The country’s first ‘Tag der Marktforschung’ (Market Research Day) took place on 14 May as part of an initiative backed by industry associations to improve the public image of research.

Forty-nine agencies took part in 17 locations including Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Bonn and Stuttgart. Activities included public opinion surveys, product tests, visits to research facilities and demonstrations of technologies such as eye-tracking.

According to the organisers, more than 70% of participating firms rated the day as positive or very positive in a follow-up survey, and more than three quarters said they would join in again next year. However an analysis by German research agency Q suggested that the day’s activities had made minimal impact in social media.

The most positive feedback came from the cities where the most agencies took part, the organisers said.

The questions most commonly asked by members of the public related to topics such as what happens with research results, how participants are selected and how personal data is protected.

The day was part of the Market and Social Research Initiative, which aims to promote the benefits of the research industry to the public, highlight the importance of data protection and clarify the distinction between research and marketing. Promotional posters and radio ads encourage people to “say yes” to research.

Meanwhile RSM’s latest state of the industry survey found support for the idea of similar initiatives in the UK. More than half of respondents said they would like to see the industry support a campaign to promote the benefits of research to the general public, while a quarter said they disagreed.

At a recent event Danny Russell, chair of research user association Aura, said that researchers would not be taken seriously when telling clients how to position their brands unless the industry was able to appropriately position itself.