Sorry to start this way, but, do you remember the gruesome ‘boiling frog’ parable? Just like how a frog would be gradually cooked if the water is heated slowly, brands also risk ‘boiling’ if they don’t carefully track changes in their competitive environment. Without a good brand tracker tool, companies may not notice gradual shifts in customer preferences, competitors’ strategies or new market trends. By the time issues are apparent, it may be too late to course correct. However, with the right brand tracking software, companies can monitor subtle changes and react before the impacts become severely detrimental. As the old parable shows, a gradually changing environment can be just as dangerous as an obviously hot one if not monitored closely. This is why using a brand tracker is so important for companies to avoid the same fate as the frog and get boiled without noticing.

I’ve seen mixed reports on the accuracy of the boiling frog science, but as a metaphor, it still holds value. The parable effectively warns against the risks of gradual change that a good brand tracker can help identify. When deeply immersed in our routines, processes and bubbles as organizations, it can be hard to spot shifts in the bigger picture and market dynamics. Entire industries may not realize new threats or opportunities emerging slowly over time. This is where implementing an effective brand tracker proves useful. By continuously monitoring multiple data points from customer feedback to competitor benchmarking, a brand tracking solution empowers companies to see the full scope of changes within their environment. With visibility across trends, it gives organizations the agility needed to course correct before issues simmering below the surface become severe. A brand tracker acts as an early warning system, preventing the equivalent of boiling alive by gradual adjustments gone unnoticed.

I think many researchers would agree we as an industry have historically seen parallels with this; we’ve been, as a sector, the metaphorical boiling frog, seemingly oblivious to the extent of the imminent danger. The world changed; technology threw upside-down the dynamics between consumers and brands; yet agencies, their suppliers, and their clients have all at times struggled to respond and evolve themselves, and adapt to the new status quo. Instead we fell back on tried and tested methods and processes, rather than take the risk of failure through trying something new.

Yet, at ESOMAR Congress 70th edition in September, it was clear to me something had changed. The theme was ‘VISIONARY’, revealing the future. But I would go further than this; it was more about action and what has already been achieved. Many within the industry have already got on and adapted; moving away from talking about game-changing methodologies, to actually having taken the risk, invested, changed, and demonstrated the proven rewards with rock-solid case studies. 

Only a few years back I can remember many speakers at conferences waxing lyrical about big data, with hypothetical examples of its potential application, only for little of it to actually come to fruition with the market research industry involved. There used to be more ‘what if’ and less ‘we did’. But this year, the tone was different; without doubt, some within the industry have already escaped the boiling pot and many others are clamoring to change. 
 

Brand Tracker – Smart Clients Make Tough Choices with Ease

“Never has a critical decision been taken because of a (traditional) brand tracker”, proclaimed Andrew Geoghegan, Global Head of Consumer Planning at Diageo on the first full day of ESOMAR Congress. To a packed crowd of seasoned delegates, on the 70th anniversary of the most important global conference in the research industry, he said that the research methodology on which the most money is spent, has never led to a critical decision being taken in business. As a result, Diageo eliminated their brand trackers. This isn’t the future of how things will be, this is already happening; clients are looking much more carefully at their research programmes and eliminating whatever isn’t pulling its weight for the business. And it isn’t just a question of budgets which are under pressure for many organizations, but of time and clarity. If a research method isn’t yielding clear business insight, then why cloud one’s judgement at all by including it in the mix? More data doesn’t equal better decisions, we know this.

The sentiment was reiterated by various clients; unless you can clearly demonstrate the business effects a research initiative will take, then just don’t bother. Whilst not a new sentiment, never before has it been screamed so loudly and clearly from the industry’s highest podium for all to hear. This is only going to increase in the future; brands are increasingly dealing with complex global changes in society, technology, and even geo-political threat, adapting to an increasingly uncertain landscape. In today’s world, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a monthly brand tracker asking the same old questions isn’t going to be particularly enlightening, given the scale of challenges clients are being asked to deal with.

Researchers that don’t update approaches, burying their heads in the sand, won’t last forever. Including a realistic and considered portrayal of new forces that shape us as people first and then the consumer-brand ecosystem requires a respect and appreciation for cultural, human insights. This is incredibly important for us at Labbrand; as the leading China-originated brand consultancy it is essential, regardless of objectives and method, that this cuts across the design of the project, and how we approach the analysis and the conclusions we draw. 

