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T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H EQ U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H C O N S U L T A N T S A S S O C I A T I O N

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FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEFSchools of Thought • Lana Limpert introduces anew thought-provoking, dialogue-opening feature inQRCA VIEWS.

FROM THE PRESIDENTDiverse Tools Help Our Industry Thrive •Jeff Walkowski outlines the many diverse qualitativeresearch approaches and technologies available tomarket researchers.

FEATURE STORY

MedicalModerating Myths •By debunking common mythsabout how doctors must betreated, Sharon Livingstonshows how to get more in-depth understanding fromphysician research.

QRCA COMMENTARYShooting and Killing Focus Groups? Oh My •Feeling frustrated at the negative press that focusgroups are getting, QRCA board member ChristineShields Kann shares her thoughts on what mightbe causing this, and what you and QRCA shoulddo about it.

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTThere Are No Global Brands • Are consumersbeginning to reject global brands in an increasinglyglobalized world? In this article, Sabine Stork arguesthat this is a misapprehension: consumers can’tdisapprove of global brands because, from theirperspective, all brands are local.

Editor-in-Chief: Lana Limpert, [email protected] • Managing Editor: Monica Zinchiak, [email protected], and SusanSweet, [email protected] • Design/Art Direction & Publishing: Leading Edge Communications, LLC (615) [email protected]

FEATURE EDITORSBook Reviews: Gregory Spaulding, [email protected] • Business Matters: Abigail Leafe, [email protected] •International Research: open • Industry Calendar: open • Qualitative Toolbox: Sharon Livingston, Ph.D., [email protected] •Schools of Thought: Bonnie Perry, [email protected] • Targeted Marketing: Judy Langer, [email protected] •Tech Talk: David Van Nuys, [email protected] • Travel & Leisure: Mary Beth Solomon, [email protected]

• TABLE OF CONTENTS •


T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H EQ U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H C O N S U L T A N T S A S S O C I A T I O N

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QUALITATIVE TOOLBOXEthnography Revealed, Part 1… Is AuthenticEthnography Right for You? • An experiencedanthropologist-moderator defines the concept ofauthentic ethnography, a process of using purespontaneous observation to identify breakthroughfindings, solve major strategic issues, transform brandsand create radically new advertising positionings.

QUALITATIVE TOOLBOXUnleash Participants’ Passion • Emily Hanlonand Sharon Livingston describe how to access yourown fire and imaginative genius to guide respondents to theirs.

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCHQualitative Research in Africa: A Snapshot •Ugo Geri-Robert, a Nigerian qualitative researcher,critically evaluates the stereotypical and dogmaticperceptions that drive the need for qualitativeresearch in Third World countries.

TARGETED MARKETINGMarketing to the Four-Eyed, Four-LeggedConsumer… Mom & Kid • The decision-makingrelationship of mothers and children changes as the childgrows, with an evolving shift in the balance of power.

TECH TALKPodcasting: The Next Big Thing • The new kidon the media block, podcasting may well be “the nextbig thing” in marketing and market research.

BUSINESS MATTERSDisability Insurance — A Primer toUnderstanding the Provisions • Understandingthe structure and complex meanings of the words andphrases used in disability contracts can help youobtain the ideal policy.

TRAVEL & LEISUREWho Needs Duty Free? The Best AirportShopping in the U.S. and Internationally •The airport is a familiar environment that can bea haven for the qualitative researcher. Mary BethSolomon offers a guide to using your flight layovertime for shopping, dining and relaxing.

INDUSTRY CALENDAR

EDITORIAL GUIDELINES

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

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San Jose FocusContact: Heidi Flores3032 Bunker Hill Lane, Suite 105 Santa Clara, CA, USA 95054Tel: 1 (408) 988-4800Fax: 1 (408) 988-4866Email: [email protected]

Toronto FocusContact: Jeff McFarlane4950 Yonge Street, Suite 306Toronto, ON, Canada M2N 6K1Tel: 1 (416) 221-9450Fax: 1 (416) 221-7441Email: [email protected]

Corporate HQContact: Sarah Bertucci4950 Yonge Street, Suite 600Toronto, ON, Canada M2N 6K1Tel: 1 (416) 250-3621Toll free: 1 (800) 394-1348Fax: 1 (630) 799-4805Email: [email protected]


• FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF •

Lana LimpertGfK STRATEGIC MARKETING

THE QUALITATIVE INSTITUTE™

Bala Cynwyd, [email protected]

n behalf of inspiring thoughtful consideration of the pedagogic underpinnings of thequalitative research field, I’m pleased to introduce a new feature to QRCA VIEWS called“Schools of Thought.” Borrowed from an era in Chinese history often calledHundred Schools of Thought, the feature name “Schools of Thought” is meant

to communicate a broad and inclusive acceptance of many perspectives. Its namesakewas a period of creativity that fed the intellectual and ideology systems of China andgave rise to great classical writings, including the Confucian Classics, on which manyChinese traditions have been based for more than two and a half millennia. TheQRCA VIEWS “Schools of Thought” feature is meant to be a place to reflect on,explore and celebrate diverse perspectives, to reconsider foundational principles and to examine the metaphors that influence how we conceive and carry out our work.

I am delighted to welcome Bonnie Perry to the QRCA VIEWS team as she undertakesthe task of bringing the “Schools of Thought” feature to life! We plan for the articlesin this section to capture penetrating insights and to be provocative, perhaps evencontroversial, yet grounded in established academic theory or in the experience andrespected scholarship of our authors. The information imparted will seek to kindlenew dialogue, energize our readers and prompt us to consider fresh viewpoints. To this end, we welcome your ideas for articles as well as your opinions of the articles we chose to print.

In the inaugural article for the “Schools of Thought” feature, Sabine Stork challengesus to consider whether global brands exist at all or if all brands are essentially localbrands. She goes on to suggest that international research, if designed to draw on theexpertise of local researchers, can bridge the gap between the marketers’ desire tobrand their products across cultures with the fact that consumers live their lives closeto home.

In Support of the Often-Maligned Focus GroupSpeaking of diverse thoughts, popular news stories that bash focus groups strike me aswritten by people who have not experienced the magic of well-designed, well-moderatedfocus groups where respondents explore, often for the very first time, their emotional,less-than-conscious symbolic thoughts, feelings and images. Further, I find the suggestionto abandon focus groups as a methodology to be an extreme over-correction and therecommendations to replace them with instant messaging technology or blogs a much-too-simple strategy.

In my mind, those who champion the latest research technique as the be-all end-allmake too few distinctions about where and when and how to apply the rich treasuretrove of qualitative methodologies, temporarily blinded by the whiz-bangness of thetechnique du jour. You can expect to see more articles that take direct aim at the focusgroups detractors and give voice to clients who use the methodology appropriately, aswe invite them to tell of the value they reap from the too-often maligned focus group.

Thanks to Our All-Volunteer TeamFinally, if you find an article particularly interesting or helpful, please take a momentto thank the all-volunteer editorial team at QRCA VIEWS. This team works countlesshours and with much dedication and spirit to bring you interesting, relevant and usefulinformation. If you find yourself inspired by what you read here, consider putting pento paper or, more likely, fingers to keyboard, and send a kudo or two to a managingeditor, feature editor or author for a remarkable effort.

Schools of Thought

O

Those who championthe latest research

technique as the be-all end-all maketoo few distinctions

about where andwhen and how to

apply the richtreasure trove of qualitative

methodologies,temporarily blinded

by the whiz-bangnessof the technique

du jour.

9Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H C O N S U L T A N T S A S S O C I A T I O N

Qualitative Research Consultants Association(QRCA) serves its members in the industry througheducation, promotion and representation. Thestatements and opinions expressed herein are those ofthe individual authors and do not necessarily representthe views of the association, its staff, or its board ofdirectors, QRCA Views, or its editors. Likewise, theappearance of advertisers, or QRCA members, doesnot constitute an endorsement of the products orservices featured in this, past or subsequent issues ofthis quarterly publication. Copyright ©2006 by theQualitative Research Consultants Association. QRCAViews is published quarterly. Subscriptions arecomp l imen ta ry to member s o f QRCA.POSTMASTER: Send change of address notificationto QRCA, P.O. Box 967, Camden, TN 38320. Postageguaranteed. Third-class postage is paid at Franklin,TN. Printed in the U.S.A. Reprints and Submissions:QRCA Views allows reprinting of material publishedhere, upon request. Permission requests should bedirected to QRCA. We are not responsible forunsolicited freelance manuscripts and photographs.Contact the managing editor for contributioninformation. Advertising: For display and classifiedadvertising rates and insertions, please contactLeading Edge Communications, LLC, P.O. Box680142, Franklin, TN 37068-0142, (615) 790-3718,Fax (615) 794-4524. Deadlines are the first of themonth prior to the following month’s publication.(Example: August 1 for the September issue.)Subscriptions are free to members and are available tobuyers upon request.

P.O. Box 967Camden, TN 38320

Tel (toll-free in N. America):888-ORG-QRCA(888-674-7722)Tel (International inbound calls):731-584-8080

Phone: 731-584-8080Fax: 731-584-7882

Email: [email protected]

QRCA 2005–2006Officers and Boardof DirectorsJeff WalkowskiPRESIDENT

Alison MurphyVICE PRESIDENT

Joel ReishTREASURER

Mark MichelsonSECRETARY

Mark Herring DIRECTOR

Christine Shields Kann DIRECTOR

Sharon Livingston, Ph.D. DIRECTOR

Mark Lovell DIRECTOR

David Van Nuys, Ph.D. DIRECTOR

Mike JenkinsCHIEF OPERATING OFFICER


• FROM THE PRESIDENT •

Jeff WalkowskiQUALCORE.COM, INC.Minneapolis, MN

[email protected]

eadlines in the recent business press suggest that focus groups are passé. However,the evidence suggests otherwise. QRCA membership has risen dramatically overthe past couple of years and shows no signs of abatement. This suggests that the industry is strong.

FocusVision Worldwide, Inc., of Stamford, CT, has published the Focus Group Indexannually since 1998. According to the Focus Group Index, the estimated number offocus groups conducted worldwide has risen every year since 1997, with the singleexception of 2002. The 490,000 focus groups estimated to have been conductedworldwide in 2004 (the most recent year for which data are available) represent an all-time record. Thus, rumors about the death of focus groups seem to have beengreatly exaggerated.

To paraphrase a point made in one of the texts I studied while working toward my MBA, the purpose of marketing research is to minimize the risks associated withdecision-making. Qualitative research is certainly in the mix of tools used to minimizedecision-making risk. The growth cited by the Focus Group Index demonstrates this.

When we think of qualitative research, the first thing that probably comes to mind is focus groups. However, the range of activities that fall underneath the qualitativeresearch umbrella seems to be constantly expanding. Not only are there focus groups,but there are also mini-groups, triads, dyads and one-on-one in-depth interviews. Notonly are in-person groups conducted in conference room settings, but also living-roomsettings in facilities are becoming more prevalent. There’s ethnography as well, wherewe observe or meet research subjects in the settings where products and services aretypically purchased or used.

Not only are focus groups and in-depth interviews conducted in person, but alsothey may be conducted over the phone or over the internet. Within the online arena,not only are online groups conducted as text-based real-time chats (which take place at a fixed point in time) or text-based message boards (which span several days andeven weeks), but also multi-media online methods are now available that include voice and video.

Except for the technology-based online methods, all of the approaches mentionedabove have been around for years. However, marketers and marketing researchers aremore educated today about the range of options available, so they are becoming smarterabout using the proper tool that best serves the information objectives at hand. As inany product or service category, there is a service adoption curve at play. As researchbuyers become more educated about — and experienced with — “new” qualitativeresearch options available to them, the more likely that the less-frequently used qualitativeresearch tools will be utilized in the future.

The wide variety of qualitative research options is a win-win situation for the entireindustry. Research buyers benefit because they are more likely to find an approach thatbest meets their information objectives within their cost and timing constraints. Qualitativeresearch consultants (QRCs) who thrive on variety in their work are satisfied becausethey have a wide range of tools to choose from their qualitative tool chests. The growingarsenal of qualitative techniques also creates opportunities for QRCs who prefer tospecialize in a particular method. QRCA members represent a healthy mix of bothgeneralists and specialists, and we expect this to continue indefinitely.

QRCA includes members who have been pioneers in such areas as telephone focusgroups, ethnography and online qualitative methods. In true QRCA spirit, these pioneershave shared their expertise with other members for the good of the industry. It neverceases to amaze me how much our members are willing to share with each other.

Diverse Tools Help Our Industry Thrive

H

Marketers andmarketing researchers

are more educatedtoday about the rangeof options available,so they are becomingsmarter about using

the proper tool that best serves the information

objectives at hand.

From The President C O N T I N U E D

While in many respects QRCA members arecompetitors, we are also supportive of each otherin raising the bar of professionalism in the industry.More innovation in the industry means moreoptions for buyers, which in turn translates togreater use of qualitative research methods overall.

It seems reasonable to expect that the prolifer-ation of new ways of conducting qualitativeresearch will continue. The development of newmethods is likely to be driven by technology.Several have suggested that blogs (or personal weblogs) are a good source of qualitative data. Thecontinued penetration of cell phones and digital

photography may provide other opportunities togather qualitative data more “in the moment.” It is many years off, but what impact mightholography have on the way stimuli are presentedor how qualitative research is conducted?

Setting aside technological advances, lower-techmethods may be used more in combination witheach other. At the 2005 AQR/QRCA BiennialConference in Dublin, there were several mentionsof triangulation — using multiple qualitativemethods (not just one) in a single project to moreeffectively meet client information objectives.The traditional way of thinking is to keep theresearch design “clean” and not mix methods.There seems to be a growing awareness that thetraditional approach may be more restrictive thanit needs to be when we want to maximize thevalue of qualitative projects to our clients.

The current and future options available toQRCs and to qualitative research buyers areexciting. QRCA encourages the development ofnew methods and educates members and buyersabout them. QRCA and its members have beenand will remain at the forefront of advances inqualitative research methods.

There seems to be a growingawareness that the traditionalapproach may be morerestrictive than it needs to bewhen we want to maximize thevalue of qualitative projects toour clients.


• QRCA COMMENTARY •

will admit it. I am feeling a bit defensive. And concerned, of course. Who wouldn’t be?Anyone who sees the words “shoot” and “kill” associated with a loved one would rightfullybe concerned, right?

Well, that has been my reaction to seeing articles like “Shoot the Focus Group”(Business Week, November 14, 2005) that have appeared in popular business publicationsover the course of the last year. Those are strong words to use when discussing thehonorable effort that companies and qualified market research professionals have madeto make a connection with consumers and ultimately deliver better products to themarketplace. I can’t help but wonder how these honorable efforts have been so misinter-preted. And more importantly, should we as qualitative research professionals be concernedabout this type of misrepresentation of qualitative research?

The answer, of course, is yes and no. We know that qualitative research continues togrow and thrive. What was once a billion-dollar industry has become a multi-billion-dollar industry in recent years. If you have spoken with any of your QRCA colleaguesor favorite facilities recently, you know how busy most of them are. While these mediaarticles are certainly painting a picture of focus groups going the way of the buggy whip,my view from the cheap seats looks very different.

I think people on both sides of this issue, in fact, would agree that there will alwaysbe a place for traditional focus groups as an appropriate methodology. With a qualifiedmoderator and matching research objectives, focused group discussions can yield richinsights and real connections with consumers.

My inclination is to point to a number of variables that have influenced this tide ofnegative press about focus groups in particular.

The Kleenex SyndromeI have a personal frustration with the words “focus group” having evolved in the past fewyears to being a generic term. How many times have you gotten a call from someoneclaiming “We need a focus group!” only to find, upon further review, that they don’tneed a focus group at all. Just as someone with a runny nose says they need a “Kleenex,”so some marketers who want to get consumer feedback say they need a “focus group.”Turning these words into a generic devalues them.

Just recently I conducted some one-on-one interviews over the course of a day withthe client and their agency in the back room. At the end of the day, as we began to debriefthe interviews, the agency rep said to the client, “So what did you think of the focusgroups?” I think I missed the next minute of conversation because I was so distractedby the fact that even a person professionally employed in the field of advertising andmarketing had applied this term incorrectly. “Focus group” has unfortunately becomean all-encompassing phrase for qualitative research and therefore has shortchanged all thesubtleties and variations of qualitative right out of the picture.

A Few Bad ApplesWe know they are out there, and they make it bad for all of us. There are people making aliving doing bad research and giving a bad name to those who are professionally trainedusing proven methodologies.

In case I had forgotten this, I just recently was witness to it myself. I was attending ameeting for a task force I serve on, and a marketing consultant was presenting the results

I

Advances intechniques for

focus groups andother qualitative

methodologieshave put research

“on steroids” interms of its abilityto deliver the rightinformation morequickly and more

accurately.

Shooting and Killing Focus Groups? Oh My.

Christine Shields KannCSK MARKETING, INC.

Racine, WIcskmarketing.com


of some interviews she had done with people whowould be influenced by the results of the task force’swork. As task-force members began asking questionsabout the interviews, holes in her methodologybegan to appear: the respondents were not selectedproperly, questions were not asked consistently, andthe conclusions were not supported by the data. Aswe broke into small groups for discussion, it wasagreed that this piece of “research” was very flawedand therefore not at all helpful to the task force.As a market research consultant, I was angry about this person doing a poor job of representingour profession.

Focus Groups Aren’t SexyThough QRCA members know differently, somemedia writers have determined that focus groupsare not new or intriguing, and so they have paintedthem as “groups of innocents that marketers havelong assembled in beige conference rooms to observebehind two-way mirrors, like zoo animals, as theyhold forth about coffee and shampoo preferences”(Business Week, Nov. 14, 2005). What is sexy and“new” is technology, and so these are the thingsthat are getting written about. And what betterway to make the “new” things seem even moreinteresting than to paint the old methodology astired and out of touch? The result is misleadingthe research public. Mission accomplished.

