MRS Conference Review - Connecting with Culture and Society

The papers in this third Friday morning session were particularly interesting: they looked beyond the techniques of market research, applying them in different societal contexts. Our Conference reporter Phyllis Vangelder brings you the highlights.

The session contained two nominations for the Best Paper at the Conference, as well as one for the Best Newcomer Award.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the paper by Katja Maggio-Muller, Procter and Gamble and Malcolm Evans, Space Doctors, 'Culture, communications and business; the power of advanced semiotics', is that a traditionally rational and quantitative company like P & G, steeped in a culture of rigid procedures, should have embraced a 'soft' discipline such as semiotics, writes Phyllis Vangelder. The speakers told the remarkable story of the four-year programme which grew out of Katja Maggio-Muller's discovery of semiotics and made her the driving force in establishing a semiotic culture and capability across categories and geographies within the organisation.

Semiotics explores culture, meanings, codes and signifiers (words, images etc) so it is particularly applicable in advertising. The speakers described the application of Core Semiotics in case histories of brand positioning and communications in the personal and fabric care categories, as well as Development Semiotics, focusing on the design, management and implementation of an internal P & G semiotic capability and the impact of semiotic understanding to addressing business issues and demonstrating ROI.

An organic forum of P & G partners in this venture has been set up - Semiotic Integration Global Network (SIGN). In parallel with the developments that were consciously planned, a new internal language is emerging more spontaneously to address cultural and communication issues that would once have sat uncomfortably within the existing linear and quantitatively driven P & G culture.

This is a paper that is well worth reading for its descriptions of a close working relationship and the development of a new organisational approach, as well as a short background explanation of semiotics and its commercial applications, plus some useful references.

Anna Pierce and Jaime Rose, Ipsos MORI Participation Unit, reported developments from last year's Conference paper on 'Fair Trade Research', which called for disclosure, participation and reciprocity in the research process. Their paper 'The value of peer research' illustrated theory and idealism in practice.

The paper drew on a number of recent case histories involving peers at different stages in the research process, including face-to-face interviewing. It also included evidence from an experimental parallel research project for Drugwatch using executive and peer interviews. Increasing peer involvement results in a different balance of power with the experience of respondents and researchers becoming more equitable. The speakers claimed that as well as empowering the participants there were benefits for the agency and clients with an increased credibility of results. They concluded with a call to the industry to form meaningful connections and relationships with respondents.

'Reconnecting the Prime Minister' was a splendid paper: creative, witty and well-presented, which sent out an important message about how research can be used in a wider, societal context. Roy Langmaid and Charles Travail, Promise plc, described their work with the New Labour strategy team in the run-up to the General Election of 2005, applying brand analysis and insights from qualitative research to political parties and, crucially, Tony Blair. In its application to a national issue it represents an example of the role of consultancy at the highest level towards which the research community aspires.

The research highlighted the importance of the emotional relationship between politicians and the electorate, in this particular election between Mr Blair and female voters. The speakers presented the recommendations made towards what became the Prime Minister's reconnection strategy.

The Friday afternoon Theatre session on online research will be covered in a final article, tomorrow.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.