Editor’s note: This content from Fringe Factory originally appeared in a December 12, 2013, post on www.baqmar.eu (The Belgian Association for Quantitative and Qualitative Marketing Research), titled “Fringe report: Is market research really a career?” The full report is available here.
To understand the perception young graduates have of market research, Fringe Factory, a small group of young researchers who work in MR around the world, conducted a quantitative study with the support of InSites Consulting, SSI and ESOMAR Next. Together, we surveyed over 1,800 graduates across nine countries to understand and assess how attractive market research is as a profession.
So how bad is it? Pretty bad. Market research isn’t even in the top 10 industries in which people would like to work and only 13 percent of the young graduates across the world would consider it as a career option. In addition to a lack of awareness, there’s an image problem: It is considered boring, one-dimensional and lacking impact.
The good news? Next-gen MR is providing huge opportunities to change this! What’s boring about the social media and digital tools we apply?
Increasingly, the industry needs a variety of profiles. With an emphasis on engaging internal stakeholders, participants and clients, MR is about people – not about being stuck behind a desk. And if we open up and share the MR stories behind the products and brands people love, we can demonstrate research’s impact on their daily lives.
The Fringe report highlights five eye-catching insights and four recommendations to make a change as an industry. Find the full report here and please share it – we’re in this together!