Liberal party also looked stagnant, at 20 per cent, its brand in Quebec still reeling from the sponsorship scandal of the late 1990s. A frustrated and angry electorate had yet to embrace the NDP as the party that could grant both of its wishes.

The NDP clearly had one big advantage in Quebec: it was “new,” since Quebec voters had never considered the party as a clear alternative before. However, until the midpoint of the 2011 campaign, it had never successfully positioned itself as the party that could block a Conservative majority, because it had only one elected MP in Quebec and few high-profile candidates. The Bloc was perceived as the only real protection against a majority, and it had successfully run its 2008 campaign on this premise.

Things started to shift after Jack Layton’s appearance on Quebec’s most popular talk show, Tout le monde en parle, on April 3. Polls conducted after that appearance showed a marked increase in NDP support, some placing the party in second place behind the Bloc. The televised debates that followed served only to reinforce the idea that this rise in support might be more than a temporary blip.

Leger Marketing’s online poll conducted on the night of the English debates clearly showed that Quebec voters viewed Jack Layton as the runaway winner. No less than 59 per cent of Quebec respondents identified Jack Layton as the winner, crushing all opponents. Stephen Harper finished a distant second, being identified as the winner by a mere 17 per cent of respondents. Another 37 per cent of Quebec respondents said they were more likely to support the NDP as a result of the debate, ranking the party far ahead of the second place Liberals, at 14 per cent. Suddenly, the NDP was a real contender in Quebec.

This timeline of events was strongly supported by the results of a post-electoral poll conducted by Leger Marketing on May 5 and 6. A staggering 64 per cent of NDP voters said that they had made up their minds after the televised debates. When presented with a list of seventeen possible reasons why they voted NDP, 45 per cent said they “had had enough of other parties and wanted change”; another 34 per cent said they “wanted to block a Conservative majority and saw the NDP as the best choice to achieve this,” and 33 per cent said that “after twenty years of Bloc Québécois dominance, it was time to move on.” Remarkably, these choices were even more prominent among ex–Bloc supporters who switched to the NDP. The NDP thus stole the Bloc’s key argument that it was the best choice to stop a Conservative majority. Jack Layton’s leadership certainly played a role in triggering this wave, but this reason ranked fourth, at 24 per cent. Specific elements of the NDP’s platform, such as its proposals for health care (15%) or its readiness to re-open constitutional talks with Quebec (9%) had a more limited influence on voter choice.

The orange crush was the result of a deep-seated craving for change and the desire to stop a Conservative majority.

This longing for change is still strong in Quebec. Polls of provincial politics show that a party which does not even exist yet – François Legault’s Coalition pour l’avenir du Québec1 – would win a majority of seats if an election were held today.

Judging by the results of the May 2 federal election, this scenario may not be too far-fetched.

Sébastien Dallaire is research director in Public Affairs and Communications at Leger Marketing. A highly skilled methodologist with a strong background in political science, he is a regular commentator of political polling on national media outlets. Sébastien can be reached at sdallaire@legermarketing.com 1. Since this article was written, the CAQ was officially created on November 14th 2011.

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With the Town of Markham’s implementation of Internet voting in three consecutive elections, the municipality has become a leader in eDemocracy and provided a model research environment for other political jurisdictions across Canada and around the world.

Adam Froman

How Marketing Research Is Helping Canada Gain Recognition as a

Global Leader in

eDemocracy

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The proliferation of technology is fundamentally changing the way governments and their citizens interact. In many countries, digital and social technologies have even become primary channels in the delivery of government services.

Digital technologies have transformed the way people interact with governments of all levels, and governments are now working to catch up. We are experiencing a social revolution in government-citizen relations.

Governments are realizing that the future of eDemocracy is more than simply offering citizens a means to transact or obtain public service information. The future of eDemocracy is about listening to citizens and becoming part of the conversation. Government officials are realizing that simply allowing the conversations to occur, without being involved, can escalate to outcomes that they had never anticipated.

They are also beginning to realize that they no longer have control over the conversation.

As in the business world, the idea of creating meaningful and relevant customer experiences has reached government.

Under the “voice of the customer” concept, governments are now exploring ways to leverage digital technologies to engage their citizens by creating better experiences and more opportunities to interact with government.

Internet voting is one such way.

If Canadians had the option, 80 per cent would choose to vote online in future elections. This statistic is from a national poll that we at Delvinia conducted with our online research panel of savvy Canadian consumers, AskingCanadians, in September 2011, as part of the launch of our latest DIG report, “eDemocracy and Citizen Engagement: The Delvinia Report on Internet Voting in the Town of Markham.” This study was based on data we collected from three consecutive municipal elections in Markham, where Internet voting has been offered as an option.

The idea of using digital experiences such as Internet voting as an option to exercise citizen rights is even more important at municipal than at higher levels of government.

The challenges that municipalities face are unlike those at the provincial and federal levels. The average citizen does not realize the importance that municipal governments have in their everyday lives. And, as a result, the average voter turnout for most municipal elections in Canada has historically been less than 30 per cent.

Delvinia has had the privilege of working with the Town of Markham since 2003, when the municipality chose to introduce Internet voting as an option for its municipal election. At that time, social media were still in their infancy: smartphones were being used only by early adopters; Facebook had not yet become a mainstream brand outside of colleges and universities; and Twitter hadn’t even been created.

At that time, there was very little research on, or recognized researchers supporting, the implementation of Internet

voting. Markham based its decision to introduce online ballots purely on the vision of its town council.

Markham engaged Delvinia to help the municipality communicate this new and innovative voting option to residents. The Town recognized that offering Internet voting would not simply be a “build it and they will come” solution.

Rather, it was embarking on a journey that represented a fundamental change in how Markham voters would expect to participate in future elections. The municipality’s every move would also be monitored and scrutinized by other jurisdictions. There was no turning back.

The first instance of Internet voting in Canada took place in January 2003, when the federal New Democratic Party used Internet ballots to conduct its leadership vote. Ten months later, a group of twelve Ontario municipalities and townships introduced online ballots as a complementary voting method in their local elections. With an electorate of 158,000 (now about 187,000), Markham was the largest municipality to offer online ballots. By 2010, there were 44 municipalities across Ontario that had implemented Internet voting in their municipal elections.

In the nine years since Markham first implemented Internet voting, others have continued to study the proposition of it, while Markham has embraced this new option for casting a ballot and faced the criticisms against it head on. There are valid concerns surrounding the potential risks associated with voter authentication and technical security; however, Markham has approached these concerns with a rigorous and well-managed implementation process, always keeping the integrity of the election procedure at the forefront of its decisions.

