If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words can a video buy you? As smartphone adoption rises in Australia, it’s only natural for research to have a presence in this arena.

Latitude has recently completed its first qualitative mobile phone study – talking to 22 mums and their kids. Over a period of two weeks we asked mums for feedback, challenged them to tasks, sent them on shopping trips and had them interview their kids (all done with smartphone in hand!). In total they generated over three hundred video clips for the project.

One of the benefits of using mobile for qualitative research is its ability to effectively collect point in time data. Through this medium we were able to observe behaviours as they happened at home, in the supermarket and during usage occasions, allowing us to better understand the decision-making process.

A new innovation for research – keep posted for more learnings about mobile qual!

Cruising through Dan Murphy’s the other day I was stopped in my tracks after passing a new product display. Backing up thinking ‘did I just see what I thought I saw?’, sure enough. I did see what I thought I saw.

And I still can’t reconcile it:

AC/DC branded wine.
That’s right. AC/DC of ‘Back in Black’ and ‘Thunder’ fame.
Hard living guitar toting rockers…making quality shiraz???

Now don’t get me wrong. I love AC/DC. My hubby is a big time Acca Dacca bogan from way back. And he loves wine. So of course being a market researcher and wondering who would be the target market for such a seemingly strange combination of brand and product, I asked him if he would ever buy it.

He laughed and said ‘no way!’ Then made a joke about ‘maybe if it came in a flagon so that you could scull it!’ And then asked ‘why aren’t they making whiskey or something?’

As a researcher I’m always open to the idea that my attitudes could be quite different to other people’s. So is this a disastrous marketing failure waiting to happen or am I missing something??? Maybe?

In true market research fashion I’ve since asked a lot of people what they think of this idea, because the apparent paradox is driving me crazy! So far the response has been consistently anti. But I still find myself wanting to stalk people in Dan Murphy’s, hopefully spot someone buying ‘Back in Black Shiraz’ and then ask a load of probing questions…

This is why I love research – I have an overwhelming need to ‘get it’. I need to find the person who would buy Back in Black Shiraz, Highway to Hell Cabernet Sauvignon or You Shook Me All Night Long Moscato.… because I want them to explain it to me…!

So if you’re out there. Please get in touch.

What’s your most embarrassing moment that makes you squirm and that you’d hate to share? What, you don’t want to answer? You’re trying to evade my question? Why?

As a qual researcher we often have to find ways of going beyond direct questions. We have to find subtle ways to ‘tease’ out the information we need. This opens up the opportunity for ‘unearthing’ different responses than would be gained through simply asking a direct question.

As we all know, in ‘traditional’ qual there’s a number of strategies to do this, and some of them are about getting people to ‘do’ things rather than simply talking to them about the topic.  Projective techniques, sentence completion, brand party, product reviews, sampling, missions, are but a few.

With online research communities these same techniques and strategies apply. Sometimes we may adapt them, sometimes it’s a straight forward exchange from the ‘round table’ to the online environment.  Chatting with community members is not dissimilar to chatting with focus group attendees. Sometimes you need to go in softly, tip toe around, and see what is naturally volunteered. And in some cases you canjump straight in and get to the point.

I guess the reminder for us all is to be creative….don’t just ask.

Here are a couple of different examples to inspire you:

• Ask members to create an ‘online dating’ profile for a brand.  What do they highlight to ‘attract’?  What do they gloss over and / or omit from the profile?
• Imagine Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are trapped on a leaky boat.  There is no reception where they are and only  two lifejackets can be found,  - which would you hope survives?

According to research done by Google recently, there will be more web searches done on mobile phones than will be done on desktops by 2013. In more traditional markets like Australia and the US, a more standard progression in technology has seen the desktop become a feature of most households over the past 15 years. However in emerging markets such as India and China, access to desktop computers was limited during their expansion in the west and now instead of following the trend of western markets, consumers in these countries are skipping desktop computers and the fixed internet connection in preference of mobile devices. Across the world mobile internet usage has increased 3000% in the last three years, largely driven by the access that consumers in emerging economies have to these previously out of reach devices.

It seems only natural that research should take advantage of this shift in reliance on mobile internet usage. Whilst being able to contact a respondent at their desktop at any time at any place has always been one of the foundations of online research’s benefit over traditional methodologies, mobile research takes this one step further and allows us to interact with respondents in their natural surroundings whenever we want.

The convenience of being able to reach for our phones and access the Internet anywhere is something that should be jumped upon by researchers. The devil makes work for idle hands, so why not use time when sitting on a train, in front of the TV at home as a time to undertake research.

A company in New Zealand has done something very similar. After the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, the plumbing to houses has been significantly impacted and residents are having to make do with portaloos installed on street corners. In these portaloos, a firm has begun recruiting participants for research through adverts placed on the walls. Surveys asking for opinions about the reconstruction efforts are sent and in some cases completed whilst…umm…taking care of business.

Being constantly connected through Internet enabled phones presents such a strong opportunity for companies to get an immediate read on their consumers. To take advantage of even the shortest amount of downtime to complete research can easily be seized upon. Being able to get feedback in either a qualitative or quantitative study could potentially take hours, not days or weeks.

With the emergence of Web 2.0 and the ability of internet users to co-operate, collaborate and share information with one another there has been a steep learning curve for brands who have had to adapt their behaviour when it comes to delivering messages to consumers.

