Hope to See You in Boston!

I am headed to Boston early next week for the MRA’s Annual Research Conference. I have to admit bias, since I sit on the MRA board, but the educational content and speakers for this conference are outstanding. I truly believe this conference outshines all other industry conferences when it comes to the opportunity to learn.

While people go to conferences for many reasons, educational content is frequently a second thought. At most conferences, you usually see large numbers of people milling around in the exhibit hall or refreshment areas instead of attending the educational sessions. Not true for the MRA conference. People are in the educational sessions. They are taking a lot of notes and asking many questions. In other words, they are learning.

Hopefully you have registered and plan to be at the conference. If not, it’s probably too late for most of you. But if you live in the Northeast, a last minute registration is still feasible. You really should be there.

Thank you MRA!

I was recently honored by the Marketing Research Association, when they gave me the Shining Star Award at the First Outlook Conference and Expo in San Diego. This particular award is bestowed on an MRA member who has provided outstanding volunteer efforts at the national level for five or more years. Winning this award puts me in the company of many of my esteemed colleagues such as Amy Shields, Elisa Galloway and Kim Larson. The complete list of past winners can be found at http://www.mra-net.org/membership/awards.cfm

I have always felt that it is important to give back to our industry. It is that belief that drives me to volunteer for great organizations such as the MRA. I encourage each of you to get involved as a volunteer with the MRA or any other professional organization that you deem worthy of your efforts. While recognition such as the Shining Star Award is great, it is just a symbol. My true reward has been the friends I have made over the years as a volunteer, the opportunities it has given me for personal development, and the knowledge that I have done good for the industry.

Thank you again MRA!

When the Bad Economy is Good for Research

Ad Age recently quoted Hyatt’s global marketing head John Wallis as saying “throw out your old algorithms.” Economist Chris Kuehl, keynote speaker at the annual MRA conference, said “market research is more crucial now than ever in terms of separating reality from speculation.” Many of our clients are telling us that research completed as recently as two years ago is irrelevant and possibly misleading. We are seeing economic driven aberrations in long term tracking studies. While consumers may eventually go back to their old ways, it is clear that many of them have altered their current behavior. These changes are likely to last at least a couple of years. Bottom line, fresh research is critical.

So in my opinion, this is great news for marketing research. Companies know they are vulnerable. They are starting to ramp up their marketing research activities. Segmentation studies, concept tests, price/value studies, brand image studies, and tracking studies are all needed from this fresh perspective.

Your thoughts?

Great Conference!

I was in Chicago last week for the annual MRA conference. This has to have been the best research conference of the year.

The conference got off to a great start with a rousing, informative, entertaining and uplifting keynote address on Wednesday afternoon. Who would have ever guessed I would use those words to describe a speech given by an economist from Kansas City. But that is exactly what Chris Kuehl was, fantastic!

The President’s Reception is always a great opportunity to see old friends and to make new acquaintances. It was nice to see friends such as Tom and Peggy O’Connor, Michele Elster and Barbara Peters. Of course there was a strong contingency of San Francisco Bay Area researchers at the conference. I was excited to see the international presence at the conference. I met people from Germany, France, Russia, Canada, Japan, Brazil, and even Dubai.

The educational sessions were outstanding. MRA continues to raise the caliber of the content and speakers. Given my involvement with PRC, it was exciting to see so many people waiting to be scanned to get their PRC credits after a session.

And finally, there was the evening glass of wine in the hotel lounge. This is where researcher’s let their hair down and relaxed. It is where new friendships started and old ones were rekindled. We were no longer clients and vendors, or competitors. We were one – there for the good of the profession.

I wish to commend the many MRA volunteers and staff who made this conference what it was. I can’t wait to see what you do this fall in San Diego!