In my analysis of plausible market research futures, one that I come back to frequently is what I call the “epidemiology future.”
By this I mean the application of memetics to marketing campaigns utilizing research and testing techniques.
Memetics is the application of the viral analogy to the world of ideas. The idea is the virus [...]

Reading Joel Rubinson’s excellent post over at his ARF blog, recalls some futuring I’ve been doing around the likely evolution of the industry.
Rubinson takes a look at the evolution of the ad agency and applies this evolutionary footpath to MR with media buying the analog to the data collection side of the business and creative [...]

Ci Research Manager Gareth Hodgson shares his very funny take on the future of market research:
The future of market research is… Street interviewers with jet packs. Either that or a closer alignment to (and integration with) increasingly sophisticated and knowledge-rich customer databases.
Although street interviewers with jet packs is a fantastic “atomic ranch” image, my [...]

Recently Alastair Gordon has asked “who’ll own MR in 2020?”
By this Gordon means to ask which players will dominate the market research industry.
His thesis is that the answer changes based on the year, but that one probable future is the rise, and ultimate dominance of the sub-contracting firms upon which full-service shops often depend. [...]

Tom Ewing has an update to his thinking regarding Millennials in MR.
There was such a great response to his question (Are the kids alright?) that he revised and extended his remarks.
It is worth reading the comments.
I maintain that there is plenty of young talent in the industry, but that these talented folks in their 20s [...]

My response to Melissa Pepper’s useful question about futures of the industry.
Some possible (as opposed to probable or preferable) futures:
1. The commoditized part of the business is called “market research” and it loses talent and ages dramatically. The non-commoditized part of the business is called “strategic foresight” (see BCG report), “data-driven consulting”, or “customer community.” [...]

One of the discussion areas in market research is the rise of new market entrants such as consulting firms, MROC suppliers, digital listening firms, DIY research toolmakers, etc.
But, the two that have most interested me are (a) consulting firms like BCG or McKinsey and (b) large digital platforms that could become uber-panel companies of the [...]

I have believed since the late 1990s that there will eventually be a merger of market research with the more future-oriented “strategic foresight”. In fact, you can read my thinking about this here. (See pages 8 and 16.)
A new Boston Consulting Group report supports this thesis.
You can read it all here.
But, I highly [...]

With declining respondent participation rates the entire industry (well, at least some of it) has been thinking about how we lighten the respondent burden.
And the fact is that it isn’t really our choice anymore. With most populations migratng from landline to mobile, many surveys are going to get smaller and simpler (quickly!).
But, how [...]

Hat tip to Market Research Deathwatch for highlighting a new type of MROC – lockerz.
MROC Variant 1 is what we think of as a traditional MROC built exclusively (usually by Communispace, Passenger, etc.) for a client with the members coming exclusively from the client’s current customer base (raving fans typically).
MROC Variant 2 is (will [...]