VUE Magazine, January/February 2012

vue

the magazine of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

UNDERSTANDING

Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40033932

YOUR BRAND IN THE DIGITAL WORLD Is More Than Impressions and Page Views

The Digital Researcher: Exploring the Digital Universe and Its Implications Marketing Research: What to Expect in 2012 Engage Consumers to Understand Them Better But Beware the Impulse Buyer

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

vue VUE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY THE MARKETING RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE ASSOCIATION TEN TIMES A YEAR

Cover: Corrine Sandler In this month’s features: (L to R) Corrine Sandler and Peter Skrastins, Christian Mueller, Pat Molley ADDRESS

FEATURES 10 UNDERSTANDING YOUR BRAND IN THE DIGITAL WORLD IS MORE THAN IMPRESSIONS AND PAGE VIEWS Fresh Intelligence Research takes an approach to understanding a brand that employs the company’s Digital Fresh Intelligence, a form of analysis whose connected consumers are real shoppers.

by Corrine Sandler and Peter Skrastins 14 THE DIGITAL RESEARCHER: EXPLORING THE DIGITAL UNIVERSE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS Researchers at ESOMAR’s “Best of – Canada 2011” meeting in Toronto talked about their recent experiences with social media and the effects of those media on digital research.

by Christian Mueller 18 MARKETING RESEARCH: WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2012 The big marketing research trends in 2012 will include a growing mobile sector, the emergence of gamification, and social media’s exploration of how traditional surveys are adapting to the evolving MR market.

by Pat Molloy 22 ENGAGE CONSUMERS TO UNDERSTAND THEM BETTER BUT BEWARE THE IMPULSE BUYER A wine agent discusses the ins and outs of sales with the LCBO, the nature of in-store wine tastings, and the problems of impulse purchases for marketing research.

by Zissis Parras

COMMENTARY 4 5 6 8

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

INDUSTRY NEWS 25 26 29 30 32

Interview with Monica Alfonso Getting a Seat at the Table Qualitative Research Registry (QRR) Research Registration System (RRS) People and Companies in the News

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 34 Education Courses 35 Learning in the 21st Century

COLUMNISTS 36 36 36 37 37

Standards Brave New World RAC Innovation and Creativity The Court of Public Opinion

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 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@bell.net 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

2012 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: January/February, 2012 © 2012.

All rights reserved. Copyright rests with the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association or the author.

All rights reserved.

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.

All requests for permission for reproduction must be submitted to MRIA at publications@mria-arim.ca.

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

38 Qualitas Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40033932 ISSN 1488-7320

COM MEN TARY / CO MME NTAI R E

Editor’s Vue David Hamburg

Another new year: a time to look back, a time to look forward, a time for the new, a time for the old.

We’ll do it all in this year’s first issue of Vue. Christian Mueller, our new associate editor, takes a look back at one of our industry’s premier events, in his piece, “The Digital Researcher: Exploring the Digital Universe and Its Implications,” a review of ESOMAR’s “Best of – Canada 2011” meeting, which was held in Toronto this past November.

Our cover story, on branding in a digital world, is cowritten by Fresh Intelligence’s Peter Skrastins and Corrine Sandler. This piece leads us into the future, into a world that will be defined on the web. We’re still working on how to measure the staggering amount of online data, and our main feature does a great job of wrapping our heads around this brave new world.

While most of us were busy toasting in the new year with our favourite spirits, we probably did not even consider the thought process behind our selection. Why did we try out something different, or why did we stick with the tried and true? In his piece on engaging consumers at the LCBO, Zissis Parras, brand manager of retail sales at the Kolonaki Group, explains how we make these most pleasurable choices.

Wrapping up this issue’s main features is Pat Molloy, CSO of Confirmit, with his insightful article, “Marketing Research: What to Expect in 2012.” Mobile expansion leads the author’s predicted trends for the upcoming year, probably not a surprise for anyone, anywhere.

Whatever lies ahead for us in 2012, it will be marketing researchers who make sense of it all.

Une nouvelle année commence, c’est donc le moment de regarder derrière et devant, et le moment du nouveau et de l’ancien.

Nous ferons tout cela dans le premier numéro de Vue de l’année.

Christian Mueller, notre rédacteur associée, nous ramène vers un des principaux événements de notre industrie dans son article The Digital Researcher: Exploring the Digital Universe and its Implications, qui est un bilan de la rencontre « The best of –Canada 2011 » de l’ESOMAR qui a eu lieu à Toronto en novembre.

Notre article-couverture sur les stratégies de marque dans le monde numérique est coécrit par Peter Skrastins et Corrine Sandler de Fresh Intelligence. Cet article nous transporte dans le futur, vers un monde qui sera défini sur la Toile. Nous cherchons encore la façon de mesurer la somme stupéfiante de données en ligne, et notre principal article réussit admirablement à nous introduire dans ce nouveau monde audacieux.

Alors que la plupart d’entre nous portions un toast au nouvel an avec nos meilleurs alcools, nous n’avons sans doute pas songé un instant au processus mental derrière notre sélection.

Pourquoi avons-nous essayé quelque chose de différent ou, pourquoi sommes-nous restés fidèles à ce que nous connaissions bien? Dans cet article sur la façon d’aborder les clients à la LCBO, Zissis Parras, gestionnaire de la marque des ventes au détail chez le Kolonaki Group, explique comment nous faisons ces choix les plus agréables.

Pat Molloy, chef de la stratégie chez Confirmit, conclut le tout par son article perspicace intitulé Marketing Research: What to Expect in 2012. L’expansion des dispositifs mobiles mène les tendances que l’auteur prédit pour l’année à venir, ce qui ne surprend probablement plus personne, où que ce soit.

Quel que soit ce qui nous attend en 2012, ce sera les praticiens de la recherche marketing qui démêleront tout ça.

David Hamburg, Market Research Consultant, Hamburg Consulting Editor-in-Chief, Vue / Rédacteur en chef, Vue • Email: david.hamburg@sympatico.ca • (514) 748-1827 • 4

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COM M E N TARY / COMMEN TAI R E

Letters to the Editor Dear David: How can Adam Froman claim that 80 per cent of Canadians would choose to vote online in future elections when the source of his data is an online panel? (See the December 2011 issue of Vue, page 19.)

It’s like some published studies I’ve seen, purporting to determine the incidence of online shopping among Canadians, again based on responses from an online panel.

Clearly, it’s inappropriate to ask questions about attitudes and behaviour pertaining to online activities within a sample drawn from an online panel and then to project those findings to all Canadians.

Chris Commins

Response from the Author “If Canadians had the option, 80 per cent would choose to vote online in future elections.”

This statistic is from a national AskingCanadians poll that we at Delvinia conducted 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.”

The reality is that the vast majority of Canadians are now online, and any skew that may potentially come from the use of an online panel would be insufficient to invalidate the insight that the majority of Canadians are prepared to adopt Internet voting.

The bus has left the station. People want to have the choice and control to vote however they want. Municipalities like Markham understand that. More importantly, the Town understands that governments need to embrace digital technologies as an enabler of democracy and as an opportunity to engage citizens.

Adam Froman CEO, Delvinia afroman@delvinia.com

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COMMEN TARY / CO MME NTAI R E

Letter from the President Kimberlee Niziol Jonas

New Strategic Vision Focuses on Embracing Change and Growing the Association

Nouvelle vision stratégique d’appropriation des changements et de croissance

“The journey of one thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

« Un voyage de mille milles doit commencer par le premier pas. » – Lao Tzu

Our first step in understanding MRIA’s future direction was to conduct a member survey requesting strategic plan input, in the summer of 2011.

Responding to that survey invitation, members expressed a strong desire for MRIA to become a more proactive and nimble association by • addressing emerging issues and trends in our global marketplace • advancing industry practices through a focus on innovation • being a thought leader on new research methods, technologies, and social media • generating new ways of thinking • providing a fresh perspective.

Notre premier pas vers la conception de l’orientation future de l’ARIM a commencé par un sondage des membres en septembre 2011visant à obtenir leurs commentaires sur le plan stratégique.

Dans leurs réponses à l’invitation du sondage, les membres ont exprimé un désir très fort de voir l’ARIM devenir une association plus proactive et souple dans sa façon de : • aborder les nouvelles questions et tendances dans notre marché mondial; • faire progresser les pratiques de l’industrie en se concentrant sur l’innovation; • être un chef de file de la réflexion sur les méthodes de recherche, technologies et médias sociaux émergents; • générer de nouvelles façons de penser; • offrir une nouvelle perspective.

That key input was front and centre when your national board of directors met for a strategic plan development workshop in late October, at which time defining a new three-year vision for MRIA was the first order of the day.

While our Vision 2014 is still being refined and wordsmithed (it will be made public as part of our 2012–14 strategic plan at the end of March), I can tell you that it will point us in a bold new direction.

Our industry is undergoing rapid, sweeping change at this time, and we need to embrace it and the players who are the change agents.

In that same vein, I found it interesting and reaffirming to read the following in a 2011 recap published in Daily Research News Online (DRNO) on January 9, 2012:

Ces idées clés étaient au cœur de la rencontre de votre conseil d’administration national à la fin octobre dans le cadre d’un atelier sur le développement stratégique dont le but principal était de définir la nouvelle vision de l’ARIM pour les trois années à venir.

Bien que nous en soyons encore à peaufiner les termes de notre Vision 2014 (qui sera rendue publique avec notre plan stratégique 2012–2014 à la fin mars), je peux vous assurer qu’elle nous orientera dans une direction audacieuse. À l’heure actuelle, notre industrie vit des changements rapides et profonds, et nous devons nous les approprier, de même que les joueurs qui sont les agents des changements.

Dans un même ordre d’idée, j’ai trouvé le résumé de 2011 suivant dans le Daily Research News Online (DRNO) du 9 janvier 2012 à la fois intéressant et probant:

Every month Daily Research News publishes over 150 stories from the market research industry and 2011’s grand total of items was 1,886. So which of them grabbed you? Features

« Le Daily Research News publie chaque mois plus de 150 articles provenant de l’industrie de la recherche marketing pour un total global de 1886 en 2011. Alors, lesquels vous ont

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COM M E N TARY / COMMEN TAI R E

Editor Teresa Lynch looks at the most read stories.