In developing and implementing the voter outreach campaign for the elections, Delvinia’s role in working with Markham has been that of a participant in the process as well as an observer of it. We began collecting surveys and publishing reports about the attitudes and behaviours of Markham residents as they experienced the option of participating in the election through Internet voting. Data were collected in the 2003 and 2006 municipal elections, and we released reports after each election, providing insight into voter attitudes and behaviours about this new option for casting ballots.

Given the infancy of Internet voting and the lack of research addressing it in a Canadian context, we knew not only that conducting these surveys would help Markham in understanding the attitudes and behaviours of Markham voters, but also that the research represented the first attempt in Canada to collect longitudinal data associated with Internet voting.

In early 2010, when we began discussing Markham’s plans for the upcoming fall municipal election, we decided to approach the academic community to find a researcher vue December 2011

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interested in building on the data we had collected in the previous two elections. This would be our third study on Internet voting in Markham and, while the first two had been well received, we recognized this area of study was under significant scrutiny by many different audiences. Internet voting pilots are now being considered by provincial election agencies across Canada, and at the federal level, causing opponents to step up the pressure against online voting. We had to find a way to study Internet voting at a standard where the research being conducted could stand the test of this increased attention and criticism.

We wanted to find a Canadian researcher who was willing to join Markham’s journey. Nicole Goodman, a PhD candidate specializing in Canadian political institutions and alternative voting methods, was that person. In partnership with Ryerson University’s Department of Research and Innovation, we secured an Engage Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to offer

• Of the candidates, 78 per cent reported that the option of Internet voting had a significant impact on the campaign, namely, on campaign strategies, mobilization tactics, and voter turnout.

You might think that it would be hard to argue with results like these, that Internet voting should be an option in all elections; but there are still those who oppose the concept.

The research has been fundamental in helping Markham understand the habits and behaviours of residents – in the ways they use technology in their lives and in the ways they interact with government. It has also been instrumental in validating Markham’s decision to continue to offer Internet voting in future elections. In addition, the research has established Nicole as a leading researcher on the implementation of Internet voting in Canadian municipalities.

But all of this goes beyond Markham’s becoming a model municipality that other regions can consult, or even its becoming a pilot site for the implementation of Internet

Of young people from 18 to 24 years of age, 34 per cent said they either probably or definitely wouldn’t have voted in the 2010 municipal election in Markham had Internet voting not been an option.

Nicole the opportunity to become the first Canadian university researcher to study Internet voting in action. Not only would Nicole have access to our previous election data, but she would also have the opportunity to independently determine the survey instrument that would be used for 2010.

The 2003 and 2006 surveys were developed entirely by the Delvinia team. In 2010, however, it was important to ensure that Nicole’s work would be seen as independent; it would have to stand the test of integrity within the academic community. It is within that community that Canada has been most overlooked when it comes to positioning the nation as a leader in the implementation of Internet voting.

In line with Nicole’s research objectives, the scope of the investigation into Internet voting was expanded to include candidates, to seek the attitudes of a broader base of Canadians, and to refine the existing survey instrument being used to probe online voters’ experience with the service.

The result is the report titled “eDemocracy and Citizen Engagement: The Delvinia Report on Internet Voting in the Town of Markham.” Some of the key findings from the report include the following: • Of those that chose the option of voting online in the 2010 Markham municipal election, 99 per cent reported being satisfied with online voting.

• Of young people from 18 to 24 years of age, 34 per cent said they either probably or definitely wouldn’t have voted in the 2010 municipal election in Markham had Internet voting not been an option.

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voting for provincial and federal elections. While so many other government election agencies are still “studying” the potential of implementing eDemocracy solutions such as Internet voting, Markham has been willing to accept the risks, responsibilities and criticisms associated with offering the eDemocracy option to its citizens.

Markham’s actions have been neither reckless nor illconceived. The Town has put the interests of its citizens first and recognized that, in order to keep its citizens engaged with their government, the Town needs to create experiences that are relevant to those citizens.

Much of the criticism regarding Markham’s decision to offer Internet voting has been about voter turnout. However, this criticism ignores the facts: The Town of Markham is truly a leader in embracing the philosophy of eDemocracy, and it has turned the municipality into a model research Les membres de la SCN/CNS bénéficient de taux d’inscription privilégiés à notre réunion annuelle et à d’autres activités régionales. leaders are studying the initiatives that help to realize their vision, rather than studying whether the option should ever have been offered.

Adam Froman, an award-winning entrepreneur and pioneer in the interactive industry in Canada, is the founder and CEO of Delvinia and AskingCanadians. He and his team deliver effective solutions to clients in the financial, government, media, education, and cultural sectors. Adam is a director of MRIA’s Research Agency Council and can be reached at afroman@delvinia.com. The Delvinia Report on Internet Voting in the Town of Markham is available at www.delvinia.com/dig

That university students are interested in marketing research is amply demonstrated by their involvement in Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec, an annual, nationwide advertising competition. But we as an industry need to do more to inform students about our industry and to encourage them to consider marketing research as a career option.

Anastasia Arabia

Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec 2011: Getting Students Excited about Marketing Research One of the greatest challenges of any association, including MRIA, is student involvement. As students are the next leaders of our industry, it is important to foster their involvement in our industry association while they are still in their formative, educational years.

MRIA chapters across Canada have identified unique opportunities to increase student awareness and 22

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involvement with the association. From personal experience, I know that the Alberta Chapter has made student engagement a key goal for the past four years. To further this goal, the MRIA board sets out specific opportunities to speak with students by, for example, participating in career fairs for students at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, and setting up a speakers bureau of board

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admittedly a bit of a mess, but it proved to be a great learning experience.

Understanding there are some privacy restrictions, what can you tell me about the pitch you put together for Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec?

Well, what I can tell you is that our idea was highly experiential in nature, and the product was the main centerpiece. We made a special point to ensure that the Chevrolet Sonic was front and centre stage in all aspects of our campaign.

Did you complete any marketing research (surveys, focus groups, etc.) in the development of your marketing pitch?

The University of Alberta’s Michael Holmes and Maya Ciezynska took home the top prize, each winning a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic.

We did. Quite a lot, actually. We poured through an extensive number of secondary research reports, and we even gathered our own primary research by conducting surveys with post-secondary students.

members who volunteer their time to speak at various educational institutions in the province. The Alberta Chapter also organizes an annual event at universities, where students and practitioners network. Given all of our work in this area, I was absolutely thrilled to hear of the recent win of our local Alberta students at Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec (CNTAE).

CNTAE is a nationwide student competition asking students to create a real-world advertising campaign for a client, in particular this year, Chevrolet Canada. CNTAE is adjudicated by an extremely impressive slate of fifteen judges – mostly presidents, vice-presidents and senior marketing executives from multinational organizations.

University of Alberta students Michael Holmes and Maya Ciezynska took home the top prize in the 2011 competition, each winning a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The first runners-up were Joanna Periversoff and Patricia Wozniak from McMaster University, winning $5,000 scholarships from General Motors. The second runners-up were Amanda and Brittany Miller, sisters as well as classmates at the University of Lethbridge, winning $2,000 scholarships from General Motors.