Historically, clients would see this value immediately for qualitative pieces, but less so for quantitative. However, increasingly we are seeing the recognition that it doesn’t matter which research vehicle is being used; questions and subject matter must be grounded in the realities and cultural context of the market, otherwise your data lacks validity. That’s why we take the same approach to quantitative surveying as we would for qualitative focus groups; all questionnaires are bespoke following an insight review, and we build custom metrics. You wouldn’t ask the same questions in every focus group for every client, so why would it make sense for quantitative research?

We need to get away from research approaches and mindsets that have long since expired in terms of their relevancy, and get back to research reflecting the world around us. That’s why we ran our Digital Lifestyles project, presented at ESOMAR Congress 2017, that looks at a method with purely digitally-related measures for much more relevant segmentation for a digital age. 

Goodbye Data Scientist, Long Live the Data Narrator

You don’t get wisdom via information alone, we know this. Actually, as alluded to above, too much information is a hindrance; “if I had more time, I would have written you a shorter report” so the saying goes. Ironically, sometimes a value has been placed on ‘more is more’ in research. Look how long the report we produced is for you, there’s so much detail in here you can use! Except we know no one ever looks in the Appendix unless there has been a serious crisis…

In today’s age of information overload, answers are available for anyone to access with the touch of a button. This is something that could be seen as a threat; does this make everybody a researcher, of some sorts? Certainly, we need to clearly articulate the high standards and ethics involved with top-quality research execution, and this will breed a confidence in the insights we bring to the table alongside the myriad of other business intelligence sources at a Board member’s disposal. In the future, our voice will only be heard as loud as it should be if we become master marketers, as well as researchers, when we communicate. The future for our industry is, for most of us, going to be much less about data execution and collection, and much more focused on data narration. For market researchers at least, there will be less chatter about data science, and more buzz around data narration; using evidence, no matter how sophisticated, to tell a story that changes a mindset, rather than using approaches to develop sophisticated evidence. Although the latter will of course still have its place, automation is going to supercharge it; there simply won’t be the need for as many of us to be involved in manual processes (no matter how complex and smart they are). Initially this is primarily for quantitative research that will continue to cut timespans for results down from weeks and days, to days and even hours. 

The best of the industry will flourish as we move to becoming true storytellers and facilitators. It is an area of focus for the Labbrand team, and we’ve been proud to develop a reputation for running highly creative, energetic innovation sprints, held over 2-3 days. There is so much satisfaction derived starting from zero, and ending 3 days later with viable concepts that could go to market or an entirely new design. This truly brings internal client teams, from across disciplines and even markets, together and at the end of the sprint you can see that the process has made a real difference to how they will work together in the future. 

Brand Tracker – Wake Up and Smell the… Ever Detoriating Data Quality Coffee

The best stories still need solid evidence of course. It would astonish industry outsiders, yet depressingly not surprise us researchers, that most surveys are still taken on desktop not mobile. The proportion of people that agree to take part in a survey continues its decades-long decline. Agencies still write 25, or 30+, minute questionnaires with ugly, inaccessible question formats designed only for desktop. Then when the data comes back, they actually believe its validity! 

We’ve all had that tricky question from clients; ‘who actually takes these surveys?’ Increasingly, we must move to mobile first survey design. As time goes on, badly designed long surveys meant only for desktop will lose credibility; and more and more clients understand this, and the seriousness of it. Gamification and video integration certainly can improve the experience itself, however we need to start looking at the method too. Virtual reality is now an accepted, proven approach and we must seriously consider how it can start to replace other methods that now start to feel slightly archaic. 

Brand Tracker – The Race to Adapt and Change Already Began

The industry is going to come under pressure like never before, and we envisage a surge in the pace of change and disruption over the next 12-24 months. It is time (and already overdue) to shift ways of working and ways of thinking to:

• Reflect in our work the new realities, dramatic change, and technological revolutions around the world; we need more culturally meaningful stories relevant to the context against which we live our lives
• Do more, with less, and quicker, which can be facilitated by growing our talents in storytelling; moving to data narration, helping clients navigate and adapt to increasing change
• Ensure our design and execution is more authentic; involving looking at the questions we ask, how we ask them, and whether we indeed ask them at all, in today’s digital first world

It’s easier to say rather than do…however the price of inaction will hit businesses where it hurts; the bottom line. And anyway, doesn’t this all sound much more exciting than a traditional brand tracker? 

AUTHOR

• Chris Wallbridge
• Business Director