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The Internet: Its not just information anymore

By Jim Bryson on September 9, 2009 8:57 AM | No Comments

The world wide web is gaining on television as American's entertainment venue of choice.  The Conference Board released its quarterly Consumer Internet Barometer showing that 25% of American households watch TV online.  This is up from 20% a year ago.  Hulu.com is gaining ground quickly with collections such as "The Office,"  "America's Got Talent," and "Saturday Night Live."  The report also states that 80% of consumers log on to the Internet daily for entertainment as well as communication and work.  You can see the press release at:  http://www.itnewsonline.com/showprnstory.php?storyid=63330

The implications for qualitative research are numerous.  Here are a few:

  1. Advertisers will continue to flock after consumers and will continue to transition to the Internet.
  2. Research will follow advertisers and become more Internet based.
  3. Consumer technology becomes more capable with online video enabling additional use of video for online research and face to face research.
  4. Online research becomes more natural for participants and clients.  It also becomes more necessary to match the research design to the medium.

 

A Strategist's Case for Qualitative

By Jim Bryson on April 13, 2009 2:21 PM | No Comments

As qualitative researchers we sometimes "know" we are getting the answers but we don't have the statistical precision of a quant methodologist to prove our point.  Subjective arguments just don't carry the same gravitas as objective, quantitative ones.  With that frustration in mind, I have lifted a portion of a post by Victoria Else from her blog, "Behind the Two Way Mirror."  The entire post can be found at http://themarketartist.blogspot.com/2009/04/illusion-of-quantitative-result.html

 

The mirage of quantitative messaging

...

So here's my plea. First, if you haven't already, read The Black Swan; it's both necessary and delightful. Second, ask yourself some serious questions about quantitative research. It may be--heresy though this is--that qualitative is nearly always a much better basis for the development of marketing messages.

I am not completely anti-quant. Segmentation and behavioral models can lift your results if they are narrative-free (i.e., reflect no assumptions), easy to validate in real-time, and frequently refreshed. However, quantitative messaging studies over-complicate and even distort our understanding of human attitudes and behaviors.

Continue reading A Strategist's Case for Qualitative.

Brand Creative Testing using Mind Clouds

By Jim Bryson on April 10, 2009 8:04 PM | No Comments

All moderators have asked themselves whether to introduce advertising creative early in the focus group to minimize bias or later in the group to better understand context.  Emiel Van Wegen offers the following specific advice on how to conduct a focus group on new advertising creative.  Emiel writes a blog, Research Reinvented, that can be found at:  http://researchreinvented.blogspot.com/

7 April 2009

Mind Cloud to clarify the picture in qualitative research

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This time a qualitatively focused post - pinpointing at a new approach for creative concept testing. How can we get a more systematic and objective way of delivering this insight? Let's explore...:
 
The use of qualitative research for creative evaluation was developed in the 1960s. To better understand the reactions to advertising ideas companies needed a clear "read" on the ads. Almost 50 years later and the standard way of researching creatives the qualitative way still stands unchanged; warm-up, show the creative, ask questions and close.
 
So having shown the ad during the qualitative session, moderators ask about how the ad fits with, or changes the brand. the "ad first" method causes two problems: Without prior measure, we cannot know what the effect of the creative is, because we need a benchmark from which to base our findings about what has changed. The other problem is the false presumption of the communication that affects the brand in the mind, but the reality is that the brands affects perception of the ad far more than the ad affects perception of the brand!
Deep interpretation of an execution arises for the chemistry between the pre-existing relationship with the brand and the content of the communication.
Continue reading Brand Creative Testing using Mind Clouds.
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