Over the summer, I had a chance to catch up with Michael Holmes and discuss the competition, marketing research in general, and how MRIA could better communicate with him and his peers.

Did the research uncover anything you were not expecting?

Michael, how did you hear about Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec? And how did you get involved?

I first heard about CNTAE early in my undergrad, right when I was developing an interest in business cases and the competition scene. Actually, prior to winning this year, we had sent in a submission the year before. Our idea was

For the most part, no; we developed a lot of prior hypotheses based on our own intuition as university students, and most of them were confirmed by our research.

Are you able to share any of the key findings, even in a very broad, general sense?

There’s one in particular I could share: One of our theories was that post-secondary students greatly prefer buying used cars over new ones, to the point where they wouldn’t even consider purchasing a new car in the short term. On an anecdotal level, we couldn’t recall many friends or acquaintances, especially fellow university students, that had ever mentioned purchasing a new vehicle before. Our primary and secondary research confirmed that students showed a greater preference towards purchasing used vehicles over new. From that point on, we realized that selling the category of new cars had to be one of our central communication goals. We needed to sell students, not just on the Sonic, but on the appeal of buying a new car in general.

What challenges did the research present?

What opportunities?

Probably the biggest challenge was making sure we were looking and asking for the right information. We didn’t want to track down statistics for the sake of filling up a PowerPoint slide; we really wanted to ensure that the information would help guide our creative choices. I suppose that was the opportunity as well – the chance that we would find that one eye-opening statistic that would serve as a creative spark for an idea. Luckily, we managed to find it. vue December 2011

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How did the research change your process, thoughts, ideas and, ultimately, your pitch?

Our research was instrumental. If it hadn’t been for the information we uncovered beforehand, we wouldn’t have found the inspiration for our campaign.

Did you enjoy the process of collecting and reviewing your own data? Why, or why not?

We enjoyed it – very much so. This might sound strange but to me, at least, I felt that I could trust the data I gathered with my own two hands a little more than data from an external research report.

Do you think the marketing research industry is well-known, on campus, as a career option?

I think the awareness is there to a certain extent but, based on my own impressions as a business student, I can’t say that most of my peers view it as a potential career option.

Why?

To be perfectly frank, I think it’s perceived as being somewhat stale (I completely disagree, by the way). Most marketing majors tend to be attracted to the field because of advertising or branding – the more glamorous aspects, if you will.

I think marketing research is the coolest job on the planet. How do you think I could best communicate that view to you and your peers?

Get industry figures directly in front of business students and have them sell the profession. Marketing research is certainly taught to us, but it’s not sold in a compelling way; and, personally, I didn’t develop a full appreciation for the field until I started getting some real-world experience. I’d imagine that people who have worked in marketing research have a wealth of cool stories to tell, so I encourage them to head out to campuses and share some of them.

What is next for you, Michael Holmes?

I recently accepted a marketing position with Microsoft in Toronto as part of my co-op work experience program.

Once that’s over, I’ll have two semesters of school left, so my focus (in the short term, at least) is on finishing up my degree and taking things from there.

To learn more about Canada’s next top ad exec, go to http://topadexec.com/ The industry themes and challenges that Michael brought to the surface in our discussion of marketing research are well-known to us.

As practitioners, we need to find a way to share face time with students; we also need to figure out ways to translate, 24

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for those who know nothing of the industry, how interesting and fascinating marketing research is.

We need to carve out time to share ourselves and our stories with students. For the most part, marketing researchers are too quiet about what it is that we actually do. For some projects, this reticence would be due to privacy concerns but, at other times, I think it just comes down to busy schedules – one project’s done; move on to another one; life is busy, busy, busy. If you have time and an interesting project or story to share, I would strongly encourage you to find a way to engage with students.

Contact your local MRIA chapter representative, who no doubt has contacts at the post-secondary institutions in your market, and schedule a time to speak with the students.

Speaking from personal experience, I find this an extremely worthwhile use of my time. Campus is fresh and fun. The last time I gave a talk at the University of Alberta, it was part of a panel discussion. I could not believe it when the professor announced it was break time, and was surprised that most of the students stayed and asked questions all through their break. This type of studentpractitioner engagement is highly appreciated and sought out by students.

When you share your time and love of marketing research, students will understand that this industry does not involve sitting in a cubicle, crunching numbers all day.

We can demonstrate that we engage in projects on a very personal level, that we are innovators, thinkers and strategists. Create excitement for the industry and, I believe, students will come to realize that marketing research is a true professional career option.

One other thing our association’s Alberta Chapter always does when visiting a classroom is to bring along MRIA materials: information on upcoming courses, upcoming events, and issues of Vue magazine. Students seem surprised that this industry – one they really know nothing about before we walk in the door – would have not only a wellsupported ongoing education program and a professional industry magazine, but also great local networking opportunities.

Have fun engaging with the students in your market.

If you would like to share your thoughts on student engagement or your trek out to a local post-secondary institution, I would be pleased to chat.

Anastasia Arabia is the owner of Trend Research and the vicepresident of MRIA’s national board. She can be reached at anastasia@trendresearch.ca or (780) 485-6558 ext. 2003.

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36th Annual CASRO Conference: Success in the Redefined World (Palm Beach, Florida, October 19–21) Diane Bowers, president of CASRO, presents Jack Honomichl with a lifetime achievement award (photo credit: JH)

Historic economic and geopolitical unrest, combined with remarkably rapid changes in opinion gathering and business analytics methodologies, have transformed the landscape for marketing research. Surviving in this redefined world was the theme for CASRO’s 36th annual conference, held at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, from October 19 to 21.

Sessions were focused on ways to define success in the new marketplace; helping attendees understand the potential roles of marketing research; and discovering the actions research firms need to take, now, to capitalize on burgeoning opportunities.

Chris Frank (vice-president of Business-to-Business and Communications Research at American Express) and Paul Magnone (director of Global Business Development and Alliances at Openet Telecom) kicked things off with “The Seven Question Meeting,” in which they outlined a series of straightforward, immediately applicable questions that bring a big-picture perspective to problems that often leave executives buried in irrelevant details. Frank and Magnone provided anecdotes from their experiences with numerous start-ups and such iconic brands as American Express, IBM and Microsoft. Afterward, the duo signed copies of their book, Drinking from the Fire Hose: Making Smarter Decisions without Drowning in Information.

Other highlights of the conference included a panel of research industry innovators. Here, moderator Dan Coates (president of Youth Pulse Inc.) probed Gian Fulgoni (executive chair and co-founder of comScore Inc.), Andrew Reid (founder and president of Vision Critical), and John Dick (founder and CEO of Civic Science) about the defining 26

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moments that transformed their businesses and about how they maintain an innovative mindset amid success.