Research professionals know that focus groupsare but one type of qualitative research and thateven they have evolved and grown over the years.New techniques, new updated facilities and newtechnologies have made them more productiveand valuable for both clients and respondents to participate.

Qualitative professionals support the addition ofany new methodologies that will improve the waythat data are gathered and interpreted. At the recentQRCA Annual Conference (October 2005, BeverlyHills), the majority of sessions were not abouttraditional focus groups but rather additional andspecialized qualitative techniques that qualitativeprofessionals could use to enhance their skills.

Additional types of qualitative research —involving online, on-site and ethnographic tech-niques — have brought companies even closer tothe consumer and have made the informationmore relevant in decision-making. Advances intechniques for focus groups and other qualitativemethodologies have put research “on steroids” interms of its ability to deliver the right informationmore quickly and more accurately. But we don’tneed to malign the traditional focus group in the process of acknowledging the addition ofnew methodologies.

Savvy CompetitionIf you had invested a good portion of your wealthin a new product launch and you had to ensurethat it was successful, what would you do? It wouldprobably be a smart move to aggressively writearticles and press releases talking about how yourproduct was better, smarter and faster than thecompetition. This has happened, in some cases, withtraditional qualitative research methods. To makenew techniques appear better, some researchersdowngrade focus groups and try to convince clientsand the public that they are no longer relevant.In the absence of a voice stating otherwise, mostpeople will believe it because it is all they know.

So my short answer to whether we need to beconcerned about this type of press is yes. For theuninitiated, this type of information as their firstintroduction to focus groups could be impactfuland even damaging. Most importantly, we need forour clients to continue to have confidence in focusgroups as a valuable marketing tool. But we alsoneed the average consumer to want to participatein focus groups and not feel that they are part-icipating in something irrelevant. Business Weekis a consumer publication read by lots of peoplewho may be asked to participate in a focus groupsome day. I think we’d all prefer if articles writtenabout focus groups positioned them as an importantopportunity for consumers to participate in theprocess of bringing products to market.

So what are we to do? Let’s think about this ina way that we all are familiar with as marketresearch consultants. We all know what it is likewhen we do a focus group and the participantsreally don’t understand the product or conceptthat is being researched. They furrow their brows,they scratch their heads, they misinterpret theproduct use. All the while, you and your clientwrestle with how to better help them understandhow wonderful this product will ultimately be forthem once they get it. What would you advise yourclient to do? What would you say to get them tobetter communicate the benefits of the product theyare selling? Well, such is our challenge as QRCA:to better communicate the benefits of focus groupsand other forms of qualitative research.

Where to begin? I think we need a combinationof professional advice as well as the powerfulcommunication skills of our membership tomove this conversation in the right direction.

Already, efforts are in the works to bring onthe services of a professional public relations firmfor QRCA. This would allow us to get advice frompeople who have also helped other professionsmake sure that the value of their services isproactively communicated. It will allow us to be

QRCA Commentary C O N T I N U E D

QRCA Commentary C O N T I N U E D


in an offensive rather than a defensive positionwhen dealing with media commentary that isnot supportive of qualitative research.

Individually, QRCA members can reflect onhow they too can portray qualitative research as more than just focus groups and as a professionwhere the ultimate goal is that of making surethe consumer is heard. Acknowledging both thestrengths and weaknesses of the focus group canbe combined with commentary about the rightuse of newer methodologiesthat might even com-plement traditionalresearch strategies. Onlineor telephone research isthe best fit, for example,when a respondent groupwith a geographic cross-section is essential.Ethnographic research isan important tool for in-depth understanding ofthe connection a producthas made in the life of the consumer. But focusgroups continue to be anefficient way to discussmarketing questions inthe presence of consumers,to show them the stimuliand see their reactionsfirsthand. It continues tobe an ideal environmentto capitalize on thepresence of otherconsumers, which canprovide valuable inter-action and discussionwith the moderator andeach other.

If there were ever agroup that was regularlymaligned in the media, itwould be lawyers. So, Iasked an attorney friendof mine how she deals withconstant jokes in the mediaabout her profession. Shesaid, “I listen and I try tolaugh. Sometimes peoplejust want to share a badexperience that they had.I usually say, ‘As withany profession, you willfind people who don’t doa good job, but that’s notthe way I do things.’”Sometimes listening and

acknowledging someone’s concerns is the bestway to begin a discussion that can then focus onthe positives of the profession.

We all should be proud of the importantinfluence that qualitative research has on theway that companies interact with their customers.With our individual efforts and the work ofQRCA, we will continue to ensure that thepositive impact of focus groups and otherqualitative research is communicated clearly.

w

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• SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT •


ur marketing landscape seems dominated by global brands. Fewer and fewer largebrands are restricting themselves to one geographical market. In fact, nine outof ten of the UK’s biggest FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) brands in 2004were operating at least regionally in Europe, if not worldwide.

At the same time, Naomi Klein casts a long shadow: since the publication of NoLogo, newspapers and at times the marketing press have reported supposedly growingconsumer resistance to global brands and an inward re-orientation towards local ones.Should global marketers be concerned?

When speaking or listening to consumers around the globe, it strikes me that theirbrand relationships are almost always implicitly local, irrespective of whether a brand“factually” has global or local reach. I’d go as far as to say that consumers don’t havea relationship with global brands at all because they largely don’t perceive them asglobal. To them, global brands don’t exist.

Confused PerspectivesIt seems that the global/local debate suffers from a confusion of perspectives that equatesthe sort of “global” brand we worry about as marketers with the day-to-day brandreality experienced by consumers. Put simply, we’re not thinking or talking about thesame things.

From a marketer’s perspective, global brand development is generally a task of unifyingbrand values across different markets. The motives for globalization tend to be structural orbudgetary; they generally have very little to do with consumers.

At the same time, global brand development requires a bird’s-eye perspective, i.e.,ongoing quasi “omniscient” insight into how a brand is perceived by consumers indifferent geographical locations.

Consumers, however, don’t have this same trans-national, bird’s-eye perspective, despiteincreased travel and the reach of international media. Largely, the UK consumer doesn’thave access to — or much interest in — the brand experience of, say, an Italian counterpart.Consumers live their lives locally from a local perspective. They encounter brands locally,in local shops and advertised on local TV — or at least watched from local living rooms —consumed by other local people in local contexts. Perhaps most importantly, they willthink about a brand from a specific (local) cultural perspective.

As such, it is unlikely that British consumers feel more connected to their Europeancounterparts scrubbing their bathtubs with Cif than they did when they used Jif. It’s alsohighly unlikely that stumbling across the renamed Cif in a Spanish supermarket on theirannual holiday would significantly affect their already “UK-formed” brand perceptions.Although hugely compelling reasons for the change undoubtedly existed from Unilever’spoint of view, I would suggest that none of them were to do with the consumer.

For their part, consumers were probably — momentarily — left wondering about thereason for the re-brand but were unlikely to have made the link to the brand wantingto streamline its name internationally. This was certainly our finding when interviewingwomen about a similar name change, when Olivio became Bertolli.

The “mismatch” between consumers’ “local” orientation and marketers’ global perspectiveis also why the HSBC “never underestimate the importance of global knowledge” campaignmay well not faze many UK consumers. Unless investing in the company, are they not

OWith one foot in

local markets andthe other in an

understanding of theglobal marketer’sbrand objectives,

internationalresearchers canbridge the gap

between theconsumer’s local

orientation and themarketer’s “artificial”

global view.

There Are No Global BrandsB Y S A B I N E S T O R KThinktank International Research, Ltd. • London, England •[email protected]

C O N T I N U E D Schools of Thought


much more likely to care about charges andservice standards in the UK than their bank’sknowledge of rude gestures in Brazil?

Global Versus ForeignThis doesn’t mean that consumers don’t perceivedifferences between homegrown and foreignbrands. But again, consumer perceptions of“foreign-ness” are fundamentally different from“global-ness” as perceived by a marketer.

Provenance can indeed have an importantbearing on consumer brand perceptions. But it isonly one part of the story a marketer will wantto tell about his (global) brand. Otherwise, therewould be no difference between Mercedes andBMW or between Coke and Pepsi.

At the same time, provenance, whether localor foreign, can be a positive or negative brandvalue. Despite Samsung’s phenomenal success,its Korean origins still hamper the brand inimage terms; Europeans associate Korean-nesswith lesser durability and quality compared toJapanese or German provenance.

Provenance can also be faked. EasternEuropeans generally attribute higher quality andaspiration to Western clothes brands, hence thenumber of fantasy French and Italian labels inRussian stores. Local provenance here is often adisadvantage. And in the UK, TV ads for thefrozen pizza brand Ristorante have used a veryobvious Italian context but also featured thesubtitle — “produced in Germany” — asheepish acknowledgment of its German brandowners, Dr. Oetker.

That said, there are lots of “global brands,”particularly FMCG brands, where provenance isquite unimportant as a brand value. If put onthe spot, consumers in the UK may assume thatDove, Lynx or Cif/Jif are British or American,but other brand values like skin-friendliness orefficacy would be far more important to them.These brands may be international or even global,but the user doesn’t really care.

Global Brands and the Anti-Globalization MovementBut what about protests against global brandsas part of the anti-globalization movement? Arethey not proof that consumers perceive and rejectglobal brands? Again, what these consumers reactagainst are not global brands from a marketingpoint of view.

Yes, publicity about Nike using sweatshoplabor in the Third World may (possibly) havedamaged its brand, but again only in terms oflocal brand perceptions. The London anti-globalization activist is not concerned about

what a consumer in the Philippines thinks aboutthe Nike brand, but instead about a perceivedclash between Nike’s presenting itself as a coolyouth brand in the West and the company’ssupposed exploitation of workers in the ThirdWorld. In both the consumer’s relationship withthe former and concern about the latter, hisbrand perspective is “local” (i.e., Western, notFilipino or international).

And What About the Internet?The internet allows the establishment ofinternational communities and, as such, insightsinto how people from other nations think. Intime, it is possible that the internet may start to“internationalize” consumer brand perceptions.But, while it is true that news travels faster thesedays, our experience of consumers around theworld suggests it is unlikely that virtual chatterwill have as strong an impact as what is seenand felt on the ground locally, at least for thetime being.

Keep Them RelevantOn occasion, consumers may reject a “global”brand. However, they tend to do so not as aresult of its global reach, but because it is notrelevant to them from a local perspective. Whilethe underlying reason for this may have to dowith globalization — trying to import strategiesor advertising campaigns worldwide that don’treally fit an individual local market, for example— this is not what registers with consumers.Instead, consumers judge brands on their meritsand demerits in meeting their particular needs.

This was clear in a project that Thinktankrecently completed for Nokia on the potential ofglobal advertising where we exposed a range ofglobal and local ads to consumers around theworld. It was striking how many internationalads were not commented on at all for beingforeign, but were simply judged on whether theywere good or bad ads. Global ads were as likelyto be favored as local ones, provided they madea connection.

Reconciling PerspectivesSo, if global brands are, in effect, primarilyhead-office constructs, while brands live only in the minds of the (local) consumer, what does this mean for global marketing? How dowe close the gap between our two differingperspectives?

In effect, it confirms the old adage “actglobal, think local.” If the local consumer doesnot perceive global brands in the same way asthe marketer, perhaps a global brand is, in the

Schools of Thought C O N T I N U E D


Accurate, unbiased research gleaned from the fastest growing city in the U.S.Located in the heart of the Vegas strip in a modern 35,000 square foot research facility, each of our three focus rooms include a private suite, private client office, streaming and video conferencing. Plus MRCFocus has the a 48-Seat media testing center that is perfect for larger groups such as music tests, concept tests, product tests, TV tests and mock jury trials.

Don Hein,Director of MRCFocus

A Division of MRCGroup, LLC

800.820.0166 • mrcgroup.com

THE PREMIER FOCUS GROUPFACILITY IN LAS VEGAS

words of Michael Perry, ex-Unilever chairman,nothing but “a local brand reproduced many times.”

Local market knowledge and flexibility toadapt to individual cultures must therefore be key in global brand development. Butsuccessfully marketing brands globally, across a variety of disparate markets, must also surelyinvolve the quest for brand values thattranscend local culture.

Do Your Research!This is why international researchers can andshould play a central role in global brand andad development. With one foot in local marketsand the other in an understanding of the globalmarketer’s brand objectives, they can bridge thegap between the consumer’s local orientationand the marketer’s “artificial” global view.

Multi-country research gets close to theconsumer and ensures that what is “reproducedmany times” resounds with local consumer

experience. Ultimately, it helps marketers avoidfalling into the trap of being beholden to a“global” brand that doesn’t exist locally on the ground.

At the same time, the best internationalresearch buys into the global marketer’s overallobjectives for the brand and searches for valuesto tap into that are shared and go deeper thanlocal culture.

Truly to perform the role of conduit betweenreal (local) consumer relationships and the“artificial” task of global marketing, Thinktankfirmly believes in putting equal emphasis oncentral coordination and real cooperation withlocal researchers. That way, our bird’s-eye view remains global in scope, but anchored inlocal understanding.

We can keep global brands grounded —perhaps starting with dispelling the myth that,as a global marketer, your first task is toovercome inherent consumer resistance toglobal brands.

Qualitative Research Consultants Association, Inc.

P.O. Box 967 • Camden, TN 38320

(888) 674-7722 toll free

(731) 584-8080 • (731) 584-7882 faxQualitative Research

Consultants Association

Go to www.qrca.org to “Find A Consultant” and use our other helpful resources

Leading the Way in Qualitative ResearchLeading the Way in Qualitative ResearchQRCA is the largest body of independent qualitative research consultants in the world, withover 800 experienced qualitative research professionals from over 20 countries. All QRCAmembers sign the QRCA Code of Member Ethics and pledge to maintain integrity in theirrelationships with clients, field suppliers, and respondents. QRCA is on the forefront of trendsand innovations in qualitative research worldwide. QRCA members share their resources,expertise, and knowledge to continually raise the standards of excellence in the profession.

Promoting Excellence in Qualitative Research

Jay Martin11042 Blix Street

West Toluca Lake, Ca 91602

Email: [email protected]

(818) 760-2791

Fax: (818) 761-7120

J�S Martin Transcription Resources


• QUALITATIVE TOOLBOX •


grew up with older brothers that I idolized and in many wayscontinue to hold on tall pedestals. They were the authoritiesthat I respected and did not question when they spoke. Theyknew the truth. Their wisdom was awe-inspiring. Later, when

they became physicians, their clout was turned up another notch,in my eyes as well as theirs. They knew the facts. They hadstudied. They made logical decisions based on data and reality.They were trained to do so. They had definite opinions on theright and wrong way to do things and were happy to tell youwhich, what, where, when and how. Interestingly, their viewswere clear, but their actions and choices did not always matchup with the facts they’d present. It was the shoulds and oughtsvs. everyday life behaviors.

The most personally satisfying moments, when I got to knowwho they really were, were during times of play or heart-to-heartconversations when they expressed their feelings or let out thefun parts of their personalities.

Picture this. It’s Christmas season on Fifth Avenue, around 6 p.m.on a crisp, cold, blustery night. You can hear the Salvation ArmySantas ringing their little metal bells on the street corners. Mybrother Ben, his wife Clara, his two young daughters and I aremarveling at the automated mannequins in the fantastic storewindows. But we’re sooooo cold and getting hungry. Aha! Wespy a soup kitchen with an assortment of hot, savory flavors andthick slabs of hearty bread. We hurry in to the warmth and thepungent aromas of garlic, onions, tomato, dill, chicken, butterand the yeasty scent of fresh-baked bread. Ben grabs a table rightby the window, while we get in line. We choose our steamybowls and rolls and bring them to the table. As we relish ourdelicious soups, people stop at the full-length window and peerin. Ben is closest to the glass. In a moment of silly inspiration,he mechanically brings his spoon to the bowl, scoops up somesoup and instead of bringing it to his mouth, he robotically turnsto the window with a maniacal grin on his face and offers it topassersby, who jump back in surprise and then laugh and pointfor others to check out the moving human dummy in the window.

I tell this story because if you only met Ben, the doctor, youwould have a totally different impression of him than the onewho was so playful in the soup-kitchen window. He’s veryrational. Yet his behaviors and choices often differ from whathe says, and they frequently reflect his more mischievous side

IB Y S H A R O N L I V I N G S T O N , P H . D .The Livingston Group for Marketing • Windham, NH •[email protected]

DEBUNKINGthe Myths of

Medical Moderating

Debunking the Myths of Medical Moderating C O N T I N U E D


or softer side. So, although he might understandthat two medications are virtually identical in theirprofiles and would say he has no preference, inreal life he demonstrates preference by choosingone over the other. If you brought this to hisattention directly, he would feel pressured torationalize his response in some logical way, whichmay or may not be the real reason he prescribesthis way.

In research with physicians, we often have tounderstand the facts. Doctors are great at that.They’re trained to evaluate product profiles —what the products do, how they do it, the methodof action, efficacy, expected outcomes, safetyprofiles and risk factors. However, we also needto get beyond the obvious to find out what thismedication, device or procedure means to thedoctor in terms of how it will help or hinder his/herpracticing and feelings about self in doing so.

Just like with any other consumer, but evenmore so because of the physician’s training tostick to the data, we need to explore doctors’beliefs and feelings indirectly in order to encouragetheir true attitudes to be expressed.

I recently experienced a dramatic example ofthis in an ongoing research project, where thefirst and second part was spearheaded by a clientteam member who was open to creative andpsychological techniques, while the third part wasmanaged by one of his cohorts who believed thatonly a logical approach could be used. Even thoughI tried to cajole him into opening the guide, heinsisted on a regimented approach to a score ofmessages. You know the drill — main point, otherpoints, type of patient it’s for, when would it beprescribed if this statement were true, benefit topatient, benefit to doctor.

