FEATURE30 December 2013

2014 Preview: The biggest buzzwords

Big data and mobile topped the charts for 2013’s biggest buzzwords according to Research contributors. But will they continue to take top billing in 2014?

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According to our experts: yes. Though contrary to 2013, mobile is expected to be a bigger deal than big data over the next 12 months.

In fact, many anticipate – or at least hope – that it will cease to be a ‘buzzword’ and will instead become a fundamental part of research:

“Continuing upon the last 7 years, 2014’s biggest buzzword will continue to be ‘mobile’. With this said, this is likely to be the last year, as mobile will no longer be a buzzword and rather it will become the norm.” David Shim, Placed  

“I have a fear that it will be similar buzzwords to what we have seen this year, and to some extent last year (mobile, big data, passive measurement, social media, etc) but hope that it is the buzzwords and phrases we live and breathe, of API integration, supply chain efficiency, sample automation, and a general push towards DIY” Richard Thornton, Cint

On a similar theme, the shift towards platform neutrality will be key to mobile remaining a hot topic in 2014:

“For online panel companies success will be panellists becoming free to complete a study on any device. This in turn will feed double-digit growth for global online research as we will be able to do more research, in more markets with more engaged respondents.” Martin Filz, GMI

Frederic Charles Petit of Toluna believes that market research will be a slicker machine in the coming year. His buzzword for 2014 is ‘democratisation’: “The Democratisation of Research: where MR is real-time, easier to access, and faster to action.”

Small data?

Going back to big data, Crispin Beale of CIE believes that the next 12 months should be about paring back, not scaling up:

“Big Data was the word of 2013. But going into 2014 ‘simplicity’ should be the end-goal for clients. Big Data was a monumental concept for our industry, but it didn’t help solve the research questions that keep marketers awake at night, just created a raft of new questions and challenges for them to contemplate.”

Fair data

Chloe Fowler of Razor has a number of predictions for 2014, and they all sound fairly familiar: “I’m guessing that Fair Data will continue to be used frequently in 2014. And neuromarketing. And I don’t think twerking or selfies are going to be dying down anytime soon.”

Lisa Wilding-Brown of uSamp agrees that fairness is a vital concept for 2014, with her 2014 buzzword of ‘privacy’: “With great power comes great responsibility – especially when it comes to consumer data. When respondents complete surveys they invite us into their personal space, and marketing professionals and companies should respect that space. In 2013, data collection and sharing became a hotly contested issue, so as mobile market research expands, we need to be sensitive to privacy rights by maintaining transparency and handling information sensitively and responsibly.”

Integration

Melanie Courtright of Research Now and Graeme Lawrence of Join the Dots both had a similar view on research becoming more joined-up in the coming year. Lawrence called it ‘aggregation’, and Courtright had this to say: “Integrated data. Not just big data, or survey data, or social media data. But integrated data.”

A selection of other predicted buzzwords were, in no particular order: geo-fencing, co-opetition, triangulation, internet of things, return-of-the-real, growth-hacking, design-thinking and… Brazil. We look forward to finding out how many of these hit the money.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to discover what our contributors think success will look like in 2014

1 Comment

10 years ago

Indeed, there is no doubt that mobile has reached a critical mass. Well done to all agencies, associations and publications that have done massive work in educating clients and brands for the last few years. At MRMW, more clients than ever are presenting successful mobile case studies and best practices. Yes, mobile is now structurally embedded into clients' research toolbox.

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