Georgetown Uni Sets Up Consumer MR Institute

In the US, Georgetown University has established a new Institute for Consumer Research, centred around technology-focused consumers and how to market to them.

Sitting within Georgetown's McDonough School of Business in Washington, DC and sponsored by tax specialist KPMG, the institute will also serve as a forum for global business executives and academics to share learnings and perspectives on the changing habits of consumers.

It will be led by Executive Director Robert Thomas, Professor of Marketing, and Research Director Kurt Carlson, Associate Professor of Marketing, along with an executive committee comprising representatives from both Georgetown and KPMG.

The institute plans to support two or three research projects each year, and will also sponsor a series of interactive dialogues to present new knowledge about consumer research or solutions to consumer issues.

Among its plans, the Institute says it will go deeper into the subject matter of two existing research studies conducted by the Georgetown marketing faculty, 'How to Stop Consumers from Fixating on Price' and 'The Discriminating Consumer: Product Proliferation and the Willingness to Pay for Quality'.

KPMG Principal Alton Adams comments: 'Complexities around new technology-driven areas such as social media and the cloud, along with a general lack of fact-based research, have created a thirst for consumer behavior insight. The Institute aims to satisfy this demand by producing unique research that carries both an academic and a business world stamp.'

Web sites: www.kpmg.com and www.msb.georgetown.edu .