Unsurprisingly the top (ongoing) story of the year, by a large margin, was the Ipsos purchase of Synovate. … Seven of the top 20 stories involved it. …

In terms of techniques, way out in front this year is social media. Three of the top 20 stories concern some form of social media enterprise, and the overall top story – perhaps a surprise – concerns U.S. Internet marketing and analytics specialist HubSpot acquiring social media management platform onefort. Another acquisition, that of Aegis group company iProspect buying social media intelligence specialist ICUC Moderation Services (ICUC), is number seven on the list, and CRM specialist Merkle launching a social media measurement division is 10th. Of course the secret of having a social media story attract a lot of attention is to use social media, and the no.1 ranking reflects the story’s being “picked up” on various networks. (Find the full article at www.mrweb.com/drno/news14806.htm) Certainly, industry consolidation as well as the rapid rise and prevalence of social media research – as indicated by their importance to industry players who read DRNO – are two of the many changes altering MRIA’s landscape as a voluntary, self-regulatory industry and professional association.

And to survive and thrive, MRIA will have to (1) embrace change more promptly and fully than in the past, (2) redefine the bounds of the industry it governs and represents, and (3) grow the association.

In Chinese astrology, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. It is written that there were, more than 4,000 years ago, two large and many smaller tribes in China, each with an animal as its emblem. When the two large tribes unified, they chose the dragon as their symbol. Seen as a powerful, almighty king made up of parts of different animals – tiger, fish, snake and eagle – the dragon was not regarded as a domineering, threatening and evil leader, but rather as one that was strong and wise, because it was the sum of its different parts.

In growing our association, we will need to ensure that we become a more inclusive body and thereby a stronger whole, thanks to contributions and support, as with the dragon, from many and diverse sectors and players – yet all united in common cause for the betterment of the industry, and unified in a commitment to high standards of professional ethics and practice.

captivés? Teresa Lynch l’éditrice de Features analyse les articles les plus lus. « Il n’est pas étonnant que l’article (encore) la plus populaire de l’année soit de loin l’acquisition de Synovate par Ipsos… Il en était question dans sept des 20 articles les plus populaires. … » « Sur le plan technique, loin devant, se trouvent les médias sociaux. Trois des 20 articles les plus populaires touchaient de quelque façon à une entreprise de médias sociaux et, en tête de liste, – ce qui est peut-être surprenant – figure l’acquisition par HubSpot , spécialiste américain en marketing en ligne et analyse, de onefort, la plate-forme de gestion de médias sociaux. Une autre acquisition se trouve en septième place, celle qu’iProspect du groupe d’entreprise Aegis a réalisée en achetant ICUC Moderation Services (ICUC), spécialiste en renseignements et, en dixième place, figure l’établissement de la division de mesure des médias sociaux de Merkle, spécialiste en relations avec la clientèle. Évidemment, le secret pour attirer beaucoup d’attention sur un article de médias sociaux consiste à utiliser les médias sociaux, et son classement en première place indique que l’histoire est « captée » sur divers réseaux. (Pour l’article complet : www.mrweb. com/drno/news14806.htm) Il est certain que les consolidations au sein de l’industrie et la montée rapide et la prédominance de la recherche par médias sociaux – comme l’indique l’importance que lui accordent les joueurs dans l’industrie qui lisent DRNO – sont deux des nombreux changements qui transforment le paysage de l’ARIM en tant qu’association professionnelle autoréglementée à adhésion volontaire.

Donc, pour survivre et prospérer, l’ARIM devra (1) s’approprier les changements plus rapidement et entièrement que par le passé, (2) redéfinir les liens au sein de l’industrie qu’elle régit et représente, et (3) agrandir l’association.

En astrologie chinoise, 2012 est l’année du dragon. On dit qu’il y a plus de 4000 ans, il y avait deux grandes et de nombreuses petites tribus de la Chine ayant chacune leur emblème animal. Lorsque les deux grandes tribus se sont unies, elles ont choisi le dragon comme emblème. Représentant un roi puissant et invincible fusionnant les parties de divers animaux – tigre, poisson, serpent et aigle – le dragon n’était pas perçu comme un leader autoritaire, menaçant et malfaisant, mais plutôt comme fort et sage, parce qu’il était la somme de plusieurs parties.

En agrandissant notre association, nous devrons nous assurer de devenir, comme le dragon, une entité plus inclusive et, donc, plus forte dans son ensemble, grâce aux contributions et à l’appui des nombreux secteurs et joueurs divers – tous unis pour la cause commune d’améliorer l’industrie, et unifiés dans notre engagement envers des normes élevées d’éthique et de pratique professionnelles.

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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COM MEN TARY / CO MME NTAI R E

Message from the Executive Director Brendan Wycks

MRIA Board Beefs Up Association’s Disciplinary Procedures

Le conseil d’administration de l’ARIM renforce ses procédures disciplinaires

As we draw back the curtain on 2012, and particularly as your national board of directors is working on the final stages of a new 2012–14 strategic plan for the association, I want to highlight for members the fact that the board has just approved, in January, important changes and enhancements to MRIA’s disciplinary procedures. These changes became effective for formal complaints initiated on, or after, January 16, 2012.

Complaints initiated before January 16, 2012, will be subject to the previous procedures (last updated in October 2010).

Here are the main new provisions or revisions being made to strengthen and clarify the disciplinary procedures, and in some cases to address identified gaps in the previous procedures (last updated in October 2010).

Au moment de lever le rideau de scène sur 2012, et notamment au moment où notre conseil d’administration national termine le nouveau plan stratégique 2012–2014 de l’association, je tiens à attirer l’attention des membres sur le fait que le conseil d’administration vient d’approuver en janvier des modifications et améliorations importantes des procédures disciplinaires de l’ARIM. Ces modifications sont en vigueur pour les plaintes officielles présentées à partir du 16 janvier 2012. Les plaintes présentées avant le 16 janvier 2012 seront assujetties aux anciennes procédures (dernière mise à jour en octobre 2010).

Voici les principales nouvelles dispositions ou révisions mises en vigueur pour renforcer et clarifier les procédures disciplinaires et, dans certains cas, pour rectifier certaines lacunes dans les anciennes procédures (dernière mise à jour en octobre 2010).

MRIA-Initiated Complaints (Clauses 3 and 4): empowers MRIA, in exceptional circumstances where there are compelling self-regulation and/or protection-of-the-industry reasons to do so, to take on the role of industry watchdog and to initiate, itself, a complaint against a member, and to carry out an initial investigation.

Proceedings against Related/Or Affiliated Parties (Clause 5): gives MRIA the power to “join” a complaint to any related parties, i.e., related individual or corporate members.

Consolidation of Complaints (Clause 6): gives MRIA the power to combine related complaints into a single proceeding.

Limitation Period (Clause 7): imposes a statute of limitations period of one year, after the expiration of which MRIA will not consider a complaint matter.

Frivolous or Vexatious Complaints (Clause 8): empowers MRIA to dismiss a complaint deemed to be frivolous or vexatious.

Legal Proceedings (Clause 9): empowers MRIA to stay a complaint that is before the courts.

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Des plaintes portées par l’ARIM (clauses 3 et 4) : pour habiliter l’ARIM à jouer le rôle de gardienne de l’industrie, à porter ellemême une plainte contre un membre, et à mener une enquête initiale dans les circonstances exceptionnelles où il y a des causes incontestables d’agir relatives à l’autoréglementation et/ ou à la protection de l’industrie.

Des mesures contre des parties apparentées ou affiliées (clause 5) : pour accorder à l’ARIM le pouvoir de « lier » une plainte à toute partie apparentée, c’est-à-dire un individu ou des membres corporatifs apparentés.

La consolidation des plaintes (clause 6) : pour accorder à l’ARIM le pouvoir de combiner des plaintes reliées en une même procédure.

Un délai de prescription (clause 7) : pour imposer un délai de prescription d’un an suivant lequel l’ARIM ne prendra pas en considération l’objet d’une plainte.

Les plaintes frivoles ou vexatoires (clause 8) : pour habiliter l’ARIM à rejeter une plaine réputée frivole ou vexatoire.

Les procédures judiciaires (clause 9) : pour habiliter l’ARIM à surseoir à une plainte devant les tribunaux.

COM M E N TARY / COMMEN TAI R E

Confidentiality (Clause 10): spells out in detail the confidentiality obligations of respondents, complainants, and MRIA during complaint proceedings.

Communications on Behalf of Complaint Panel (Clause 17): permits the complaint panel to delegate its communications duties to the executive director.

Appointment of Investigator (Clause 22): permits the complaint panel to avail itself of investigatory expertise as a resource when a complaint matter is complex.

La confidentialité (clause 10) : pour expliquer clairement les obligations des répondants, des plaignants et de l’ARIM en matière de confidentialité au cours d’une procédure entourant une plainte.

Les communications au nom du Comité des plaintes (clause 17) : pour permettre au Comité des plaintes de déléguer ses fonctions de communication au directeur général.

La nomination de l’enquêteur (clause 22) : pour permettre au Comité des plaintes d’utiliser des enquêteurs professionnels comme ressource lorsque l’objet de la plainte est complexe.

Procedure for Hearing (Clauses 24–27): spells out in detail the options open to the complaint panel for conducting a disciplinary hearing or proceeding, and the related procedures to be followed.

La procédure entourant l’audience (clauses 24–27) : pour expliquer clairement les options auxquelles le Comité des plaintes a accès pour tenir une audience ou exécuter une procédure, et les procédures connexes à suivre.

Whistleblower Protection (Clause 23): encourages MRIA members to report violations of the association’s Code of Conduct and Good Practice, under the protection of whistleblower provisions, making the link between the information provided by a whistleblower and the initiation of a complaint by MRIA in its own right (Clauses 3 and 4).

La protection des dénonciateurs (clause 23 ) : pour encourager les membres de l’ARIM à signaler les violations du Code de déontologie et règles de pratiques de l’association, en vertu des dispositions sur les dénonciateurs, établissant un lien entre les renseignements fournis par un dénonciateur et la présentation d’une plainte par l’ARIM, de son plein droit (clauses 3 et 4).

Appeal Panel (Clauses 37–46): spells out in greater detail the appeal panel’s mandate and procedures, including the provision that “the appeal panel shall only overturn the complaint panel’s decision if it is satisfied that the complaint panel’s decision was ‘unreasonable in the circumstances.’”

Le Comité d’appel (clauses 37–46) : pour expliquer plus en détail le mandat et les procédures du Comité d’appel, y compris les dispositions à l’effet que « le Comité d’appel n’annulera une décision du Comité des plaintes que s’il est convaincu que la décision du Comité des plaintes était ‘déraisonnable dans les circonstances’ ».

Remedial Education (Clause 47): empowers the complaint panel or appeal panel to order a respondent to attend remedial education programs as a condition of maintaining or reinstating membership in the association. Specific remedial education provisions are also spelled out in Clauses 34, 35 and 36.

La formation corrective (clause 47) : pour habiliter le Comité des plaintes ou le Comité d’appel à obliger un répondant à suivre des programmes de formation corrective comme condition au maintien ou au rétablissement de son adhésion à l’association.