The difference in response was remarkable. Inprior research, using techniques that includedguided imagery for brand, drawings, analogies andthought balloons showing the doctor/patientdialogue, the doctors were relaxed, animated andhighly involved in the process, as well as able totell us about how and why in ways that led tokey insights for marketing. They were able to doso because the creative exercises allowed them tolet down their guard and express themselves. Theytold us what it meant for them to be physiciansin the first place and then were able to revealhow the medication was in keeping with theirpersonal goals or not. It was different fordifferent people.

You can guess what happened in the latterround. The doctors acted as though they werebeing tested. They had to search for the factsand give the right answer on 20 some statementspresented to them. They were bored, annoyed,antsy and couldn’t wait for it to be over. They

gave answers that were obvious, what they shouldsay. It seemed like we could have written the reportwithout conducting the research. It was justconfirming the facts. I worked hard to bring somefresh news to the report, but I felt guilty that Ihad allowed myself to be corralled into this typeof questioning when I knew it wouldn’t get themthe answers they needed. My former client and Ishrugged our shoulders and tried to make it betterin the next phase.

In the many years our firm has been doingcreative market research, we have heard complaintstime and again (from our clients, peers and students)about the serious difficulties that qualitativeresearch with medical professionals presents. Inour opinion, many of these difficulties can beavoided with choice of approach and a littlepsychological savvy, and by recognizing andpreparing for the pitfalls. What follows is a brieflist of the more common problems and stereotypesthat are frequently voiced, and a few simplestrategies for overcoming them.

FACT OR FICTION?“Doctors aren’t creative.”Fiction! This perception often arises because manyclients are fearful of taking an indirect approachto understanding medical branding and marketing.They have the idea that doctors will feel we arenot taking them seriously and won’t be able todo the exercises.

In fact, creative exercises take the pressureoff. Instead of having to come up with the rightanswer, this busy doctor can take time out, relaxand have a little fun. Sometimes, a physician res-pondent will at first seem resistant to the idea ofplaying a game in the interview. It’s part of theirtraining; they’re supposed to be serious. But formost, once they realize they have permission tolet down their guard, they step up to the plateand play ball.

Just like with consumers and patients, it’simportant to be prepared with a number oftechniques. If one doesn’t work, try another one.Different approaches work with different people.

“It is disrespectful to ask doctors to take part in creativity exercises.”Fiction! When approached properly, doctorswelcome the opportunity to loosen their ties andbe creative. The difficulty is that many moderatorsignore the fact that doctors are constantly “on theline” or being evaluated in the office or hospitalenvironment. Again, this puts them in the mindsetto “produce the right answer,” which counterstheir creativity (and increases stress).

Few moderators are trained to eliminate or suspend this mindset. One simple way to

C O N T I N U E D Debunking the Myths of Medical Moderating


encourage a creative mindset in a focus groupmight be with these instructions:

“Be creative, there are only right answers here.By the way, research shows that it really paysto put aside judgments of your ideas in a groupprocess like this until they are all out on thetable. That’s because we want everyone toget a chance to associate to your ideas, evenif you may think the idea is not so hot.”

“You can’t get a doctor to take off his beeper.”You can, but you shouldn’t. A beeper is a doctor’sconnection to her practice. When you remove it,you create high anxiety that is counterproductiveto creative process. If a beeper goes off, turn tothe doctor and ask her if she needs to make aphone call. If the answer is yes, then direct herto the phone and ask her to please hurry back. Ifit’s a group, you can say: “We’ll try to wait for youfor the next exercise.” Don’t be too demanding,or too generous. If it’s an IDI, she can take itright there if she likes or walk out. “We can waita minute. Go ahead.”

Keep in mind that your affect (tone of voice,facial expression, body language, etc.) should

communicate the importance of both events (thedoctor must return the phone call, and you mustconduct the research). We have found that, withthis approach, four out of five times, the doctorssay that they can wait to return the call.

“Doctors have a diminished attention span inmarket research.”Fiction! Doctors, of necessity, are forced to pushtheir capacity for “secondary process” (logical,rational, goal-oriented) thinking past its limits ona daily basis. This leaves them feeling intellectuallydrained and much more willing to discuss theirhandicaps on the golf course than their perceptionsof a new drug or advertising campaign. Fortunately,there are efficient psychosocial techniques that canbe applied by a trained moderator to re-energizeand pique a doctor’s interest.

Use creative exercises. These are refreshinginterludes for the physician who has been operatingunder left-brain limitations all day. They providea rest period from analytical thinking. Doctorsoften respond with enthusiasm and delight at theirown creative processes. They find their reveriesfascinating and are eager to discuss them.

Debunking the Myths of Medical Moderating C O N T I N U E D


They leave the interviewing experience smilingand energized instead of lethargic and grim.

“Doctors choose prescription medicationsbecause of their effect. Prescription medicationshave no imagery that affects doctors’ choices.”Fiction! I can’t believe I’m still hearing this. Twentyplus years of marketing research experience hasled me to believe that imagery is associated withall products, and it is usually a major force drivingprescriptive habits. Eliciting this imagery fromdoctors via projective techniques is simple onceyou have won the physician’s respect and attention.

“Women doctors are more creative than men.”Both fact and fiction! There is a documenteddifference between sexes indicating that womenare significantly more willing to discuss emotionsthan are men. We believe that this pre-existingdifference is intensified by the “no emotionalinvolvement” philosophy that is so often preachedby the medical establishment. Since openness toone’s internal processes is often a cited pre-requisitefor creativity, male health professionals may sufferon this attribute.

A trained moderator can easily minimize thesedifferences and help individuals discuss emotionalissues relevant to creative marketing research. Thekey is to create an atmosphere unlike the typicalwork atmosphere.

“The moderator must always call a doctor by histitle and last name. It’s disrespectful to run a groupon a first-name basis.”Fact! Although it may be unfounded, experiencehas shown that doctors are somewhat insultedwhen addressed by their first names by a stranger.Many doctors, even those who know each other,address each other by title. While they might notadmit it, they seem to feel as if their status andlife achievements have gone unrecognized.

The safe route is to call any physician “Doctor,”as a matter of respect.

SOME OTHER POINTERSKnow who you’re dealing with before they come into the room or get on the phone. In our screeners, we incorporate a quick personalityassessment that we invented. It takes just a minuteto administer. While it’s far from perfect, it mimicsthe Myers-Briggs personality test, which indicatespreference for Extraversion vs. Introversion,Intuitive vs. Sensing, Thinking vs. Feeling andJudging vs. Perceiving. If you Google “MBTI,”you’ll find a wealth of information on thesepreferences, what they mean and the sixteenpersonality types, as well as various instrumentsthat try to predict the personalities.

The reason this is important is that, if you knowa bit about the doctor’s personality beforehand,you can predict the types of exercises you’ll needto do. For example, if you get an ENFP, this personwill be very likely to jump into any creativeexercise with hardly any preparation. The more out there, the better for this energetic,imaginative person.

At the other extreme, if you get an ISTJ, youmight want to start with some easy-to-answer,logical questions and then move into analogiesand metaphors to get at imagery. Also, if you’rehaving trouble with the most logical types, it helpsto find the doctor’s metaphor. What are his activities,interests or hobbies? Use that interest for under-

standing the brand and its competitions, or thecondition vs. other types of conditions. So, forexample, if the physician likes baseball, ask himwhat position would each brand play and describethe way he sees that player. Or ask what sportpersonality would it be and to describe that person.Then tie this back to the brand.

Consider screening for creativity.Include a measure of creativity in your screeninginstrument. One very simple measure of creativity,called “ideational fluency,” simply correspondsto the number of uses someone can report in agiven amount of time for a given object. Forexample, you might ask physicians on thescreener, “I’m going to time you for 45 seconds,and I’d like for you to tell me all the differentuses you can think of for a paper clip.” Throwout anyone who gives you fewer than sevenanswers in that time period (ten, if you want tobe really careful). You’ll find that the doctorsremaining are more forthcoming and willing touse their “right brain” to help you accomplishthe goals of the project.

Just like with any otherconsumer, but even more sobecause of the physician’straining to stick to the data,we need to explore doctors’beliefs and feelingsindirectly in order toencourage their trueattitudes to be expressed.

C O N T I N U E D Debunking the Myths of Medical Moderating

Check out different instruments for measuring creative process. For example, over the years we’ve developed one that involves ratingseveral self-descriptive paragraphs. This technique targets physicianswho are willing to be more fluid in reacting to marketing stimuli.

Lastly, understand your personal reactions to doctors.It is extremely important to explore your own personal, emotionalreactions to physicians in detail because, more so than any“technique” you can learn in a textbook or a course, what makes you or breaks you in the interviewing room is your level of confidence and poise.

What are some of your earliest memories with physicians? Whatattitudes were you taught about how to behave, think and feel in theirpresence? How might these help or hinder your performance as amedical interviewer?

Most important is to remember that no matter how much some-one may seem like a superstar for whatever reason, he or she is still a person with a heart and feelings and everyday behaviors like anyone else.

About a year ago I was interviewing producers and directors.Fortunately, I’m not that well versed in the movie industry to be star-struck by people in these roles. On one day, however, I looked downat the summary sheet of respondents and saw that the next person on the list was Tim Robbins. Oh My God! I started hyperventilating,sweating, heart pounding, felt tongue-tied. Couldn’t believe howanxious I was. A few minutes later, in walked Tim Robbins, a short,redheaded 25-year-old with a strong lisp. Enough said.

In Defense of the Focus GroupAbolish the focus group! Shoot the focus group! The two-way mirror is broken! We don’t think so.

ocus group research is the mostwidely used methodology in marketing research and increasingin usage every year. Yet in spite

of demonstrated acceptance, focus groupsin all their formats have lately become the most criticized and vilified form of research.

Trade reporters like to expose what“really goes on” in focus groups, believingthey have uncovered a “big scoop” on the shabby, almost fraudulent practice of focus research. Speeches with titles such as“The Death of The Focus Group” from mar-keting consultants claim that focus groupsimpinge on their role as unquestioned consumer gurus. Innovators of new servicesthat might benefit from replacing traditionalfocus groups invariably start off by denigrating current practices. Others deridequalitative interviewing as a “quick anddirty” method done only as a poor substitute for the rigor of a well-definedand well-executed quantitative project.

Lately, writer Malcolm Gladwell hastaken up a high profile attack on focusgroups in his book, Blink, writing that he hoped the book would help “creatives toprotect their work from the numbing effectof market research.”

Despite all this, almost every marketingresearch budget includes qualitativeresearch, including such industries as consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical,financial, high-tech, entertainment, automotive and more. U.S. companiesdevote approximately 18 percent of theirresearch budget to qualitative research.

The majority of focus research projectsin the U.S. take place in over 750 focusfacilities and are directed by over 1,000moderators. Acceptance and usage hasincreased consistently from 110,000 focusgroups and equivalent value IDI sessions in 1990 to more than double the number in 2004 of 233,000 sessions.

And focus research is a globally accepted form of marketing research. In 2004 there were an estimated 257,000focus groups and equivalent IDI sessionsconducted outside the U.S. throughoutEurope, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

This makes a worldwide total of almost halfa million sessions.

ENDURING POPULARITYWith all the criticism, what accounts forthe enduring popularity, acceptance andgrowth of qualitative research? Followingare some reasons.

Focus research is one of the only formal research methodologies that allowsclients to experience the real live customerand prospect. In the end, purchasing decisions are the result of complex psychological workings which can best be explored through open discussion with the consumer. Quantitative researchmethodology, for instance, provides only a numerical representation of such actions.

Qualitative research can provide intimate understanding and valuableinsight about the customer not attainablethrough other research methods. It isuniquely appropriate to determine howproducts and services fit into the living pattern, mind set, vocabulary and emotional needs of the customer.

While other forms of research such asquantitative and observational methodologysurely have their use, traditional focusgroup research is singularly qualified to fuel and feed the intuition and beliefs of management about the consumer. It allows management to hear their cus-tomers and make intuitive leaps to betterways of satisfying and communicating with them. Managers can more confidentlychart a course where no statistical roadmap

is available. There is recognition that valuable insights are just as valid andimportant as accurate statistics.

The moderator plays a key role in ensuring that the research is applied andused appropriately. He or she has steward-ship of the project, not just in running the groups, but also in project planning,crystallizing objectives, counseling through-out to sharpen the process, reviewing andsynthesizing results, and providing anobjective interpretive report. A good moderator also knows how to look beyondwhat is said and to, in Gladwell’s term,“thin slice” to the critical factors that make a difference.

KNOW THE CUSTOMERToday’s corporate culture demands thatmarketing and advertising personnel knowthe customer, not as a numerical average,but in all their subtleties, aspirations and motivations. In his keynote address to the Advertising Research FoundationConference in 1998, Robert L. Wehling,senior vice president of global marketingand consumer knowledge at The Procter & Gamble Company, issued the followingcorporate mandate to researchers: “Knowthe individual consumer’s heart and youwill own the future! Get to know thischanging consumer personally. Not as anaverage but as a person.” This notion wasupdated by A.G. Lafley, current P&G CEOin a front page article in the June 1, 2005Wall Street Journal, “Focus Group. P&GChief’s Turnaround Recipe: Find Out WhatWomen Want.”

Wehling and Lafley are but more recentproponents of this philosophy, which goesto the very core of affective marketingresearch. And the research practice thatremains the best way to accomplish this isfocus research, the only real methodologythat lets you get up close and personal totoday’s consumer. �

Despite all this, almost every marketing research budget includesqualitative research, including suchindustries as consumer packagedgoods, pharmaceutical, financial,high-tech, entertainment, automo-tive and more. U.S. companiesdevote approximately 18 percent of their research budget to qualitative research.

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F

John J. Houlahan is Founder and Chairman of FocusVision Worldwide, [email protected].

A version of this originally appeared as an article in the October 2003 edition of Quirk’s.

By John J. Houlahan



tories of breakthrough and brand transformation connected with “ethnography”are surfacing from the research underground. Examples (edited for confidentiality)abound, even astound:

• In a vacuum-cleaner ethnography, machines fall down stairs and out of closets,consumers battle with vacuuming throw rugs, and hoses and handles damagewalls as women vacuum in narrow hallways or small bedrooms, leading themanufacturer of this brand to develop a line emphasizing maneuverabilityover suction power.

Is Authentic Ethnography Right for You?Lessons from 15 Years of ConsumerEthnographic ExperienceB Y A V A L I N D B E R GSunResearch • Westport, CT • [email protected]

Authentic ethnography isa distinct methodology

that relies on pureobservation of natural

behavior and that drawsfrom the traditional rootsof academic anthropology,

yet seeks to marry theprocess with the contemp-orary, competitive needs

and breakthroughpossibilities of the best

qualitative marketresearch.

S

Ethnography Revealed, Part 1

C O N T I N U E D Ethnography Revealed


• A company known for its mainstream cookie/cracker brands discovers through authenticethnographic shopping observations that thespeed and intensity with which consumers walkdown particular supermarket aisles and selectproducts provide the critical key to repositioningtheir category and guiding aisle redesign.

• In a beverage ethnography, respondents’ strongcommunity orientation is experienced viscerallyby team members during usage of a well-knownbrand of powdered soft drink. After observingthe surprising practice of spontaneously mixingtogether multiple flavors to make large quantitiesfor family and friends, the company infusednew life into mainstream advertising effortsand the product line, with an immediate increasein share of market.

• And the list goes on…

Understanding the Craving for EthnographyWhy does ethnography have this power to breakthe code in solving research issues and developinghigh-level marketing and creative insights that leadto brand transformation and the creation of viablestrategies? Why do many clients and qualitativeresearchers who were once exclusive devotees ofmore traditional qualitative methods now seekout ethnography to explore behavioral dynamics,dive deeply into brands’ emotional benefits anddiagnose unfulfilled needs and problems thatrespondents are unable to voice in focus groups?Though few can agree totally on what ethnographiesentail or how they should always be executed, itis clear that this potent in-situ methodology is beingconducted at intense levels, as clients strive to seekey respondents in their real-world environments,away from facilities.

So, What Is “Ethnography,” Anyhow? The fascination about ethnography is also a resultof its elasticity, even lack of formal definition —there are as many types of “ethnographies” as theimagination to create them. Any of the followingcould conceivably be an ethnography, and aqualitative researcher might wonder which oneis the “real deal”:

• a few personal interviews conducted in selectedrespondent homes, after a series of focus groups,to elucidate and expand group impressions

• an intense exploration of the total personalityand lifestyle of a loyal user base, using intense,longitudinal or repeat in-situ interviews

• a broad company-wide investigation, almostquantitatively survey-like in breadth, that involvesmultiple at-home/in-situ visits among multipleuser types and seeks to observe all sub-brandsand products within a company’s portfolio orknown category

• brief introductory in-situ interviews followedby videotape cameras placed in a small numberof selected consumer household areas (kitchens,cars, bathrooms, etc.), after which hundredsof hours of videotape footage are analyzedfor provocative insights about consumers’behaviors that occurred without interventionfrom an obvious research team

• months of videotaping a small sample ofentire families at all hours of day and night,with results similar to reality TV shows

• “consumer at home” interviews of less than90 minutes to add depth, originality andvisual interest to a creative presentation

• a focused, ergonomic-like observation of asingle behavior, product or activity that allowsa design or creative team to glimpse realbehavior and inspire new ideas and solutions

• newer, fun, experimental techniques with anethnographic flavor that involve creative stagingof in-situ situations. These include setting up“friendship” or “peer” groups in respondenthomes, interviewing teens or adults at beaches,bars and fast-food restaurants and/or asking con-sumers to create their own videotapes and photodiaries, edited to enhance in-home interviews.

In the face of client craving, plus endless iterationsof ethnographies, most moderators end up creatingtheir own versions. They add a dose of commonsense and creativity to focus group and in-persondepth interviews (IDI) experience, assuming thatethnographies are just a more interesting, perhapsdeeper, longer version of in-depth interviews insidehomes and shopping environments. We encouragethis experimentation. Trying different techniqueswill help you feel more confident away from thefamiliar format of in-facility research and developyour ESP — ethno-graphic sensory perception —as you head into the wild terrain of real-lifeconsumer observation.