At two separate moderated sessions, attendees heard the valuable perspectives of client-side researchers from CocaCola, Microsoft, Del Monte Foods, Allstate, Kraft Foods, and elsewhere.

A four-week paid sabbatical, back massages, and other tantalizing employee benefits were mentioned during “Powered by People: Fueling the Ultimate Engine of Growth,” a discussion on corporate culture, moderated by Diane Hessan (president and CEO of Communispace).

Matthew Dusig (co-founder and CEO of uSamp Inc.), John Gongos (president and CEO of Gongos Research Inc.), and Jerry Haselmayer (CEO of Seek Research) were hailed for their candour and their stream of ideas on everything from the work environment to interviewing and onboarding, to employee evaluations and morale.

In a presentation entitled “Beyond What Consumers Can’t or Won’t Say,” Dan Hill (founder of Sensory Logic Inc. and author of About Face: Ten Secrets to Emotionally Effective Advertising) discussed the effectiveness and expanding potential of facial coding to tap into the emotional root of decision-making for marketing researchers.

Scott Miller (chair of Core Strategy Group and author of The Underdog Advantage) implored those in attendance to think like insurgents and avoid the conservative, defensive path often taken by market leaders. His points were underscored with entertaining anecdotes from his work with Steven Jobs and such clients as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.

Former CEO, sales trainer, and author Jack Daly provided parting words of inspiration, with practical takeaways and advice on building a cohesive team, empowering employees, and prioritizing customers.

Next year, CASRO’s annual conference will be held at the Four Seasons Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, from October 8 to 11.

Art Flanagan is director of Communications, CASRO. He can be reached at art.flanagan@casro.org or at (631) 928-6954.

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY (QRR) In accordance with federal privacy laws, MRIA’s Qualitative Research Registry (QRR), or Registre de la recherche qualitative (RRQ) in French, was created to provide an ongoing, user-friendly vehicle for tracking those who do not want to be contacted or should not be contacted for qualitative research studies.

QRR is a comprehensive do not call list of those who have recently participated in qualitative research studies, those who have asked not to be contacted further, and those felt by recruiters and moderators to be best served by not being contacted. These respondents are marked as “do not call” in accordance with established MRIA Standards.

All field and full-service companies are encouraged to submit a list of their qualitative respondents for entry into the QRR system each month, including those who do not wish to be contacted.

Participating firms will receive monthly updates of respondents to be screened from qualitative recruitment samples. QRR works effectively to increase the quality and integrity of the qualitative research process, by serving as a control to ensure respondents are not contacted more frequently than is necessary.

However, the ability of the system to function effectively is directly related to the co-operation received from firms who provide recruitment services. If you are a full service research firm or field supplier that is currently participating in the Qualitative Research Registry program – thank you very much and keep up the good work!

If you are not currently participating, please get involved! If you are interested in submitting to QRR, please visit the MRIA website at www.mria-arim.ca/QRD/QualResearchRegistry.asp for further explanation and guidance on how to submit qualitative research participants’ names, along with the required electronic forms.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO: QRRQ@mria-arim.ca

THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES HAVE SUBMITTED NAMES TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY FOR SEPTEMBER 2011 ATLANTIC Opinion Search

ONTARIO Barbara C. Campbell Recruiting Consumer Vision CRC Research Dawn Smith Field Management Services Inc. I & S Recruiting Nexus Research Opinion Search Quality Response R.I.S. Christie Research House Inc. Tann Research/Head Count

QUEBEC CRC Research MBA Reserche Opinion Search Research House Inc.

WEST Opinion Search R.I.S. Christie Research House Inc. SmartPoint Research Inc. Synovate Trend Research

Submission templates and payment forms can be found at www.mria-arim.ca/QRD/QualResearchRegistryForms.asp

Rules of Conduct and Good Practice for Members of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (2007), Section C Rules Specific to the Conduct of Qualitative Research: 20. Recruiters should provide accurate data to the Qualitative Research Registry, where such exists, on a consistent basis and check all respondents against the Registry.

21. Moderators buying recruiting services should give primary consideration to recruiting agencies which submit to the Qualitative Research Registry, where such a service exists, on a regular and ongoing basis.

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PEOPLE AND COMPANIES

• To read more news online, or to submit your “People and Companies in the News”, simply fill out our online form at www.mria-arim.ca/PEOPLE/People.asp.

• The Vue editorial team reserves the right to select and edit your submission for appearance in Vue.

IN THE NEWS

• MRIA is neither responsible for the accuracy of this information nor liable for any false information.

CorbinPartners CEO Ruth Corbin Named to PROFIT’s W100 Ranking of Female Entrepreneurs Dr. Ruth Corbin, founder and CEO of CorbinPartners Inc., has been named one of Canada’s Top Female Entrepreneurs by PROFIT Magazine. Ranking Canada’s Top Female Entrepreneurs on a composite score based on the size, growth rate and profitability of their businesses, the PROFIT W100 profiles the country’s most successful female business owners. Published in the November issue of PROFIT and online at www.PROFITguide.com, the PROFIT W100 is Canada’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurial achievement by women.

To read the complete Press Release go to www.mriaarim.ca/PEOPLE/PDF/ RuthCorbinProfitW100Oct12.pdf

website and email newsletter focused on delivering parenting solutions to busy moms, and AskingCanadians™, an online data collection firm established in 2005, are partnering to create the SavvyMom Research Community. The partnership enhances the AskingCanadians™ specialty panel of moms with kids, and provides SavvyMom with a best-of-breed research community where members will have the opportunity to share their opinions and influence Canada’s top brands – all while earning rewards like HBC points, Aeroplan Miles and entries into draws to win great prizes. “We’re excited to announce this new partnership with SavvyMom, which has created a highly engaged group of Canadian moms that actively share their opinions,” said Delvinia CEO Adam Froman. “The creation of the SavvyMom Research Community in AskingCanadians™ will not only enhance our community with the addition of a highly desirable audience for researchers, but it will create an environment where moms with kids can provide feedback on consumer goods and services.” www.corporate.askingcanadians.com

The management of Matrix Research Limited is pleased to announce that Renwick Babwah, who’s been with the company for over four years, has been promoted to National Field Director. Renwick has been managing our Call Centre, which is a huge challenge, with several interviewing crews calling to many countries of the world almost every day and every night, to complete surveys in several dozen different languages. Just hiring, training and scheduling the native-speaking interviewers and supervisors requires dedication, hard work and a lot of non-standard procedures. Renwick has been doing it all exceptionally well. In his “spare time” he is one of the driving forces behind building our proprietary Ethnic Panel EVA (Ethnic Voice Accord) comprised of thousands of New Canadians, mostly with Chinese, South Asian and Southeast Asian heritage. Thank you, Renwick, for your hard work and we wish you continued success! (905) 707-1300.