Les dispositions relatives à la formation corrective sont également expliquées clairement dans les clauses 34, 35 et 36.

The association’s disciplinary procedures, as always, constitute an integral appendix to its code of conduct. This will remain the case after MRIA has fully adopted the ICC/ ESOMAR Code on Market and Social Research as its own, with a number of Canadian-specific addenda.

Les mesures disciplinaires de l’association, comme toujours, sont incluses dans une annexe qui fait partie intégrante du Code de déontologie de l’ARIM. Cela sera toujours le cas après que l’ARIM aura adopté pleinement comme sien le Code international CCI/ESOMAR des études de marché et d’opinion, accompagné de plusieurs annexes propres au Canada.

Our code – as well as the related, and now strengthened disciplinary procedures, which are integral components thereof – can be found at www.mria-arim.ca/STANDARDS/PDF/ MRIAConduct-Dec2007REV2010.pdf

Notre code – de même que les mesures disciplinaires connexes maintenant renforcées qui en sont partie intégrante – se trouve à www.mria-arim.ca/STANDARDSFRE/PDF/ MRIAConductFRE-Dec2007.pdf

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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SPECIAL FEATURE

Understanding Your Brand in the Digital World Is More Than Impressions and Page Views The approach that Fresh Intelligence Research takes to understanding a brand is one that employs the eponymous Digital Fresh Intelligence (DFI), a form of analysis whose connected consumers are real shoppers – college students working as part-time waiters, sports fans, Tweeters, and Facebookers.

Corrine Sandler Peter Skrastins

By 2016, advertisers will spend almost $77 billion online, making up 35 per cent of overall ad spending. Rich media ads such as online video are increasing in prevalence. These mainstays of most websites will see a surge, hitting nearly $28 billion and a 37 per cent market share of online ads by 2016. (The statistics cited here are taken from a Robert Hof article, “Online Ad Spend to Overtake TV by 2016,” which appeared in Forbes magazine in 2011 and is available at www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2011/08/26/online-adspend-to-overtake-tv/) Online ad spending will continue to ramp up. Brandfriendly ad formats such as banner ads, sponsorships, and video ads are all growing even faster than search engine marketing spending. This year, video ad spending is estimated to grow 52 per cent (according to an Erick Schonfeld article, “eMarketer: Online Ad Spending Expected to Accelerate This Year to $31 Billion,” which appeared in TechCrunch in 2011 and is available at http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/08/ online-ad-spending-31-billion/).

Spending of $28 billion in online video deserves a dedicated measurement tool that delivers engagement metrics and measures of return on investment beyond just impres10

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sions and reach. Fresh Intelligence Research Corp. believes that it can answer the need with Digital Fresh Intelligence (DFI).

DFI goes beyond current measurement of online media by capturing the change in perception of a brand after viewers have been exposed to online advertisements. This article explains Fresh Intelligence’s proprietary methodology, which combines online interaction with websites and online survey design in order to evaluate the impact of online campaigns on the following metrics: reach, brand recall, lift in brand awareness, equity perceptions, emotional impact, purchase consideration, and other call-to-action metrics. DFI is designed to measure any type of online media, including banner ads, pre-roll video, and rich media.

Learning from VW’s Fanwagen Campaign

Let’s take a look at a recent innovative digital campaign: VW’s “The Fanwagen,” which combines social media and digital video.

“Choose, build, and drive away with it” is the slogan for the Fanwagen campaign. In the Netherlands, Volkswagen invited its fans to vote for their all-time favourite model.

S P ECIAL F EATUR E

As a reward, it rebuilds this model in a one-of-a-kind edition: the Fanwagen.

Whether fans vote for the classic T1 van or the Beetle, the winning car will be equipped with a myriad of features that avid Facebook users will instantly recognize, making it the most social car ever.

A campaign like the VW Fanwagen can be measured using many free tools. We went to Topsy Labs, for instance, and typed in “Fanwagen”; the site revealed that there were 120 daily mentions at 12:31 a.m. on November 1, 2011, and 779 mentions at 12:41 a.m. on November 2.

Based on our search, we were able to identify what the input terms had been and how influential those terms were.

For the Dutch agency Achtung, which developed VW’s campaign, it was fairly straightforward, from a technological standpoint, to obtain metrics based on monitoring brand mentions, fan counts, or video shares – which is why we see so many vendors offering these metrics. However, different methodologies are required if you want to measure the impact that a brand’s Facebook fan page, Twitter profile, or online video has on brand equity.

Despite all the hype, social media are just another marketing channel. Marketers need to demonstrate the effectiveness of social and other online media in order to justify allocating company resources to them. Fortunately, social and other online media outlets are measurable – and use of DFI to combine existing mentions, fan counts, and video share promises to leave no stone unturned.

Image 2 (below) shows the exposure to a live, real-time website, allowing a time limit for the respondent to surf as usual.

Essentially, DFI employs a hybrid methodology of passive and forced exposure to stimuli. Forced exposure is commonly used for testing the effectiveness of offline media such as print and TV advertising. However, key differences exist for the environments in which respondents are exposed to the stimulus. In measuring TV and print ads in tracking studies, respondents are exposed to the ads only in a controlled survey setting, where there is only forced exposure to the ads. In that kind of static environment, online advertising cannot be truly

Image 1 (below) represents a snapshot of the DFI reach simulator. Based on respondents’ answers in the study, the DFI reach simulator models the data to show the optimal combination of websites if ad placements are to maximize reach for any target consumer group, however specific that might be.

vue January/February 2012

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SPECIAL FEATURE

measured in order to determine its real impact. In reality, consumers are exposed to ads on websites with a plethora of other links, ads, articles, images and videos, all of which compete for consumers’ attention. Therefore, when testing a campaign on CNN.com, the respondent will be taken to CNN.com in real time.

DFI measures not only viewership, but also retention – true reach. It further measures in-depth emotional responses to a campaign and the motivational structure of its target. It provides trends and drivers of campaign success, emotional engagement, and a reach simulator that calculates the optimal combination of websites in order to maximize reach.

Unlocked Measurement Capabilities for Online Media

DFI provides marketers with the ability to track recall over time and evaluates the efficiency of their online media spend, based on the number of impressions and the amount of recall that these impressions are actually generating.

DFI’s integration of live online website stimulus with an online questionnaire allows analysis of key metrics by consumer segments to be limitless. Respondents can be asked any number of additional questions in order to uncover respondent information that cannot be generated through Internet Protocol (IP) address tracking, including identification of their primary grocery retailers, category consumption levels, household composition, and mobile phone usage.

Marketers are now empowered to evaluate more fully how their online campaigns are breaking through with their target (however specific that target is) and unlock more of online media’s ROI. But there remains the need to understand the new breed of online video viewers, the ones who seek out new experiences, engage with content, and expect things on their own terms.

The environment in which consumers view online videos is similar to its offline predecessor, television. Users seem to like nothing more than curling up on the sofa at home: in 2011, fully 97 per cent of all video content was viewed at home, and 68 per cent of respondents said they had been using laptops to view that content. Desktop viewership, however, was considerably lower, at 52 per cent (see Chris Worrell’s September 2011 article, “A New Breed of Online Video Viewer,” on ReelSEO.com, available at www.reelseo. com/online-video-viewers-more-engaged/) It is also striking how closely daily viewing patterns for online video follow those of television, with a dip of 10–16 per cent at midday, rising to 70–74 per cent by late evening.

These patterns raise questions about online video’s relationship to more traditional viewing habits: Is it a supplement to television, or a substitute?

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As high-quality wireless becomes increasingly ubiquitous, the proliferation of connected devices may mean that the commute will be to online video what breakfast is to morning television.

For marketers, then, online video represents a large opportunity to reach audiences. The increased usage of user review sites and social networks by the modern consumer means that individuals are building up comprehensive profiles of their interests. These help provide relevant advertising to engaged consumers, who have an interest in what they are being shown and have the means to act upon it. All of this needs to be taken into account when a metric is put in place to measure digital campaigns.

The ratings and circulation metrics that marketers take for granted when planning broadcast and print advertising have not made their way to digital media. Panel companies like Nielsen and comScore have developed demographic and population estimates for digital publishers; however, traditional ratings, and circulation metrics (e.g., gross rating points, target rating points, and cost per point) have yet to become a standard part of digital media plans (see Schonfeld’s article at http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/08/onlinead-spending-31-billion/).

Digital media plans are missing the denominators required to calculate brand metrics, which in this case are the size of each demographic (or psychographic) group being targeted. Thus it is impossible to know if a media plan achieves the planner’s campaign goals or if a competing plan has greater merit.

This deficiency is not simply an oversight or the result of some conspiracy. To understand the problem, you have to consider how people’s use of the Internet differs from their consumption of other media.

Recommendations to Marketers

Remove silos and barriers to measurement across channels by centrally tracking as much of your advertising as possible, and be open-minded to new, innovative tools.

According to Dictionary.com, one definition of engage is “to occupy the attention or efforts of a person or persons.”

And so, to all the digital advertisers out there: Test (comprehensively) before you invest. Engage your audience in your campaigns. Drive your return through the use of thorough digital audience measurement.

Peter Skrastins is research manager at Fresh Intelligence Research Corp., and Corrine Sandler is the CEO. You can get more information at info@freshintelligence.com or call (416) 342-8228.

F EATURE

The Digital Researcher:

Exploring the Digital Universe and Its Implications Were there surprises? No, but those attending ESOMAR’s “Best of – Canada 2011” meeting in Toronto on November 2 had the benefit of hearing several researchers talk about their recent experiences with social media and the effects that these new media are having on digital research.

Aptly subtitled “The Digital Researcher,” this breakfast meeting was chaired by ESOMAR’s Director General Finn Raben, who delivered his opening and closing remarks to an appreciative audience.

Christian Mueller, PhD, CMRP

An overall review of the emerging digital landscape was presented by Cam Davis, ESOMAR’s representative in Canada and managing director of Social Data Research. His presentation described some of the challenges and opportunities that new social media provide, with particular relevance to the future of this country’s marketing research industry.

Cam was insistent in pointing out the necessity for researchers to upgrade their skills, because the shift that is moving the industry away from traditional media in the direction of non-traditional media is not slowing down. In fact, it is gaining momentum.

In order to stay current with these changes, or to catch up with them when it looks like research has fallen behind, Cam’s listeners were urged to tap into sources of information such as free ESOMAR webinars, conferences, and papers available online.

Three case studies illustrating various aspects of this new frontier were the focus of the remaining three talks given by speakers from Canada and abroad.