Most recently, Sony’s Playstation Network (PSN) was hacked into and the personal information and in many cases credit card details of its millions of users across the globe compromised. Hacking of information is not a new phenomenon but it is the response of Sony, one of the world’s largest tech companies that has drawn criticism.

With the breach occurring between April 17 – 19, Sony waited a full week to release the details of the breach and just this morning (April 29), as a PSN user myself, I finally received an email acknowledging the issues, a full 10 days later!

The slow response and lack of information offered to users considering the seriousness of the issue will have significant ramifications on the level of trust users have for the brand. With the ability to act and inform those affected, Sony has sat on its hands and waited before informing the world and more importantly the 70m affected users of the problem.

Brands have had to learn to adapt their messaging about themselves but also the importance of the timeliness in delivery. No longer can they take time to ponder over their correspondences or media releases but are required to be upfront and honest or face potential major backlash from consumers.

Responding to negative press featuring a company cannot be met with a slow or non-existent response anymore. Brands have the ability to deliver a fast response to an issue, consumers not only want this, but have come to expect it.

It is trust and openness which consumers expect. The lack of information which was provided in any form, not just delivered through social networks which has been a significant issue and one which undermines trust in Sony as a brand.

Sony has one of the highest reputations for a brand in the world, behind only Google in a survey conducted by the Reputation Institute in 2010. This was built on over 60 years of innovation and finding solutions to consumer needs. The question is how much will an issue like this cost the company in the future?

In a world where brand reputation takes years to build, and an instant to break down, this could be one issue that seriously tarnishes the solid and trusted brand that is Sony.

Work life balance. I’m sure we’ve all heard the term. But how many of us are actually achieving it? And importantly, are employers helping?

I work in market research and have done for a long time. I had my first child 6 years ago, well into my career. After a year off I was keen to come back to work, but still wanted to be heavily involved in parenting. A classic dilemma. How do you do both?

And how many talented people have been lost because they weren’t able to do both?

In an industry with an arguably larger than average proportion of women, I had to fight tooth and nail with my then employer to be able to even TRY coming back to work part time. Interestingly, said employer was also a mother of two. Since then I have worked successfully on a part time basis, but it was always up to me to make that work. I had to fit my life around work, with little or no give the other way.

Until now! I have played, shopped and socialized in an online space for years. But now I also work in an online space. I have discovered that this not only offers consumers the flexibility to participate when it suits them and slots in easily with their online lives, but it does the same for me.

I can do my work during the day, at night, on the weekends, at home if my child is sick, etc. At first glance this may look like work is taking over my life and that I’m working 24 hours a day. Not at all. Instead, work and life are happily co-existing.

About time too.

There is some debate over the value of social media tools in qualitative research, particularly in regards to open communities for research purposes. Open communities are public social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc, which provide a continuous stream of peer-to-peer conversation.

Although both open and private communities sit under the social media umbrella, they require different research approaches from a qualitative perspective. Understanding the benefits and limitations of each type of community is essential in research design, data collection and analysis.

Below I’ve outlined some key considerations for researchers…

Benefits of open communities

Organic conversations - As public communities do not have a formalised structure, the conversations that occur are completely natural – giving researchers an understanding of topics that are of genuine interest to the consumer.

A wider audience – 75% of Australians are members of social networking sites. Many of these people may never have participated in market research and probably never would.

Cost effective - With no community set up costs, listening to these conversations is essentially free.

Limitations of open communities

Lack of context – As open communities are available to the public, there is greater difficulty in determining whether conversations reflect your target audience.  There is no real way of telling who is ‘talking’ and whether they have a predetermined agenda.  The lack of context provided is another challenge in gaining relevant insight.

Time consuming – Conversations are spontaneous, unprompted and live 24 hours a day. Trawling through thousands of conversations can be relatively time ineffective, with no guarantee that people will be talking about your brand/product.

Restricted pre-determined research objectives – As mentioned above, the raw, spontaneous nature of conversations means that defining a specific set of research objectives is unrealistic, and potentially counterproductive in listening to open communities in the first place.

No methodology is without flaw, however a balanced understanding of each tool and its application will provide a wider scope for research. While open communities offer a platform for listening to organic conversation, they do not give researchers the ability to direct discussions for further probing. However, these types of communities may be a useful starting point, and, when coupled with additional tools, can provide the researcher with a deeper understanding of the consumer.

“I am very adept at switching off during advertising. I almost have it down to a fine art”

This remark came from one of our community members, and generally resonates with most of the participants that we speak to.

In coming years, the majority of Australian households will take up gadgets that thrust content control into the hands of the user. The most obvious being devices that pause, rewind, and the most challenging for advertisers, fast forward live TV.

So where to for advertising?

Advertising alone is becoming redundant, as audiences are mastering the craft of tuning out. Consumers are accustomed to getting more from brands – whether it is some fleeting fun on a Facebook Fan Page, or a practical app that they can’t live without. Content that people can utilise, share, or even help create is the new frontier of marketing communications.

In the future, will “spending $5 million on advertising without giving something useful, entertaining or charming seem very weird”? From what’s being said in our communities, this statement from Adam Ferrier rings true.

One of the most relevant things a brand can do is to give an experience. An experience, based on consumer insight will be far more valuable for the brand than shouting at them from a television screen.