When “Ethnography” Falls Short, Consider Going Back to the BasicsYet, if “anything goes” in ethnography, why dosome ethnographies seem to be more effort than

Ethnography Revealed C O N T I N U E D


they are worth? After a few informal ethnographies,some researchers complain that it’s hard to knowwhat to look for. They wait endlessly for a specifiedbehavior to occur; they tire of running from onein-home interview to another without havingenough time to get below the surface; or they findobservations hard to analyze. They discover thatethnographic findings can be out of sync withfocus group and quantitative findings, even whenthe in-home interviews seemed rich and a clientappeared initially satisfied. Even experiencedinsight managers confess they don’t know whento prescribe ethnography or end up feelinginsecure about observational data, wonderingafter a few attempts whether ethnographyactually lives up to its exciting reputation.

I can identify with the polarities connected withethnography: the confidence in its viability, alongwith doubts and questions. After years of conductingtraditional qualitative research for major brandsand agencies, and experimenting with early, focusedforms of in-home interviews and ergonomic observ-ational research, I realized there was more to begleaned from the ethnographic technique. Aftercompleting academic study on the topic and aftermore than ten years of practice, I eventually fine-tuned a process that I call “authentic ethnography.”

Authentic ethnography is open-ended, direct,pure, spontaneous observation. The goals ofauthentic ethnography are:

• to understand a major category, brand orconsumer demographic in transition

• to solve a difficult, significant creative ormarketing problem

• to guide new product and research developmentby coalescing a team’s strategic direction throughtransformative ethnographic findings

Revealed … the Seven Principles of Authentic EthnographyAuthentic ethnography is defined as a distinctprocess guided by seven principles:

1. Each ethnographic study involves between12 and 20 individual ethnographies, eachat least 4 hours in length, for a minimumof 50 to 80 hours of overall observation.

2. All ethnographic observations are conductedonly during the time that the naturalbehavior is or might be actually happening.

3. A core client team is trained in authenticethnography and then accompanies the leadethnographer inside every ethnography.

4. The entire process emphasizes quiet,spontaneous observation using “soft eyes” as the crown jewel of the inner technique.

5. Staging of respondent behavior iseliminated or minimized.

6. A pre-screening qualitative mechanism(initial phase of focus groups, mini-groups,IDIs or phone interviews) is used to choosethe optimal set of ethnographic respondents.

7. Ideation and debriefing processes occurwith the client after each ethnography andat the end of total fieldwork, to make senseof and assimilate the complex, rich andintricate household observations.

Developing Ethnography as a Distinct MethodologyAuthentic ethnography should not be thought ofas an extension of focus group or IDI methodology,but as a distinct methodology relying on pureobservation of natural behavior, not interventionnor staged experiences. The most challengingbut real form of ethnography is the observationof naturally occurring behavior at the time it ishappening and within the true-life experience ofa respondent’s and family’s natural life.

We attempt to observe the sought-after behavior,inquiry, attitude or category only during the time, inthe place and with whom it is naturally occurring.We try not to use traditional interviewing probes,external stimuli or unnatural influences. Theobserver tries never to interfere with the activityin question, but quietly, non-judgmentally andspontaneously focuses on observing all behaviorthat happens in a naturally occurring settingwithin a naturally occurring timeframe. If orwhen it may be necessary to prompt a behavioror awareness in order to observe the specificarea of inquiry during the timeframe of anethnographic observation, this is done withcareful, dynamic understanding of the potentialramifications of interfering with actual behavior.

In essence, whenever an observation isconducted, the Heisenberg principle comes intoplay: observing any phenomenon invariablychanges it. The more we ask questions, promptbehavior or stage a situation, the more stronglythe respondent’s real behavior or personal truthwill shift. Authentic ethnography minimizesthese behavioral changes as much as possible.

Observe and Note EverythingDuring each ethnography, we not only watch forthe critical product or behavior, but we also justas carefully observe other products and lifestyle

C O N T I N U E D Article Headline


areas that appear. Understanding the metaphors,analogies, icons and symbols found throughoutthe household and watching family dynamicsunder other circumstances gives us greaterbreadth for our specific product. Over time, wesolve problems about our brand, naturally andwith increasing flashes of revelatory inspiration.

Hence, our ethnographic agendas are usuallyof a checklist format. The checklist emphasizesand encourages the team to note:

✓ household furnishings, inside and out✓ pantry, refrigerator and food-storage areas✓ closets, attic, basement and garage✓ photographs, heirlooms, collectibles and art✓ “sacred” areas like fireplace mantels, fronts

of refrigerators and tops of women’s dressers✓ books, videos, magazines or lack thereof✓ creation of shopping lists✓ kids playing in their rooms✓ opening of mail✓ reading of newspapers✓ playing of CDs or favorite music✓ watching of TV✓ dropping off or picking up children✓ chatting with neighbors and relatives

✓ phone conversations✓ pet dynamics✓ symbols of religion, politics,

accomplishments and education✓ time spent in school, office or gym✓ meals and eating experiences✓ use of computers, email and internet✓ spontaneous or planned shopping trips✓ and more…

Two types of ethnographic observations are emphasized:

• One occurs mostly in and around the homeor home-based environment as the startingand ending point, i.e., the EthnographicHousehold Observation.

• A second type emphasizes shopping in outsideretail outlets, i.e., the Ethnographic ShoppingExperience. Shopping ethnographies alwaysbegin in the home, although the majority oftime is spent observing respondents shopping.When asked to observe respondents in otherenvironments like workplaces, schools or

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restaurants, we tailor our process to whetherand how long we can obtain permission to observe.

Identifying Easier and More Difficult EthnographiesSome respondent lifestages and product categoriesare easier to observe using pure, spontaneous,authentic observation, while other activities andsegments are more difficult. The degree of observ-ational ease or difficulty should be carefully assessedat the planning stages of an authentic ethnography.A major part of the client team’s early preparationand “homework” is to review previous qualitativeand quantitative data to estimate time, frequencyof occurrence and region of greater and lesserdevelopment, as well as correct segments for theinquiry, product or category at hand.

Easier ethnographiesAs a rule, easier ethnographies include behaviorsof some length that naturally occur at specifictimes of day. The ethnography can be scheduledto rely on key behavior happening as expected,such as: eating occasions like breakfast, lunchand dinner; personal-care routines like teeth-brushing, dressing and applying cosmetics; or

daytime and evening TV watching. Also fallinginto the easier-to-observe category are naturallybusy respondents whose lives include a degree ofinteractivity. Work colleagues, groups of friends,mothers with babies or whole families with threeor more members quickly lose interest in our laid-back ethnographic team and resume their naturalactivities quickly, without self-consciousness.

More difficult ethnographiesOn the other hand, certain behaviors or activitiesare almost impossible to catch naturally withoutthe element of luck or even light prompting. Theseless frequent behaviors occur almost unnoticeablyat unscheduled times and, therefore, require theethnographic team to be present during a spanof time that may include the right moment orrely on synchronicity. More-difficult-to-observecategories include indulgent adult snacking,spontaneous food preparation or decision-making for major appliances that span a longperiod of time and involve multiple people.

More-difficult-to-observe segments also includeindividual respondents who will probably feelself-conscious and awkward being shadowed andobserved by even a sensitive ethnographic team.Others are attention starved and too involved with


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the observers. These ultra-sensitive individuals couldinclude teenage boys and girls athome, single empty nestersdelighted at the chance forcompany and drop-in mothers-in-law or suspicious husbandsentering while an observation is ongoing.

Yet, no matter how sensitive,challenging or painstaking it is to observe a respondent’sbehavior, environment or

product category, the goal ofauthentic ethnography remainsfocused: to observe everythingnaturally going on in the resp-ondent’s personal experienceduring the time set up forobservation, watching forspontaneous occurrence of thekey behavior, topic or attitudethat is core to the researchinvestigation as it naturally and spontaneously occurs.

Is Authentic EthnographyRight for You and YourClients?If natural observation appearsimpossible, this should bethoroughly explored upfrontwith the client team at the timeof the first proposal. The project’soriginal objectives may need toshift in order to create a naturalobservational process. Remember,authentic ethnography is bestsuited for affecting breakthroughsin high-level concepts, creative

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A major part of theclient team’s earlypreparation and“homework” is toreview previousqualitative andquantitative data.



positionings, brand transformation and new strategies. It would not be as appropriate for focused tacticaldecisions like testing a single newproduct, new packaging or copy for aprint or TV ad. In such cases, otherforms of creative observation — suchas in-home interviews, peer groups or a mixture of projective focus groupsand homework done by consumers(collages or photo diaries) — would be more appropriate and effective.

A Few Final Thoughts…Companies and research managers who gain the most value from thepainstaking process of authenticethnography tend to be innovative and experienced in both qualitative and quantitative research, and whohave a critical question or issue forwhich other forms of qualitativeresearch seem inadequate or fail to yield true data. Be sure that youhave the right type of client for this methodology.

The client team must also allowsome lead time to plan, develop teams,enact and digest the ethnographiclearning; otherwise, ethnography can fall through the cracks. Assumeupfront attention to details thatexceeds the usual qualitative process.Expect more extensive planning,training and presentation of the details of ethnography to the core client teambefore the study begins, at least two ormore weeks of twelve-hour fieldworkand travel efforts, and multiple debriefsduring the study. The ethnographer andclient team will be joined at the hip,acting as a trained SWAT team, for atleast six weeks of constant effort. Be sure that you have the right team for the process.

Watch for Part IIIn the second article of this series,which will run in the Summer 2006issue of QRCA VIEWS, the author will reveal the step-by-step secrets ofconducting authentic ethnography.

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his article is written in two voices, that of writer and creativity/writing coach, Emily Hanlon, and qualitative researcher, SharonLivingston, who puts Emily’s thoughts into perspective for QRCs.

Emily speaks of the fundamentals of the creative process, andSharon interprets how to take her understanding and apply it to ourbusiness. This article is written in two styles, the highly imaginativemusings of an accomplished author and a down-to-earth bulleting ofhow we might use her ideas in our work.

Emily: Creativity is forged in the fire of the unconscious and theunfathomable depths of the unknown where nothing is predeterminedand everything is possible. Its presence is often heralded by theseductive “spark” of an idea or image that brings with it feelings of flight and godlike brilliance. And yet, for the tens, hundreds,thousands of ideas that burst up out of our unconscious, very few ifany get carried to fruition. No sooner does the spark rev us up withthe feeling that we can do anything, than we find 101 reasons to castaway the idea, or worse yet, stomp it into the dust bin of possibilitiesthat might have been our lives. Clearly, not all our sparks are worththe time and effort it would take to carry them out; not all are evenviable. But the problem for many of us is that we indiscriminatelythrow out the baby with the bath water. For our creations are trulyour babies, born of us, male and female, as surely as our flesh-and-blood children.

There are some who do not discard these newborns of the unconscious.There are some who have a reverence for these sparks and embrace therisk and the passion it takes to see them through to fruition. Theseare the creators and innovators — the brave warriors of creativity, asI like to call them — and they are everywhere in society, some known,far more unknown. They can be found among people who work underthe roof of a shelter for the homeless, as well as under the lights ofthe Broadway stage. They are writers, artists, scientists, inventors,gardeners, businesspeople and just folks who go through their daysand carry on their pursuits and relationships with an energy that comesfrom living one’s life the way one wants. Their appearance may benondescript or they may, at the age of 60 or 70, wear a long, grayingponytail or braids; they may wear wild, bright colors and loads ofmakeup, or they may never get out of jeans and sneakers. Althoughdiversity is the calling card of creators, there are more similaritiesthan can ever meet the eye. The similarities are not, for the most part,tangible, yet they are powerfully shared.

After more than 25 years of coaching people on the creativejourney, as well as interviewing creative people in all walks of life,

Unleash Participants’ PassionB Y E M I L Y H A N L O NYorktown, NY • [email protected]

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It must beunleashed.

Unleash Participants’ Passion C O N T I N U E D


from writers, painters and dancers to teachers,doctors, physicists, mathematicians and innovators,I have distilled the characteristics in successfulcreators to these five.

Successful creators are: 1. passionate about their work2. risk takers3. technical experts at their craft4. comfortable with failure, do not see failure

as failure and know how to get the job done5. appreciate their uniquenessOf these five characteristics, passion is the prime

mover. In fact, it is safe to say that passion equalscreativity and creativity equals passion. As youmight expect then, creativity cannot be taught.Creativity is experiential. It must be unleashed.That’s where the risk comes in.

As a creativity coach, I see myself as blood sisterto the white rabbit; my task is to guide those Icounsel “down the rabbit hole” and to their ownpersonal Wonderland, which is a metaphor forthe cosmic landscape of the creative unconscious.But unlike the white rabbit, I can’t tumble downwith nary a backwards glance because most ofmy clients won’t follow. Falling down the longdark rabbit hole into the unknown is scary. Whichis another way of saying the creative journey isscary. Creativity demands time in the dark, psychicmud of the unconscious. Creativity requires riskand passion and a belief in the power of theunknown. Chaos is integral to the process. Forin the chaos, the new, unexpected order lies,waiting to be revealed in all its magnificence.This is a difficult terrain to travel alone.

Sharon: Emily’s images are so exciting! Whatshe’s told us is why it’s so important for themoderator to recognize herself as a tour guide.The role of this specialized escort is to forge theway and make the journey safe enough for peopleto risk coming along. To do this, the guide hasto be brave and take risks herself.

Excellent moderators and creativity facilitatorsdo this in the front room in a number of ways.

Know the terrain.Before leading anyone to a new territory, you mustbe willing to go there yourself. Who would followa guide who doesn’t know the way or seemsreluctant to take a step in the new direction? If youfeel hesitant about using an exercise, you will com-municate your lack of enthusiasm to participants,resulting in less-than-helpful answers. So never aska respondent to do an exercise you haven’t triedfor yourself or don't feel comfortable doing.

Embrace the chaos.Creativity is a three-pronged process going fromwhat’s already known, through intentional

confusion and finally towards innovative reorgan-ization. Every new creative idea is formed whenneurons spark each other and reconnect in ourbrains to form a new synapse. (Albert Einsteinhad far more of these than the ordinary human.)We can invite new connections with exercisesthat forge unusual associations. The processfeels uncomfortable as we surf the unknownzone. But then new ideas spring forth like littlegeysers of genius with all the excitement you feelwhen you’ve gone through an adventure andemerged triumphant. This is true, even if theseare only mini revelations. To make the tripthrough our inventive minds, we need to beflexible enough to surf the waves of emotionsthat are attached to being in an unfamiliar sea.If your knees get rigid, you can be knocked over.

Sometimes a barrier is there to protect people. As marketers and researchers, we need to askourselves, “How do we help people overcometheir resistance to doing better (by using ourproduct) without taking away their secondarygain?” I remember doing a series of allergygroups where I asked people what their allergiesprevented them from doing. Poor things couldn’tmow the lawn, couldn’t put their hands in thewashing machine, couldn’t paint the kitchen, etc.etc. Interestingly, there was less talk about notbeing able to play ball or go to knitting group.So, perhaps we have to help them feel betterenough to go to the park with the kids, but notso good that they should expose themselves tofresh-mowed grass? Hmmmm.

Create a safe environment for participants to take the trip.THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. For example, whenusing guided imagery, there is always some risk oftaking people to upsetting places as well as excitingor loving or just interesting reveries. To protectthe group and reduce resistance to the exercise,tell respondents that wherever they go, they willfeel safe and protected and intrigued to see whatthey see and feel what they feel. While it’s true thatyou are giving up a little bit with this slightlyaided approach by providing a secure setting,you will also be gaining cooperation with theprocess and richer images, sounds and senses.

Moreover, no moderator or facilitator wants tobe in the position of having to treat a respondentwho meets one of his or her personal demonsvia the exercise. Whenever we work with thepublic, there is the possibility of encounteringpeople with serious neuroses and psychoseslurking in the background. They can have ameltdown right in front of you. If that happens,you’ll lose the group and need to get

psychological help, if you’re nottrained to handle this situation.

This can happen! When I wasfirst starting out, I worked withKodak on a new advertisingcampaign. It showed two VietNam vets being reunited twentyyears after the war, via the halvesof a torn photo. The emotionalapproach was tested among menand women in the general pop-ulation. We also did two groupswith Viet Nam vets to be sure thatthe ad avoided any politicallyincorrect communications.

No one anticipated what wasto happen.

One of the groups was com-prised of veterans who hadrallied well in their lives since thewar, had good marriages andwere successful in their careers.They were touched by the adand gave us positive feedback.

As I read the storyboardexecution to the second group,I began to sense something was awry. I turned back to thegroup from the flipchart to see several men shaking andsweating. One was crying. Iwas horror-struck. What hadwe done?! The group had goneinto PTSD [post-traumatic stressdisorder] right before our veryeyes. I had to stop the workand run a makeshift grouptherapy session on the spot.

The respondents calmeddown after awhile, telling theirstories and letting us know howirresponsible it was of the mediato throw images into theirminds that could send themback to the tragedies of war.While they were innocentlyflipping channels on TV, theycould be bombarded by a war-movie scene that triggered theirpanic reactions. Sometimes ittook days to recover.

After the session ended, acouple of them actually neededassistance from a friend or familymember to get home. Needlessto say, Kodak abandoned that strategy.

We can’t always anticipatethe emotional value of

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materials we’ll be presenting, but we can controlthe tenor of creative techniques. Projectiveexercises run the risk of taking people to theirscary places, too. That’s why we choose tosuggest a safe environment to minimize thepossibility of sending people into their fears.People are much more willing to open up toimagery when they feel secure.

Assess your sense of ease with the topic.Make sure you are comfortable enough with thetopic itself to take the dive with your client andyour participants. While ideally we might want toface all dragons to actualize ourselves personally,there are some that might be too disquieting oruncomfortable for us to do the necessary work.You’ll subliminally communicate your lack ofease to both the front and back rooms, resultingin less-than-optimal findings and insights.