Going Mobile

The first of these studies was done in Canada by Fresh Intelligence Research. Its founder and CEO, Corrine Sandler, and her research director, Olga Churkina, took a hybrid approach from what they called “the digital researcher’s tool 14

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box” in order to study shoppers of air care products. Their goal – to understand how these shoppers think, feel, and behave, that is, to know the head, heart and hands of air care shoppers – was achieved by combining an online quantitative phase of research with a mobile qualitative phase.

In the initial phase, quantitative statistical analysis was used to determine shoppers’ path to purchase. Among the purchase considerations identified, the most important was for an air care product that would – gasp! – make one’s home feel clean.

Examining what it entails to feel clean and seeing how shoppers actually go about finding a suitable product were the objectives of follow-up research. In this phase of research, a quarter of the online respondents volunteered to take their mobile phones with them when they went shopping and to collect evidence of what makes for a clean (versus unclean) home.

This qualitative phase revealed the root cause of the problem in the specific sources of odours at home (e.g., toilets and trash containers). In addition, the mobile responses showed that shoppers were having a difficult time at the store, where they typically encountered a cluttered array of fragrances.

In conclusion, Corrine and Olga observed that “smartphones in the future will quickly adopt technologies pio-

F EATUR E

neered in the tablet market … [becoming] more and more like micro-laptops,” thereby making such devices increasingly valuable as research tools.

Playing Games

Next up was Elias Veris, ForwaR&D lab consultant at InSites Consulting in Belgium. His study illustrated three concepts that, in his words, “have the potential to change market research as we know it today.” These are “gamification,” “crowd interpretation,” and “infotainment.”

To illustrate these concepts, InSites recruited one hundred “cool” GenY youngsters (aka Millenials or Echo Boomers) in “hot” urban centres from around the world to take part in an online research community. As digital natives of cities where most current trends originate, participants have strong opinions about these trends, and they are willing to share those opinions.

Gamification engages participants by using “game thinking” and “game mechanics” in solving problems. To put this approach into practice, as in the present study, gamification generally involves three levels of operation.

Question level. Questions are worded as challenges. Whereas questions require answers, challenges require skills. So rather than asking, “What are the current trends, according to you?” participants are asked, “Who can spot the most current trends?”

Respondent level. For every challenge that is solved, a participant earns points. And for earning a certain number of points, an individual participant not only receives a (virtual) reward but is also recognized for this accomplishment in the wider community of participants. This approach makes the game they are playing much more meaningful.

Community level. For some challenges, the playing community may be divided into different groups that compete to see which of them offers the best solution to the problem at hand. Regular feedback, given to all of the groups, fosters a kind of positive rivalry among them.

To function well, gamification also involves an overarching story or purpose. In the case study, the story was about getting to know the coolest people from all over the globe and exchanging tips on trends and hotspots. Being openly shared makes communication flow naturally, allowing researchers to shadow what is being said at any moment without intruding.

Drawing upon this playing community as an available resource, the concept of crowd interpretation is exemplified in giving participants the task of interpreting the same information that a researcher would normally interpret, and then looking at the different results.

For example, six participants in San Francisco were given a post (both text and photo) from a girl, also in San Francisco, explaining why Dunkin’ Donuts makes her happy.

The task was to determine how Dunkin’ Donuts links with her happiness and with happiness in general.

A comparison of the participants’ results with those of three professional researchers showed that both groups produced a number of similar comments and insights, although additional insights were unique to each group. In fact, the professionals in this case produced somewhat fewer unique insights than the participants.

Hence, there are circumstances in which it might be useful to include interpretations supplied by amateurs, because those interpretations may serve to provide clients with insights that experts might not necessarily derive – and so, insights of which clients would not otherwise be aware.

Infotainment refers to the concept of making information entertaining. In particular, it calls upon us to package our research findings in more impactful ways, to engage the client’s full attention, thus inspiring and motivating the client to take action.

Illustrating infotainment, Elias gave an account of “the big GenY game” played with attendees at a recent conference. The game consisted of multiple-choice questions based upon the findings about GenY derived from InSite’s gamification study.

Because most of the answers were unknown to a lot of the players, this game helped audience members realize how little they knew about GenY, making them receptive to the answer when it was given, and stimulating them to learn in a natural and easy manner.

In this way, infotainment promises to enhance a client’s involvement, encouraging a higher degree of openness to research, greater willingness to act upon the findings, and better company performance as a result – seemingly a triple win for researchers and their clients.

Listening In

The final presenter was Sean Conry, VP at Techneos Systems in Vancouver, whose presentation focused upon a multimode study of a major cultural event: the British royal wedding of William and Kate.The magnitude of this event raised numerous questions – about the mood of the public, vue January/February 2012

15

F E ATURE

what ordinary people were planning to do (and what they did) on the wedding day, and the long-term effect of the wedding on public sentiment in Britain.

From the beginning, it was clear to the researchers that no single research method could answer all of their questions.

Consequently, they used a traditional opinion survey to judge the mood of the public, while enlisting the aid of non-traditional methods (online listening and so-called mobile ethnography) to obtain answers to their remaining questions.

In brief, online or social listening was used to measure the buzz on key websites, forums and blogs; to pinpoint exactly where the buzz was coming from and track its buildup over time; and to construct a detailed picture of what was being said.

This method of data collection appears to resemble InSite’s research, to the extent that both studies used online chatter as their raw material – the one harvesting it from the general public; the other, from the community that was set up for that purpose.

Finally, mobile ethnography – that is, the process of recording real-life events in real time on one’s cellphone – seems to have a great deal in common with the work that Fresh Intelligence reported.

In both of these studies, discoveries appear to have been made by virtue of digital technology, which can only improve the quality of the research we do as an industry when it is properly employed.

Summing Up

These technological developments are clearly having an impact on what we already do, and their impact is growing

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each year. Yet this situation does not mean that everything must change in the process of transitioning from old to new media.

Regardless of anything else, the essential subject of our investigations – consumer behaviour – has not changed at its core. Human psychology being what it is, the object of our attention remains the same, even though the tools of our trade are undergoing a massive transition.

It is certainly true, in my opinion, that our species of research professionals should, as Cam Davis argued, “evolve or die!” However, evolution is a process that takes time – across more than one generation. Let us not forget that.

Note. For the second year in a row, ESOMAR, the global leader in promoting marketing research worldwide, has arranged a series of best-of presentations, bringing speakers from its international conferences to local meetings on a variety of topics. During this past year alone, there have been a total of twenty meetings, in seventeen of the over 120 countries in which ESOMAR has members.

Christian Mueller, PhD, CMRP, has made a career of marketing research since 1984, primarily with Market Facts of Canada (and its successor, Synovate), where he was a vice-president and an account group head before going solo. He has a doctorate in psychology from the University of Toronto and pre-doctoral degrees from Berkeley (with distinction) and from San Francisco State. He may be reached at christianmuellerphd@gmail.com or (647) 855-5088.

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Current Exhibitors

F E ATURE

Marketing Research:

What to Expect

in 2012

As companies begin to plan for 2012, what should they keep top of mind for marketing research in the coming year? This article explores the big MR trends for 2012, including the growing mobile sector, the emergence of gamification, and social media’s increasing influence on the exploration of how traditional surveys are adapting to the evolving MR market.

Pat Molloy

There is no denying the fact that the marketing research industry has undergone major changes over the past few years: social media monitoring and research have become widespread, traditional surveys face increasing challenges in reaching younger demographics, and new technologies are regularly introduced into the market – all of which explain why 2012 will likely be a major turning point for the industry.

Marketing research, in the traditional sense, refers to the use of surveys, questionnaires and focus groups to collect information about customer attitudes, demographics and behavioural patterns. For years, these methods have been the industry norm but, as new technology and research methods have been introduced into the market, the industry has been rather slow to adapt.

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One of the recurring themes in survey research is declining response rates, a problem that needs to be solved sooner rather than later. There are several factors that have contributed to this decline, including longer surveys, lack of creativity in survey design, shorter attention span in respondents, more competition for time, and the impact of social media.

In 2010, Forrester Research predicted that marketing researchers in 2011 would “need to embrace social media as an information source, recognize technology as a driver of change while understanding how to implement it effectively, and continue to identify and integrate innovative methodologies to prepare for the future ahead” (see Reineke Reitsma’s December 17, 2010, report, “Predictions 2011: What Will Happen Next in Market Research”). But did these goals

F EATUR E

come to fruition in the past year? In 2012, I predict that we will continue to see mobile expansion, the emergence of gamification, and social media’s increasing influence.

Mobile Expansion

When viewing surveys on mobile devices, many draw a parallel between the current rise of mobile as a new survey channel and the introduction of online surveys more than ten years back, when online was replacing paper and telephone surveys. But while a mobile device can be used to access the same type of information found on a PC or tablet, it has its own unique challenges and benefits. Usage patterns are distinctly different and, with survey respondents more pressed for time, surveys on mobile devices can be done during user downtime in order to solve the problem.

The reach of mobile will continue to be enormous in 2012, and mobile will soon eclipse traditional PCs in the not too distant future, making adoption necessary. Mobile subscribers grew by approximately 700 million globally in 2010, to more than 5.3 billion; and it’s predicted that by 2012 the number of global wireless subscribers will be more

2011 story, “Generation App: 62% of Mobile Users 25–34 Own Smartphones,” available at http://njuice.com/1ZmT).

If you’re trying to reach a customer segment under the age of 44, mobile is an appropriate strategy. However, it may not be appropriate for an older demographic, so mobile is best used as a hybrid strategy.

The Emergence of Gamification

Who doesn’t enjoy a good game? Fairly new to the marketing research scene, gamification is a customer engagement tool, defined by Forrester Research as “the insertion of game dynamics and mechanics into non-game activities to drive a desired behaviour” (see Elizabeth Shaw’s September 12, 2011, blog entry, “Apply Game Mechanics to Your Marketing Efforts and Boost Engagement,” available at http://blogs.forrester.com/elizabeth_shaw).

Gamification is also emerging as a learning, social, and team-building tool for trainers and HR pros, but marketing researchers should take a closer look in 2012.

Do you know what keeps your customers’ attention span intact? According to gamification guru, Gabe Zichermann,

Imagine changing a straightforward question such as “Please rate this product on a scale of 1 to 5” to a game in which you are a skier on a slope, and you have to steer yourself through one of five gates to select your answer. than 7 billion. Are we seeing the beginning of a fundamental change in the way that we interact with computers?

The fact is that touch-enabled marketing research (via smartphone or tablet) is an inherently better paradigm for the survey. The touch screen fits well with survey interfaces, and consumers already have a solid comfort level with the technology, because they are constantly on their mobile devices. Another benefit is that survey length is perceived to be shorter than on a PC, so customers may be more likely to complete a survey on a mobile device than they would on a computer.

