transforming consumer research warc conference rubinson vf

Title of presentation goes here

Joel Rubinson, Chief Research OfficerThe Advertising Research [email protected] me on twitter: @joelrubinson

Transforming Consumer Research

The ARF: a 360 perspective on media and marketing from 400 members …

RESEARCH

MedMEDIAAGENCY

ADVERTISER

On July 15th, we began a journey

• 13 industry leaders spent a day at the ARF to discuss “listening”– Advertisers: Procter, Unilever, General Mills

– Providers: Nielsen, TNS, Motivequest, Keller-Fay

– Media: ESPN, Razorfish, Digitas

• Within 45 minutes, the topic shifted:

3

“Research has lost its ability to see the big picture; to hearthe unexpected”

“Surveys are torture for respondents”

“Research needs to inspire; storytelling is key”

“Research used to be discrete events, now there’s a continuousFlow of insights that we can tap into”

From “insurance” to “inspiration” – build better ideas rather than just killing bad ones

Kim Dedeker, P & G, expressed the need to rebalance the spending equation and find a way to put the human at the center…

Sense and respond

INNOVATION

$$$ ReallocateReal

loca

te $

$$

80%of

Funding

EVALUATION&

TESTING

We’re falling behind…

– “Research methods are now years behind the consumer and falling farther behind”, leading advertiser

• “Consumers are in control and the genie won’t go back in the bottle”, Charlene Li, co-author of Groundswell

• It’s an “open-book exam” world but most research methods are still “closed book exam”

• Instantaneous impact through “activist consumers” spreading messages via social media like wildfire

The promise of listening

• There is a shift in how humanity is communicating, which produces continuous streams of data in people’s naturally occurring conversations and behavior

– Ability to hear the unexpected

– Ability to observe a new vocabulary starting to appear

– Continuous organic data feeds from social media, search, digital analytics, shopper behavior

– Must listen in both the “brand backyard” ( e.g. customer care)

and

“consumer backyard”

But we must synthesize…from “consumer insights” to “integrated insights”

• Take a slice (across multiple perspectives)• Synthesize• Tell a story• Take a stand

– Gayle Fuguitt, General Mills• …later echoed by Clorox—the person who integrates

their 4 insights areas sits on the business leadership team

A seminal day…

– “Today changed the way I think about the future of research,” Artie Bulgrin

Transforming research by listening

• Industry Leader Forums in NY, SF

The tools are real

MTV: Creating content for the masters of content creation!

We posted our video stream online, making it available to download for a nominal fee

http://www.thearf.org/assets/forum-09-video

Rick Clancy seemed worried


Dove campaign for real beauty

• Listening• 10MM

views on YouTube


#listen123• New paradigms

– Consumers are empowered and they won't go back into their bottles; if you think you're in control, it's a fallacy.

– Charlene Li: Understanding activist consumers.

– At the Advertising Research Foundation leader forum about to speak on creating a fast learning org

– Meg Sloan of Facebook: "Sharing" as important as listening.

– Vicky Purnell of Clorox: leadership is #1 skill we're looking for

– Colin Drummond of Crispin-Porter: power of ... Re-categorizing thinking..

– Success is a constant stream of new ideas (Drummond)

– Joel B: in rapidly changing times, data is disposable! Consumers R changing!!!

– we live in a connected world where learning can come from anywhere and anyone.

– Using a "mean" obscures what people are really thinking (Joel Benenson)

• New possibilities

– Stephen Kim , Microsoft: Research skills sets changing; folks analyzing the web logs have the power

– Dan Salzman, HP: we need continuous vs episodic understanding of customers. A new "cadence"

– listening is a fundamental strategy for connecting and bonding w/consumers" Kim Dedeker of P&G

– Schwab-what is fixed income? we become blind to industry terms that consumers don't understand

• Research is cool

– Joel's speech (like) re-living an episode from Aaron Sorkin's masterpiece "The West Wing

– Levi's Perman…great job "walking the talk" in his visual storytelling.; peeling oranges

…but listening is hard

• Drop filters (Citi)• Takes patience (Unilever)• How do we know when to trust it? (ARF)• It’s messy (Facebook)• Who (stakeholder group) owns it?• What are the data feeds for listening? (advertiser)• “We know we should be incorporating listening to social

media into our research strategy but we don’t know how to do it yet” (same comment from multiple advertisers)

…in fact, research transformation is REALLY hard!

