Reporter's Notebook
All posts from: September 2011
Listen to the tweeple – but only speak when spoken to
New research from Maritz and its social intelligence arm Evolve24 suggests people are happy for companies to respond to them about complaints they have made on Twitter.
Thoughts on Esomar Congress: don't lose your balance
Whatever research methods you choose to use, approach them with caution, take them in moderation and don’t lose your balance.
Best behaviour
Speakers at this week’s Esomar Congress in Amsterdam brought authority and experience to the hot topic of behavioural economics.
Changing with the times
The Netherlands no longer has a market research association. Instead it has a Centre for Information Based Decision Making and Marketing Research. Should other associations follow suit?
Failing to sell yourself
“If you’re going to come in and tell me how to make my product acceptable to consumers, then please, please, please think back again about your own product,” says Reckitt Benckiser’s global research boss.
Where should you open your next research office?
Five researchers fly the flag for their chosen location at Esomar Congress.
Speaking the language of ROI
Danny Russell of Sky wants researchers to start translating percentages into pounds, euros and dollars.
The rules of the game
The idea of gamification has captured the imagination of the research industry recently. But what happens when you apply it in practice?
Brain scans and beer ads
Delegates at Esomar Congress saw neuromarketing in action today, as Heineken’s Henk Eising showed how the brewer combined traditional qual research with neuroscience and biometric techniques to hone its TV ads.
Is it all just an illusion?
Most researchers would probably not want their work compared to a magician’s trick.
Confirmation bias – or, Why I love this paper by Boyd & Crawford
Danah Boyd (pictured), “one of the most influential women in technology”, warns researchers: just because social media data is accessible doesn’t make it ethical to use.
Boris Johnson and the questionable questionnaire
London Mayor Boris Johnson has embarked on a bit of election campaigning under the guise of a survey.The questionnaire posted on the Back Boris 2012 site (which came to our attention via RS Consulting on Twitter) is pretty shameless stuff – with each question preceded by a sentence detailing something wonderful Johnson has done, like this:
"You gotta be yo self, no point in actin'"
As curators of atrocious corporate research rap (or CR-RAP) videos, we’re embarrassed to say this one from Alterian, dating back to February 2010, passed us by.
Research is beautiful
With so much great information design out there, it’s surprising how little of it comes from the world of research.