One important area to consider when using mobile is the audience you are trying to reach. In this year’s third-quarter survey of mobile users, Nielsen found that, while only 43 per cent of all U.S. mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone, the vast majority of those under the age of 44 now have one. In fact, 62 per cent of adults aged 25–34 with mobile phones report owning smartphones; among those 18–24 and 35–44 years old, the smartphone penetration rate is hovering near 54 per cent (see Nielsen’s November

gamification methodology is about understanding that “if you can make something more fun, and include notions of play, you can get people to do things they otherwise might not want to do” (see David F. Carr’s October 6, 2011, article, “Gamification: 75% Psychology, 25% Technology,” in Information Week, available at www.informationweek. com/thebrainyard/news/social_networking_private_platforms/231900162).

In some cases, gamification could be the answer to keeping customers engaged in surveys instead of using a more traditional design.

It should be noted that gamification may not be the most accurate descriptor of what we are talking about. Perhaps the best way of illustrating this point is by taking two extreme examples of what gamification might encompass.

First, simply change a question from “Why do you say that?” to “Please tell me in ten words or less, why do you say that?” You thereby introduce an element of gaming.

Second, imagine changing a straightforward question such as “Please rate this product on a scale of 1 to 5, where vue January/February 2012

19

F EATURE

1 is very good, 3 is neutral and 5 is very poor” (a typical instruction you might find in a traditional survey) to a game in which you are a skier on a slope, and you have to steer yourself through one of five gates to select your answer.

While some believe that gamification only makes the survey process longer, others see increased customer engagement because the competitive landscape of games creates a win-lose scenario. It’s possible that customers are more likely to stay engaged in a game-like setting that resembles reality, but there needs to be much more research to test this theory.

Regardless of the skepticism that surrounds it, gamification will emerge as a growing trend in 2012. Other industries have proved the positive effects of gamification by solving social issues in a new way, so there’s the possibility for positive adoption by marketing research professionals too.

Social Media’s Increasing Influence

Even though social media are nothing new, they have made a major impact in the marketing research space and will continue to do so in 2012. Some marketing researchers fear that the end of the traditional survey is upon us because people

8, 2011, article, “Twitter Now Has 100 Million Active Monthly Users: CEO,” in Advertising Age, available at http://adage.com/article/digital/twitter-100-million-activemonthly-users-ceo/229688/) The truth is that with an increase in social media use, there are more unstructured data (text, photos, video clips, blog posts, tweets, etc.) that marketing researchers need to digest in addition to traditional structured data from surveys. Companies can go online to Facebook, Twitter, or countless other social media sites to find out what their customers are saying about their brands. But this doesn’t mean that social media are replacing the survey; they simply constitute another data collection method that requires greater attention – but not at the expense of traditional marketing research. Listening and responding to real concerns may prevent losing a customer in the future.

What is clear is that this onslaught of unstructured data demands a radically different approach in terms of data storage, management and processing. The tried and tested methods simply will not scale, and we are certain to see the increasing importance of text, speech and video analytics to deal with this onslaught.

The truth is that with an increase in social media use, there are more unstructured data (text, photos, video clips, blog posts, tweets, etc.) that marketing researchers need to digest in addition to traditional structured data from surveys. worldwide are using social media to freely express opinions.

But is there any truth to this concern?

Today, social media continue to grow rapidly, with nearly four in five active Internet users visiting social networks and blogs (see Nielsen’s 2011 “Social Media Report: Q3 2011,” available at http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/).

In 2011, there were approximately 750 million Facebook users worldwide; almost 4 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook daily; 500,000 merchants on Foursquare; and according to Twitter’s CEO, Dick Costolo, about 100 million people using Twitter each day, up 82 per cent from January 2011. A greater number of active social media users are also employing their mobile devices to contribute to the growing mass of unstructured data online. (Statistics are taken from Todd Wasserman’s August 16, 2011, infographic, “Social Media Marketing by the Numbers,” in Mashable, available at http://mashable.com/2011/08/16/social-mediamarketing-stats-infographic/; and Cotton Delo’s September

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Conclusion

With social media, emerging technology, and innovative methodologies now top of mind, it’s necessary for marketing research professionals to understand the direction in which the industry is heading and the importance of keeping customers engaged.

To do this, we are now moving from a world in which we asked questions to a world in which learning how to listen to our customers and knowing which tools to use will be vital. This strategy may not involve all three trends, but each should be considered, analysed and explored for success in 2012.

Pat Molloy is chief strategy officer of Confirmit and former CEO of Pulse Train Limited. He holds an MBA from the University of Liverpool and a CITP (Chartered Information Technology Professional) from the British Computer Society.

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F EATURE

Engage Consumers to Understand Them Better

but Beware the Impulse Buyer A wine agent and brand manager for the Kolonaki Group talks about the ins and outs of sales with the LCBO, the benefits and the idiosyncrasies of in-store wine tastings, and the problems that impulse wine purchasers create for marketing research.

Zissis Parras When people find out I am a wine and spirits agent for the Kolonaki Group, I always get asked a ton of questions. I quickly learn that people really don’t understand how new alcoholic products get on the shelf in Ontario and how they are sold.

All liquor in Ontario is regulated by the government agency called the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), meaning that all liquor is regulated and controlled by this monopoly. Having to deal with this organization has its benefits, and its challenges.

There are 618 LCBO stores in the province of Ontario, and 125 of those stores have more than 2,500 brands on their shelves. How does a new brand contend with such a large number of products, the strict quota system, and the well-established brands in every category at the LCBO? (For some quick facts about the LCBO, go to www.lcbo.com/ aboutlcbo/media_centre/quick_facts.shtml) The strict quota system at the LCBO stipulates that every new product must meet its minimum annual sales target in its first year on the shelf if the product is to remain there.

So how, in a single year, do you develop one brand among the myriad of other new brands released daily at the LCBO? More importantly, how do you do this within your advertising and promotions budget?

The big agencies have large budgets and the staff to accomplish this one-year task. But these large companies are not interested in attaining only the minimum quota; they are set on establishing a new brand and taking away market share from a rival or a competitor brand.

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What about smaller agencies with limited staff and budgets, and suppliers with very little money? The larger agencies would probably disregard brands with limited market appeal and virtually no budget, but they would miss out on a brand like Fuzion, which exploded with sales of a million bottles in Ontario in just six months. (For the background on this story, read wine critic Gord Stimmell’s article, published in the Toronto Star on January 24, 2009, and available at www.thestar.com/living/article/574283) However, every new brand is not another Fuzion, so how does a regular listing get noticed at the LCBO? When a new brand gets launched, a variety of promotions can be applied for at the LCBO. You may have noticed that some of these promotions have, in the past, consisted of such things as Air Miles, limited time offers (e.g., one dollar off ), neck tags, product information, cocktail recipes, and sample giveaways that have included scented tea lights, sunglasses, hand sanitizer, small alcohol samples (50 ml), and even beef jerky.

Let’s not even talk about strategic shelf placement for a new product in its first year at the LCBO. In addition to all the promotional signage, there are many other signs listing everything from new products to recipes, to themed promotions, to contests, and on and on. So consumers are assaulted by a great deal of information when they walk through the doors of any local LCBO store, making it difficult for a particular branding message to be noticed.

Another form of promotion is the in-store public tasting.

In the 2010–11 fiscal year, the LCBO conducted 27,379 in-store public tastings (see the LCBO website’s quick facts).

I personally conducted over fifty of those LCBO in-store tastings, from London to Barrie to Oshawa. This method of regularly interacting with the public has given me some insight into the buying patterns of people who shop at the LCBO. In addition, I routinely monitor all the sales data from our brands, including the promotions we run, so that I can quickly assess the health of our products and the effectiveness of our promotions.

First of all, let me describe the average person who walks into an LCBO store, compared to someone who visits other tasting venues such as a drinks trade show. Trade show consumers consist, mostly, of that segment of the population which is interested in sampling wine, beer and spirits as an education and as a cultural experience. These consumers walk up to a booth with glass in hand for the sole purpose of sampling something new, something unique, something expensive – or, sometimes, just to sample their favourite product.

At an LCBO tasting booth, you get a complete crosssection of alcohol-buying consumers – the beer drinker, the spirits drinker, the cooler drinker, the occasional wine drinker, and the wine connoisseur. This cross-section is the best random sample to select from with regard to identifying alcohol buying trends.

The first challenge is to get these consumers to stop: most of the time, customers rush in and out of an LCBO store as fast as they can and don’t have time to waste. Most people entering an LCBO store know exactly what they want, and it’s very difficult to get them to stop and sample anything.

Those who do stop, do so out of a sense of curiosity and interest – if they have the time.

The appearance of a group around the tasting booth has a very powerful effect on other customers. In general, people can almost be described as herding animals. This description is not meant as an insult; it best describes the effect of a crowd on people’s curiosity. When more than three people are at my booth, they definitely attract a lot more attention.

Other people, who cannot even see my booth or what I am sampling, due to the crowd, come over out of curiosity.

People are instinctively attracted to what others are doing; they want to participate and join the group.

The first question people ask is, “Where is the wine from?” The other common question I get asked is if I like it myself. Too often, tasting booths at the LCBO are operated by people from tasting companies, people who are not very experienced with the product and, in some cases, don’t like it themselves. On the other hand, I, as the agent (and brand manager), clearly believe in the brand and speak of it confidently and glowingly. This personal connection with the brand really impresses people.

While offering the sample, I describe the product and wait to hear people’s reactions to it, whether they like it or not. When there are more than three people at the booth and one person likes the wine, the effect of one stranger telling another that a wine tastes good is the best endorsement, and a much stronger recommendation than one which coming from me. When this happens, I always sell two or three bottles just from people’s endorsements. vue January/February 2012

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F EATURE

I have always wanted to plant the crowd at my booth with people who work with me, to see if doing so drives more sales.

Fortunately, I am not so devious as to manipulate consumers in that way … and in truth I don’t think it would work. The reason why I don’t think it would work is that people can sense sincerity. A sincere and honest endorsement is far more powerful than a staged one. Even if the planted person truly liked the wine, I think people could sense the difference. It is sincere appreciation for a product that really motivates people.

I conduct a very rudimentary survey of people who participate in the tasting, and it is the data from this regular survey that I use to formulate upcoming promotions. Over the course of fifty tastings, I have sampled approximately 3,500 to 4,000 people, so I have received a great deal of feedback on all aspects of our products, from the labels to the name, to the grape varieties and much more.