• New organizational models• New skills• New approaches• New mission and vision

ARF research transformation super-council

• ARF “Research Transformation Super-Council”– Advertisers: General Mills, Levi Strauss, Microsoft, Procter, Subway,

Unilever

– Research providers: Joel Benenson (Obama’s pollster), Kantar, Nielsen

– Media: VivaKi

• Assemble what we hear, add in their perspectives

• Develop a new mission, vision, and scoping for how research brings value to the enterprise…how to get a seat at the table

• While many are focusing on the marketing value of social media, the ARF is taking the lead at understanding the insights value.

New sacred words•In 2008-2009, the words are almost completely different from 2003 ARF/ESOMAR RELEAS regarding the value that the research profession brings:

•Human•Sharing via social media •Always on•Social Media•Listening for the unexpected•Learning•Science•Synthesis (integrated insights)•Storytelling•Inspire•Strategy (Where to play, where to win)•Risk taker—approaches must evolve in a fast-changing, “open book exam world”

A new value chain

Putting humans at the center

Bringing humans to life

Win by adding value to daily life

A new value chain




Data FeedsDo we have the right feeds? How do we incorporate social media, customer dialogue, digital behavior, games, other?

A new value chain





Craftsmanship

- Science -

How to add in “real” Anthropology. Behavioral economics, cognitive sciences to change the conceptual models, acting as lenses and shapers of data feeds?

A new value chain





Craftsmanship

- Science -


What types of skills and training are needed for the art of synthesizing themes from different “slices”?

Synthesis

A new value chain





Craftsmanship

- Science -



Synthesis

Communication

Storytelling

Bringing the message to life for the enterprise via storytelling, scenario planning, etc. Do we have the right access?

A new value chain





Craftsmanship

- Science -



Synthesis

Communication

Storytelling

Bringing the message to life for the enterprise via storytelling, scenario planning, etc. Do we have the right access?

Informing the

business

Create growth by inspiring a vision of the future; requires “acumen flip” towards business strategy

A new value chain




Data Feeds

Craftsmanship

- Science -

Synthesis

Communication

StorytellingCommunication

Storytelling

Informing the

business

Old value center--activity

New value center—synthesized learning and impact

Research transformation journey continues

July 15th workshop

•350 attendees•Streaming VOD

•2500 expected

The path forward…three working committees

• Comprised of industry leaders and ARF– Putting humans at the center– Bringing humans to life– Research as a profession


•Bring scientists (anthropology, behavioral economics, neuro-science) into the mix

•Determine which data feeds must be added to an insights strategy to effectively address certain important issues

•Prove their value

•Document a roadmap for how to use social media and other listening databases in conjunction with more traditional survey approaches to address various key, recurring business issues

Bringing the human to life• A working committee will

harvest best approaches for synthesis and storytelling

• Harvesting best-in-class cases where research has had a great impact (Eric Salama’s idea)

• Develop the new science of synthesis

– For example, are all great cases centered on the one great insight (OGI) that can galvanize an organization? If so, how do you get to that OGI?

• Develop the new science of communication• Materials for publication and training will be

developed

Research as a profession

• A working committee will work iteratively with the other groups to begin developing an HR plan:

– What talent and skills are needed?

– Where do we find this talent?

– How do we turn them on to our profession? What is the best positioning for the “brand” currently called research?

• Organizations struggle to be relevant to people…HUMANS…in their daily lives

– “The consumer is boss” A.G. Lafley

– “Introducing the human element” Dow Chemical

• A new level of impact

– A SPOC for synthesizing, translating, and bringing the human to life, injecting a human-centered anticipatory perspective into business thinking

• Agent of change

– From the activity of research to a culture of learning

– From “tried and true” to innovators

– Not just action standards, but learning goals, too!

– ARF and passionate industry leaders pledge to be a catalyst

From research to learning…our moment

Welcome to the revolution!

transforming consumer research warc conference rubinson vf

Business

chain putting

center bringing

incorporate

putting humans

social media

behavioral

scenario planning

customer dialogue