Research conferences always bring a sense of deja vu. At the MRS Social Research Conference, (podcast) we heard that research agencies are under pressure to deliver better insight. Researchers need to adapt to a changing environment but we are well placed to benefit from the change. Our output needs to be more actionable.
Having heard these themes over and over again, you have to ask why the industry is still failing to deliver on these demands.
The conference was followed by this timely article by Nick Johnson with the provocatively titled ‘Insight is dead’. The string of comments agreeing suggests that the time has come for implementation, not gathering insight.
I wonder if it is time to give up on the idea that researchers can deliver the recommendations and, unless you want to get involved in the increasingly commoditised large scale data collection and analysis, go and support an organization that is involved in delivery. As an independent, that is one of the changes I’ve noticed. A lot of marketing agencies, and clients for that matter, are doing their own research. Some of them aren’t doing it very well and they need help.
On the bright side, Mark Francas of TNS believes that social marketing has come of age and the backing of Cameron. There are some huge challenges getting people to change their behaviour and so huge potential for research. For me, the jury is out on how effective commercial marketing is at facilitating social change. I’m afraid Francas’ examples of HIV, smoking and drink driving as success stories, after the many millions piled into those campaigns and still high levels of each are not convincing. Once again I was left convinced that the answer lies in action, not communications.
Another familiar aspect though was the use of conference talks as thinly veiled sales pitches rather than helpful sharing of knowledge. Andrew Wood’s talk on pensions was a notable exception but the TNS talk was a case in point. After a tantalizing glimpse of all the behaviour change models that were on a slide so small you couldn’t see them, Francas refused to release the paper to conference attendees.
Love it? Hate it? We want to know: Leave us a comment (0 so far)
