NOTE: This article will only make sense if you’ve received this month’s Research World mag.

When I wrote this slightly provocative piece for Research World (link only active during Nov ‘09) based on my feeling that quallies lacked ambition, I fully expected criticism and counter arguments.

Now, I did get a few folks telling me they agreed with the central tenets of my argument, namely that quallies weren’t innovating as much as they could be, or as much as entrepreneurs from outside the market research industry or some quant. firms.

But I didn’t get any criticism. Until now. And it’s come from an unexpected quarter: Simon Chadwick, editor-in-chief of Research World itself.

Here’s what Simon wrote:

…In the qualitative arena, however, we are seeing developments that perhaps come closer: collaborative research, ethnography and co-creation all feature heavily of accounts of development in qualitative. Indeed, Lewis and van der Wal conclude that co-creation can actually lead to increased brand loyalty, so perhaps there are hidden benefits to the ‘new’ qualitative!

Despite this, Surinder argues that innovation in qualitative research appears to be rather linear, as opposed to what is going on in quant. which he characterises as exponential. It is not often that I disagree with my old friend Surinder, but this is one of those times.

Simon is indeed a friend. But, hey, friends can disagree with one another.

You see, my target was the folks in the traditional part of the qualitative industry. That’s why I referred in my title to ‘quallies’ and not the ‘qualitative industry’.

Just as Simon does, I talk up the range of wonderful developments in areas such as neuroscience, biometrics and mass ethnography. But I then make this point:

You’ve [quallies] made a good start with those hybrid techniques. But some of the most interesting and potentially successful developments are arguably coming from ‘outsiders’ – entrepreneurs in quantitative and from outside the industry.

By which I was referring to developments in neuroscience which is being popularised by marketing ‘guru’ Martin Lindstrom. And the fact that quant. behemoth Nielsen has recently invested in Neurofocus (interestingly, Nielsen CEO David Calhoun sits on their board so this investment is clearly not casual). And the fact that online quant. agency BrainJuicer is experimenting with mass ethnography to scale its analogue cousin.

Simon’s core point is that quallies have been instrumental in these new developments. That may be the case but why aren’t they more prominent? Why aren’t they gunning to be the next Nielsen? That’s right, I absolutely think they should be building the next $1bn research company. If that sounds ridiculous for a qual. company then that’s not what I’m talking about; I’m talking, as Simon does in his piece, about a company that infuses deep and rich qualitative understanding into a scale business. It would be the ultimate research company. And it’s the ambition of a number of companies I know of. None of which do any significant level of traditional qual.

The difference of opinion may be one of vantage point. In any case, I still believe, in a positive way, that quallies aren’t ambitious enough. As I conclude in the piece…

Radical change is happening whether we like it or not. You have the talent, resources and nurturing environment to take advantage of that. Use that power wisely.

This podcast accompanies our article in the Oct ‘09 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

I had the privilege of chatting with inventor, entrepreneur and futurologist Ray Kurzweil recently. Here’s the full conversation in podcast form. (The full writeup will appear in October’s issue of Research World.)

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Our article in the Sep ‘09 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Sony founder, Akio Morita, once said: “Curiosity is the key to creativity.” So, given how curious researchers are, we decided to speak to some client-side researchers to discover ways in which they have used creativity to amplify the value of research.

 
The Listener
Dr. Simon Roberts, Lead, Design/Social Science, Digital Health Europe, Intel

Roberts’ solution has been to turn some of his findings and insights into well-produced booklets and brochures, something he did for a recent global ageing study with hundreds of in-depth interviews: “Let’s put it all in a booklet and make sure that every person in the organisation for whom this is relevant gets a copy on their desk. We can also use it externally to tell a story about our work.”

Pop here for the rest of the article – available only for a limited time – and do subscribe to Research World magazine.

Our article in the Jun ‘09 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Professor Robert Shaw is Honorary Professor of Marketing Metrics at Cass Business School and the author of ten books including Marketing Payback, We talk to him about the current state of marketing effectiveness and his new initiative designed to improve it.

In the current recession, marketing is under extreme pressure, as cost cutting sweeps business. Luckily marketers have plenty of opportunity to improve their effectiveness, since in the boom years they had become very inefficient, and money was routinely wasted on marketing activities that did not deliver, and mistakes were ignored and often repeated.
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Our article in the Apr ‘09 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Memes aren’t merely some abstract academic idea. They are real. And they’re becoming big business.

In a market dominated by firms that aren’t from the mainstream research community, Vittal anoints Nielsen BuzzMetrics and TNS Cymfony as the leaders in “a pack of strong performers.”
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Our article in the Feb ‘09 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

How a passionate focus on value along with other basic approaches are helping retailers to survive and thrive during the downturn.

In this Darwinian environment, retailers need to adapt or face the real prospect of death.
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Our article in the Jan ‘09 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Martin Lindstrom’s new book and company, Buyology, hope to kick start the next wave of neuromarketing. Will they deliver?

So, just what is Buyology all about?
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Our article in the Dec ‘08 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Brand health monitoring is an important tool, particularly during tough economic times when managing RoI becomes critical for CMOs. But what are some of the tools, and are they fit for purpose?

And voltage? That, says Walshe, reflects how effectively consumers move up the bonding levels. Strong brands tend to have high conversation ratios between the levels.
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Our article in the Nov ‘08 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

In an age where innovation is de rigeur, we look into how well qualitative is keeping up with the times.

But far from being a Luddite, Forrest is innovating, it just takes him a while to acknowledge this. And that’s not dissimilar from the initial reaction we get from others we spoke to.
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Our Spotlight column in the Mar ‘07 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Being prepared and empowered to take risks is fundamental to true innovation and progress.

In the words of Sir Ken Robinson, the inspirational Educator and Innovator, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”
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