OPINION20 March 2012

Fit for the future?

The transformative impact of new technology and consumer change on market research “has become a cliché”, said Cambiar’s Simon Chadwick in this afternoon’s MRS Conference session on the future of research.

The transformative impact of new technology and consumer change on market research “has become a cliché”, said Cambiar’s Simon Chadwick in this afternoon’s MRS Conference session on the future of research.

Agencies are expected to do more with less – and faster. All this while grappling with new methods, a huge flow of new sources of information, and rapidly evolving global markets. But there’s no point complaining, because, as Coca-Cola’s chief marketing officer Joe Tripodi said at a research event last year, “if you don’t like change, you’ll like irrelevance a whole lot less”.

“We need to seize this role as synthesisers of information,” said Chadwick, urging researchers to position themselves as thought leaders. MRS CEO Jane Frost agreed, but said it won’t be easy. “There’s a huge opportunity here, but there’s a skills gap. It’s very interesting to me as an ex-client. I would have loved to see agencies that understood my business, but also had the influencing skills.” She called on researchers to have more faith in themselves and make their voices heard.

Kantar’s Eric Salama agreed. “A lot of our people don’t feel comfortable giving a point of view. They feel very comfortable delivering the data – they don’t feel comfortable saying, ‘What I think you need to do is x.’”

Danny Russell, vice chair of research client body Aura, said agencies need to understand that their clients see research as just one of countless sources of insight. “At Aura, the only thing that we talk about is insight,” he said. “Research is one part of what makes that up.”

But buyers who don’t foster effective partnerships with their agencies must take some of the blame too, Russell said. “Unless clients open up and give agencies the additional information to turn research into insight, it’s really tough.”

@RESEARCH LIVE

0 Comments