One aspect of these tastings that has always fascinated me is the power of the impulse buy. I am not an impulsive person and, as a market researcher, the one thing I most hate is the impulse buy. I have had people walk up to me and say, “I came in for wine, so I’ll try this one.” Many times, they don’t even taste the wine; they simply pick it up and take it to the cashier.

The reason I dislike the impulse buy is that I can’t get any feedback from consumers. I don’t know if my sales pitch swayed them, if the price point was spot on, if the well-crafted label and display motivated sales, or if they even liked the taste. Through the course of these tastings, not only am I trying to sell a product, I am also doing research on what people are looking for in a product; and the impulse purchase tells me nothing. These tastings account for less than four per cent of monthly sales and are not designed to move product. Therefore, every bottle sold as an impulse purchase is almost a waste.

Two of the wines that I regularly bring for sampling, one white and one red, are well priced at $11.95. According to the 24

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LCBO’s own data on the entire wines category, wine in this price point has seen the highest increase in sales (11.2%) over the previous year.

Another interesting pattern that’s emerged from the tastings of these two wines is the amount of red and white wine sold during the tasting, compared with regular wine sales. More people prefer red wine and taste the red more often, leading to greater sales during the in-store tasting events; yet white wine consistently outsells the red overall.

The sales breakdown for our two wines is consistent: 54 per cent for white wine and 46 per cent for red. However, when considering the breakdown of sales from the in-store tasting program at LCBO stores, out of 84 tasting events, 51 per cent of sales are attributed to red wine and 49 per cent to white wine. This is a reversal of the regular sales pattern, with a difference of three per cent. From the many comments I have heard about the wines, one possible reason given for this difference is that, even though the white wine is very popular, the taste of the red is very pleasing. Also, the red is medium-bodied and similar to Merlot, a fact that could suggest a tasting preference among average red wine drinkers.

The in-store public tasting program is an interesting and informative promotional method for engaging consumers and seeing how they respond to different products. I treat this regular interaction with consumers as an informal focus group, and as an ongoing qualitative research project from which I constantly gather data on our brand’s performance in the marketplace. It’s also a great way to observe people’s everyday buying habits at the LCBO. Zissis Parras, PhD, is the brand manager of retail sales at Kolonaki Group Inc. Before Kolonaki, he worked as a physical anthropologist on international research projects and as a lecturer at a number of universities. Zissis has a market research blog at www.mri-zp.blogspot.com

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Interview with Monica Alfonso Unilever’s shopper and media insights manager talks about her experiences in marketing research, the changing realities of the industry, the major shifts and the emerging trends, as well as the role of social media.

By Shane Skillen How and why did you get into marketing research?

It all began seven years ago, when I immigrated to Canada.

I had started my career in Mexico, working for Procter & Gamble, in the finance department. When I decided to move to Canada, I made a career change to marketing research. I am very analytical, but I also enjoy being in contact with people and facing a new challenge every day. Marketing research gave me that opportunity.

I worked for P&G Canada in marketing research for five years and then, two years ago, moved to Unilever, where I am the shopper and media insights manager.

There has been a big shift recently from marketing research to shopper marketing research. Why is this, do you think? What are the main differences between the two?

It’s more than a shift. I would say that there has been an increase in our focus to do shopper marketing research, and a need to balance it with consumer research. Both are equally important.

The main difference is that your shopper might or might not be your consumer. You can’t talk to shoppers and consumers in the same way, or in the same place. If you don’t close the sale with your shopper in store, you have no consumer. Consumer and shopper marketing research need to be fully integrated.

How are social media changing the way we understand consumers and brands?

Social media are giving brands the opportunity to build a deeper relationship with their consumers: start a conversation, propose, listen to them, and respond in almost no time.

Social media are also giving consumers the power to influence the future of the brands.

Marketing used to employ a one-way communication approach: brands telling the consumer what to think about them. Today, consumers build their opinions by listening to other consumers with similar needs and interests; brands can join the conversation if they are invited to.

For brands, the question is not whether they want to participate in social media or not, because consumers have taken

brands to that space already. The question is how to participate in social media effectively. This is a key area of my work as media insights manager.

What are some major trends you are seeing in the research industry, and why do you think they are important?

The first trend I’ve seen is that we are focused, now more than ever, on uncovering insights and making actionable recommendations. The days of 100-page decks with no action are all gone. As an industry, we have learned that the value of our role is to integrate our knowledge with the business and bring research to life in an actionable way. At Unilever, this is a “must have,” and we value research partners that meet this expectation.

The second trend is driven by our reality: budgets are tight everywhere. We cannot afford to do “nice to have” research; it actually has an ROI [return on investment] assigned to it. This has made us more creative and selective in the way we do research.

What advice do you have for young researchers just starting out?

I have learned to ask, “So what?” Facts or statistics in isolation, without any context, do not mean anything. Bring your research to life by making it relevant to your business reality.

Are you more qual or more quant?

I really enjoy doing qual. Having the opportunity to have a conversation with my consumers is amazing – to get them to open their hearts and be honest with me. This is how I really learn about their interests, motivations, problems, etcetera, and how I can uncover deep insights and provide actionable recommendations.

Monica Alfonso is the shopper and media insight manager at Unilever. She has over ten years of experience in multinational companies, in the finance and research areas, with a broad variety of consumer product goods, categories and retailers.

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Getting a Seat at the Table The senior marketing research manager at Kraft Foods Canada provides client-side researchers and insights managers with three changes they can implement to help them gain a seat at the decision-making table and become valued business partners in their organization.

Kristian Gravelle Getting a seat at the decision table is quite exhilarating and fulfilling. In order to achieve this privilege, we (client-side researchers, insights managers) must be seen by the organization as true business partners. In 2009, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) published a report providing a detailed analysis of what executives are looking for in their research group and a “how to” section to ensure that the voice of the consumer is heard by all parts of the organization. (Read the full report, The Consumer’s Voice – Can Your Company Hear It? by Mary Egan et al., available at www.bcg.com/expertise_ impact/Capabilities/ Marketing_Sales/Consumer_Insight/ PublicationDetails.aspx?id=tcm:12-35170) In a subsequent article, “A Road Map to Increased Relevance,” published in Quirk’s Marketing Research Review (January 2010), Ian Lewis provided additional direction as a ten-step approach to taking in-house research practices to the next level.

Both of these pieces are excellent, but a significant level of commitment is required on the sides of both researchers and executives to change internal dynamics.

Initiating change and continuing to build our credibility as business partners is a process that takes time. Small changes in the way we interact with our suppliers and internal clients can have significant impacts, elevating our stature within the organization to that of business partner.

Below are three easily implemented changes, which we at Kraft Canada have successfully implemented in starting our journey to becoming better business partners.

Foster supplier engagement. At the beginning of the year, as objectives and strategic plans get finalized, bring in the suppliers to share with them the vision of the organization. Doing so engages the suppliers and provides valuable context when initiating research projects. The engagement fosters a relationship, and it empowers the suppliers to be business 26

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partners themselves. The result is insights that are much richer and more actionable.

Satisfy your curiosity. Have the courage to ask the right questions of the business, in order to understand both what the need is and who within the organization is requesting information. This investigative process enables you to showcase your abilities to contextualize issues and to bring foresight to the organization. Share the context, in detail, with your research partner, as doing so will help develop the right solution to answer the questions.

Tell a story. Audience engagement at the time of presenting results is key. Focus on insights, impact on business, and the actions that can be taken. Bring the insights to life by having short and impactful presentations, rather than focusing on research details and a plethora of data. Leave ample time for discussion, and bring to life the impact on the organization.

Focusing in on these three initial steps and mastering them will provide you with a strong basis on which to build your case for becoming a valued business partner. As the added value you bring to the table is recognized, implementing the changes and additional strategies outlined in the BCG report and the Quirk’s article becomes easier and more widely accepted.

Kristian Gravelle, MSc, MBA, has had more than ten years of experience with consumer packaged goods, in marketing and marketing research. He is currently senior marketing research manager at Kraft Foods Canada, where he heads up the consumer insights and strategy function for the hot beverages port folio. In 2011, Kristian won the Best in Class and Best Integration awards at the MRIA annual conference. He is a member of the association’s Client-Side Researcher Council.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL AVIS D’ASSEMBLÉE GENERAL MEETING GÉNERALE ANNUELLE Toronto, Ontario, January 19, 2012 Notice is hereby given that the Annual General meeting of Members of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) will be held as follows: Monday, March 26, 2012 6:30 p.m. (local time) Intercontinental Toronto Yorkville Hotel 220 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario All members-in-good-standing of the Association are encouraged to attend the AGM. An Agenda for the meeting will be communicated to members in the near future.

Visit www.mria-arim.ca for more information.

By order of the Board of Directors Rick Hobbs, CMRP Secretary-Treasurer

Toronto, Ontario, le 19 janvier 2012 Avis est par la présente donné que l’Assemblée générale annuelle des membres de l’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing (ARIM) se tiendra comme suit : Le lundi 26 mars 2012 18 h 30 (heure locale) Intercontinental Toronto Yorkville Hotel 220, rue Bloor ouest, Toronto, Ontario On encourage tous les membres en règle de l’Association d’assister à l’AGA. L’ordre du jour de la réunion sera communiqué aux membres sous peu.

Visitez www.mria-arim.ca pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements.

Par ordre du conseil d’administration Rick Hobbs, PARM Secrétaire-trésorière

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FORGOT SOMETHING? COULD IT BE RENEWING YOUR MRIA MEMBERSHIP

FOR 2012?

Renew your MRIA membership in 2012 to stay connected and benefit from • access to industry standards and guidance from MRIA’s Advice Line service • numerous learning, professional development and career advancement offerings • networking and business development opportunities throughout the year

In 2012, MRIA will implement several new initiatives, in keeping with our new 2012–2014 Strategic Plan, including the launch at the end of the first Quarter of a new, Online Portal application for the Research Registration System (RRS).

To accomplish all of this and more, we need your ongoing support.

Support MRIA by renewing your Corporate and/or Individual membership(s) for 2012 and by encouraging your colleagues, clients and/or suppliers to do the same.

• the opportunity to lead and make a difference in the industry.

NOW IS THE TIME TO RENEW. DON’T RISK LOSING ACCESS TO VALUABLE MEMBER BENEFITS AND DISCOUNTS. Visit the MRIA Portal TODAY at www.mriaportal-arimportail.ca to renew your membership for 2012.

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

I N D U STRY N E W S

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!

THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES HAVE SUBMITTED NAMES TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY FOR NOVEMBER 2011 ATLANTIC Opinion Search Inc.

