Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of edited interviews conducted by Quirk’s with industry conference organizers, published by special arrangement.
The Insight Show will be held on March 8-9 in Olympia West, London. For a preview of the event, we spoke with Stewart Tippler, event manager, The Insight Show, Centaur Media.
The exhibition is not specifically focused on marketing research in the U.K. but can you talk about some of the current topics or trends in marketing research in Britain and/or the rest of Europe?
Tippler: The Brits lead the world in shopping by phone. According to Statista.com, the share of population who purchased something online in Q4 2016 by phone in the U.K. was 37 percent – in the U.S. it was 33 percent. Due to a fragmented market and huge diversity in Europe, mobile has been adopted very successfully for research and is commonly used. According to the ESOMAR Global Market Research (GRM) report, 27 percent of U.K. quant research is conducted online including mobile, which is ahead of the U.S. at 22 percent.
The U.K. also leads the world in global research with 36 percent of projects completed at an international level, compared to the U.S. where most projects are completed at a domestic level, according to the GMR report. The U.K. is particularly experienced in international projects. With Brexit’s impact on the sterling, the U.S. dollar and the euro have become much stronger in comparison, making London’s global perspective an even more attractive proposition.
What are some of the major trends or forces affecting the marketing research industry globally?
Automation, virtual reality and text analytics for example, are consistent in the U.K., U.S. and globally. Marketing research is becoming faster and more affordable with new technology and automated tools. The key is to work out how to do this without compromising quality.
Are the forces affecting the client-side researchers different from those affecting the research vendors?
Overall, they are the same – they need to do more with less! But there is a drive to bring research in-house into corporate teams; with the support of the new technologies in-house teams don’t need agencies to do a lot of the work. However, the leading agencies are working hard to build their technology to ensure they can support clients and still add value.
Why do you think there is so much interest in staging new marketing research exhibitions?
As more and more of us work remotely or virtually – using new technologies to meet each other and even run focus groups – I’d argue we are in danger of being isolated. Exhibitions help us stay current with trends and supplier technology within the industry. We like to know who and what’s out there, what’s coming, what industry experts are doing and what we’re missing out on. Plus, being a part of the conversation outside of Twitter is great for your image.
For client-side researchers, what are some of the benefits of attending a marketing research exhibition such as the Insight Show?
Shows offer a platform for finding new suppliers; verifying purchasing decisions with existing ones; searching for inspiration for upcoming products; listening to brand case studies; keeping up to date with latest trends and technology; and industry networking.
For research vendors, what are some of the benefits of attending a marketing research exhibition such as the Insight Show?
For starters, the show offers a platform for suppliers to generate new sales leads, meet current customers, increase awareness, maintain a company’s profile, launch a new product or even enter a new market. Live events are twice as more powerful than TV ads, three times more effective than print media and four times more effective than radio.
How has your event evolved or changed over the past few years?
This year we’re celebrating our 20th show at Olympia West. The show now provides four stages of content, two of which are new for 2017: The Headline Stage, featuring the winning papers from the Insight call for papers; and the International Stage, with a presentation from Strive Insight, ESOMAR Congress 2016’s Best Paper Winner, Pushing the Frontiers of the Eyewear Business.
What makes you the most afraid for the future of marketing research?
To be honest I am not very afraid! I think the business is moving and changing fast and it’s a really exciting time. The only real threat I see is other consultants eroding our space. As long as researchers continue to innovate, I think we are in a good place.
What makes you the most optimistic for the future of marketing research?
Marketing research is ever-evolving, delivering quality insight with fast results. There’s a lot of potential for the general public to see the value of marketing research – a critical element for imperative brand decisions that will impact company success.