MD Analytics Welcomes Geneviève Lavigne, PH.D to the Team in the Position of Research Manager Based in the Vancouver Head Office Prior to joining MD Analytics, Geneviève worked as a research and statistics consultant for the Fernand-Séguin Research Centre (Louis-H Lafontaine Hospital, Montréal) as well as for the McGill University Health Centre (Montréal). Her fields of expertise include human motivation and behaviour as well as psychological and physical health. We’re very pleased to have Geneviève join our rapidly expanding team of marketing research professionals. www.mdanalytics.ca AskingCanadians™ Launches Specialty Panel with SavvyMom AskingCanadians™, a Delvinia company, today announced a partnership with SavvyMom Media to create a branded online research community composed of Canadian moms with young children. SavvyMom Media, which operates SavvyMom.ca, a

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Confirmit Named a Leader in “EFM Vendors, Market Insights Platform Providers” Report by Independent Research Firm Confirmit, the leading global software provider for Customer Feedback, Employee Feedback and Market Research, today announced that it was named a leader in the Forrester Research Inc. September 2011 report: “The Forrester Wave™: EFM Vendors, Market Insights Platform Providers, Q3 2011”.

Ranked among the elite for its data integration, strong survey programming and user accessibility, Confirmit gives market insights professionals a feature-rich enterprise feedback management (EFM) solution that captures the true voice of the customer. The Forrester Wave recognizes superior industry players in the fiercely competitive Enterprise Feedback Management arena. Product evaluations are based on 76 criteria, including specifics in survey programming and management, leadership and current offerings. www.confirmit.com The management of Matrix Research Limited is pleased to announce that Jude Hornborg has been hired recently to help us run the many multilingual telephone surveys we conduct for our multinational clients. These surveys require native speakers to make calls to many countries in all time zones simultaneously, and thus present a number of logistical challenges. Jude’s several years of experience with managing research projects, his hard work and dedication will stand him in good stead while dealing with both Matrix staff and clients. We all wish Jude success in his new job! (905) 707-1300.

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e-Rewards Board of Directors Appoints Kurt Knapton as President and CEO Knapton, who helped launch the e-Rewards® Opinion Panel program in 2000, led the company’s client development and strategy efforts for eight years. He stepped down as Chief Revenue Officer of the business in February 2008 to pursue charitable service and entrepreneurial activities outside the industry, while still maintaining ties with the company in an advisory role.

Previously, Knapton spent a decade as a management consultant, working with Booz Allen Hamilton and Accenture, and most recently serving as CEO of Abundant Energy, L.L.C., a renewable energy innovation company focused on wind and hydro technologies. He earned his MBA from Dartmouth's Amos Tuck Graduate School of Business and was an Honors Program graduate at Baylor University, where he holds a BBA in Management and Information Systems. www.researchnow.com Maritz Looks at ‘Make or Break’ Customer Moments Customer experience specialist Maritz Research has announced a new measurement technique examining “Make or Break” factors in customer relationships. The new approach helps clients spot the key moments in the “customer journey” when attitudes turn “from loyal to devoted, or from passive to disgusted.” The firm says satisfaction surveys traditionally report “results of regression models” which quantify the “derived importance” of various attributes contributing to overall satisfaction – masking strong or weak performance in specific attributes and giving “a paltry understanding” of what really drives overall views of a service or brand. “Make or Break” can be used alongside such studies to give a more informed picture of crucial factors. www.maritzresearch.co.uk Toluna Links Panel Platform with Facebook Online panel and survey technology firm Toluna has launched PanelPortal Connect, which integrates its community management platform PanelPortal with Facebook. PanelPortal was developed to help clients generate customer insight by creating, hosting and managing their own online communities.

The new Connect service enables brands to invite their Facebook fans to join a branded panel community, hosted within their Facebook fan page. Through the platform, Facebook users can register, complete their profile information, and then take part in polls, surveys, discussions, blogs and onsite activities, without having to log out of Facebook. www.toluna-group.com

Peanut Labs Debuts SurveyTool.com™, a Self-Serve Platform for Market Research Peanut Labs, a pioneering technology and social media monetization company and e-Rewards, Inc. (ERI) business unit, today announced the launch of SurveyTool.com, a revolutionary DIY survey software that will empower users to quickly and easily conduct marketing research. SurveyTool.com offers access to Peanut Labs’ sample pool of respondents, sourced from a robust network of social media and gaming sites worldwide such as Facebook, EA, Pogo, and IMVU.com.

Users can register for a complimentary personal account with limited access to survey capabilities. For pricing and additional information, visit www.surveytool.com The management of Matrix Research Limited is also pleased to announce that Anton Nicolaides has been promoted to Vice President, Sales & Client Service. This promotion reflects Anton’s contribution to the growth of the company during the past two years, specifically the telephone surveys conducted for several multinational clients, which require teams of native speakers to call from our Toronto area Call Centre into many regions of the world simultaneously. Anton is also responsible for much of the growth and utilization of our proprietary Ethnic Panel EVA (Ethnic Voice Accord) comprised of thousands of New Canadians, mostly with Chinese, South Asian and Southeast Asian heritage. Thank you, Anton, for your hard work and we wish you continued success! Anton can be reached at (905) 707-1300 or anicolaides@matrixresearch.ca CRTC to Co-Chair International Do Not Call Network The CRTC has partnered with enforcement agencies from around the world to establish an International Do Not Call Network, expanding the scope of the National Do Not Call List that was established in 2008. Enforcement bodies from twelve countries have announced the launch of an International Do Not Call Network, meeting annually to discuss best practices and “encourage the development of robust telemarketing laws” worldwide.

To read the complete press release, go to www.mria-arim.ca/DNCL/NEWS/ CASRO Announces Social Media Research Guidelines CASRO has released Social Media Research Guidelines, which provide an ethical framework for research performed within the unique forums and behaviour systems and the associate varied privacy expectations of the social media space. www.casro.org

The team at Vue wish to thank Hilde Reis-Smart for her generous sponsorship of People and Companies in the News during 2011.

Your Sampling and Data Specialists • • • •

35 years of fast and accurate service Targeted sampling, modelling, profiling Analytics, data appending and enhancement Advanced media analytics

SMRinfo@smres.com • 905.474.5271 • www.smres.com

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QRD Day – Call for Speakers The Speaker Committee is looking for submissions from anyone interested in speaking at the conference.

Your presentation should fit within one or more of our three streams of Learn, Explore and Expand.

Deadline: December 21, 2011 For details, click here. www.mria-arim.ca/QRDCONFERENCE2012/SPEAKINGOPS/default.asp

LEARN EXPLORE E X P A N D

Interested in sponsoring this event? Getting involved?

