Tony Dent of Sample Answers, Teddington, Uk  will present on “Do Social Media provide us with the message?” at the AIMRI conference at Hampton Court on 15 October 2010

The manner in which many people originally approached the Internet for research purposes did not initially consider the manner in which that medium IS different.  Most people thought they could take their CATI questionnaires and put them up on the web as self completion documents and all would be ‘okay’!  Over time we have learnt many ‘tricks’ to help engage people within this new medium,  using more attractive layouts to make the task less ‘boring’ reducing the length of interview (sometimes) and numerous ‘panel’ retention techniques to gain better responses. The operative requirement being any idea that contributes to ‘engagement’ on the part of the potential respondent, and recently many panel companies have switched to calling their panels ‘communities’ as part of the acknowledgement of the new Medium the Internet represents.  It simply is not the case that you can run a ‘panel’ in the manner in which we used to run them before the advent of the Internet – so we now run a ‘community’ instead!

The natural extension of using the online medium to best advantage is therefore to now utilise that element which we know as ‘social media’ and certainly, there have already been many such uses which indicates that it is not entirely ‘new’.  For example look up ‘mother and baby club’ on the web and you will find a host of ‘social clubs’ some proprietary (Tesco, Procter & Gamble) some more general e.g. netmums.com.   Many of these clubs or ‘societies’ have actually been around for some time and, therefore,  some have been used by researchers to recruit special ‘MUM’ research groups.  All that’s really new, therefore, is the scale of some of the new social media – Facebook, Twitter etc. These have each engaged many millions of individuals and, necessarily, we researchers think that must be a wonderful source of respondents.

Contact:  Tony@sampleanswers.com

Our latest member in the United States is Quick Test/Heakin

Doing business today means not only making informed decisions, but also making every dollar count. Quick Test/Heakin provides essential market research services. Our ability to streamline your project using the “best in the business” means we respond to your changing needs and accelerated timetables – ensuring that you receive the best service the industry has to offer. You receive a hands-on, personal approach that helps you and your clients make critical business decisions.

Our experience and knowledge as a company of almost 50 years of marketing research experience; we at Quick Test/Heakin pride ourselves on high customer satisfaction. Our professional team offers a diverse range of products and maintains a high level of service, no matter how big or small the project.

Contact:  Iris.Blaine@quicktest.com

Recom Global Field is an independent global market research company; specialised in supplying the highest level of market data collection and related services. We have been on the front lines of data collection for 15 years – outsourcing & co-ordinating your market research needs – becoming a member of your team. We are active in more than 90 countries, and offer quantitative, qualitative and custom research in all market research sectors. We go straight to the source – enabling you to deliver the analysis, insights and advice relevant to your clients’ customers, business strategies and investments.

Recom can provide you with the market information you need from local to global. Regardless of the time zone we are available for you 24/7.

 Recom also have an office in the United Kingdom.

 Contact: barbara.rosenberg@recomresearch.com

Lorien is a full service market research company, specialized in the production of analysis, studies and integrated research in social, marketing and communication processes.

 Lorien has been inspired since birth by a group of experts coming from market research, from strategic planning in communication agencies and from corporate strategic and operational marketing

 In this age of globalization foreign Institutes are more and more inclined to turn to partners which are able to offer a very high quality and research methods capable of giving answers aimed and personalized to their needs.

In a similar way Lorien is asked to manage directly International research and for this it makes use of a network of partner Institutes.

 Contact:  p.rossi@lorienconsulting.it

In this industry, firms need to be selective about the industry associations they join.  It is easy to join all of the “acronym-ed” research trade associations.  Over 26 years of our firm’s existence, we have learned is that it is important to heed several considerations in choosing an industry trade organization for your membership.  Chiefly, the criteria we use to select our membership are as follows:

• Can your firm meaningfully contribute to the organizatin?
• Will your presence and thought leadership be received?
• Can your firm “stand out”?
• Will event participation be meaningful in terms of results, stimulating discussions and relationship building?
• Are the benefits and returns of membership and event attendance worth the costs?
• Does the organization have “special appeal” and interesting members?

