Kantar's Profiles Blog

As a recent graduate of University of Georgia’s Principles of Market Research course, I attended the ESOMAR RA:DAR conference in November 2015 and served as the networking facilitator at the event. As a novice to marketing research, I was eager to expand my understanding of the industry, its challenges and emerging methodologies. 

Market research is a complex industry with a simple mission: quality. We take what we do best as researchers and are constantly tasked to create new value for our clients, our partners and our panellists. We are always in a state of transition -  altering what we do and how we think to meet the new marketplace realities. Creating growth that is organic, profitable, unique and sustainable requires innovation and risk-taking.

Marketing research is an evolving industry; with opportunities for those that can quickly adjust to the changes and discover creative means to do more with less. Clients expect deeper, enriched results at an accelerated pace. I see three trends in our industry in 2016:

1. Think like a start-up, act like a researcher: Automation is the newest ‘game changer’ in our industry and will continue to be. But while automation will be a catalyst for change, new models will need to be created to meet client demand. Faster, better, cheaper hasn’t gone away – as a matter of fact, it’s been amplified by a business climate that demands more – much more – without the sacrifice of quality. Companies that can think, act, and execute like a start-up will prosper.

On Monday, the best of UK’s marketing research industry gathered for the prestigious and glamorous 2015 Market Research Society (MRS) Awards. This annual ceremony acknowledges the insights and innovation behind each research success story - highlighting that ‘evidence matters.’ With three separate nominations this year, Lightspeed GMI stepped into a new world.   

For those not aware, video is here.

Social media sites have embraced the use of video as a main activity for their followers. Video is being used to explain (or give instructions), give opinions, share information or give updates. Video may soon become the new ‘texting’.

Mobile industry data sites are expecting the use of video to be the main usage of data over the next few years. It already has seen some growth, but the expectation is that it will soon eclipse anything else that we do on the smartphone.

Mobile diary panels consist of respondents documenting their behavior patterns in real time – they tell us what they eat, who they talk to, where they shop, what they buy and how many times. You can leverage these projects to assess brand loyalty, test product strategies and evaluate customer demographics.

To ensure your respondents are successfully logging accurate behaviors, the topic of your mobile diary project should be relevant to your respondents, not just your clients. More importantly, it should be simple and short. Eye-catching (i.e., fancy or pretty) question types make the survey interesting to look at, but when it is taken multiple times (in a diary study), it loses its luster. Keeping it simple and short (KISS) makes it easier for respondents to partake quickly.

Creating effective surveys can turn insights into action; high-quality data can build a company into a brand.

Survey design requires a detailed focus on the consumer experience. It’s an art and a science. From mobile first to gamification, we need to fundamentally rethink our approach by understanding what triggers dropouts.

It’s always risky to host Saturday Night Live (SNL); not everyone can do “funny.” For most politicians, spoofing pop culture with outrageous punchlines falls outside their wheelhouse. Add to this the broader reality of dropping poll numbers and a generally regarded unremarkable CNBC GOP debate recently, Donald Trump’s November 7^th SNL hosting gig has a lot riding on it.

What can the Trump brand do to capitalize on this opportunity? The more you know your audience and can anticipate their reactions, the better skilled you will be at crafting the best laughs. As part of Lightspeed GMI’s Election in Context project, we’ve pulled out some details that might help Trump make the most of this opportunity. 

In our first blog with marketing research veteran Kristin Luck, we discussed the need and success of Women in Research (WIRe). Now, we address her thoughts on gender equality within the industry and beyond.

To App or not to App?

Pepsi vs. Coke? Android vs. Apple? There never seems to be a right answer to these questions, but people are still strongly opinionated about their preferred brand.

One question that may be up for debate even longer is app vs. web.  

There are pages of stats and infographics, including the examples below, that highlight the strengths of apps for people to gain access on their mobile. Some things might always (currently) be done via the browser and even via the PC (i.e., banking) but when there is a choice the app is head and shoulders above.