Please contact: Conference Chair, Dave Kains, Metroline Research Group dave@metroline.ca • (519) 584-7700

February 24, 2012 Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Ontario

I N D U ST RY N E W S

RRS

RESEARCH REGISTRATION SYSTEM Since 1994, the RRS has allowed respondents to verify the legitimacy of a research project; helped legislators and regulators differentiate between legitimate survey researchers and unscrupulous telemarketers, phishers and scammers; and protected the industry from unnecessary and unwanted regulation.

RRS

MRIA’s Research Registration System (RRS) has long been a cornerstone self-regulatory mechanism for the marketing, survey and public opinion research and market intelligence industry in Canada.

Combined with other self-regulatory initiatives such as our Code of Conduct and Good Practice and our Charter of Respondent Rights, the RRS has paid huge dividends in protecting the industry’s positive reputation and good name with Canadians.

All Gold Seal and Basic Corporate Research Agency members of the Association are obligated to register all of their research projects with the RRS, and Client-Side Corporate members are encouraged to require their agency suppliers to do so.

MRIA’s Research Agency Council provides strategic, policy-level oversight of the Research Registration System, and receives aggregate data-only on the System’s performance.

Questions about the Research Registration System should be addressed to Sylvie Corbeil-Peloquin, Manager, Member Services, at 1-888-602-6742 or 905-602-6854, ext. 8726 or scorbeil@mria-arim.ca or, in her absence, Executive Director Brendan Wycks at ext. 8724 or bwycks@mria-arim.ca.

Rules of Conduct and Good Practice For Members of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (2007):

Section A (5) Members must uphold the MRIA Charter of Respondent Rights.

Charter of Respondent Rights, Article 2 You can verify that the research you have been invited to participate in is legitimate in one of two ways. You can either obtain a registration number and the MRIA's toll-free telephone number for any research registered in the MRIA's Research Registration System or you can obtain the contact information of the research director who is conducting the study.

THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES HAVE REGISTERED RESEARCH PROJECTS WITH THE RESEARCH REGISTRATION SYSTEM DURING SEPTEMBER 2011:

GOLD SEAL CORPORATE RESEARCH AGENCIES Acrobat Research Ltd. Advanis Inc. BBM Analytics Blue Ocean Contact Centers Canadian Viewpoint Inc. Consumer Vision Ltd. Corsential ULC Elemental Data Collection Inc. GfK Research Dynamics Harris/Decima Inc. Hay Research International Ipsos Reid Corporation Market Probe Canada MarketQuest-Omnifacts Research MBA Recherche MD Analytics Inc. Nanos Research NRG Research Group Opinion Search Inc. POLLARA Research House Inc. Research Now Synovate Ltd. Tann Research Services Inc. Tele-Surveys Plus / Télé-Sondages Plus The Logit Group Inc. TNS Canadian Facts Trend Research Inc. BASIC CORPORATE RESEARCH AGENCIES Ideaspace Research Illumina Research Partners Nexus Market Research Inc. Parallax Research Inc. INDIVIDUAL MEMBER ORGANIZATION Burak Jacobson Research Partners Inc.

w w w. m r i a - a r i m . c a / R R S vue December 2011

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P RO F E SS I O NAL D E VE LO P M E N T

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THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM…

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Early Bird Cutoff December 15, 2011 Location: Ottawa

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December 19, 2011 Location: Toronto

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303-Marketing Management for Researchers Course Date: January 16-17, 2012

December 22, 2011 Location: Toronto

CMRE Prep Workshop Course Date: January 19-20, 2012

December 27, 2011 Location: Toronto

MCP 60

Moderator Training: Basic Course Date: January 23-25, 2012

January 02, 2012 Location: Toronto

MCP 20

Market Segmentation Research Course Date: January 26, 2012

January 2, 2012 Location: Toronto

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401-Online Research, Best Practices and Innovation Course Date: January 27, 2012

January 5, 2012 Location: Toronto

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204-Qualitative Marketing Research Course Date: February 2, 2012

January 6, 2012 Location: Toronto

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403-Advanced Qualitative Marketing Research Techniques Course Date: February 3, 2012

January 12, 2012 Location: Ottawa

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403-Advanced Qualitative Marketing Research Techniques Course Date: February 9, 2012

January 18, 2012 Location: Toronto

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402-Advanced Analysis Techniques Course Date: February 15-16, 2012

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Only offered once this year!

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Professional Development

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www.mria-arim.ca/EDUCATION/CoursesByLocation.asp

P RO F E SS I O NAL D E VE LO P M E N T

Mr. CMRP Goes to Ottawa – and Toronto, Quebec, Victoria, Fredericton, Winnipeg ...

MRIA Institute for Professional Development Fergus W. Gamble, CMRP In earlier reflections on the CMRP (Certified Marketing Research Professional), I have commented upon this designation’s becoming an industry standard in terms of employment within either supplier or client organizations.

In addition, it is commonly mentioned that clients should also have an obligation to set the CMRP as a minimum standard for people involved in the development, execution and analysis of their projects.

Of course, missing from this discussion, at least so far, is the role the various levels of governments might play in the much wider adoption of the CMRP. Now, do not panic and think I am going to advocate that we demand the CMRP be entrenched as a legal obligation for anyone practising marketing research in Canada. MRIA prides itself on its self-regulatory abilities, so I am definitely and decidedly not going there.

Governments are significant participants in our industry (although much reduced federally, of late) and noted for the establishment standards others follow. Therefore, this sector can make a significant contribution to how our industry progresses on a professional level. Establishing government guidelines similar to those often suggested for corporate clients – such as making the CMRP a hiring standard and a client-servicing standard – could go a long way toward shortening the time frame of industry-wide acceptance of the CMRP. Many of us, both within MRIA’s education portfolio and outside it, believe that the CMRP can and should become our industry’s widely held and common standard. More advanced and specialized designations may come in time; however, this is a critical juncture for the establishment of an identified, obtainable professional standard to which we can all look as a mark of professionalism and assured quality of performance.

There is no attempt here to establish the CMRP as an elite group of practitioners, despite what some may think.

The CMRP is not an exceptional standard, but our initial one. The courses are numerous and the CMRE (Comprehensive Marketing Research Exam) requires a significant effort; but I would argue that these requirements are similar to, and no more demanding than, those demanded in postgraduate diploma programs. The fact that graduates from these programs are usually snapped up quickly by the industry indicates that they offer a recognized value to both the students and their eventual employers, be they private sector or public.

There remains the major issue of what to offer to or demand from the near majority of MRIA members who do not have or need a CMRP, but who have acquired the experience, skills and knowledge needed to perform at an equivalent level, at the very least. Merely granting a CMRP on the basis of experience is not an option, but neither is expecting well-established professionals to follow a program developed for relative novices. Therefore, I am urging for the development of a compromise that will provide a means to gain many more of our deserving industry practitioners as holders of the CMRP, thereby making that designation a true and self-sustaining standard.