 Many trade organizations meet some of these criteria, but not all.  For instance, some industry trade associations have wide open access to suppliers, but have immense “red tape” in interacting with other members and accepting thought leadership.  Another example is that some trade organizations have raised their dues and prices without providing enough value to justify event attendance.

 In AIMRI’s infancy, we noticed a group of interesting colleagues joining together.  We noticed that AIMRI was about likeminded Mid-sized firms leveraging synergies, growing their businesses through partnerships and developing longterm relationships “on a first name basis”. 

 We soon realized that AIMRI fit those important decision criteria. 

 The organization allows its members to stand out, take initiative and meaningfully contribute to the organization through thought leadership and volunteer responsibilities.  Members can voice their perspectives in events, online media, bulletins and word of mouth. 

 As we attended the events, we enjoyed the fantastic venues and interesting colleagues from all pockets of the world.  Discussions were not focused on abstract discussion about “pie in the sky”, but rather about practical discussions that provided new thinking on enhancing operations in all of our firms.  As we developed relationships with fellow members, it became a pleasure to attend AIMRI events to meet up with other interesting members in the same industry. 

 In addition, we noticed business flowed “both ways” and membership in AIMRI improved all of our firms’ performance.  This became a tell tale sign that AIMRI was and is a successful organization that meets our strict criteria.   As a result, I recommend that non-members explore the many benefits AIMRI has to offer. 

 Contact:  research@sisinternational.com

He is also a board director of BDRC Continental as well as the award winning full service agency Spring Research.  Richard is a full member of the MRS, a serving MRS council member and was the Deputy Chairman of the British Market Research Association till its merger with the MRS earlier in 2006. 

Richard has been a frequent contributor to Synergie Newsletter and a frequent speaker at AIMRI conferences.

Peanut Labs’ proposed presentation will show attendees how quality online market research can be achieved through social networks as new needs and professions emerge. Senior Vice President Sean Case will review the latest trends for International respondents engaging in social networks, and how this information can be accessed by offering virtual currency through market research surveys. In addition, he will touch on how market researchers can access research data from social networking sites like Facebook to target a specific demographic and also review the growth of social media and social networks being used by different countries around the world.

The session will then conclude with some growth trend information on different countries we have compiled from hands on experience and various social networking industry events.  In addition to the overall growth of social networks worldwide, the trend towards networks becoming more specialized will also be discussed.

This presentation will provide attendees with a better understanding of the importance of social networks worldwide, and how it is impacting the future of market research as a whole.

There will be an AIMRI meeting in Rome on the subject “Panel research revisited” on 5 March 2010.  Michael Stanat of SIS Research International (New York) will present on “Harnessing Social Media for Panel and Online Survey Research”

This speech will explore the key success factors and limitations/pitfalls in using online social media to build panels and recruit respondents for online survey research.  Further, the speech will take a nuanced look at some of the specific social media sites that researchers should use for different purposes.  Accordingly, it will lay out a methodology/blueprint for researchers to use social media in online research.  It will also include a brief case study on how SIS International successfully used social media to recruit respondents for a challenging “Mission Impossible” qualitative research project.

International Field & Tab was founded by Mohsin Muslim in 2008. His 19 years journey in the world of marketing research makes him well equipped with the technicalities of the research industry. This extensive experience coupled with the position as ‘Country Representative’ of ESOMAR in Pakistan and Vice President of the Marketing Association of Pakistan makes a perfect combination to successfully lead the company in the right direction. Being a part of ESOMAR, he is committed to abide by the ICC/ESOMAR International Code of Marketing and Social Research Practice.

Nearly three decades of war and conflict has left post-Taliban Afghanistan with daunting political, administrative, social, and economic challenges. To overcome these challenges, particularly since the Bonn Agreement in December 2001, the utmost demand for credible and high quality research has been at its peak to provide:

(a) Reliable data to inform policy makers;

(b) Public opinion to inform decision makers in reconstructing and developing the country;

(c) Public views on the rehabilitation and improvement of the infrastructure;

(d) Public support for and expectations from the United States, NATO Forces, the International community and the Government of Afghanistan.

In the year 2005 the dream of establishing ORCA was born in the hearts of five Afghans who possessed technical depth along with professional breadth, leadership and research skills.

By going to www.aimri.net the full article can be downloaded under NEWS and Newsletter