Avoiding the Professional Respondent and Getting a Glimpse at a Consumer’s Real World

by Allison Marsh, Vice President, Consumer Insights

The other night I was watching some late night TV and I saw a commercial for a Big Spot Surveys promoting its website bigspot.com. While it is not the best commercial - it is not funny, not really visually interesting, nor is it especially well done - it got me thinking. Market research has really become big business – from a consumer point of view.

Having spent the majority of my career in the research business, I am very much aware of the professional focus group respondent and professional survey takers but I think that this Big Spot commercial really hammered home the point that participating in research has truly become a job for some people – especially given the current economic climate.

So what does this mean? It means that there are consumers who have become extremely savvy when it comes to research. They know what to say to get chosen to participate in the research, they understand what different brands are looking for, and they are looking to please the researchers so that they could get more “work.” All of this added up could mean that brands who take the right steps and conduct research might not be getting the answers that they are looking for. They might be getting a glossy, half version of what consumers really think and believe. The trouble is that many of the “powers that be” that require the numbers and stats, need to see respondents on the other side of the glass.

So how do you get to that real answer? There are a couple of different ways. One way is to employ a more rigorous screening process to make sure that the consumers that participate are not the professional ones. Another way is to mix up the research methodologies that you use to get to the answers. For example, combine a more traditional online survey with a non-traditional research methodology such as an ethnographic study or observational research.

Combining traditional and non-traditional research methodologies - benefits brands in two ways – they can satisfy the higher ups and they can potentially uncover insights they haven’t seen before. Non-traditional research can give you a glimpse into the consumer’s real world. It allows you to get to know consumers without them knowing you are trying to get to know them.

Today’s consumers are savvy. They understand all our “marketing” tricks. They are onto us. And when it comes to research they have started to play our game. Some of them are playing better than us. As marketers and researchers we need to work harder to understand what they think, feel and believe. We need to dig deeper and find new ways to get into their world so we can find our answers and insights. We need to get a little bit more creative.
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My Cell Phone has a First Name

Bu Jason Rivera, Director, Consumer Insights

I read the interwebs. Not just like a few interwebs. I mean, like, a LOT of interwebs. I’m also a huge tech nerd. You would think these unassuming traits would keep me abreast of the lingo-of-the-moment used to describe things like cell phones. Well, no such luck.

The term “smartphone” has been around for the better part of six years, but there was never a suitable opposing descriptor for wireless devices of lesser ilk. “Dumbphone” and “not a smartphone” have always been the conversational defaults, and “featurephone” has always been the nerdy, industry term. But with marketers and socialites alike, the doggedly unsexy “featurephone” just never really caught on. Well, now you get no choice.

The industry. The interwebs. They’re all conspiring against us. “Featurephone” is winning out. With all the hot smartphone gossip out there, comparisons have been made, and they point the finger squarely at featurephones. The verbiage is catching on, and it’s time we all started to embrace it. Now - one word or two? That is still up to your fanciful discretion. Have at it.
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Buy Now – Save Later. A Media Strategy For The Recession

By Karen Macumber, SVP Media Services

If a store suddenly called you to offer a 50-80% discount off their entire inventory would you say “no way?” It seems today that most consumers would be more likely to at least go to the store and stock up on the items you know you’ll need. Now apply that same situation using media as the store and advertising as the inventory. The media companies are offering crazy discounts on advertising inventory – not just the unsold placements but literally all inventory (print, online, OOH, broadcast, you name it). And the discounts are not simply based on reductions in circulation or viewers, but rather reductions against the base rate resulting in a significant increase in overall value.

Case in point -- we just negotiated a six city radio buy for a client (spend under $300K) which included a “value-add” premiere event sponsorship (client’s mascot in the actual event programming). A year ago that event sponsorship alone would have sold for $80K. While we’re good negotiators, in my 20+ years in this industry I haven’t seen anything like it. So I have to scratch my head as I watch companies in all industries cutting back instead of taking advantage of the media sale of a lifetime.

