Spread the Word . . .
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Finding the Hole in the Social Media Donut Metaphor
A market research team at Three Ships Media inadvertently spread a viral sensation following an internal discussion of social media.
The group used donuts to explain current social media. Once Three Ships’ creative director Nuno Gomes had hammered out the list on their whiteboard, a colleague snapped an image of it and then shot it into the world it attempted to make sense of. Hundreds of thousands of likes and retweets later, the donut just might be the new standard against which social media are measured.
We think the list works. Here are our additional fields for the database:
It’s a shame that Three Ships’ list tops out at a mere nine donuts – three short of a dozen – though it seems inevitable that at least as many new social media sites will debut sooner than we’re likely to see decent new donut varieties. It’s hard enough for us to keep track of the differences between all of these, let alone explain them to parents, spouses or friends. Laminating a small but high-res print of this image would provide a handy wallet card.
How are companies learning about you?
Antonio Bolfo/Reportage for The New York Times
Check out this article from The New York Times about what companies like Target may know about you and how they’re turning that information into profits.
Short on time? This video provides a short but interesting overview of the article.
Underestimate Emotion at Own Risk
In this interview, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings concludes that his mistake reflected “arrogance” and “underestimating the emotional attachment to Netflix” among Netflix customers. His answer highlights two important points relative to MindSight®. Emotion is critical to brand building and business decisions, such as price increases, are fraught with emotion. Companies like Netflix ignore this at their peril. “Arrogance” is not an option. The good news is that MindSight® can identify the emotional intensity and explain the motivations driving customers to brands like Netflix – and can do so quickly, cost effectively and with thousands of globally dispersed respondents. It’s not that customers won’t expect or ever accept price increases. They do and will if it’s handled correctly. MindSight®can help companies correctly understand the emotional attachments customers have to their brand, providing guidance about how to better manage rollouts like the Netflix one and avoid fiascos.
How Can Neuroscience Work For You?
For over 60 years, the European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR) has set the standard for market research around the globe through “encouraging, advancing and elevating” members of the market research industry, in addition to creating codes of conduct for participating members. As the market research world has changed over time, ESOMAR has created new guidelines for the different methodologies, along with lists of questions to ask consultants before investing in research with an organization.
In June of 2011, ESOMAR led a seminar on the subject of neuroscience, in recognition of the need to help market researchers understand when and how to use neuromarketing technologies. Similar to the “26 Questions” which helps researchers determine whether an online sampling approach is appropriate, ESOMAR has created the “36 Questions to help commission neuroscience research“. Be sure to read through guide and make sure your market research consultant can answer these questions before conducting research with them.
David Forbes Wins ARF Great Mind Award
Dr. David Forbes received an ARF Innovation award certificate Wednesday night, 3/28, at the 2012 ARF Re:Think Conference in New York. This award recognizes development of the most innovative research ideas.
Every year, the ARF celebrates outstanding research minds in the industry with Great Minds Awards. “It is an honor to win this award,” said David Forbes, CEO of Forbes Consulting. “This recognition reinforces the need to push the envelope in market research – to recognize that emotions are critical motivators and yet rarely researched.”
David Forbes won this prestigious award for developing MindSight®, a proprietary applied neuroscience technique that delivers authentic insights from the emotional brain by tapping the subconscious emotions driving consumer behavior.
Empowerment and Entrepreneurs
It’s no surprise that these millennial women entrepreneurs seek greater “control” and a stronger sense that their work and ideas have an “impact.” In MindSight® terms, it makes sense that a key emotion driving any entrepreneur is the desire for greater feelings of empowerment — power and control. It’s not limited to millennials or women.
Mobile Marketing in the Modern World
With the rise of smartphone usage among adults in the U.S. providing instant access to all types of media, marketing researchers are realizing the potential for gauging consumer opinions directly before, during, or after a purchase. In contrast, traditional online surveys rely on respondents’ memories of using or purchasing a product/service; depending on how long ago that purchase was made, the accuracy of responses can decline as memories fade. For example, if respondents are asked to think about the last time that they purchased toothpaste and it was over a week ago, they probably won’t remember where it was purchased, why it was purchased, or how much they spent on it. However, if respondents are asked this on their smartphones immediately after purchasing toothpaste, they should be able to answer survey questions more accurately since the purchase is still fresh in their minds. The prospect of gaining more accurate survey data “in the moment” is thus very compelling.
However, with this new way of reaching respondents, a new set of challenges have arisen such as privacy laws, data/texting charges, and system compatibility issues with the numerous types of smartphones. How to make sense of it all?
That’s where the Mobile Marketing Research Association (MMRA) comes in. In January of 2012, the MMRA launched with the mission to “unite and serve the industry in developing best practices, professional standards and ethics regarding the use of mobile devices for marketing research.” One way in which the MMRA practices this goal is by hosting the Market Research in the Mobile World conference, which unites market research professionals around the globe in order to share new insights and technologies related to mobile marketing, in addition to building best practices and a vision for the future. This year’s conference is being held on April 18th and 19th in Amsterdam. If you plan to attend, check out David Forbes’ session entitled “Developing a mobile platform tool for assessing consumer emotional states in target lifestyle moments,” where he’ll discuss applying MindSight technology to smartphones as a way of determining consumer emotions right at the point of purchase.
To learn more about the Market Research in the Mobile World conference, check out http://www.mrmw.net/.
Be sure to check out the recent launch of MindSight Mobile.
MindSight® at ARF Re:think 2012
Forbes Consulting will be at ARF Re:think 2012 in NYC soon and we hope you will too. We’d love to share our latest product innovation, MindSight®, with you. Stop by Booth #502 where we will be running demos for you to see how the technique allows you to read the mind of your most important prospects.
We will also be raffling off a Kindle Fire and custom case, so come say Hello.
What is MindSight®?
Mindsight® talks to the emotional mind to get beyond all of the self-presentation and rationalization of traditional Q&A research. In projects ranging in-depth interviews to surveys with thousands of globally dispersed respondents, MindSight® research technology delivers revolutionary emotional insights that are fast and affordable. MindSight® even deploys on mobile devices to enable research at the shelf and in the moment.
If you’re like to learn more about MindSight®, read the MindSight® section of our blog or contact Rebecca Schmidt at 781-863-5000 x133.