With this in mind, it’s a good idea to have anetwork of colleagues for referral. For example,while you might not relish the idea of hearingthe tortured voices of Parkinson’s sufferers orAlzheimer caretakers, a cohort might be able tostep in and do the job. You retain the relationshipwith the client. Another time, you can pinch-hitfor your friend.

Be a risk taker, and think on your feet. There are a number of techniques that can beused during focus groups and creative sessionsto encourage revelations of our customer’s true self.It’s also critical to allow ourselves to experienceour own glints of genius. When we’re open to whowe are, we invite others to reveal their deeplypersonal beliefs and desires.

Try this interesting exercise that Emily suggests.Picture your creative side. Now quickly draw it,whatever image comes to mind, regardless of whatpops up. Give it a name. Describe its personalityand characteristics. Listen to what you tellyourself about your creative icon, and feel thesmile it brings with it as you dimensionalize its characteristics.

This is a potent anchor to recall when you’restruggling to go into unknown territory. Here’show to enlist the power of this personal symbol.When you get in touch with your creative sideand the positive feeling it brings, press your thumband forefinger together. It’s Pavlovian conditioning.To bring back the feeling, all you have to do ispress them together again, and the associationswill return. So when you’re unsure in front ofthe group, you have a quick tool to restore your confidence. (Any other physical action willwork too.)

When I pictured my creative side, I saw ahappy juggling octopus. It was a surprise. Never

thought of myself as an octopus before, but itmade sense for all the obvious reasons in myrole as moderator or facilitator. I have anotherimage, as well. When the group is moving alongwell, I often hear the William Tell Overture inmy mind and picture myself conducting theorchestra. I wonder if the octopus could lead theinstruments, too.

Use this aspect of the drawing approach toidentify obstacles and barriers to personalsuccess in any product category. Participantscould allow a condition or ailment to come tolife, or a barrier to success, or any obstacle. Indescribing it, they will give you clues to how toovercome the problem and emotional issues aswell as suggesting the walls you should respect.

Employ projectives.Most consumers, particularly in a testing environ-ment, are more comfortable expressing theirsocially acceptable, functional and rational needsthan their feelings. They fear they may be judgedby others and themselves as impulsive, selfish,risky or wrong. In psychological terms, peopleoften censor unconscious needs and motivationsbefore allowing them to surface, in order to avoidthe discomfort or self-judgment experiencedwhen these feelings emerge. This is unfortunate,as very often the driving forces in any purchasestrategy are based on these very same underlyingfeelings and perceptions.

Projective techniques are aimed at recoveringthe thoughts, images and fantasies associated withmotivation and our emotional side in a mannerthat circumvents the censoring we all do topreserve our self-esteem and avoid anxiety. Thereare a number of these creative exercises thatencourage people to open their imaginations and their hearts and invite us into their morepersonal worlds.

Use guided imagery.Ask respondents (with their permission, of course)to close their eyes, relax and let themselves driftto a familiar comfortable place. Guide themtowards doors that can be marked with brandor corporate names, product benefits, shortstrategy statements or positioning differences.After each door is identified, respondents openthem one by one and explore what they findbehind each. They are encouraged to use alltheir five senses to bring the experience to life.

This technique takes pressure off therespondents because they do not have to comeup with a rational or “right” response. Peopletend to forget themselves in their involvementwith the process, allowing them to be morecreative in their inner thoughts and feelings.

C O N T I N U E D Unleash Participants’ Passion

The result is richer, deeper and more texturedpictures and stories.

Assign homework.Ask respondents to bring in magazine clippingsthat represent how they feel about a particulartopic. Or, have them create collages at homeusing pictures and found objects to express theirthoughts and feelings about a problem on oneside and the solution on the other. Their choiceshelp give you a sense of howthey’re thinking about theproduct or category as soon asthey enter the focus group. Youget the value of engaging theconsumer in the process beforethey arrive at the facility, sothey’re warmed up and readyto go.

Try thought bubbles.Invite participants to draw apicture of the user of one brandas well as the user of another,e.g., Vicks 44 and Robitussin.Give each a name, age, gender,occupation, hobbies, etc. Theythen fill in two thought balloonsfor each user. The first will bewhat each would say out loudto the other; the second will betheir true feelings. This exerciseoften reveals hidden wishes and concerns.

Play Imaginiff.Bring in some of the cards fromthe board game, Imaginiff (orcheck out other games for creativefodder). Imaginiff invites theplayer to imagine that anotherplayer is one of several cars, forexample. Which would thatplayer choose and why? Foruse in the focus group, considerasking which would variousbrands be and why. Differentcards offer different suggestionsfor association.

Be spontaneous.Creative moderators understandthe goal of the work and addexcursions and questions thatexpand the scope of the guideas it unfolds. Rather than beinglimited by the questions writtenon paper, they use the document

as it’s intended, a guide to get to the results,NOT a word-for-word questionnaire. Onceyou’ve established trust with your back room, it’s great to invent exercises on the go.

For example, in running a recent group, weincorporated a drawing question to explorebrand imagery. The client wanted to get atperceptions of four different brands. Thedrawings worked, but took time with so manybrands. You know the guide — four hours of

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info with only two hours to do it. We were inLos Angeles with a group of vibrant energeticwomen. I could see their playfulness early in thegroup. On the fly, I decided to switch it up. Ihad all the participants stand and get into theroles of each brand as if they were trying tocajole me to buy them as I walked down thegrocery aisle. The brands sprang to life beforeour eyes. So did the back room, bolting out oftheir seats to get a better view of what washappening. The differences we were trying totease out with the art technique became clearlyapparent in the psychodrama. And, it took 10minutes instead of 20 to administer.

Know the basics.If you’re a rookie, be sure you know the fund-amentals of moderating skills before venturinginto creative flourishes. Imaginative interventionscease to be useful or relevant without knowledgeof how to probe and clarify, avoid leading questionsand generally encourage response from all groupmembers. You have to know how to swim beforeyou step off the high diving board.

Be unique.Feel free to be quirky and edgy at times. Yourcomfort with your unique qualities will be sensedby respondents and your clients. It will encouragethem to drop their guards and reveal more. Frontand back room will get the message that you recog-nize and value differences. The result is a richersharing of varied perceptions and personal exper-iences in the research, on both sides of the mirror.

In ConclusionYou’re going to make mistakes. That’s part of therisk. Some techniques will bomb, no matter howtalented you are. Relish the opportunity to learnfrom the slip-ups as well as revel in your successes.Be prepared with a bag of tricks. Then you canbounce back with an alternative — either anothercool idea for an exercise or something tried andtrue. You’ll also find that different techniques workwith different people. So perhaps the exercisethat was useless in one group will light up theroom in another.

Most importantly, dare to be creative, havefun while you explore and enjoy the journey!

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Creativity TipA simple way to energizethe group is to toss abeanbag when you wantto invite someone totalk. This works wellwhen telling a story thatinvolves the productcategory. Perhaps thegroup is describing a dayin the life of someonewho is having a bad hairday. The first personstarts as the protagonistawakens and tells thestory until she comes to an impasse or themoderator thinks it’sbeen enough time. Thebeanbag is thrown toanother group memberand the story continuesfrom person to person.Everyone is kept on theirtoes because they don’tknow when the bag willbe thrown to them.

Finally, the size of thegroup is a considerationwhen employing creativetechniques. Dependingon the type of creativeintervention and the timerequired to complete the exercise, four to sixrespondents may be the optimal number for a group.

Or, extend the lengthof the session. InEurope, focus groups are often three to fourhours when searching for creative gold.

So, be brave. Dare totake a calculated riskand, of course, remember,have fun and…

Be creative!


• INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH •

ualitative research, no matter the context, attempts to capture the essencethat lies within us, as well as the structures of our reactions and actions. Wecould say, therefore, that qualitative research is all about exploring andunderstanding perceptions and images, thereby identifying barriers and

motivations that help to define attitudes and behaviors. Qualitative researchhas the capacity to identify and analyze the implications of unmet needs andlatent expectations, getting to the depth of the issues at stake and establishingthe foundation for future discussions and relationships.

In some instances, qualitative research might be viewed as a necessarydistraction before quantitative research, which is seen as the main task. We

Qualitative Research in Africa: A SnapshotB Y U G O G E R I - R O B E R TResearch International Nigeria • [email protected]

Qualitative researchdiscovers the

dynamics behindthe ordinary personon the streets, and

in transitionaleconomies like

Nigeria, where it isseldom carried out,

brands are very oftenabandoned rather

than optimized.

Q

C O N T I N U E D Qualitative Research in Africa


would argue, however, that quantitative withoutqualitative is like a house without foundation –prone to collapse at the slightest pressure, all themore so in the emerging markets of Africa.

The Nigerian Economy in TransitionIn practical terms, new products and services wouldperform better in Africa if marketers understoodthe people, their culture, needs and sensibilities,which can only truly be understood by usingqualitative research. This article is based onexperiences from Nigeria, but the principles applyall across the sub-Saharan continent.

First, it is important to consider how transitioncomes about, as Nigeria is a country in transition.According to Gerand Roland (2004), there aretwo theories of transition. The first is the “BigBang” approach, which argues for a fast andcomprehensive implementation of all majorreforms. Here, speed is felt to be of essence becausethe establishment of democracy has created a“window of opportunity” (or a honeymoonperiod) or a “period of exceptional politics.” Thebelief exists that the government should adoptreforms as fast as possible and attempt to makethem irreversible. In Nigeria, the result of theBig Bang approach has been to jump the gunbut not finish the race.

On the other hand, those who oppose the BigBang approach advocate instead a “GradualStrategy” that emphasizes the need for a precisesequencing of reforms. The argument in favor of graduation suggests that appropriate reformsequencing provides demonstrable successes thatcan be built upon, thereby erecting constituenciesfor further reforms. Qualitative research bestsupports the Gradual Strategy approach bycollecting data that serves as a solid foundation,which will stand the test of time.

It appears that some companies approach Nigeriainfluenced by the disorganized way that reformis conducted as a result of the Big Bang approach,rather than from any real understanding of whatthe people want or need. Much is changing inNigerian society, and qualitative research isnecessary to diagnose these developments beforequantifying and implementing change. There is aneed to understand the people of Nigeria in orderto allow for proper product and brand planningand management over time.

Understanding Product Pricing in Transitional EconomiesQualitative research, as crucial as it is tounderstanding the total person within his/her own environment (especially his/her emotions,needs, sensibilities and desires), is not usednearly enough in Nigeria.

Without sound knowledge, an assumption thatseems to drive national marketing campaigns isthat emergent economies, with many people livingbelow the poverty line, simply need low-pricedproducts. At face value, in a market where it isestimated that 60 percent of the population maybe below the poverty line and where GDP (grossdomestic product) is around $900 a year, this too-simplistic assumption of people’s needs is easy tomake. Indeed, it is true that consumers in Nigeriaand other African markets are highly sensitive topurchase effects on their purse. However, theirreactions may be driven by factors other than simpledisposable income, and qualitative research isindispensable to understanding what motivatespeople and what they really need.

A new and disturbing phenomenon is emergingover the issue of pricing in Third World andtransitional economies. Many new players to theNigerian market come in thinking that cheappricing is always the answer. However, the factis that, when the basic needs of the consumers aremet and their status changes, they simply move onor, in some cases, escape from the products andbrands they have been buying.

An Experience from Telecomms in NigeriaThe telecommunications market is a case in point.Three players were given the licenses to operate.One conducted several qualitative studies tounderstand the customers, while the other twohit the market with a bang, targeting the so-called70 percent poor. This targeting strategy workedfor a while, but when aspirations took over, “poorcustomers” suddenly did not want to be associatedwith cheap network companies. In the long run,these two “quick to market” telecomm companiesthat positioned themselves as the cheap serviceproviders ironically were not able to maintainthe loyalty of the lower end of the market whenthose consumers’ economic status improved.People, always preferring to associate with ahigher quality service, did not hesitate to crossthe divide as soon their fortune improved andthey could afford to do so.

The fastest-growing network in Nigeria provides,in addition to its competitive pricing, the latestGSM (global system for mobile communications)technology. This company has been successfulbecause of its identification with consumer needsand aspirations. In twelve months, it moved intosecond position, with a subscriber base of overtwo million! Clearly, competitive pricing alone isnot enough to sustain a product in the long term.The company knew this by not sidesteppingqualitative and jumping straight into quantitativeresearch. Qualitative research helped them discoverthe dynamics behind the ordinary person on the

Qualitative Research in Africa C O N T I N U E D


streets. In transitional economies like Nigeria,where this type of research is so often notcarried out, brands are very often abandonedrather than optimized.

Poverty Indicators and Foreign InvestorsDespite the gains accruing from five years ofdemocracy in Nigeria, the pall of its citizens’poor living conditions has yet to be lifted, in theestimation of the United Nations Developmentprogram. The UN body ranks Nigeria as the26th poorest country in the world, a positionthe country has occupied since 2003 (Guardian:2002). This has further helped to diminish theimportance of qualitative research in our economybecause of the belief that cheap and affordableproducts will win over aspirational brands.

The economic adviser to the Nigerian govern-ment, Professor Ode Ojuwu, also confirmed thisposition in December 2004, saying about 75.14million Nigerians representing 57.8 percent of thecountry’s estimated 130 million are living belowthe poverty line. This, however, leaves over 50million Nigerians above the poverty line. Ofthese 50 million, we can safely conclude that20–25 million are economically active, a numberthat represents more than the total populationfor many countries. The question is whether thislarger number of people should be bunched intothe general mosaic that assumes that they are allpoor and just any product will do.

Two things are pertinent here. First, do we haveenough understanding of life expectations and theaspirations of these crucial and forgotten “millions”in our society? Second, are we interested in under-standing the expectations of those below thepoverty line, most of whom will eventually crossthe “poverty divide” and will aspire to productsthat offer more than price? A better understandingof these emotions could be goldmines for localand international investors with the properunderstanding of people in transition economies.

Things Shall Get Better: The Nigerian Is Ever HopingA recent study by the British BroadcastingCorporation confirmed what we have known inNigeria for many years — Nigerians, no mattertheir status, are very “aspirational.” Carried outin ten countries last year, the survey suggeststhat Nigeria is the most religious nation in theworld. Close to 100 percent of Nigerians believein God, pray regularly and would die for theirbelief (ICM/BBC: 2004).

Aspirational people use cheap products as anecessity and dump them like hot bricks when

their cash flow gets better. People below ourso-called poverty line will always struggle todump inferior products because “your cheapproduct” was a necessity they can now afford todo without. Building loyalty at this level becomesproblematic; bonding is virtually nil, and theproduct will never emerge as a strong brand.Qualitative research can prevent this fromhappening by helping with consumer under-standing, positioning, brand equity andcommunication issues.

For example, a qualitative study conductedfor the skin and oral care market showed thatNigerians value their mouth and skin. Theywant products that allow them to make a clearstatement about who they are but not tooovertly. Many complained that products fromdifferent countries and climates actually do notunderstand them at all.

This type of information is all too rarebecause owners of imported brands rarelyattempt to learn about the preferences, valuesand attitudes of the Nigerian consumer.

Decision-Making in Transitional Marketsand Third World CountriesQualitative marketing research is critical forcompanies interested in Third World markets. It should begin any discussion about problems,issues or challenges of entering or understandingthese environments. While acknowledging thatqualitative research alone, indeed marketingresearch as a whole, cannot solve all the problems,when coupled with seasoned managementthinking, companies can be successful over thelong term, rather than be abandoned as thetransition yields greater income for consumers.International clients should therefore engagewith their research partners to explore thesubtleties of Third World consumers beforejumping into unexplored markets so that theycan get maximum returns for their investmentsin the long term.

Ron Raskin-Partner, Chicago, Insights in Marketing

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• TARGETED MARKETING •



he nature of the Four-Eyed-Four-Legged™ consumer, whichwe’ll refer to from now on as 4i4l, changes as the childmatures from pre-birth (pregnancy) to teen. Today’s momsand, therefore, their children are substantially different than

the previous generations in their approach to life and parenting inparticular. By examining their lifestages, we can better understandhow the 4i4l develops and changes over time. Each stage of the 4i4lbrings a new relationship between mother and child that significantlyaffects the mode and nature of how they make decisions together,with each stage informing the next one. Most importantly, each stage requires a different approach to effectively market to the 4i4l consumer.

In relationship terms, we see three stages — Dependence, Conditionaland Interdependence — which emerge over the lifestages of the motherand child. Each stage is characterized by a different mix and balanceof mutual decision-making styles. For the past several decades, theview of this decision-making relationship has been characterized as anagging child who pesters and cajoles her parent to get what shewants, with the parent (mostly mom) represented as the “gatekeeper”who decides which requests are granted. While we are not saying thatthere is no truth in these characterizations, we have seen in our ownand others’ research that there is much more to the story.

There is far more generational collaboration than once believed, asboth mom and kid simultaneously seek to meet their respective needs.In our 2005 study of Mom/Kid Influence, we found clear evidence ofthis more collaborative relationship even among moms and childrenas young as two to four years old that increases as the child growsolder. The variety of styles of interaction include:

Influence Interaction Styles

Mom-Driven Child-DrivenProviding RequestingChoice-Offering ReactingAsking

Marketing to the Four-Eyed,Four-Legged Consumer …Mom & Kid

TThe view of theparent/child

decision-makingrelationship has

been characterizedfor a long time as anagging child who

pesters and cajolesher parent to get

what she wants …

B Y T I M C O F F E Y, D A V I D S I E G E L A N D G R E G L I V I N G S T O NWonderGroup • Cincinnati, OH • [email protected],[email protected], [email protected]

Editor’s Note: This article isexcerpted from Marketing to the

New Super Consumer, Mom &Kid, a book by Tim Coffey,

Dave Siegel and Greg Livingston,principals of the WonderGroup,

a Cincinnati-based productdevelopment and advertising firm.

