The communications industry is in a period of massive change. It is a time when more than ever, we need to be grounded in an understanding of people’s evolving behaviour and needs. But at this moment of opportunity the industry is waking up to the fact that instead of leading the way, a lot of qualitative research is based on faulty assumptions, has not kept up with cultural change or scientific learning about how the brain works, and may actually be hindering success. This is not the fault of researchers: most companies use market research poorly and don’t ask for innovation in research. But this situation runs the risk of damaging qualitative research’s value and credibility at a time when it is most needed; and researchers, clients, and agencies need to work together to win that credibility back.

1. is qual holding us back?
22.02.08
jason oke
head of planning
juniper park

4. roi

5. does research
provide its own roi?

6. “over 50% of the research done at
companies is wasted. they’re asked to
do things that, even if the research
project is perfect, it won't be useful. it’s
covering-your-butt kind of thinking.”
– bob barocci
ceo, advertising research foundation
adage, sept 24 2007

7. “[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

8. “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

9. 1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008

10. three issues facing qual today
1 we haven’t kept up with culture
2 we haven’t kept up with science
3 we’re not vigilant enough about how it’s
used

11. 1 we haven’t kept up with culture

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

13. now it’s assumed.

18. response rates are low
it’s hard to recruit decent
respondents
is it any wonder?

19. today, research is a brand touchpoint
but most market research
is a highly negative brand experience

20. communication needs to engage and
provide value…
why is research any different?

21. “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

22. “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
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

23. what can we learn from culture?
people will enjoy contributing
… when it’s fun & interesting
… when they get to be creative
… when it’s interactive

27. “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,
imaginative research will
this kind of
soon be all that anyone’s going
to pay for.”
- russell davies

28. ethnography
observation
projective games
storytelling

29. 2 we haven’t kept up with science

31. research tends to assume
1. people are aware of their
behaviour/needs/wants/motivations
2. people can access and describe
those things to others
… neither is particularly true

32. we ask people questions they can’t answer

33. “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

41. Hang in there,baby!!!

42. “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

43. making you think about a choice
unconsciously changes
your answer

44. towards
cautious
safe
familiar choices
because they are easier to explain

45. so we are often
highly skeptical of new ideas
the first time we see them

46. “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

47. but all of this isn’t
necessarily a problem
the problem is taking the answers at
face value

48. 3 we’re not vigilant enough in ensuring
research is used properly

49. what people say
vs
what people mean

50. the questions we want answered
vs
the questions we ask

51. part of the problem is how
research is used

52. fear of failure
fear of blame
inability to make decisions
habit
history
support

54. “let the consumer decide.”

55. no one ever got fired
for doing “what consumers
said we should do”

56. “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

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

58. “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.”
– bob barocci
ceo, advertising research foundation

59. researchers clients
agencies

60. build bridges to your partners
don’t just wait for a project to come up
discuss this when there’s nothing urgent looming

61. we all need to work together to
stick up for better research
the people who can make the
biggest difference are in this room

62. it’s not rocket science
we need to say “no” more often
“… we can’t do it that way, and here’s why”

63. we need to educate our
colleagues
that our brains are
good at some things
and bad at others

64. we are good at
associating
understanding

65. we are bad at
explaining & describing
what we want
what we like like
and why we do things

66. we need to get beyond self-
reported descriptions &
explanations

67. it doesn’t need to be complicated

71. ask less
observe more
learn from culture & science
make it fun again
fight for good research

72. and
hang in there,
baby

73. thanks.
http://jasonoke.wordpress.com