qualitative research, consumer trends, social media

In this first full day of the Obama administration, I have been thinking about the lessons we can take away from his masterful campaign. There are probably hundreds of them, but a few seem to me to be particularly relevant for marketers: [please read on…]

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In my last post, I talked about the need for more women to be recognized for their contribution to the market research industry. And I wrote that I was nominating Judy Langer for this year’s Charles Coolidge Parlin Marketing Research Award given by the AMA.

But Judy is not just deserving of the award because she is a woman. Her contribution to the industry is enormous. She has done more than anyone else I know to champion and further the practice of qualitative market research.

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When I began my career in market research in the seventies, I would guess that women represented at least half of the people in the field. I worked in two of the largest market research departments ever established. Quaker had about 120 people, with its own field, code and tab departments. Sears was even larger, with its own WATS interviewing division. In each of these MR departments, women made up about half the staff.
The independent field services were dominated by woman-owned companies that started in suburban kitchens and basements, employing armies of women who did the door-to-door interviewing so common back then. Despite the fact that most corporate departments were headed by men, the industry felt egalitarian and a good place for a woman to be recognized and progress.

Fast forward almost 40 years. [please read on…]

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Here’s a fitting ending to 2008 - a link to a collection of end cards from old movies. Go to the link here and click on each individual picture to see what movie it came from. If you guessed more than 10, you beat me!

So many ways of saying “The End”. Here’s hoping for a good beginning and happy times ahead.

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Tis the time of year for predicting what lies ahead. I’ve been scanning the internet and peering into my crystal ball. I’m not claiming any special powers, but the following predictions seem to make sense to me.

1. Economic growth, as measured by GDP, will be negative for all of 2009 largely due to the contraction in consumer spending and investment. The only segment that has the potential to offset these declines is reduction in the foreign trade deficit. We will import less, but we do not have the manufacturing capacity to increase exports by any significant amount. Net effect: economic contraction with significant loss of jobs and consumer spending in freefall. [please read on…]

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Let me preface what follows by saying that I was an early fan of Fresh&Easy when it first opened its stores near my home in Arizona. This may have had something to do with the fact that I grew up in England and worked for Tesco’s (their parent) on Saturdays while still in school. (The pound I earned in the shirt department may have bought my loyalty - so full disclosure here.) On the basis of what I was reading before the open, I certainly liked the concept of a chain of 10,000 sq ft “neighborhood” markets focusing on fresh, affordable food. I was thinking Mark & Spencers food department meets Trader Joes. [please read on…]

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This is a follow-on from yesterday when I suggested that economics could benefit from more of a qualitative take on things. And not just because most economists have failed to get things right lately. Nothing much new there. No, this is about a more fundamental problem. The very definition of “the economy”.

Economics, as defined in most basic textbooks, is about the allocation of resources, REAL resources. It is not about the allocation of money, or the Gross National Product, or how well the DOW is doing, or even job losses. But these measurable things have become what we understand by economics. The “Economy” has become about what can be counted. What can’t be counted, according to economists, simply doesn’t count. [please read on…]

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When I set out to write this blog, it was pretty obvious that one of the things that I would be writing about would be qualitative market research. It’s what I know best, at least professionally.

I began using focus groups as a client in the early seventies, then later as a moderator and head of my own qualitative firm. This was against a backdrop of a heavy dose of quant research and econometrics. It took me a while to focus entirely on the qualitative side of market research, but this is where I finally felt I belonged.

Qualitative is the type of research that doesn’t count - literally. No numbers, just listening to words, watching for the little things, looking for patterns, sometimes weaving in a little poetry. [please read on…]

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There have been several tempests in social media teapots lately. I think we have grown used to the madding crowd’s readiness to pounce on any evil corporation stepping out of line. There was the uproar of the Motrin Moms and just last week, the consternation over German ads for Pepsi Max depicting a cartoon calorie committing suicide. Disturbing enough to me, that I added my tweet to the many that felt the same way.

But in the past couple of days, we’ve been treated to two examples of the in-crowd eating their own. [please read on…]

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