Marketing to the 4i4l Consumer C O N T I N U E D


Mom-Driven InfluenceProviding is defined here as mom offering productswithout explicit communication from the child.She may be considering the wants and needs ofher child at the same time that she considers herown set of values, or she may operate mostly onthe basis of what she considers best. Even whenmom is operating on her own values, she isalways considering the child to some extent.

Choice-Offering is when mom explicitlyoffers alternatives and asks for the child’s input.Go to any store and you will see moms offeringtheir children choices, often saying somethinglike, “Would you like this one or this one?”With this style, she is still maintaining a highlevel of control over what can be chosen, but sheis purposefully engaging her child in the process.Why does she do this? Some mothers use thisapproach as a way to help their kids learn howto make decisions. Other moms we have talkedto suggest that this approach also builds some“buy-in” on the part of their children, ensuringthat they will use the product once they get ithome. Another version of choice-offering iswhen mom chooses the occasion and particularbrand, but allows the child to choose the flavoror variety.

Asking is a common occurrence, such aswhen moms ask their children, “What do youwant for dinner?” Of course, asking occurs inall kinds of situations, as mom simply wants toshort-circuit the discussion and go straight to thesource, her kid. In most cases, she is genuinelyseeking information and help regarding choicesfor her child. She still holds some control overthe decision, maintaining the right to veto thechild’s choice if she should deem it inappropriate.As kids get to be tweens and teens, mom mayeven view the child as having more expertiseregarding certain subjects or products than she does.

Moms are not all alike when it comes to how they behave towards their children, ofcourse. We performed a segmentation analysis of moms in the 2004 Simmons Study thatidentified a continuum of parenting styles frommore permissive to more restrictive. The overallproportion is 40/60 permissive versus restrictive.While the influence interaction styles we’vediscussed are present for all moms, thefrequency and application of these styles isdependent on where a mom falls on thecontinuum. Permissive moms are more likely to use the kid-empowering styles of asking and choice-offering, and be more responsive to kid requests. The restrictive moms favor themore mom-controlled styles of providing andchoice-offering.

Child-Driven InfluenceFrom a kid-driven perspective, there are twomodes of interaction: requesting and reacting.

Requesting is when the child explicitly makesher wants known to mom through any sort ofcommunication. There is, of course, the universallyunderstood “I-want-that” kind of request, butrequests are often more subtle; younger childrenunder age six, especially, are more likely to pointor pick up a product because their verbal skillsare not as well developed as those of older children.

Reacting is perhaps the most powerful, kid-driveninteraction style. It is clear that even when mom isusing either the providing or choice-offering style,the child’s reaction to her offering is paramount.It is an immutable truth that if a child does notlike a product intended for her own use, then thechild will not use it. Just observe a parent whoattempts to serve baby-food peas to an infant ortoddler who, for reasons unknown, does not likepeas. Those peas usually end up on the face ofthe parent. And, since few parents are willing toendure “peas in the face” more than a few times(the first time seems kind of funny), there is asecond immutable truth of kid reaction, which isthat mom will not buy what the child will notuse or consume. Thus, a child’s “veto power” isalways in play, no matter what the product is.

The flip side is when mom observes that herchild has a positive reaction to a product or service.In this case, she will likely store that informationas a guide to future purchases. This phenomenonexplains why kids do not need to keep requestingthe same things.

Child reaction is also the primary way childrenend up influencing a wide variety of purchasedecisions that do not involve them directly. Thecommunication might go something like this,“You’re not going to buy that car, are you Dad?It’s for grandpas!” Okay, so maybe another carinstead. This type of unsolicited opinion-offeringis particularly prevalent among tweens and teens,who seem to have an opinion about everythingand also seem to know it all.

With the various mutual decision-making stylesin mind, we can now frame the lifestages of the4i4l consumer in a way that goes beyond just ageof child. The stages are shown on a continuumby age of child, as follows:

Dependence StageThe Dependence stage begins in pregnancy andspans through infancy into the terrible twos,ending just before pre-school. The dependence

Dependence Conditional Interdependence0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Years

stage, as the title implies, is aperiod when mom is makingalmost all decisions on behalf ofthe child, with little or no directfeedback from the child. This isnot to say that the child doesnot influence mom’s decisions,however, since the child’sinfluence begins even in thewomb. Rather, it is a stage whenmom makes decisions based onher own needs and on herinference of the needs of herchild; she then Provides products/brands to her child. As the childapproaches the age of two, mom will begin Choice-Offeringand some Asking her child for preferences.

In quantitative terms, theDependence stage is as follows:

Influence Interaction Styles:Dependence Stage

Mom-DrivenProviding HighChoice-Offering Low Asking Very Low

Child-DrivenRequesting Very LowReacting Low

Mom/Child Balance 90/10

Perhaps you are surprised thatpregnancy is a consideration ofthe 4i4l, since the child is not evenborn! But this is where the 4i4lconsumer really begins. Every ex-pectant mom is filled with dreams,aspirations, expectations andanxieties about what it will belike to be a parent. This is wherea child’s influence comes into play,driving hundreds of millions ofdollars of consumption, all inanticipation of the big event.

Of course, the main type ofmutual decision-making that isexhibited during pregnancy isProviding, as mom anticipatesthe arrival of the child and seeksto satisfy both her own and thechild’s needs in advance. In fact,pregnancy may be the mostpowerful driver of behaviorchange and consumption that



exists. Most expectant moms virtually overnightmodify their lifestyles as a result of pregnancy.Coffee drinkers give up the daily Starbucks.Smokers stop smoking. Junk-food eaters beginto eat their vegetables and brain food.

One of our clients is Evenflo Baby Products, a company that makes and markets a completeline of baby-care products, ranging from bottlesto car seats to strollers and just about everythingelse in-between. Looking at the ever-evolvingnew class of first-time moms, their preferencesand approach to impending motherhood tells usa lot about what kind of moms they will be. Mostseek information about baby-care products, andthey form their initial brand preferences duringthe second trimester of pregnancy, with the bulkof purchases made during the third trimester.We’ve referred to this as the “120-Day War,” asthe fortunes of a baby-care brand are won orlost every 120 days as a new group of first-timemoms move into their second and third trimesters,and the current group moves on.

From a marketing point of view, it is importantto know that few first-time moms-to-be enter

into motherhood with a high level of self-confidenceregarding this monumental role. Even the mostself-assured professionals may feel terrified attheir incompetence with this new position in life.As a result, they desire brands that offer strongreassurance that they are making a smart decisionfor their baby.

Infancy begins with the cutting of theumbilical cord that physically connected motherand child for nine months. It could be argued,however, that a mom still remains invisiblyconnected to her child. Now that she has aliving, breathing, crying, nursing, burping,pooping and occasionally sleeping infant to takecare of, her world is hyper-focused on the needsof her child. In a sense, the physical connectionof pregnancy is replaced by a connection ofdependency. The child cannot survive withoutthe physical and emotional care of its mother orat least another human being.

The nature of 4i4l relationship during infancyis intense in both directions of providing-reacting, as mom and child engage in a crashcourse of learning. There is an old maxim that

C O N T I N U E D Marketing to the 4i4l Consumer


“the baby needs a blanket when mom is cold.”This is an example of the Providing style, asmom uses her own senses to determine the needsof her child. But infancy is a period of highfeedback between mom and child that createsthe foundation of conditioning for future 4i4linfluence. As the table below shows, all of thecommunication from the infant is non-verbal,and, interestingly, so too is mom’s.

Conditional StageThis stage starts when the child is about age two,continuing until about age eight. The definingcharacteristic is that the child becomes increasinglymore verbal and expressive of her wants and needs,yet mom still moderates the dialogue, evaluating

every request and, of course, providing to thechild based on what she believes is best. In markedcontrast to the Dependence stage, moms nowincrease the level of Choice-Offering, using theprocess of shopping as a developmental opportunity.Also important is that the child begins directlyRequesting versus simply Reacting to mom’sofferings. Further, the child’s verbal abilities allowher to react more specifically and vociferouslythan before.

The mix of styles are as shown below:

From a marketer’s point of view, the increasein Choice-Offering and Asking, as well as KidRequesting and Reacting, during the Conditionalstage clearly argues the need to establish brand

Child’s Need StateHungryPlayfulAnxious/UncomfortableSleepyCurious

Child’s BehaviorRooting/CryingQuiet/Smiles/LaughFrown/CryingCrankiness/CryingReaches/Stares

Mom’s ResponseFeedsSmiles/LaughsInvestigatesSings/RocksOffers Item

Influence Interaction Styles: Conditional Stage

Mom-Driven Child-DrivenProviding Moderate Requesting ModerateChoice-Offering Moderate Reacting HighAsking Low-Moderate




recognition and liking among kids. Kids four toseven years old “choose” or “prefer” brands orproducts with which they are familiar. Of course,this is also the stage when it is imperative to marketto moms. They are in control of the set of acceptableoptions that will be offered and are far more likelyto refuse the requests of their child than when thechild is older.

Interdependence StageThis stage correlates with the tween and youngteen segment of children aged eight to fourteen.Anything that is used directly by the child mustbe marketed directly to the child for two reasons.First, the attitudes of kids in this age group movefrom “mom knows what I like” to “mom doesn’treally know what I like.” Moms are slow tocatch on to this fact, until they realize that manyproducts they buy for their child go unused and,in some cases, are mysteriously lost. Secondly,moms are far more trusting of this age for thechild to make requests that are sensible, so thefrequency of mom vetoes is far less than withyounger children.

The dynamics of Mom and Kid InfluenceInteraction Styles are as follows:

Influence Interaction Styles: Interdependence Stage

The 2005 WonderGroup Mom/Kid InfluenceStudy showed that a mom of tweens and youngteens is much more likely to say that her childinfluences the purchase decisions for all familyproducts and even such products as her ownitems of clothing.

An interesting example of marketing to this stageis a spot we created for Hasbro’s Chat NowCommunicators. This product uses advancedtwo-way radio technology to deliver some of the

Mom-Driven Child-DrivenProviding Low Requesting HighChoice-Offering Moderate Reacting ModerateAsking High


FOR 25 YEARS, THE FOLKS BEHIND THE MIRROR HAVEN’T JUST LISTENED.

THEY’VE TALKED.

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functionality of a cell phone; itlooks like a cell phone, and inmany ways acts like a cell phonebut requires no monthly fees orusage charges. The one thingthis age group desires most is acell phone, even more than aniPod. While actual cell-phoneownership among tweens andyoung teens is growing fast,

most moms resist the idea oftheir child racking up monsterbills chatting away at cell-phone rates. Thus, our strategywas to prepare tweens with theknowledge they would need toovercome potential objectionsby mom, helping them help herunderstand that it is free whenyou buy a pair.

Wrap-UpUnderstanding the stages of the4i4l consumer can go a long waytowards helping marketers craftthe most effective marketingstrategy. From a media stand-point, we have seen that buildingawareness among moms is morecost-effectively accomplishedby advertising directly to thechild. In fact, it can be one-thirdthe cost, assuming a child requestlevel of at least 30 percent. Giventhis, the conditional and inter-dependence stages call for primaryconsideration of kid advertisingbefore mom advertising, withthe dependent stage being theonly time when mom-onlyadvertising is required.

The one thingthis age groupdesires most is a cell phone,even more thanan iPod.

• TECH TALK •


odcasting is one of the newest kids on the media block. In less than ayear, it has moved from grassroots revolution to corporate darling. Infact, things are moving so fast that any attempt to write an article suchas this is doomed to be somewhat outdated by the time you see it. For

example, Apple’s release of the new video iPod will likely have an impact onpodcasting, but it is too early to know exactly what that impact will be. Thatmay require a subsequent column in this space.

If you haven’t heard of podcasting, you haven’t been paying attention.Scores of articles have appeared in the local, regional and national press, as well as well as a growing amount of television coverage.

Podcasting: The Next Big ThingB Y D A V I D V A N N U Y S , P H . D .e-FocusGroups • Rohnert Park, CA • [email protected]

Podcasts offer theTiVo-like advantage ofbeing able to listen to

the content at one’sown convenience.

P

C O N T I N U E D Podcasting: The Next Big Thing


A Brief HistoryYou’ve heard of The Godfather, but have youheard of The Podfather? This is the playfulmoniker that has been hung on Adam Curry, theformer MTV video jock who is widely creditedwith sparking and spreading what can only bedescribed as a grassroots media revolution.

What is podcasting? Most simply put, it is aform of internet radio. I like to think of it asTiVo for your radio. More accurately, podcastsare MP3 files that can be found on the web andeither listened to directly on your computer in theform of streaming audio or downloaded onto anMP3 player, such as the iPod (hence the name).

Podcasting is an outgrowth of blogging. Aslong as ten years ago, certain forward-lookingbloggers realized they could put audio files on

their blog sites. However, podcasting, per se, wasborn when Adam Curry and Dave Weiner (awell-known internet pioneer) extended a schemeknown as RSS (Really Simple Syndication) sothat people could subscribe to podcasts in thesame way that some people subscribe to blogs.This turned out to be a game-changing move ofmajor proportions.

Podcasting, as such, is still less than a yearold. However, it is estimated that between 5,000and 10,000 podcasters are already putting theirown internet radio shows up for others to listento. In terms of content and production value,the quality varies widely. The variety of content,however, is already staggering. Just as websitescater to every conceivable hobby, profession andtaste, an increasing proliferation of podcastscover the gamut from the latest Mac news to theramblings of truckers on the road to advice fornew mothers, and more.

How do you find out about and subscribe tothis burgeoning new world of podcasts? One wayis to download “podcast aggregator” software.A number of such programs are out there. Dueto Adam Curry’s evangelism, however, Applerecently added a podcast category to iTunes.You open up iTunes and go to the Music Store,where all podcasts are currently free. There youwill find a Podcast category. You will see “coverart” for some of the most popular podcasts. Youcan simply click on any podcast you see there

that interests you, and then you can click on a“subscribe” button.

Even more recently, Yahoo! has jumped onto the bandwagon, creating its own podcastdirectory (http://podcasts.yahoo.com). Don’tthink this is just a directory, though. What itreally represents is Yahoo’s bet that podcastingwill be very important to their future.

Podcasting Goes CorporateIn the early days of the web, hobbyists and smallentrepreneurs worried about what would happenwhen the big corporations decided to get on board.Would the web become so dominated by thecorporate presence that the little guys would getlost? As it has turned out, the web has room forboth the small players and the big players, althoughit has become very challenging to stand out, withso many new websites coming online every day.

A similar dynamic is playing out in the podcastworld. Currently, the bulk of podcasts are producedby “indies,” individuals who feel they havesomething to say or who crave an audience. Upto this point, a big part of the appeal of listeningto podcasts is the chance to hear ordinary folksspeaking plainly and without censorship — awelcome relief from the bland, repetitive andboring sameness that traditional radio hasmostly become.

However, as well-funded corporate entitiesenter the fray, the “indies” fear getting lost inthe crowd. This has already begun to happen,with podcasts put out by traditional mediacompanies dominating the “most popular”categories in directories such as those of iTunesand Yahoo!

Until now, the motivation for creating a podcastwas non-monetary. It was a hobby. That situationis quickly changing, however. Podcasting isbecoming seen as yet another tool for reachingconsumers in a highly targeted way.

At this point, the audiences for individualpodcasts are not large enough to commandadvertising revenue, but this picture will changein the coming months. For example, Adam Curryand his partner, Ron Bloom, recently obtained$8.5 million dollars from Silicon Valley venture-capital funds. With that money, they have formeda company in San Francisco called Podshow. Oneof the ideas they are pursuing involves creating alarge network of “indie” podcasters such that theircombined audiences create a pool of sufficientsize to attract advertisers.

Traditional media companies have been amongthe first corporate entities to explore this newmedium. Not surprisingly, they were initially scaredby the surge of interest in alternative media, fearfulof losing their franchise. Consequently, many

If you haven’t heard ofpodcasting, you haven’tbeen paying attention.


radio stations and newspapers are experimentingwith their own podcasts. For example, the SanFrancisco Chronicle advertised in a recent printedition, “New Podcasts This Week… ‘On theTrail of the Zodiac Killer’ and ‘The Minds Behind‘Dr. Atomic’” (www.sfgate.com/blogs/podcasts).

The ubiquitous Adam Curry has a four-hourblock on Sirius satellite radio in which his ownDaily Source Code podcast is re-played and inwhich he also profiles other podcasts. He isdetermined to expand this four-hour block into at least a whole channel for podcasting.Similarly, San Francisco radio station KYOU(1550 AM) is also devoting a substantial portionof its daily programming to playing podcastsover traditional radio.

Interestingly, National Public Radio has beenvery aggressive about jumping into podcasting,and a number of their top-rated shows out ofBoston, Chicago and Los Angeles are featured inthe iTunes directory. NPR is not alone, though.The aggressively for-profit Infinity Radio networkalready feeds its all-news-and-talk programmingto mobile listeners through podcasts. Clear Channel

is set to follow with its own live morning shows.Others have either already lined up or are stirring.Reportedly, Sirius Satellite Radio CEO MelKarmazin has engaged in content-delivery talkswith Steve Jobs, his counterpart at Apple Computer.

Political commentators have been quick to getinto podcasting. You will find podcast series byboth Al Franken and Rush Limbaugh. And it’snot just the political pundits who are podcasting.The politicians, themselves, are loath to be leftbehind. Al Gore, John Edwards and Barak Obamaare among the podcasting politicos. Even PresidentBush’s speeches are currently available by podcast.The next presidential election is sure to be rifewith podcasts.

Major corporations are not far behind. Just asno corporation today is without its website, theday is not far off when the corporate podcast willbe just as common. For example, Hollywood isturning to podcasting as a way of promoting itswares. Did you catch Paris Hilton’s series of tenpodcasts, designed to promote her film debut?

According to a recent press release, Sprint hasteamed up with Real Networks to stream podcaststo cell phones. In another release, GM’s OnStarsystem will be used to communicate via podcaststo GM customers. Motorola teamed up with Appleto bring out the new ROKR phone that, incidentally,can download podcasts from iTunes.