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

QUEBEC

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

R.I.S. Christie MBA Reserche Opinion Search

for further explanation and guidance on how to submit qualitative research participants’ names, along with the required electronic forms.

WEST

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO: QRRQ@MRIA-ARIM.CA

Opinion Search SmartPoint Research Inc. Synovate CRC Research 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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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 ClientSide 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 NOVEMBER 2011: GOLD SEAL CORPORATE RESEARCH AGENCIES concerto research inc.

Acrobat Research Ltd. Advanis Inc BBM Analytics Blue Ocean Contact Centers Consumer Vision Ltd. Corsential ULC EKOS Research Associates Inc. GfK Research Dynamics Harris/Decima Inc. Hay Research International Head Research Inc. Hotspex Inc. Ipsos Reid Corporation Market Probe Canada MarketQuest-Omnifacts Research MBA Recherche MD Analytics Inc. Millward Brown Nanos Research NRG Research Group Opinion Search Inc. Phase 5 Consulting Group Inc. R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd. Research House Inc. Research Now Synovate Ltd. Tann Research Services Inc. Tele-Surveys Plus / Télé-Sondages Plus The Logit Group Inc. TNS Canadian Facts BASIC CORPORATE RESEARCH AGENCIES Gryphon Reputation Management Ideaspace Research Illumina Research Partners Insights Inc. Justason Market Intelligence Network Research Field Services Inc Quadra Research Quality Response Inc. Vancouver Focus INDIVIDUAL MEMBER ORGANIZATION Burak Jacobson Research Partners Inc.

www.mria-arim.ca/RRS

I N D U ST RY N E W S

PEOPLE AND COMPANIES IN THE NEWS • 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. • MRIA is neither responsible for the accuracy of this information nor liable for any false information.

COLLOQUY Research Shows Over-Focus on Cash Rebates Erodes Brand Experience Markdowns and cash rebates, strategies of many brands and retailers today, may actually be eroding brand loyalty, COLLOQUY reveals in a report that should serve as a wake-up call for U.S. marketers. When asked if it pays to be loyal to a favourite brand, only 12% of U.S. consumers strongly agree and only 17% say loyalty programs are a “very influential” factor in determining a purchase. In a white paper titled The Rules of Engagement: Loyalty in the U.S. and Canada, COLLOQUY says loyalty programs have fallen into a trap of copying one another with discount and cash-back rewards that increasingly look alike to consumers. The research conclusion: Something new is needed; otherwise brand owners must incur not only the margin losses but also the cost to re-engage their customers. www.colloquy.com/breaking_view.asp?xd=9131

Minavox Introduces MarketSAVI and DataSAVI Minavox Inc. is the leading provider of innovative web-based video software solutions designed to enable organizations to effectively communicate with their customers or targeted groups. Utilizing our unique Smart Asynchronous Video Interface (SAVI), Minavox offers a broad scope of collection and analysis tools to customers primarily within human resources, marketing and advertising, entertainment, environment, politics and education. The SAVI product line is designed to enable companies to gain greater insight and value from their online interactive initiatives while optimizing each personal interaction. Minavox’s MarketSAVI and DataSAVI are used by some of the world’s largest corporations for quantitative and qualitative marketing research. www.minavox.com

SurveyMonkey in $65m Share Sale DIY research tech firm SurveyMonkey is selling stock to the value of $65m, according to a filing lodged with the SEC yesterday. The placement follows last month’s news that SurveyMonkey had partnered with equity investment firm TPG Growth to acquire research software and services firm MarketTools. Under the terms of the agreement, TPG acquired MarketTools and transferred the latter’s Zoomerang, ZoomPanel and TrueSample businesses to SurveyMonkey in exchange for a minority stake in the SurveyMonkey business. While financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, sources said at the time that the deal valued SurveyMonkey – led by CEO Dave Goldberg (pictured) – at roughly $1 billion. www.surveymonkey.com

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Research Now Opens Office in Rotterdam Online sampling and data collection specialist Research Now has opened a new office in Rotterdam, where it has appointed former Sample Answers exec Kerem Köksal as Client Development Manager, Benelux, responsible for driving growth in the region. In his new role, Köksal is responsible for establishing and growing the client development team in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and further driving business development in the surrounding region. He reports to Munich-based Client Development Manager Oliver Tjarks, who comments: “Kerem’s strong background in international work makes him an ideal fit for this role. He is the first staff hired to serve the Dutch market exclusively, and we look forward to better supporting both our clients and panellists in this region under his leadership.” info@researchnow.com

BrainJuicer Revenues Up 26% to £20m International online specialist BrainJuicer has reported a 26% increase in full year revenue to £20m, for the 12 months ended 31 December 2011. In a trading update, the firm says this increase was primarily fuelled by continued growth in the US. During 2011, the firm opened an office in Atlanta and added to its presence in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. BrainJuicer says that during the period, it also delivered “strong growth” in Germany and Switzerland, while its operations in China and Brazil made “encouraging progress”. In the UK, growth was “steady,” with revenue around 10% higher than in 2010. Operating profit for 2011 will be “in line with expectations” when the firm releases its preliminary results on 22 March. Led by CEO John Kearon (pictured), the firm is online at www.brainjuicer.com

itracks Recognized as One of the Top Ten Research Firms Perceived to Be Innovative for the Second Year itracks, the world-leading provider of online qualitative research and patent holder for qualitative applications, has been named by GreenBook as one of the Top 10 Market Research Companies Perceived to Be Innovative for the second year in a row. Greenbook announced the Top 10 Innovative Research Firms based on the GreenBook Research Industry Trends Study conducted in December 2011. Beginning in 2010, GreenBook started tracking which firms were perceived as the most innovative within the global marketing research industry and itracks was ranked #8 in both 2010 and 2011. www.itnewsonline.com

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Canadians Like Salty Snacks, Americans Like Sweet Snacks, but Both Like Convenience Cross-border differences and similarities between Canadians and Americans have been revealed via two recent studies by leading marketing research company The NPD Group.

According to A Look into the Future of Eating – Canadian Marketplace and A Look into the Future of Eating – United States Marketplace, Canadians are fond of salty or savoury snack foods, like cheese, chips, and crackers, and their consumption of these foods will outpace population growth over the next decade. Americans, on the other hand, were found to have more of a sweet tooth than a salty one and are projected to increase their consumption of sweet snacks and desserts three times more than Canadians within the next 10 years. www.npd.com

The Marketing Research Institute International (MRII) Announces Election of 2012 Board Officers and New Board Members MRII, a non-profit online educational institute which in partnership with the University of Georgia is devoted to fulfilling the educational needs of people worldwide in the marketing research profession, is pleased to announce election results for its 2012 Board of Directors. www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/popmr

Leger Marketing Has Made the Acquisition of ISOPUBLIC Leger Marketing (Montreal, Canada), the largest Canadianowned research firm, has made the acquisition of ISOPUBLIC, (Zurich Switzerland) and its subsidiary Gallup Switzerland. Mr. Matthias Kappeler will remain President of ISOPUBLIC while Mr. Jean-Marc Leger, CEO of Leger Marketing and President of WIN/GIA (Worldwide Independent Network/Gallup International Association), will become Chairman of the Board.

ISOPUBLIC was founded in 1943. The firm has an annual turnover of US$5m and is also the Headquarters of the WIN/ GIA. www.legermarketing.com

Mobile MR Association Launches in U.S. U.S. professionals have launched a new body, the Mobile Marketing Research Association (MMRA), to help the industry develop standards and ethics for the use of mobile devices for marketing research purposes. Merlien Institute founder Jasper Lim and industry veteran Mark Michelson have teamed up to launch the association, and have recruited Board members from companies such as General Mills; research agencies including Nielsen, TNS, Brainjuicer, and Blauw Research; and mystery shopping firms Bare Associates and AQ Services. The team will be tasked with establishing mobile research guidelines and best practices, developing research to expand the industry, providing education, and promoting the mobile marketing research channel for use by clients, researchers and participants. Justin Bailey (pictured), is Nielsen’s Research Methods Manager who has joined the MMRA Board. www.mmra-global.org

New Tool to Help Measure Social Media Impact on Stocks In the U.S., two financial sector firms have partnered to introduce a tool which combines web analytics, social media sentiment and quantitative research to help gauge how social media impacts on stock prices. Penton’s Registered Rep – which provides an online source for financial advisors, as well as breaking news, data rankings and profiles – collaborated with trading research specialist Titan Trading Analytics to develop the new Social Behavioural Research Dashboard. The tool includes a suite of proprietary quant and qual research tools which factor in dozens of human emotional reactions – ranging from euphoria to panic. In addition, the system gathers social media stock data from Twitter, Yahoo!, Google and financial blogs, and assigns each stock with a sentiment score to gauge how it is perceived by the general public.

Websites: www.penton.com , www.registeredrep.com and www.titantrading.com

Toluna Adds QuickSurveys to iPad and iPhone App Research Now Engages Intuitive Business Intelligence to Provide Visual Reporting on Ad Campaign Effectiveness with Intuitive Dashboards Research Now www.researchnow.com the leading global online sampling and data collection company, is implementing Intuitive Dashboards by Intuitive Business Intelligence Ltd. www.intuitivebusinessintelligence.com to provide clients with access to up-to-date advertising campaign data collected using Research Now’s ADimension® technology powered by Quantcast. www.researchnow.com

Toluna has introduced a new version of its iPad and iPhone app, to enable panellists to participate in its DIY QuickSurveys directly through their mobile devices. QuickSurveys allows non-research specialists to create short, targeted surveys which can deliver thousands of responses to up to 15 questions over a period of 24 hours. www.toluna-group.com

People and Companies in the News sponsored by:

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Learning in the

MRIA Institute for Professional Development

21st Century Daniel Borok

In last month’s issue of Vue, Nik Nanos described 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.”

Quite frankly, I couldn’t agree more, although my opinion is in the context of education, not research.

The Internet has afforded MRIA a new way to reach out to prospective students, and it is proving to be an invaluable tool in offering our courses. However, as with any new tool, there is a learning curve; and in this instance, that curve affects both the education department and our students.

So, to make everyone’s life just a tiny bit easier (including mine), we have decided to dedicate our corner of Vue to answering the most commonly asked questions.

What are your online courses like?

Our online courses may be categorized as asynchronous learning, a mode of delivery in which participants access course materials on their own schedule. Hence, it is more flexible than conventional classroom-based and most e-learning formats. Students are not required to be together in time or space, though they must complete the course within thirty days.

Students access content via an active Internet connection through their computers and review pre-recorded lectures and slides, alongside quizzes, a final test, and (potentially) assignments. Further readings are also incorporated: some are mandatory, and some are merely recommended.

Is there a difference between in-class and online courses?