Take a guess at what will happen the minute the media industry starts to see the light at the end of the tunnel? That’s right, they will increase prices based on the simple laws of supply and demand. So if you are a company that knows your target audience and advertising objectives, why wouldn’t you have your agency create next year’s media plan right now to lock in lower rates? In other words, “stock up” on the media you know you’ll need in the near future.

While I’m no CFO, I can tell you if the CMO of my company came to me and explained that by spending a small fee for planning media now, the marketing budget could decrease next year while allowing the company to market like the larger competitors, guess what I’d say?

So get planning…..
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I "HEART" Free Stuff

Ally Moehring, Integrated PR Strategist

It’s no secret that I am a Twitter junkie. Personally, it is important to me to hear about Kourtney Kardashian’s pregnancy 5 seconds before you and to read @jordanrubin’s Tweets so I can giggle like a schoolgirl (translation: loudly guffaw and snort, I’m not dainty). Professionally, I have to know what consumers and brands are doing on Twitter to stay current and do my job, which is why last week when my personal Twitter self reaped the benefits of a brand leveraging the space in a way that my professional Twitter self often observes and admires, I felt the need to tell everyone and their brother about it. A few things led to my over the top word-of-mouth reaction:


#fact 1: I follow @drew on Twitter.
Drew Olanoff, an internet and social media expert was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma this year and has since launched a few campaigns including www.blamedrewscancer.com (#blamedrewscancer on Twitter), conversation threads on how cancer has affected you, and partnerships with Livestrong and a little Google-funded company called 23 and Me (www.23andme.com, www.twitter.com/23andme).

I think Drew is wicked cool. He is leveraging his social media expertise and his diagnosis, infused with a sense of humor, to raise awareness of cancer in a very public, approachable way. I often #blamedrewscancer on things like AMP’s office being stupid cold or my bike chain coming off on my way to work (you should try it, it’s quite therapeutic) and I have contributed to conversation threads that remind me that there is a huge network of people who have also been affected by this disease. So when Drew contacted me on Twitter and thanked me for my contribution to the conversation and offered me a free 23 and Me kit, I was psyched to say the least.

#fact 2: I have a history of cancer in my family.
23 and Me is an at-home DNA testing kit – they send you the kit, you spit in a cup, send it back, and in 4 weeks you log in to their secure site to find out what diseases you may be genetically predisposed to, learn about your ancestry, and find out quirky facts like are you genetically built for sprints or marathons (my guess in my case: neither). When I first heard of 23 and Me I thought it was pretty sweet, but honestly it freaked me out– would I want to know that I am genetically predisposed to breast cancer, bipolar disorder or heart disease? The thought of knowing made me nervous until the trial opportunity fell into my lap at which point my overwhelming love of free stuff helped me overcome my fears.

#fact 3: I LOVE free stuff.
In fact, I ate a free Cliff Bar for breakfast, serendipitously given to me on a morning when I had forgotten to eat breakfast, but I digress.

At AMP we talk a lot about the importance of trial. In my case I was offered a product that I feared trying and thought little more of other than, “Huh – cool,” and now my friends, family, and others who had previously never heard of it know all about it. So why increase trial, especially for a product that once used there is no need to re-use (as is the case with 23 and Me)? Because giving someone an opportunity to try your product can instantly make it relevant to them – I didn’t care much about 23andMe before I was offered a chance to try it – now I can’t imagine not wanting it. And because once you give free stuff to loot-lovers, the word-of-mouth benefits can be astounding. And when done right, leveraging Twitter to increase trial can result in meaningful and highly measurable online impressions and highly visible consumer endorsements.

I’ll let you know what my DNA test says about me, but in the meantime, if you are (un?)fortunate enough to be in my circle, expect to hear all about 23 and Me for the next 4 weeks and beyond.

