Shattering research myths, changing expectations: Key Insights from the MRA 2010 First Outlook

By Meghan VH
November 16, 2010
After recently attending the Marketing Research Association’s (MRA) First Outlook Conference in Orlando, FL, I was excited to come back to the office to relay the current happenings of the market research industry and to implement the new techniques I learned. I participated in an insightful and useful course on data visualization by Naomi B. Robbins, PhD. Taking a page from graphing guru Edward Tufte, and perhaps the lesser-known William Cleveland, Robbins put her own spin on graphical presentation of data. Naomi walked us through examples of “bad” charts with a special emphasis on 3-D bar and pie charts.
One of my favorite quotes from Robbins came at this point – “In 2010, no one’s impressed that you can create a 3-D graphic.” She then explained how using knowledge on human perception can help us create better graphs and then showed us examples of “good” charts. However, she was quick to mention that you must keep your audience in mind when creating presentations. While log scales and a scatterplot matrix might be everyday to some audiences, it might confuse others. I came away from this with rampant intent to bring more clarity to our presentations – but still keeping the Sentient spin. I love that I could immediately implement some of Naomi’s techniques in Sentient’s presentations.
Some key themes became apparent during this conference. Social media – how to use and measure it – is obviously a hot topic in the U.S. market research industry. There was no doubt of this at the conference; in fact, social media was featured in 1 full-day course, 1 keynote panel, 1 buzz session and 1 regular session during the 3-day conference. While there was still hyped up talk that “social media is changing everything,” there was also some skepticism. One marketer made the point that “social media is just another tool in our arsenal,” and I overheard a colleague say “…it’s just another way to measure.” At Sentient, we want to keep social media in perspective – it is a useful tool to gauge perceptions, but it’s just one of many tools, and may not be the best tool in all cases. It is critical to apply good thinking and rigor to social media – this is where researchers are able to help.
Given the current economic situation, it will probably come as no surprise that ways to improve operations kept cropping up during the conference. Everyone wants to do more with less. Robert M. Groves, one of the leaders of the 2010 U.S. Census provided an overview of how the Census was conducted, and the focus on cost reduction throughout the process. Tim Cupp, a product manager at Porsche Cars North America also mentioned costs as an impetus to conducting in-depth interviews (IDIs) with Porsche Cayman enthusiasts – “Tapping into your enthusiasts can be a way to save money.” Lastly, there was a keynote panel on ISO certification on the last day of the conference. While some companies might balk at the costs and inconveniences of the full process required for ISO certification, all companies can benefit from performing an internal audit of their current procedures and processes.
Insights – how and where to find them as well as what to do when you find them – was another key theme throughout the conference. In fact, insights came into play during most sessions. Finding the insights in social media is key to measuring it. Additionally, focusing on insights – the prioritized items that will actually improve business – is critical when working with reduced budgets. However, I attended a session specifically on Best Buy’s recently formed Consumer Insights Unit (CIU) presented by Julie Beth McFall, PhD. McFall gave attendees a background on Best Buy’s CIU and talked specifically about its programs. She provided a definition on insights that I will definitely be borrowing – insights are “…finished intelligence that drives business.” There are two parts that are important in this definition: 1) finished intelligence (i.e., fully developed, thought out and explored); and 2) drives business. It is critical for research companies to keep both aspects in mind when working with end clients. Julie Beth was also quick to point out that Best Buy wants to work with partners who will provide actionable data and recommendations for them, not just a data dump. We also heard this from researchers and end-clients at the American Marketing Association (AMA) conference in September.
As a research firm that specializes in the subconscious, it is no surprise that I was on the lookout for anything related to the subconscious at MRA First Outlook. Jack Wakshlag, PhD from Turner Broadcasting understood the idea that traditional surveys utilizing stated consumer responses do not always accurately predict behavior. Wakshlag takes an observational approach in that he uses purely behavioral data (e.g., Nielsen reports of media usage) when making decisions. What Jack fails to realize though, is that you can get at the true drivers of consumer behavior without asking consumers specific questions but also without looking purely at observational research. Edward Chao from Emotion Mining in Boston also focused on the subconscious in his session on “Illuminating Emotional Drivers of Consumer Behavior.” Edward also understood that we cannot rely on stated consumer responses to accurately predict behavior. His company developed an online tool that taps into consumer emotion using projective techniques and free association. The intensity of these emotions can then be measured using a linguistic algorithm (developed by the company’s founder, Dr. Tom Snyder). While the methodology is interesting and does seem to correspond with consumer behavior in the case studies presented, I see two main issues: 1) small sample sizes (the sample sizes Chao mentioned in the case studies were all around 100); and 2) the linguistic algorithm requires participants to think about their emotions in terms of words.
I came away from this conference hopeful in that there’s a burgeoning sense in the industry that stated responses to surveys do not typically give us the best predictive data. However, I did not see a method comparable to Sentient’s Automatic Brand Association (ABA) methodology in its practicality, elegance and power. With innovative, leading edge companies always on the lookout for methods that will illuminate the true drivers of consumer behavior, Sentient’s ABA methodology fits nicely into that niche.
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