The core concepts taught in class and online are the same; both approaches have equal worth in pursuit of the CMRE and the CMRP designation; and both are worth the same number of Maintenance of Certification Program (MCP) points. However, there are differences: In-class courses will involve some group work and interaction. They may also cover certain topics at a greater level of depth. A larger number of anecdotal examples are generally shared to illustrate

concepts in the classroom. And, of course, there is a live instructor available for any immediate questions. The final tests, though, are virtually identical.

Where do I purchase and enroll in online courses?

Purchasing online courses, just like any other MRIA product, is handled via the association’s portal. Actually enrolling in a class, once it has been purchased, is handled via the online learning site.

Why must I wait for administrator approval after enrolling in an online course? I’ve already paid.

You may have paid but, at present, the online learning site has no way of knowing that. The portal and the learning site do not share a database, so it falls upon your friendly neighbourhood education coordinator to make sure that you have (a) enrolled in the correct course and (b) paid for it.

I have a question that isn’t addressed in this article.

Whom do I ask?

First, take a look at our recently uploaded online learning FAQ, found at www.mria-arim.ca/EDUCATION/CoursesOnline/FAQ.asp If the answer to your question cannot be found there, please email me at dborok@mria-arim.ca Sadly, that’s all the space we have this month. Please feel free to contact us directly with any questions, comments, recommendations or concerns regarding online and in-class learning.

For all the Trekkies out there ... Education: the final frontier. These are the voyages of MRIA-IPD. Our ongoing mission: to explore strange new methods, to seek out new topics and new course content, to boldly teach the way no one has taught before.

Daniel Borok is the coordinator of Professional Development, Certification and Special Projects. He can be reached at dborok@mria-arim.ca vue January/February 2012

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STANDARDS A Work in Progress: Marketing Research Standards and Guidelines Donald Williams NADbank

Standards move slowly, while best practices creep: perhaps that’s the best way to describe implementation of marketing research standards and best practices in the real world.

At last year’s annual MRIA conference in Kelowna, B.C., our members echoed the need to keep abreast of the current issues facing the marketing research industry.

This brings me back to my first article on standards in Vue magazine, a piece titled “Why Standards?” That article made a case for the existence of marketing research standards and guidelines. Imagine a world where there were no traffic signals, no standard gauge for railway tracks, no guidelines for conducting marketing research. Only one word would describe this world: chaos.

But we are all aware, as marketing research professionals, that codes and standards really constitute a living document; they require continual updates to remain relevant. MRIA’s current Code of Conduct and Good Practice was last updated in 2007, with a few amendments thereafter. The current MRIA guidelines are well recognized and referred to by numerous associations and government bodies across Canada.

In the past, I used the explanation that “the marketing research environment is evolving” as a justification for making relevant changes in a timely manner. Today, the justification for changes or additions to the current marketing research guidelines goes beyond simply responding to an evolving marketing research environment. The general environment, which includes both social and economic elements, requires more detail as well as frequent changes or additions to existing marketing research standards and best practices.

What we have on our hands is a work in progress. Associations such as MRIA are working to ensure that the marketing research code of conduct and good practices is relevant.

BRAVE NEW WORLD Now That’s a Smartphone!

Corrine Sandler Fresh Intelligence Research Corp.

In a few years time, the biggest challenge for researchers will be making sense of all the data we’re able to collect – from media measurement on every device to geolocation information correlated with purchase behaviour. We will need 36

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advanced analytics to cross-populate all media. Better yet, we should clearly define when one data collection method should be used over another.

The smartphone is playing a critical role in shopping, and consumers are using smartphones more and more while in a store: 82 per cent of U.S. shoppers say they use their smartphone while in store. And not only are they using their mobile phones while shopping, they are also making purchases on their mobile device.

We can use mobile to dive deep into understanding of the mindsets of consumers, along their path to purchase in the “air care” category, for example, while in store. The quantitative work reveals that the brand name is the primary loyalty influencer, and the need to keep a home feeling clean is the primary purchase trigger for air fresheners. Although this is useful information, we are possibly missing something more insightful, something with the potential to lay the foundation for a solid strategic direction.

Mobile research has proven that consumers can better articulate their frustrations in real time, while they are shopping. For instance, one of the core insights revealed through mobile is that people actually shop the air care category by room (bedroom, living room, bathroom), and they look for products that can solve their root problem – an insight that will help air care brand managers understand how to organize shelves in a way that appeals to customers. While online validates our common thinking, mobile provides actionable insights.

Here we have it: a powerful insight delivered from a phone. Now, that’s a smartphone! The mobile revolution is moving, at different speeds, across the globe; and it is evident everywhere. Use it smartly.

RAC The Gold Standard Adam Froman Delvinia

The MRIA Corporate Gold Seal, established in the early 1990s under CAMRO (one of the association’s predecessor organizations), is a defining symbol of MRIA’s commitment to providing the industry, the public, and research professionals with a seal of quality and integrity.

As a program that assesses the practices and professionalism of companies, it is a key element of MRIA’s commitment to industry self-regulation. Corporate Research Agencies that attain the MRIA Gold Seal have demonstrated – through an independent, audited process – a common standard of professional rigour. The Gold Seal Certification process provides assurance to the public and to clients that

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all who have attained the seal meet and adhere to the established criteria set forth by MRIA. For those working in the industry, the Gold Seal is a professional hallmark that validates the dedication researchers have to their craft, their drive to unearth insights for their clients, and their commitment to respectfully representing the many voices of Canadians.

Becoming a Gold Seal Corporate Research Agency. Any company that is operating as a business in Canada and derives at least 75 per cent of its revenue from the provision of marketing and survey research or market intelligence services to other companies is eligible to become a Gold Seal Corporate Research Agency. Eligible Corporate Research Agencies must also have been operating as a business in Canada for at least 24 consecutive months and have at least four full-time marketing and survey research or market intelligence employees. Once Gold Seal Membership has been attained, these Corporate Research Agencies must renew their designation every three years.

Congratulations to our 83 Gold Seal Corporate Agencies for attaining and maintaining this designation.

INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY Jumpstart Your Creative Mood Margaret Imai-Compton, CMRP RD Centre for Learning

It is commonly assumed that the creative process is spontaneous and unplanned, that inspiration hits like a lightening bolt. Poof: I have my aha idea because the creative mood struck me.

Well, it doesn’t usually work that way.

We have an infinite supply of excuses for not doing the creative work, reaching beyond the comfort zone of our usual routines. If we wait for the creative mood to strike, we’ll never accomplish anything bold.

The way to get into the creative mood is to start with one small thing that breaks routine patterns. You challenge your usual thinking and doing patterns: “I’m going to do one small thing at a time and keep at it until I have a creative aha breakthrough.” And by the way, the aha doesn’t have to be a lightening bolt; it can be as simple as realizing that there are different ways to see and do things.

In earlier articles, I’ve talked about how to design a creative environment. You can design a creative mood as well: it can be as simple as choosing a different type of coffee, reading a new genre of literature, taking an alternative route to work, or spending fifteen minutes on TED.com for fresh perspectives from the world’s brightest thinkers.

Over seventy years ago, the American writer Pearl Buck wrote: “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know that it has got to get down to work.”

The best gift you can give yourself is the commitment to do your creative work, whether you feel like it or not. You’ll be surprised at how inspired you feel and how good your work is, even though you “weren’t in the creative mood.”

THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION Sales Not Enough for Comfort Ruth M. Corbin, CMRP CorbinPartners Inc.

Britain’s regulations over misleading advertising are much like our own. Because the British advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), makes its decisions public, Canadian advertisers are provided with many lessons to learn from.

In one such case, Unilever’s television campaign for Comfort Pure fabric conditioner claimed the product to be “the U.K.’s most trusted fabric conditioner for sensitive skin.”

Smaller text at the bottom of the screen stated that this claim was “based on IRI sales data 08/10--12/10.” Procter & Gamble U.K. successfully challenged the advertising on the basis that the “trust” factor is not necessarily conveyed by sales data. True enough, Comfort Pure had the largest market share among its competitors in Britain and had a high level of repeat purchase. However, said the ASA, a consumer’s decision to purchase fabric softener is not dictated solely by trust. The caveat in small print didn’t adequately address the inconsistency between message and proof.

Unilever submitted additional survey evidence in which 351 consumers were asked which fabric conditioner they most trusted. However, consumers were given a choice that included only Comfort Pure and two other competitive products chosen by Unilever. The ASA did not consider this closed-ended list of survey options to be comprehensive enough to support the “most trusted” claim.

In addition to this claim (referred to by ASA as a “number one” claim), Unilever’s ad had also said that “nothing makes clothes softer” (referred to technically as a “top parity” claim). The latter would have been easier to substantiate. However, neither claim was considered sufficiently substantiated, and the ad was banned.

This case shows that advertisers need to seek out data that are directly linked to the claim they are making. Sales data alone are unlikely to support claims of consumer perception.

Number one and top parity claims are special cases with particular test format needs. The case provides an enlightening example of comparative advertising regulations in action. More details about this case are available at www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2011/9/ Unilever-UK-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_161001.aspx vue January/February 2012

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QUALITAS Smartphones Are a (Qual) Girl’s Best Friend

Here are some reasons why pre-work on smartphones rocks:

Kelly Adams Ipsos Reid – Qualitative

I love smartphones. I don’t mean my smartphone (although I’m joined at the hip to my smartphone) but rather the fact that smartphones exist and so many respondents own them, carry them, and use them.

A key “reason for being” of qual research is to help bring the consumer experience to life for those looking to learn from it. Qual researchers are constantly searching for ways to tap into that real-life experience. Going out into the consumer world is one excellent way to achieve this end (that would be your ethnographic research), but doing so is not always feasible. So we ask respondents to do pre-work and bring pieces of their world to us by documenting experiences in advance of the groups.

And now that smartphones are an accessory/tool/companion to many respondents in different demographics, this documentation exercise (really a form of auto-ethnography) has become easier.

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• They are more likely to capture “in the moment” versus “recreated from memory” experiences. As respondents’ phones are with them most of the time, it’s easy to share moments as they happen.

• It’s really easy for respondents to play. Compare texting from the store shelf plus an accompanying photo to writing in a paper journal and taking a picture with a camera. The latter is interruptive, clumsy – a hassle – not to mention really obvious as atypical public behaviour. Whereas no one looks twice at someone texting or taking a picture with a phone.

• Respondents choose which media best communicate what they want to say or that they are most comfortable using: a few words, a photo, a video – all are available to them.

• It’s instant. The researcher receives responses in real time rather than having to wait until the groups.

See? A quallie’s best friend. Or should I say, BFF?

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