Marketing in Real Life

One of the sessions I attended at the ARF Conference was a panel discussion that included the CEOs from Kantar, GFK, Nielsen, and TNS. Here is a sampling of responses wehn asked about what they could do better to drive data quality and increase the usefulness of research deliverables. Be bold in the delivery of insight and recommendations Think about what consumers are getting out of their survey experience Explore ways to better leverage technology Focus less on large sample sizes and more on research goals and objectives and how to meet them Make senior executives and researchers fill out surveys Continue to develop the ability to merge data sets Hire a better mix of researchers and non-researchers And the big one is to remember that ensuring the quality of insights and data is a joint responsibility between suppliers and clients. More to come...

Over the next few weeks I'll share some of the insights I gained at the ARF Conference this week in talking to colleagues, watching presentations and reading what other companies are up to. For today I'll focus on one key point that stuck with me from a thoroughly entertaining and informative session featuring John Zogby – President & CEO of Zogby International and Joel Benenson – Founding Partner & President, Benenson Strategy Group, the strategy firm behind Barack Obama's campaign. While much of the discussion focused on political polling - the notion of norms and benchmarks came up and were somewhat dismissed by the panel. The world is changing at a rapid pace and many of us are working in uncharted territories - whether that means new purchase channels, new information sources, or new levels of brand engagement through online communities, widgets, and applications. So what do benchmarks really mean? The way we buy and consider products and services today is very...