Until then, I again ask the leaders in the industry (on all three sides: government, supplier and industry) to examine their practices in hiring and contracting marketing research activities, and to include consideration of the CMRP designation as a mandatory standard.

Fergus Gamble, CMRP, has been a member of MRIA-PMRS for over thirty years. He was a student in the first formal education course, helped organize the initial PMRS annual conference, and has served as chair of both the Membership and the Special Projects Portfolios. Fergus is president of Radix Market Research Inc. and can be reached at fergus.gamble@radixmr.com Retired CMRPs and Fellows are not required to accumulate points

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GET YOUR CMRP Designation!

The CMRP (Certified Marketing Research Professional) designation signifies a high level of knowledge and capability in marketing research theory and practice, and adherence to rigorous ethical standards set out in MRIA’s Code of Conduct and Good Practice.

By achieving a CMRP designation you: • Confirm your broad competency and mastery of theoretical and practical knowledge required to maximize value to your organization and clients; • Better position yourself for career advancement and greater earning power; • Demonstrate your commitment to continued professional development and to upholding the highest level of professional ethical standards.

The CMRP can be obtained by writing the Comprehensive Marketing Research Exam (CMRE).

The next CMRE will be held on February 3, 2012 - Application deadline: January 6, 2012 and on June 29, 2012 - Application deadline: June 1, 2012. Apply now!

There are two ways to qualify to write the CMRE: • You have completed MRIA’s Institute for Professional Development program of twelve core courses (or equivalent courses from another academic institution) and have at least two years of professional marketing research experience; or • You select to “Challenge” the CMRE, if you have at least eight years of marketing research experience, are confident you meet the knowledge requirements set out by the Competency Requirements document and have successfully completed the Core course “102-Ethical Issues and Privacy in Marketing Research.”

CMRE Prep Workshop: Prepare for the Exam!

A Prep Workshop is available for those who want to brush up on material and on exam techniques, to prepare for the CMRE. This two-day CMRE Prep Workshop will be offered in Toronto on January 19-20, 2012 and on June 14-15, 2012. The enrollment to this unique Workshop is limited to 15 registrants per workshop, so don’t delay and reserve your seat TODAY. All CMRE applicants will also be sent a very detailed, comprehensive CMRE Study Guide to assist exam writers in preparing for the CMRE. The Guide is sent automatically once registration has been completed and is FREE. The Study Guide is also available at no cost to MRIA members in good standing who are considering writing the CMRE exam in the future. To access this guide please visit www.mria-arim.ca/EDUCATION/PDF/Studyguide.pdf

MRIA Institute for

Professional Development

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For more information on the CMRE, please visit: www.mria-arim.ca/EDUCATION/CMRE.asp or contact us at education@mria-arim.ca

MEMBERSHIP PROMOTION

NOW

is the time to enroll new staff members and receive

13 months for the price of 12

In December, new members paying MRIA annual dues and fees will receive a free additional month as membership will be valid until December 31, 2012.

New practitioners with less than two years of work experience in the industry can also join or renew at a reduced price.

Mark Your Calendar 2012 Membership Dues and Renewal Process The 2012 Membership dues and fees are now available through the MRIA Portal.

The deadline to renew your MRIA membership, both Individual and Corporate is: January 31, 2012 Please note that until January 31, 2012, Individual members working for a Corporate member of MRIA can benefit from a Group Discount on their Individual membership dues.

Visit www.mria-arim.ca/MEMBERSHIP/CorporateDuesandFees.asp

To join MRIA go to the MRIA Portal at www.mriaportal-arimportail.ca, where you will be able to join the Association or renew your membership online, simply and efficiently.

For more information, contact us at membership@mria-arim.ca

CO L U M N IST S

for surveys at a recent gathering of intellectual property lawyers in Quebec, urged the attendees to consider other social science options that might serve them better in many circumstances.

Brad Griffin It may be time for the Duck of Convergent Validity™ to Ipsos Public Affairs come to the rescue. “If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, Not too long ago, I was part of precious few who felt that has feathers like a duck,” goes the saying … well, you know the qualitative researchers and clients were racing, somewhat rest: “it’s probably a duck.” That is the principle of convergent blindly, towards online qual. I was of the opinion that tradvalidity. One piece of evidence may be tentative, two more itional, in-person qual fostered deeper discussion and thus persuasive, and, as independent pieces of evidence pile up, all of more meaningful insights. I also felt that having a trained them converging on the same result, they give the decisionmoderator physically present to experience the verbal and maker more and more confidence. The field of Bayesian non-verbal responses was of paramount importance. This statistics is based, in part, on this principle. precept was especially true in my space – public affairs reA survey by itself has something to offer. When its results are search – where people, when discussing social issues, can get combined with, say, statistical evidence from the Internet, off topic pretty quickly and moderator control is essential. theory and data from the marketing literature, the results of a Now, more than ever, I am starting to realize that online qual need not be a replacement or threat to traditional qual, market reconnaissance, even data from a survey conducted through another modality – and they all point to the same but rather a new form of qual altogether. Take, for example online, technology-enabled ideation techniques. Ideation has conclusion – then one can say the results of any one of the studies have “convergent validity.” been around for a while. Essentially, it is used to facilitate Convergent validity was applied to the original evidence in brainstorming, integrated thinking, cross-functional colthe Supreme Court Masterpiece decision. While the court laboration, and strategic planning. However, the industry is dismissed the small-scale survey portion (for reasons new to now leveraging technology and software to create a highprevious guidelines for survey evidence), the court’s analysis energy, interactive and efficient alternative to more traditionrelied on the non-survey portions of the evidence, which had al meeting approaches. More specifically, participants are come to the same conclusion as the survey. Two benefits from working together – on computers (in person and/or remotely) that decision therefore arise: First are certain new guidelines to as well as via teleconference – toward a common goal in a keep surveys pertinent to the court’s interests. Second is concollaborative manner. firmation that other forms of consumer expertise may prove Aside from minimizing the need for travel and other direct reliable, valid and relevant. costs (e.g., multiple facility rentals), the online/tech–based nature of the tool enables us to leverage efficiencies with analysis, because data are collected electronically. The realRAC time electronic format also allows for simultaneous input MRIA’s New Online Portal Application: The Research and data sharing, which stimulate discussion and help draw Registration System (RRS) meaningful conclusions. As such, participants become Sylvie Corbeil-Peloquin very connected to the results – because they can see them Manager, Member Services, MRIA unfolding and being analysed in real time – resulting in an increase in their overall buy-in to the process and producing The Research Registration System (RRS) is MRIA’s most results that are much more focused and actionable. important self-regulatory mechanism. The RRS program Tools like this have excited even us, (former) qual allows research agencies to register their marketing research traditionalists. projects with MRIA so that respondents from the public can verify the legitimacy of a project, express their concerns, or A DUCK WALKING THROUGH lodge their complaints.

THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION MRIA’s efforts have led to greatly increased use of the RRS Ruth M. Corbin, CMRP program: more research agencies and more research projects CorbinPartners are registered every year. Calls from the public now receive responses from an MRIA staff member rather than a Surveys have come under different forms of critical review by subcontractor. courts. Internet surveys are at the stage of cautious review, In January 2012, MRIA will launch a new online RRS courts and research professionals alike being aware of the application, to be accessed by research agencies through the limitations of these surveys, particularly when conducted MRIA Portal. This new portal application will be confidential without optimizing quality control. Marketing professor Dr. Jacques Nantel, invited to comment on opportunities and user-friendly for the agencies that register projects, while

QUALITAS

The Power of Online, Real-time Collaboration

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CO LU M N I ST S

allowing them to modify the parameters and access reports for projects they have registered in the RRS. Since a large proportion of the research projects registered in the RRS program are online projects, the public will also be able to go online to validate the legitimacy of a research project, through a safe query capability, linked on a real-time basis to the RRS database. Any question, comment or complaint expressed by the public, either online or over the phone to an MRIA staff member, will automatically generate emails to the agency that registered the project and provide agency contact information, should a member of the public want a reply from that agency.

This new and improved online RRS application is sponsored by the RAC, which believes that the application will provide more flexibility, value and access, as well as better customer service – all key elements that will allow the RRS program to continue to grow in the future.

More information on the new RRS portal application will be sent, mid-December, to all research agencies collecting data from respondents.

member of MRIA’s national board. Last year at the annual conference, Joseph hosted an event to share with client-side researchers his plan and vision to elevate research and collaboration within the industry.

The key objectives of the CSRC are to (1) engage the community and our internal clients on why research matters, (2) inspire researchers and internal clients to embrace new techniques, and (3) collaborate within the community to harness best practices.

Throughout the year, the CSRC holds events that showcase research from a client-side perspective. We encourage all members of the research community to participate in these events.

The CSRC also asks its members to participate in surveys that help the council focus on areas of interest and concern.

We strongly encourage all of you to participate and make your opinions count. Additionally, an open forum entitled “Ask CSRC” encourages members to bring forward comments and areas of interest.

CSRC

The CSRC is made up of Joseph Chen, chair (Unilever) John Tabone, vice-chair (CICA) Anne Marie David (Merck) Susan Innes (BMO) Kristian Gravelle (Kraft Canada) Kira Murdock (Teletoon Canada) Tracy Bowman (Parks Canada) Kenneth Brinston (CMHC) Vinu George (Kellogg) Gyan Harshvardhan (Whirlpool) Hastings Withers (PMB) Katie Law (McCain Foods) Kamal Sharma (Sobeys) Kenna Ranson (City of Edmonton)

CSRC: What’s in an Acronym?

Kristian Gravelle Kraft Canada

We group a few letters together and we assume that everyone knows what they mean. CSRC stands for Client-Side Researcher Council. This is an official council of MRIA. The CSRC’s aim is to assist client-side researchers to learn more about the changing environment of marketing research, and about the experiences of other client-side researchers. It also strives to promote and elevate the level of research. Recently, the CSRC has been looking closely at the impact of social media on research and on the opportunity to mine data.

The CSRC members are nominated and elected by peers.

The chair, Unilever’s Joseph Chen, also sits as a permanent

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Connecting the A I R M Pixels and Tweets # Wednesday, January 25, 2012 St. Andrew’s Club and Conference Centre

Jan. 25.12

www.mria-arim.ca/netgain6

Net Gain 6.0 conference is about innovation and thought leadership, and is scheduled for Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at St. Andrews Club and Conference Centre in downtown Toronto. We are offering a half-day workshop with Annie Pettit on January 24, from 8 am to Noon EST - reserve your seat in both events and SAVE.

Join Us! Registration Now Open!

Seating limited to 150 and has SOLD OUT in the last two years. Register early, at discounted rates. www.mria-arim.ca/NetGain6/REGISTRATION/

Early bird deadline: January 13, 2012 Final Registration Deadline: January 20, 2012

Advance Ticket Prices:

Confirmed Speakers Betty Adamou (gamification) CEO and Founder of Research Through Gaming Ltd. Adam de Paula (behavioural economics) Managing Director, Sentis Market Research, Inc.

Net Gain 6.0 only Members Early Bird

Members Regular

Non-members Early Bird

Non-members Regular

$349

$389

$499

$549

Students $125

Workshop only “Learn to Love about Blogging and Twittering” Half-day Workshop with Annie Pettit

Members Early Bird

Members Regular

Non-members Early Bird

Non-members Regular

$149

$179

$229

$249

Students $100

Special Offer: Register for both Events and Save $50 Members Early Bird

Members Regular

Non-members Early Bird

Non-members Regular

$448

$518

$678

$748

Students n/a

Workshop: Learn to Love about Blogging and Twittering: An MRIA Workshop with Annie Pettit

Bob Fawson (mobility research) Chief ASE Officer at SSI Indivar (Indy) Kushari (biometrics) Senior Vice President, Ipsos, ASI, Toronto Bernie Malinoff (gamification) President at element54 Lenny Murphy (future trends) Editor-in-Chief of GreenBook Blog and CEO of BrandScan 360 Julie Wittes Schlack (insights and co-creation) Senior VP, Innovation and Design, Communispace

Call for Sponsors All sponsors will be acknowledged on the MRIA website, in Vue Magazine, in eblasts and Pulse, in recognition of their support. For more information go to www.mria-arim.ca/NetGain6/SPONSORSHIP/

Where: St Andrew’s Club and Conference Centre, Toronto, ON When: Tuesday Jan 24, 2012 8:30 - 9:00 AM Continental breakfast 9:00 - NOON Workshop with coffee/tea and break snacks

Net Gain 6.0 co-chairs

Learn about:

Marketing and Communications: Anne Marie Gabriel – amgabriel@mria-arim.ca

• the basics of starting to tweet and blog • the different types of twitter clients and blogs • the tricks, shortcuts and tips about tweeting and blogging • the language, including hashtags, 140, bit.ly, RSS • tweetdeck, socialoomph, Klout, RSS and other third party plugins and apps • the multi-interaction with Twitter via your cell, rss feeds, email • promoting your blogs and getting yourself tweeted and retweeted • what works and what does not work in being successful tweeters and bloggers

Sandy Janzen – sandy.janzen@ipsos.com Cam Davis – camdavis@sdrsurvey.com

Registration: Erica Klie – eklie@mria-arim.ca For updates on speakers and the programme visit www.mria-arim.ca/NetGain6/NEWS/