The credibility problem

11.09.07 presented to the market research & intelligence association qualitative research day jason oke vp strategic planning leo burnett canada the credibility problem why respect for research is eroding, and why we need to win it back

i love research.

ROI

does qual provide its own ROI?

“ over 50% of the research done at companies is wasted . they’re asked to do things that, even if the research project is perfect, won't be useful . it’s covering-your-butt kind of thinking.”

bob barocci

ceo, advertising research foundation

adage, sept 24, 2007

“ [research] is this huge industry of billions of dollars that anyone basically can do .”

alison zelen

director of consumer & market insights, unilever

adage, sept 24, 2007

“ it’s like the hole in the ozone layer. everyone knows it’s a growing problem . but they just ignore it and go on to the next project.”

shari morwood, vp-worldwide market research, ibm

adage, october 2, 2006

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 media has changed marketing has changed has market research?

three issues facing qual today

 it hasn’t kept up with culture

 it hasn’t kept up with science

 we’re not vigilant enough about how it’s used

 qual hasn’t kept up with culture

getting the chance to give feedback to a company used to be interesting.

now it’s assumed.

response rates are low

it’s hard to recruit decent respondents

is it any wonder?

research is a brand touchpoint

and most market research is actually a highly negative brand experience

we know communications needs to engage and provide value in order to be effective… what about research?

“ The core problem is one of relevance and value . If more research were relevant and provided value back to participants, then more people would be participating. It’s pure economics and incentives .”

Max Kalehoff, Nielsen

“ It’s a symptom of the horribly compartmentalised way most of us do our jobs that we can spend half our day thinking of delicious and imaginative ways to delight our audience.

And then, in the next meeting, we round up some of the same people so we can show them dozens of stupid ideas in a fake living room…

[we take our] best and most influential customers, shove them in a dreary room for a couple of hours, confuse them with obtuse questions and odd drawings and then sent them on their way with £20

On the one hand we’re trying our hardest to be persuasive and seductive, on the other we’re strip-mining people’s heads .”

- Russell Davies

former Global Strategy Director, Nike

Campaign, August 30, 2007

what can we learn from culture?

people enjoy contributing when it’s fun & interesting

people enjoy it when they get to be creative

people enjoy it when it’s interactive

“ Imaginative research design can be like great video game design;

you can get respondents into a flow state, having purposeful fun with their answers, enjoying their experience with you, not noticing the time flying by. This not only gets you the answers you want, it leaves people liking you more. In a world where our customers are lining up to share their opinions anyway, this kind of

imaginative research will soon be all that anyone’s going to pay for.”

- Russell Davies

former Global Strategy Director, Nike

Campaign, August 30, 2007

imaginative research

ethnography

observation

storytelling

projective games

 qual hasn’t kept up with science

research tends to assume

people are aware of their behaviour/needs/wants/motivations

people can access and describe those things to others

… neither is particularly true

we ask people questions they can’t answer

“ the consumer does not behave as they say, they do not say what they think and they do not think what they feel” - david ogilvy

Hang in there,baby!!!

“ too much analysis can confuse people about how they really feel . there are severe limits to what we can discover through self-reflection.”

timothy wilson

university of virginia

new york times, dec 29 2005

making you think about a choice unconsciously changes

your answer

towards

cautious

safe

familiar choices

because they are easier to explain

so people are often

highly skeptical of new ideas the first time we see them

“ you simply can’t research your way to everything and here’s why: consumers prefer the familiar and can have a hard time accepting the unexpected… but consumers are not always right. ”

scott bedbury

ex-cmo nike & starbucks

Advertising Age, May 1 2006

all of this isn’t necessarily a problem

the problem is taking the answers at face value

 we’re not vigilant enough in ensuring research is used properly

research is often far too literal: we report what people say , rather than what they mean

part of the problem is how research is used

fear of failure

fear of blame

inability to make decisions

habit

history

support

no one ever got fired

for doing “what consumers

said we should do”

“ let the consumer decide.”

“ one should never simplify or pretend to be sure of such simplicity where there is none. if things were simple, word would have gotten around .”

jacques derrida

we all know better. we know when we’re doing ‘bad’ research.

“ researchers are to blame too… for not pushing back , or at least not disclosing what the quality trade-offs will be from low bids and rushed timelines.”