Oh, and follow @drew (twitter.com/drew) and @23andme (twitter.com/23andme) – two very, very cool Twitter personalities doing very, very cool things.
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That Big, New Things You've Been Looking for is Here

It’s called 3D. You heard right – 3D. Yeah, sure, 3D has been around since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, but there is a lot of newfound excitement about it with geeks worldwide. The most recent generations of 3D that have been seen at Disney World, in children’s books or even as adaptations of box office hits is just a teaser to what’s around the corner. Scientists and cinematographers alike are experimenting with 3D technology where the viewer doesn’t need glasses to view it. This has implications across TV, print and movies, but also things like gaming and the toy industry. The world as you see it is about to change. Keep an eye out. Read more!

Facebook… The Future of Search???

By Josh Pike, Senior Vice President of Search

Facebook has recently unveiled some new changes to the search capabilities which strikes at the heart of some major usability issues with the site. In addition to categorization of search results by origin (i.e. groups, friends, pages, etc.) the new search functionality allows users to reach out beyond their network of friends to see information from any Facebook user that has a public profile.

I disagree with many in the industry that see this as an attempt to crush Twitter, which has always opened up search results to public profiles. Rather, expanding the scope of accessibility to information across Facebook will only help people make more connections with other likeminded individuals. The old platform made it easy to connect with people and causes that you already knew. This expanded search functionality will allow people to make those more difficult and vastly more available connections with people and groups that exist outside their direct or indirect networks.

If this move is a threat to anyone, it’s Google. The way that people find information on the Internet is changing. Search engines have done a great job of organizing the near infinite information that exists across the Internet, but most search results lack a degree of credibility. Social media sites put a person behind the information and people are naturally more adept at assessing the trustworthiness of other people then they are of websites. If Facebook can put a quality search platform behind the content that is flowing across their large and diverse userbase, it would certainly have the potential to impact people’s dependence on Google’s search results.
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Tweeting DURING Labor?!

by Allison Marsh, VP Consumer Insights

I just learned that the wife of Twitter CEO, Evan Williams (@ev’s wife @sara), has been tweeting during her labor. Her tweets followed her from when her water broke to when she was admitted to the hospital to when she asked for the epidural. As the CEO’s wife, I guess this sort of thing is expected. But as an expectant mom I sort of think that I am going to have other things on my mind when I go into labor.

But I don’t use Twitter – I have an account and I even have some followers but I have yet to Tweet or Re-Tweet. What differs between @sara and me is that Twitter has very much become part of her life and her lifestyle. So for her tweeting during labor may not be that big of a deal and it is probably a natural thing for her to do. Or maybe this is her way of helping her husband to generate some big PR. Read more!

Big Papi. Bigger Questions.

By Matt Jacobs, Senior Manager, Strategic Marketing

With conversations about Boston’s beloved David “Big Papi” Ortiz still swirling around the office, I was surprisingly unsurprised when I recently received an email with a stat that “20% of kids aged 8-14 know other children who regularly cheat at sports” (source: SI Kids and C&R Research). While I do truly believe that Papi was a victim of a supplement induced false positive (and as a Red Sox fan I’ll stand by that), it seems that we’re culturally beginning to shrug off cheating as just another part of the game.

Putting on my marketing hat, I’ve started to wonder, Is it fair to expect brands to drop their athlete endorsements because of an accusation, or even admittance, of cheating? I like Papi as one of the faces of Reebok/Glaceau/XM Radio not because he hits lots of homeruns, but because he’s charismatic, funny and personable. Even if ‘roids use rises to the surface, is it fair to penalize him now for something that wasn’t even banned when it may have happened?

Personally, I’m torn. As a weekend athlete and a former little league coach, I want to believe in good sportsmanship and fairness – the best players and teams win because they’re naturally the most talented, or have the most heart. But, it’s also easy for me to compare my favorite superstars’ actions to the brands they represent. In the dog-eat-dog world of these brands competing for consumers’ hearts and retailers’ shelf space, a leg up on the competition is almost always viewed as a good thing.