Oracle is among the latest companies to embracepodcasting. Oracle will publish two 10- to 20-minute podcasts daily during its user conferencefor the ears of the software developers anddatabase administrators who buy its products.

IBM began offering podcasts from the investorsection of its website on the use of its technologies inautomotive, retail, health care and other industries.Purina, a subsidiary of Nestle S.A., is supplementingits traditional advertising with podcasts publishedevery other week for veterinarians and pet lovers.They include interviews with vets and other expertson animal training, pet surgery, medical insuranceand behavioral issues. And the beat goes on.

From Marketing to Market ResearchIt’s clear that marketers will increasingly flock tothe podosphere in their pursuit of customers. Butwhat about market research? Will podcastingfind a place in the market researcher’s toolbox?

Some market research consultants are alreadyusing blogs as a way of staying in touch withcurrent and potential clients. A way of relationshipmarketing, their blogs keep readers informed oftheir own insights, of emerging cultural trends, newresearch practices and so on. It’s safe to predictthat podcasts will be used in this way as well.

Just as webcasting has become a popular wayfor companies and professional associations todisseminate information and to develop/maintainrelationships with their constituencies, so willpodcasting. QRCA’s Qcasts is a good exampleof this trend. Podcasts offer the TiVo-likeadvantage of being able to listen to the contentat one’s own convenience, with the added

Podcasting is coming to beseen as yet another tool forreaching consumers in ahighly targeted way.

Podcasting: The Next Big Thing C O N T I N U E D

benefit of not requiring visual attention. Con-sequently, people can listen to a podcast whiledriving, waiting at the doctor’s office or workingout at the gym, which is something webcastscan’t do. And an increasing number of automanufacturers such as BMW, Pontiac, Honda andSaturn are including in some of their models abuilt-in plug for MP3 players.

Like webcasting, podcasting is a one-to-manymedium. Therefore, there might be research sit-uations in which it makes senseto present product concepts orstimuli to an audience via podcast.

In many cases, podcasts’ sub-scribers represent very distinctive,targeted audiences. Consequently,podcasts may become animportant vehicle for recruitingresearch respondents. For example,there is a podcast for kitesurfing.A researcher working for amanufacturer of kitesurfingproducts might find it economicalto pay the podcaster a smallamount to announce that he or she is looking for researchparticipants.

Another potential research anglewould be to listen to selectedpodcasts as a way of trackingtrends and market perceptions.Podscope (www.podscope.com)allows you to search all podcastsout there on any spoken word.So, for example, if your client isPepsi, you can type in the word“Pepsi,” and it will search outevery podcast in which thatword was spoken, give you alink to the podcast and play afew seconds before and after the key word. This means thatresearchers will very easily be able to tap into the buzz.Similarly, a content analysis of the topics of the leadingpodcasts might provide insightinto the interests of the earlyadopters of this technology.

Podcasting is likely to beespecially effective for tappinginto the youth market. Manypodcasters are in their teens orearly twenties.

The tools for creating podcastsare likely to get simpler and moreubiquitous. Digital recorders arealready as small as a pack of

gum. Services exist where you can speak into atelephone and have it automatically recordedand converted into a podcast. Consequently, we can imagine research respondents usingpodcasting to create ethnographic-style diaries.

Another possible direction would be todeliver audio from groups to clients in MP3format, or make them downloadable in asecured area of a website. My guess is thatingenious market research consultants will find

C O N T I N U E D Podcasting: The Next Big Thing

surprising ways to makeuse of podcasting that we haven’t yet imagined.

Would you like to listento a podcast relating toqualitative research? I’mboth a psychologist and a market researchconsultant. In my podcastseries, I interview otherpsychologists, a few ofwhom are also marketresearchers. In some ofthese episodes, you will find how theseresearchers are applyingtheir qualitative skillsand talents. They offercreative techniques youcan use immediately.

In my podcast interview(episode #12) we discussextensive use of story andmetaphor applications.You will find this episodeat www.shrinkrapradio.com/shows. Moreover, inepisode #13, a colleagueinterviews me on CarlJung’s theory of archetypesand their uses in qualitativeresearch. Finally, in Episode#17, you will hear myinterview with Dr. ReneeFrengut on her pioneeringuses of video technologyin consumer research.You can either listen tothese shows as streamingaudio on your computeror download them forlater listening on an MP3 player.

Welcome to thewonderful world ofpodcast listening!


Podcasting: The Next Big Thing C O N T I N U E D

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rotecting your income, financial planners say, is the cornerstone of allfinancial planning. When many young, healthy people start theircareer, they don’t even consider adding disability insurance into theirtight budget. This should not be overlooked, however, because as your

career grows and your life changes, you have much more to protect — astrong client base, a mortgage, a 401K plan and other individuals who maydepend on your income.

Your income and ability to work are your most valuable assets, no matterwhat career phase you are in. Protecting your potential earnings (which couldbe as much as $2 million for a 45-year-old earning $75,000 to $100,000 a

Disability Insurance — A Primerto Understanding the ProvisionsB Y L A R R Y S C H N E I D E RDisability Insurance Resource Center • Albuquerque, NM • [email protected]

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year, projected to age 65) should be high onyour list of priorities. This article will help yousift through the maze of different words andphrases used in disability contracts options.

The Factors of an Ideal Disability Policy If every company offering a disability-insurancepolicy had the same wording, terms and conditions,then consumers’ decision would be easy — allthey would have to think about would be simplethings, like whether or not they liked the company’slogo or spokesperson.

Unfortunately, evaluating different contractsis not so easy. A contract can be comprised of 30or more considerations, terms, definitions, etc.,each affecting benefits and how much, how longand under what conditions and circumstances aclaim will be paid. Most companies offer similaritiesin about 15 or 20 of these components; however,there are differences in many others.

Let’s look at seven of the most importantdifferences, roughly in the same order in whichthey appear in most contracts.

1. GuaranteesOne of the most dramatic changes the industryhas made in the past several years is that somecarriers have taken away non-cancelable (“non-can”) provisions, which guarantee premiums toage 65, and have introduced policies that are onlyguaranteed renewable. This change enables thecarrier to raise classification rates (the categorythat rates the liability for individual professions)and thus raise your premiums.

You should try, however, to get a non-cancelableand guaranteed-renewable policy. Most companiesthat deal with white-collar workers still offer the“non-can” and guaranteed-renewable combination.Other carriers have removed their “non-can”policies from the market or use this feature onlywith a loss-of-earnings policy (see Residual/Proportionate, below).

2. DefinitionsWhen comparing contracts, notice whether thedefinition for sickness says “when first manifesteditself” rather than “when first contracted.” Thedifference between the two is significant, especiallyif the disability is caused by cancer, for example.Under the first definition, if cancer existed whenthe policy was issued, but it had not yet producedsymptoms nor caused a prudent person to seekmedical attention, it would be covered. Underthe second definition, it would not be covered ifit could be proven to have existed prior to thepolicy’s effective date.

Another way that disability policies differ is intheir definition of total disability. The best definition

for total disability is “own occupation” or “own-occ.” Although this definition is available for manyoccupations (but not all), it is not always necessary,nor is it always available for the full benefit period.

Under the own-occ definition, you will beconsidered totally disabled if you are unable toperform the substantial duties (quantitativemeasure) and, most importantly, the materialduties (e.g., produces the most income) of youroccupation at the time of claim and not whenthe application was originally negotiated. This isimportant to consider as your duties and skillschange over your career. Potentially the best reasonyou should look for own-occ in a disability policyis because it is easier to prove vs. loss of income,and by comparison it is relatively “hassle-free”at claim time.

The policy’s definition of own-occ might beespecially necessary for someone whose skillscould be (conceivably) transferred to anotheroccupation. For example, consider a surgeon whodeveloped unsteadiness in his or hands. Withoutan own-occ definition, he or she could be expectedto teach.

Or, consider the QRC who loses his or her abilityto hear. Such a professional might be expectedto find an occupation related to the researchfield (such as writing) that would not involve aneed for hearing. As a result, the QRC mightnot be considered totally disabled and, instead,might be paid under a residual (proportionate)benefits provision.

The three common own-occ definitions reflecta particular carrier’s claims experience for a part-icular occupation. They are from most liberal toleast liberal, as follows:

• Own occupation / full benefit period — Thisdefinition pays even if you are working elsewhere(in another occupation). Some carriers evenoffer an own-occ specialty definition, which is especially important if you are a highlyspecialized QRC.

• Own occupation / not gainfully employedelsewhere — A policy with this definitionpays if you can’t do the duties of youroccupation and are not working elsewhere.Working or not then becomes your choice.

• Own occupation / for a period of time, thereafterunable to work/not working elsewhere — Thisis a split definition that gives true own-occ (see thefirst definition above) for a period of time (forexample, five years), then changes to unableto work/not working elsewhere by reason ofeducation, training and experience (and, insome instances, prior economic status).

C O N T I N U E D Disability Insurance — A Primer to Understanding the Provisions

Disability Insurance — A Primer to Understanding the Provisions C O N T I N U E D


It should be noted that some contracts haveno own-occ definition. Instead, they have a “lossof earnings” definition, which more carriers haverecently chosen to stipulate in lieu of the own-occdefinition. Loss of earnings is the same as residualor proportionate benefit (see below).

3. Benefit PeriodThis represents how long you will be paid in theevent of a covered disability. Be aware that theremay be exclusions due to pre-existing conditions.

Typically, benefit periods are two years, fiveyears or up until age 65. Some carriers offer gradedlifetime benefit amounts; you might get somepercentage of the base benefit paid for lifetime,depending on the disability onset age. Full benefitsfor your lifetime no longer exist. Give this muchconsideration if you are planning on working,even part-time, past traditional retirement age.

4. Residual/Proportionate Disability Optional Benefit

The purpose of a residual benefit is to pay youwhile you are working in your occupation whileslowly recovering and building back your incometo pre-disability status; therefore, you are paid ina proportional manner based on income, not onhours worked. For example, if during a disabilityyou have a 30 percent loss in income whiledisabled and under the care of a physician, youwill receive 30 percent of the monthly benefit.

Most contracts read alike for this benefit exceptfor some of the following terms and conditions,which can make a difference in how much of theclaim will be paid:

• Pre-disability earnings period — Typicalcontracts state that, as an earnings benchmark,the insurance company will consider theprevious twelve months or any two consecutiveyears within the last five years, whichever ismore favorable to you. Obviously, the higherthe baseline, the higher the benefit amount(most often, choosing the best two out of lastfive years is the most advantageous). Thiscombination is ideal for someone whose incomepossibly varies from year to year or is greatlyaffected by the health of the economy.

• Pre-disability income included or excludedfor the calculation of loss/earnings — This can be a significant factor if the claimant is in the service industry (e.g., a QRC, account-ant, attorney, etc.) and has some accountsreceivable (pre-disability earnings) receivedduring a period of disability. If the contractdoes not allow these to be excluded, then the calculation will generate a lower loss of

income percentage and as a result thepayment will be smaller.

• Qualification period — This is the number ofdays you must be totally disabled before theresidual benefits can be paid. Companies thathave this restriction usually require 30 days.Most companies do not impose this qualificationperiod and also allow periods of residual disabilityto count toward the elimination period.

5. Recovery/Extended Transitional Optional Benefit (usually part of residual)

Basically, this recovery benefit means that a personwho no longer is under claim (under a physician’scare) will be paid as if he/she still were (even thoughhe/she has returned to work full time and is inthe process of rebuilding his/her practice). Anexample would be a Certified Public Accountant(CPA) who broke a wrist during tax season (whenhe/she earns 80 percent of his/her annual income)and recovered perfectly after April 15 for theremainder of the year. Benefits under this provisionwould continue to be paid, even though theaccountant was fully recovered, until his/herincome reached 80 percent of pre-disabilityearnings. Again, some companies offer thisbenefit, but for different time periods (typically,for either 12 months, 24 months or for the fullbenefit period).

6. Future Purchase Increase Optional BenefitThis benefit allows you to apply for more coveragebased on higher earnings without any evidence ofinsurability (no review of your medical information).This is important for someone who, since the initialpolicy was negotiated based on good health, hasdeveloped diabetes, a heart condition, etc., whichotherwise would have prevented issuance of anymore benefits without this option.

Most companies offer this option; once again,however, there are these differences to watch out for:

• Cut-off age for having this option issued aspart of the policy — Most companies will notoffer this option after you reach age of 50,although a few companies will issue it up to age 55. In any event, if issued, it drops off atcertain ages, with a corresponding reduction in premium.

• Cut-off age for exercising — Normally, mostcompanies will not allow it to be exercised past age 55. Most companies, if not all, use aformula as to what percentage can be exercisedat any given time, participation tables not

withstanding. A few carriers might allow partof this option to be exercised and paid, alongwith an existing claim.

7. Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Optional Benefit

Some differences that exist between companiesfall into the following categories:

• Basis for increase that is indexed to somestandard, such as the Consumer Price Index(CPI) or guaranteed.

• Conversion of these benefits to the basebenefit after returning to work, prior to whatage and at what cost, if any. This is especiallyimportant if the insured got disabled again andthere was no future increase option and theinsured wanted the new claim to begin withthe last benefit amount, which already includedthe most recent cost of living adjustment(s).

8. MiscellaneousAlthough less significant than those mentionedabove, a few additional contract componentsshould also be considered. These are:• Conditionally renewable — Most policies are

guaranteed renewable after age 65 and up to age75, while others are renewable for the insured’slifetime (if you are gainfully employed for a min-imum of 30 hours weekly). However, all options/conditions disappear (i.e., COLA, residualbenefits, etc.). Generally, your rates will go upafter age 65.

• Recurrent disability — Some contracts state thatsix months must have elapsed before a newclaim for the same condition can be considered,while others say twelve. Which is better dependson the length of the benefit period (two years,five years or up to the age of 65). For instance, inthe event a disability-condition relapse occurs aftera claim has been paid and the benefit period has



expired, generally speaking, policies that have ashort benefit period (say, two years) are best witha six-month recurrent period. With this particularcombination, the relapse will be considered as anew claim and the benefit period would beginagain after the elimination (deductible) period(which can vary, usually from 30 to 90 days)was satisfied.

On the other hand, if your policy pays to age65 and you have a relapse of the same condition,then the longer recurrent period (twelve months)is better. With this combination, during this twelve-month period, there is no requirement that theelimination period must be resatisfied, and the claimpayments will begin immediately (assuming theelimination period was initially satisfied).

The key word for both scenarios is same claim(i.e., a relapse). If the second claim is unrelatedto the first one, the recurrent period doesn’t apply.

• Loss of income necessary to be deemed totallydisabled — Most contracts say 75 percent,while a few use 80 percent. The lower thepercentage, the better the contract.

Consider Employer-Paid Group Plans CarefullyScrutinize employer-paid group plans carefully,since the differences can be costly. Mostdefinitions protect the insurance company morethan the insured.

The following is a short list of how typicalemployer-sponsored plans differ from theindividual policy:

• Typically, bonuses are not included in youryearly income earnings. So, if a portion of your income is bonus or commissions, theseamounts will not be included in thecalculation of benefits.

• Coverage is not portable. If you have a pre-existing condition or poor medical history,you may be denied coverage if you changecompanies or look for an individual policy.

• If your employer pays the policy premium, youwill be taxed on the benefit you receive. If youhave your own policy, benefits are tax-free.

Disability Insurance — A Primer to Understanding the Provisions C O N T I N U E D


• Typically, many offsets (suchas social security and/orworkman’s compensation) canreduce your benefit payment.These are not applicable in an individual policy.

• Mental or nervous conditions,such as stress and depression,are typically only covered for two years, even thoughthe normal benefit periodfor other conditions may be covered to 65. Someindividual policies will treatmental or nervous conditionslike any other health conditionfor the full benefit period.

The Window ofOpportunity Is Beginning to Close for Better ContractsIn view of the fact that thedisability-insurance industryhas experienced some majorchanges in the past few years,consumers should have theirpolicies reviewed by a specialist.Recently issued policies oreven some older ones mightcontain provisions that willmake it more difficult to havea claim paid.

Women, in particular, have been hard hit with theintroduction of sex-distinctrates that have replaced unisexrates, resulting in premiumsthat are approximately 30percent higher than for men.In some instances, however, it is possible for a woman toget unisex rates.

Spring is a good time toreview your existing policy or set a date to talk to yourinsurance provider or financialplanner about disabilityinsurance. It is one of the bestways to protect your earnings,now and for the future.


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Who Needs Duty Free?The Best Airport Shopping in the U.S. and InternationallyB Y M A R Y B E T H S O L O M O NSolomon Solutions • Jersey City, NJ • [email protected]

Amid a sea ofcommon generic

airports, a few standout as exceptionally

good experiences.

he airport is an all-too-familiar place for the business traveler. Withincreasingly crowded airports, flight delays and long lines for everythingfrom security checkpoints to Starbucks, travelers spend more time simplywaiting in airport terminals before or between flights. You don’t always

have a choice as to where you spend your pre-takeoff hours, but here are a fewterminals you might be lucky to find yourself in. While you’re waiting, you canpick up gifts, last-minute items for your trip or a simple treat to ease the stressof travel.

A 2004 J.D. Power and Associates Global Airport Satisfaction Index Studyrates its top five airports in three categories: large, medium and small airports. Inthe “large” category (30 million or more passengers per year), the top three wereHong Kong, Orlando and Denver, and the top three in the “medium” category(10 million to fewer than 30 million passengers per year) were Singapore,Pittsburgh and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. Having been to three of thosesix (and I’m going to the fourth just after press time), I can vouch for Denverand Pittsburgh, both of which are outlined here.

J.D. Power’s survey was based on thousands of travelers between October2003 and November 2004. Travelers were surveyed on attributes such as airportterminal facilities, check-in processes, concessions, security checks, getting toand from the airport and customs procedures. Below, however, my own personalsurvey of U.S. and international airports is based on firsthand experience andthe subjective preferences of one road warrior who has spent much time inairports over the past 12 years. Amid a sea of common generic airports, a fewstand out as exceptionally good experiences.

