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.

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.

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.

Will voice technology have a major impact on the collection of data in marketing research?

Surveys are changing. Even with PCs and tablets available, respondents are choosing to complete surveys on their mobile devices. Open-ended questions are often reduced or eliminated as a way to shorten surveys for mobile compatibility; voice technology may enhance the survey experience on a mobile device by having the surveys read to you and enabling you to respond using your voice rather than typing on these small screen devices. Voice technology is quickly replacing both reading and typing on small screen mobile devices.