So let me pose a question: What qualifies as a Performance Enhancing Drug in the world of marketing? And, if it guaranteed more customers and larger profits, would you take it?
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Crowdsourcing?

by Katie Desmond, Senior Producer, Interactive

It seems that in this constantly evolving, digital world, each day there is something new and exciting to capture our attention. The trends ebb and flow but once in a while a new development comes to life which could have lasting implications, especially in the world of Marketing. This under hyped, lightly used example appears to be crowdsourcing. Essentially, crowdsourcing is the ability to share your idea with an entire online community at once, get their feedback, suggestions, ideas or even designs. Think of it as a large casting call per say – one actor will always rise to the top and get the part.

So how does this apply to marketing? Say you are working on your 2010 marketing plan, you have a few product ideas and can’t decide which will work best. Crowdsource it! Get your ideas out there, target the community and see what resonates. Your consumers will be grateful for your smart recommendations based on people who have raised their hands. Looking to send a new product to market but not sure what to sell? You could always take the Threadless Tees model. Here users submit t-shirt designs and the community votes. The winning t-shirt is then produced and users have the opportunity to purchase it. Now you have a product that you know a community of followers is already willing to purchase, and not a bunch of printed t-shirts sitting on your shelves. Share the t-shirt design on your Facebook page and suddenly your new t-shirt design has been shared with your friends and you have broadened your reach. Social marketing at its finest.

How can this apply to brands outside of the t-shirt business? Looking to develop a new service offering or product, but can’t decide what users would be willing to purchase? Crowdsource your ideas and have users vote on it. Now you have an idea on what consumers would be willing to purchase even before you begin your market development process. Or how about your next sweepstakes? What if you were to build a sweepstakes on a community level, have users vote on what the prize should be and have them choose the prize. Now you are building upon your ability to pass along the contest, expand the footprint and have users choose specifically what they want. Wouldn’t you rather sign up for a sweeps where you picked the prize?

So let me ask you, what marketing issue keeps you up at night?

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Twitterku

By Jason Rivera, Director, Consumer Insights

To each, their own thought

The attention is too much

One forty is haiku

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Microhoo! What, Where, When, Why, How...

by Stephen Anderson, SVP Search

Assuming the FCC doesn’t spoil the fun, it looks like the second time is a charm for a search agreement between Yahoo and Microsoft. At a high level, Yahoo will use Microsoft’s Bing search platform to power searches across Yahoo properties and Yahoo will be responsible for selling and servicing search for premium advertisers. Specific highlights of the deal are:

• 10 year partnership, expected to close in 2010; Microsoft’s Bing to replace Yahoo! search (organic)
• MSN to serve paid ads through adCenter; Yahoo ads will be powered by Microsoft AdCenter – likely won’t happen until about a year after the deal closes, full integration over 24 months
• Premium service sales will be led by the Yahoo search account team. Self Service via AdCenter
• There will be no upfront investment from MSN
• For 5 years:
- MSN giving Yahoo 88% of the search ad sales made
- MSN takes 12% rev from Yahoo
• Projected $275MM in savings for Yahoo
• Yahoo expects to boost its annual operating profit by about $500 million by 2012, when the two companies expect to have everything in place

Based on the terms of the deal it will finally allow each respective group to focus on their strong suits. Yahoo will be able to focus on the sales end of things, something that Microsoft has been challenged with on the search front. Conversely, Microsoft will be able to turn their technological savvy loose to an audience that is large enough to matter.

Will this relationship threaten Google’s dominance in search? Most definitely not!

No direct search competitor will unseat Google in that department because, regardless of Bing’s bells and whistles, it’s difficult to improve the search experience enough for the everyday search user to make the switch.

From an advertiser perspective, the merger creates an audience, that in both size and composition, will be difficult to ignore. While the deal won’t go down until 2010 and the actual switch won’t happen for some period after that, sharp advertisers will certainly be paying a lot more attention to their Bing campaigns in the coming months, to make sure they are dialed in on the nuances of that platform.

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