What makes research valuable?

I had a great time running a Tapestry Workshop earlier this week on “Winning the Hearts and Minds of Clients”.  One of the key, and often repeated, messages on the course is the importance of linking research to business value creation.

I have read several defences of market research recently, with articles by Spych, Frankie Johnson in the last few days.  As a passionate market researcher, I love to read other passionate researchers standing up for the industry and the importance of linking everything back to the customer, and I applaud them for it. Read more »

The new year brought a wide range of predictions for the future of market research, mixing positive and negative sentiments about the industry.  The majority of the predictions were consistent in seeing a future where market researchers would need to develop a broader range of skills to take advantage of the changes in technology, consumer understanding, data accessibility and, above all, client expectations.  These changes offer great opportunities to the industry if embraced, and a huge threat if they are ignored. Read more »

“All right, brain.  I don’t like you ad you don’t like me – so let’s just do this and I’ll get back to killing you with beer.”  - Homer Simpson Read more »

“Statistics are like bikinis.  What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.”  - Aaron Levenstein Read more »

How successful are Asian brands?

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) published a report late last year on Asian branding full of  insights and well worth reading.  The report is based on interviews with a range of branding experts and Asian business leaders and you can download it (in English or Chinese) here. Read more »