MRS Conference: Bright Sparks and Big Macs
March 20 2008
How does research attract and keep young graduates - the views of experts... and of young graduates; how does it get into the boardroom (again); and how does it help 'scapegoat' brands turn things around? More from Phyllis Vangelder at the 2008 Conference.
Recruitment, Talent and Retention
This spotlight session had a multi-layered format: a keynote address by Stewart Segal, of the Talent Foundation, a mock trial of the profession and a panel of people involved in managing employees and recruiting them.
Brilliantly chaired by Danny Wain, the result was an insightful session looking at the views of young graduates and entrants to the industry as well as research leaders. Danny stressed that the lifeblood of the industry is its people. Companies are completely dependent on the knowledge workplace and managing talent, so how and whom we recruit and retain is critical.
Stewart Segal gave an outside perspective on the issues relating to talent. People and their talents are absolutely crucial to company success and competitive edge. There is an abundance of talent, but learning how to learn is the key skill of the 21st Century. There is a sea-change from training to learning and talent development is the prime responsibility of all leaders. Segal gave his own list of the main factors in business success:
- balancing today and tomorrow
- Innovation through flexibility
- Sharing knowledge
- Seeing potential in all staff
- Motivating through valuing
- Building skills through learning
- Measuring human capital.
He went on to look at some of the emerging trends in human resources: embracing diversity, rather than equal opportunities; talent-developing programmes, not just for 'fast track' employees, but for all individuals; and responsive working arrangements. He also challenged current measurements of IQ: rather than fixed, innate and formal knowledge, we must value 'gut feel' and intuition, and realise that the best results are context specific and most often derive from groups working together. Crucially people need to be given a chance to succeed.
Starting Out in Research
The session asked: How many people say 'When I grow up I want to be a market researcher?' The vox pop videos of recent graduates highlighted why they had chosen careers in research. Entrants could be segmented into those who coasted into careers, those who were confused and those who actually chose what to do. A trio of young people from Synovate teased out how market research becomes the choice for graduates. Market research still suffers from a 'clipboard' image and there is general lack of awareness of what constitutes research.
Ultimately the question is how market research can improve its recruitment and retention. We must keep our promises to entrants and deliver our development programmes. The panellists, Jeannie Arthur, Managing Director of FreshMinds, Fiona Wood, Director of Research, COI and Paul Cushing, Managing Director RP Cushing Recruitment, highlighted some of the human resource issues of managing people. There was consensus that people join companies, rather than the industry.
Talking to research leaders outside the session, there appears to be a general belief that there will never be a shortage of young graduates trying to get into market research; the problem is how to keep them there.
Boardrooms and Scapegoats
The session on
Research as Part of the Wider Marketing Mix took off with a keynote speech by Greg Nugent, Head of Brand, Product UK Marketing, Eurostar. He pointed out that no-one in the boardroom doubts that research is a key planning tool - no CEO is going to say the company does not listen to the customer. Critically, however, companies do not always see research as central to strategy. Nugent highlighted some of the pitfalls in using market research:
- The practice of commissioning results, rather than research. Deep cynicism occurs when research is used to prove a point.
- Using research at the end of a project rather than the beginning.
- Seeing research as a marketing, rather than a business tool.
- The excess of jargon.
Nugent suggested that the problem is that many companies see research as a task-driven rather than strategic tool, to solve micro rather than macro problems. 'Research', according to Nugent, 'should help in finding a way through the strategic jungle'. He feels there is an opportunity to re-invigorate research by working with clients as partners. Marketing should be the catalyst rather than the client. We need real-time research and to revolutionise the way we listen.
Chris Payne, Brand Doctors and George Davidson, Consumer Insight Manager, McDonald's, looked at how research can save scapegoat brands. How do you help a brand that has continuous negative publicity to retain its perspective in troubled times? McDonald's is in the firing line as the media obsesses with diet. Scapegoating eclipses exactitude, so that even if McDonald's foods are actually healthy, obesity, ill-health and bad eating habits are blamed on the company.
Research's response was to understand consumer perceptions of the brand and their relations with food. Issue analyses used the same techniques as political research, isolating the key issues and target audiences. The approach was to embrace brand intelligence and provide alternative brand offers, recognising that what worked yesterday was not necessarily right for today.
Davidson stressed that brand attitudes are not predictive and companies, while valuing data, have to listen to them selectively. He also pointed out that a Big Mac is no longer a high fat product. There is often more fat in a sandwich than in a hamburger.
Sophie Spence, Strategy Director, Mother and Caroline Bates, Head of Brand and Advertising, Post Office, examined the business, customer and people challenging the Post Office. Entitled 'Character building with the Post Office', their paper acknowledged the problems it faced as its core business started to decline, particularly when government no longer used the Post Offices to offer many of its services. It faced a major perception problem, both with the media and the public: negative publicity and branch closures did not help. The Post Office has had to diversify and reposition itself as a modern service, which can compete in the telecoms and financial services market. The launch of the People's Post Office provided a backdrop to a fairer, easier and better proposition, building on people's perception of it as a trustworthy institution.
Pecha Kucha
If there was any question about the quality of people in the market research industry, it was dispelled by the Pecha Kucha session, which was chaired by Ray Poynter and finished the day on a high. This technique of presentation derives from a Japanese term for the sound of conversation ('chit-chat'), and is designed to illustrate how much data can be presented in minimum time - as in a sonnet, creativity comes through constraint. Five people, two under 24 years old gave presentations showing why they loved market research. But they had to do so using 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide, and take only 6 minutes, 40 seconds each. They were brilliant and if this represents the talent of people coming into market research, the industry need not worry about its future.
All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.