Orlando: Mickey and MoreKnown as “The City Beautiful,” Orlando, Florida, is one of the nation’s favoritetravel destinations, with 52 million tourist visits annually. Most famous forhosting Walt Disney World, Orlando boasts other attractions representing thebest the state has to offer, from the modern, spic-and-span Universal OrlandoResort to the “old Florida” charm of Gatorland.

Orlando International Airport (MCO) lives up to the city’s high standard asa haven for visitors: it was J.D. Power’s number-one large airport in the 2004Global Airport Satisfaction Index. Since being converted from McCoy Air ForceBase in the 1970s, the facility has grown to accommodate 33 million air passengers a year, primarily on US Airways, Southwest and AirTran.

Orlando International Airport has an incredible array of shops and services.The city’s biggest tourist attractions are represented with a Sea World Store, anOrlando Studios store and two Disney stores (Magic of Disney and the WaltDisney EarPort). So even if you’re in Orlando only on a layover, you can stilltake home a souvenir from Shamu or Mickey Mouse.

Specialty stores include Best of America for patriotic goods and Mel Fisher’sTreasures for coins, rings and other oddities recovered by the legendary underseaadventurer. WomenRock carries everything from clothing to chocolates to bath

T

The Best Airport Shopping C O N T I N U E D


and body products, all emblazoned with their brand’ssassy, positive attitude. Looking for jewelry?Choose from Bijoux Terner, Erwin Pearl or GemCollection. Better yet, visit all three! Cosmeticsneeds are covered by L’Occitane and Lush. Apparelshopping isn’t as plentiful, apart from Lids (forhats) and Ron Jon Surfwear; however, the basicsare well covered with duty-free shopping, internetkiosks and, in case you’re heading overseas,currency exchanges.

With 20 restaurants, the airport has plenty ofways to quell your food cravings. If you’re rushingto your gate, get something quick from McDonald’s,Chick-Fil-A or Nathan’s. If you have more time,sit down at the Macaroni Grill, the Asian grillZyng or the eclectic Hemispheres. Just go easy onthe Krispy Kremes in the Food Court: the onething the airport doesn’t have is a fitness center.If it’s not a meal you’re after, the airport’s six barsinclude the Fox Sports SkyBox and McCoy’s Barand Grill.

Missed the last flight of the day? Orlando is oneof the few airports with a hotel right on site, theHyatt Regency OIA. The airport is also notablefor the striking artwork displayed throughout theterminals, from Bruce Marsh’s triptych of water-scapes in the main terminal to Todd Warner’swildlife sculptures spread across the parkinggarages. Overall, Orlando International maychange the way you think about getting “stuckin the airport” — there’s so much to do there,you might never want to leave!

Special Features of the Orlando International AirportKennedy Space Center Store: See sidebar on “Out-of-the-Ordinary Airport Facilities and Services.”Located in the Main Terminal, East Hall.

Aquarium: Spectacular floor-to-ceiling aquariumwith a variety of marine life. Located in centerof Food Court, Main Terminal.

Hyatt Regency Hotel: Located in the MainTerminal, East Hall.

“Steel” Away to PittsburghCity of steel, hard hats and three rivers, Pittsburghis also home to one of the most modern airportsin the U.S. Now open for 13 years, the PittsburghInternational Airport (PIT) is the fourth-largestairport in the country on landmass alone. Morethan 20 million passengers pass through its doorseach year; it serves as the hub for US Airways andis also serviced by other major airlines. In additionto being J.D. Power and Associates’ second-highestranked medium-sized airport, Conde Naste Travelerreaders also voted this airport as the #1 airportin the U.S. and #3 in the world.

In the realm of shopping, the Pittsburgh Inter-national Airport leads the way with Airmall, a veritable shopping paradise that covers fourterminals and includes dozens of shops andrestaurants, replete with free wireless access for those with laptops and PDAs to use in theairport’s food courts. Airmall offers guaranteedregular mall pricing, which means that you won’tpay higher prices simply because you’re a “captivecustomer” stuck at the airport. Pittsburgh’s airportalso has the added bonus of Pennsylvania’s “NoSales Tax on Clothing” policy. If you’re passingthrough from New York or California andlooking for items from Victoria’s Secret or TheGap, take advantage.

The airport is divided into four terminals, witha Core Center where the four concourses join.Shopping and dining options are located through-out the concourses and the Core. Some of the shopsfor women’s and men’s fashion and accessoriesinclude familiar stores such as Land’s End, NineWest, Sunglass Hut and Watch Station, as wellas a few lesser-known stores such as Belongings.The Airmall also features cosmetics and personalgoods at Clinique, The Body Shop, L’Occitaneand Perfumania. If you’ve forgotten those travel-sized shampoos, toothpaste or soaps, you can pickthem up at Eckerd drugstore.

Looking for reading material? Stop by Books Etc.or Hudson Booksellers. Gift items can be foundat specialty shops like Brookstone (for the gadgetlover), Prestige Pens (for the writing enthusiast),Signatures (stationery and greeting cards), GodivaChocolatiers (chocolate, chocolate and morechocolate), Swarovski (for décor, jewelry andaccessories with “bling”) and Spirit of the RedHorse, an upscale kiosk featuring the work ofAmerican Indian artists offering an impressivearray of unique jewelry for men and women.For the male shopper (or the male gift recipient),men’s shoe store Johnston & Murphy specializesin handmade shoes, Brooks Brothers offers thefinest in tailored shirts, and Tie Rack completesthe ensemble with ties and scarves.

The offerings of food and beverages are extensiveas well, with a broad range of choices for sit-downmeals, fast food, snacks or culinary gifts-to-go.If you have time, try O’Brien’s Grille & Pub (inthe Core), which has standard American fare withan Irish influence. Fat Tuesday, in Concourse B,offers New Orleans-inspired cuisine, such aspo’boys and gumbo soup. For really fast food,there’s always McDonald’s, Villa’s Pizza, Sbarroand the Madison Avenue Deli. For cocktails, headto Samuel Adams Brewhouse, T.G.I. Friday’s Pubor Hotlicks. If you prefer to imbibe a caffeinatedbeverage, Seattle’s Best coffee stands can be foundin three locations.

C O N T I N U E D The Best Airport Shopping


Special Features of the Pittsburgh International AirportAirport fitness: A 2,700-square-foot state-of-the-art fitness center where you can rent what you needto work out (see sidebar). Located in the CenterCore of the Lower Level of the Airside Terminal.

KidsPort – Play Center: The first U.S. airportwaiting area for travelers with kids in tow. Locatedin Concourse C, Airside Terminal.

Touch & Go: A massage service with licensedhealthcare professionals who administer foot, neckand back massages (see sidebar). Located onConcourse C, near Gate C54, Airside Terminal.

Denver: Mile High ShoppingDenver, sitting 5,280 feet above sea level, is knownas the “Mile High City.” It is the largest city inColorado and the state’s capital. Opened in 1995,the Denver International Airport (DEN) isrelatively new and offers many delights for thetraveler. In addition to its standout white roofdesigned to evoke the snow-capped peaks ofColorado’s Rocky Mountains, the Denver airport

also offers travelers the chance to pass over an activeairfield using a pedestrian bridge that connectsConcourse A to its main terminal. This airport isa major hub for United Airlines, which services gatesin Concourses A and B. Inside the main terminalis the second-largest art exhibit in Colorado, with26 permanent art installations.

In the way of shopping, the Denver InternationalAirport provides extensive and diverse options, withstores throughout the main terminal and each ofthe three concourses. In fact, more than at any otherU.S. airport, the shopping at Denver’s airportincludes stores that you are unlikely to find in otherU.S. cities, such as Colorado Colors, ColoradoCollections and Denver Pizzazz.

Several Western and nature-themed shops — Earth Spirit, Images of Nature, ColoradoWest and Way Out West, for example — allow you to take a little bit of the West home with you. Specialty shops includePawsitively Pets, BikeKulture and Toy Chest.Magazines and books can be found at the Peak Concepts Newsstand, Hudson Booksellers and Hudson News.



Characteristic of the airport’s unique approachto specializing in Denver-centric and Colorado-centric businesses, food choices feature suchestablishments as Lefty’s Mile High Grille, Denver’sPicture Show Popcorn and Rocky Mountain Choc-olate Factory. You’ll find some old familiars here,too, such as Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, PandaExpress, Taco Bell and TCBY. Seattle’s Best is inTerminal Level 5 as well as Concourse B, for adouble dose of caffeine if you need it. If you wantsomething a bit stronger, head to the www.CowBoyBar in Concourse A to check e-mail and multi-taska meal and drink at the same time. The Red RocksBar, Lefty’s Colorado Trails Bar & Grille and theColorado’s Sports Bar & Deli include other localoptions for a taste of more than Colorado.

Special Features of theDenver International AirportA Massage: If a regular back rub is not enoughto de-stress your aching shoulders and back, seethe chiropractor pre-flight. Located at the centerof Level 2 of Concourse B.

Hair Salon: If it happens to be a “bad hair day,”head to the hair salon located in A Massage.

InMotion Pictures: Comfortable movie kioskswhere you can rent a portable DVD player anda movie. Located in Concourses A and B.

Toronto: Canadian CultureAlthough it’s the largest city in Canada and locatedjust 90 minutes from Buffalo, New York, Torontois still “under the radar” for most United Statesresidents. However, as a multicultural metropolis(second only to Miami in foreign-born populationamong world cities) and cultural mecca, it’s a terrificspot to live, work or visit. Plus, it has a lowerviolent-crime rate than any major U.S. metropolitanarea and one of the lowest in Canada.

Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)is one of the world’s busiest airports, with morethan 28 million travelers passing through everyyear. After opening in 1939 as Malton Airport,the facility was renamed twice: first to TorontoInternational Airport and then again, in 1984, inhonor of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Today,it is often known simply as “Pearson.” TheInternational Air Transport Association ratedthe airport fourth in the world for fastest check-in, so you’ll probably end up with some time tokill, and fortunately there are a lot of options to choose from.

Pearson is particularly rich in shops celebratingCanada’s heritage. Arctic Nunavut has a wideselection of Inuit carvings, books, clothing andunique gifts. Canadian Scene represents thevarious ethnicities that contributed to Canada’shistory and culture, while Canada EH! has a

lighter take on the same theme. With a morelocal focus, Destination Toronto uses a “storewithin a store” model to offer original productlines like Red Rocket Souvenirs, Toronto SportsScene, Toronto Elements educational toys forkids and the Sandra Ainsley Gallery carryingfine art including blown-glass sculptures fromregional artists. For authentic Toronto MapleLeafs, Blue Jays or Raptors sportswear, headstraight to Official Sports. At The Travel Store,you can pick up any little necessity you forgot topack, replace the piece of luggage that somehowgot damaged en route or scoop up a travelgadget you didn’t even realize you needed untilyou saw it.

You can get a taste of Toronto before you evenreach the city, in the airport’s mini-food courts.Kensington Market replicates the internationalflavor of the city landmark with Zyng Noodles,Mediterranean Grill, Giovanna Pizza and Starbucks.Passport of Yorkville represents that neighborhoodwith Yorkville Juice Bar, Expedia.ca, WolfgangPuck and, oh, another Starbucks. If that doesn’tsound like enough to satisfy your hunger, don’tworry: Pearson is loaded with restaurant choicessuch as Café Ritazza, Casey’s On Stage, Quayside,Toast Café and Meteor Diner. For a Canadian takeon coffee and donuts, stop by Tim Hortons.Offbeat eateries include Hogtown & Coyote Jack’sand Kensington Bakeworks. If you’re homesickfor the United States, try Fridays American Bar orPumpernickel’s Deli, and did I mention Starbucks?

Like the city itself, Toronto Pearson InternationalAirport isn’t flashy or pretentious, but it has morethan enough variety and novelty to impress themost jaded business traveler.

Special Features of theToronto Pearson International AirportToronto Elements: Educational toys that can befound in “Destination Toronto,” a store withina store. Located in Terminal 1.

Sandra Ainsley Gallery: Also found in “Destin-ation Toronto,” a gallery featuring high-endglass sculptures, vases and bowls. Located inTerminal 1.

Arctic Nunavut: A store that reflects nativeCanadian culture with handcrafted items and gifts.Run by the Nunavut Development Corporation.Located in Terminal 3.

Hong Kong: Capitalist ChinaOriginally part of China, and then a British colony,the small but densely populated port of HongKong reverted to the Peoples’ Republic of Chinain 1997 and is now a “Special AdministrativeRegion,” formally part of China but with anunusual level of autonomy.

The Hong Kong International Airport (HKG),built on the largely artificial island of Chek LapKok, opened for business in 1998 and rapidlybecame one of the world’s busiest and most popularairports. It is the primary hub for Cathay Pacificand Dragonair, as well as many smaller airlines.More than 34 million passengers a year take offor land at HKG, which has been selected theworld’s best airport every year from 2001 to2005 by UK-based research company Skytrax.

Shopping and dining at Hong KongInternational are centered in theenormous SkyMart, whichoccupies 39,000 square meterswith 160 stores and forty eateries.Fashionistas rejoice: Practicallyevery high-end shop you can nameis present, from Fendi and Guccito Burberry, Hermès and ShanghaiTang. Jewelry options cover theglobally recognized brands —such as Tiffany and Cartier —as well as local stores you’reunlikely to find in any otherairport: Chow Sang Sang, ChowTai Fook and Luk Fook Jewelry& Goldsmith. Consumer elec-tronics are also easy to find, withstores like Sound & Vision andFortress supplying top-shelf audio-visual products and appliances atrock-bottom prices. For a mementoor quick gift, pick up Chinesearts and crafts or a souvenir T-shirt at DFS Canton Market.

Whether you need to grabsomething in a hurry or have timefor a leisurely meal, there’s noend of traditional dining options.Ajisen Ramen is renowned bylocals and visitors alike for itsnoodle dishes, and Banana LeafAsian Food Square is the ultimatein self-service, pan-Asian mealson the go. Full-service restaurantsinclude Hang Heung Kitchen,Ah Yee Leng Tong and Hui LauShan (try their fresh fruit dessertmenu). If you’re more in the moodfor Western cuisine, there’severything from Burger Kingand Popeye’s up to A HerefordBeefstouw Steak House. Liquidrefreshment is readily available at Katie O’Connor’s Irish Pubor Toro Bar & Seafood House.

Just looking for a snack? Forsomething exotic, swing byBamboo Garden Icy-Crispy

Dragon Beard Candy or Wing Wing Wah, wherethe mooncakes are made with white lotus seedpaste. Or stick with the tried and true: there’s a7-Eleven open ‘round the clock.

If you end up spending more than you planned,it’s easy to find an ATM or a currency exchangeanywhere in the airport. And you can save big on taxes: as one of the most unregulatedeconomies in the world, Hong Kong is alreadyessentially a duty-free zone, inside or outside the duty-free shops.

C O N T I N U E D The Best Airport Shopping



Special Features of the Hong Kong International AirportChinese herbal and health products: EuYan Sang (Departures East Hall, Level6) specializes in herbal remedies, andon the Departures West Hall (Level 6),you’ll find Oriental Healing Arts andOriental Massage Centre.

Luxury brands: The DFS Galleriahosts boutiques for upscale names likeBvlgari, Dior, Gucci and SalvatoreFerragamo. Located in the DeparturesCheck-In Hall (Level 7).

Shower and snooze: For premiumpre- or post-flight pampering, the PlazaShower and Relaxation Lounge offersshower rooms, a mini-salon and semi-private rooms for napping. Located atthe Level 7 Departures West Hall, nearGate 60. Set an alarm so you don’tsleep past your departure time!

Airports on the Web

DomesticDenver International Airport (DEN)

http://www.flydenver.comOrlando International Airport (MCO)

http://www.orlandoairports.netPittsburgh International Airport (PIT)

http://www.pitairport.com

InternationalHong Kong International Airport (HKG)

http://www.hongkongairport.comToronto International Airport (YYZ)

http://www.gtaa.com

Out-of-the-Ordinary AirportFacilities and Services

Admit it, you really wanted tobe an astronaut. Well, get asclose as you can at the KennedySpace Center Space Shop inOrlando International Airport.In addition to the usual trinkets— calendars, coffee mugs, etc.— you can pick up one-of-a-kind memorabilia like a SaturnV scale replica ($139) or a BuzzAldrin signed photo ($595). Foryounger members of the family,there’s the children’s flight suit($49.99) and the ever-popular(for some reason) freeze-driedice cream ($2.99). (East Hall,Main Terminal)

For the tired traveler withsome spare time, the PittsburghInternational Airport offers“Touch & Go,” a massageservice with licensed healthcareprofessionals who administerfoot, neck and back massages.They also carry a line ofskincare products, as well asvitamins and nutritionalsupplements from Physiologicsand Douglas Laboratories.(Located on Concourse C, nearGate C54, Airside Terminal)

The Pittsburgh InternationalAirport also offers a 2,700-square-foot state-of-the-artfitness center for travelers andairport employees alike. No needto bring your own gym clothesor shoes; they’re rentable.Toiletries are complimentary,along with locker rooms,showers and luggage storagefacilities. (Located in the CenterCore of the Lower Level of theAirside Terminal)

Feel like watching a movieduring a long layover? If you’rein the Denver InternationalAirport, that’s easy to do bymaking your way over toConcourses A or B and rentinga movie and a portable DVDplayer at “InMotion Pictures”movie kiosks. Nothing to rewind!

• INDUSTRY CALENDAR •

MARCHESOMAR Asia-Pacific ConferenceMarch 19–21, Mumbaiwww.esomar.org

Conference on MarketingThe Institute for International ResearchMarch 20–22, Las Vegas, NVwww.theconferenceonmarketing.com

ARF Annual ConferenceThe Advertising Research FoundationMarch 20–22, New York, NYwww.thearf.org/conferences/annual

MRS Annual ConferenceBritain’s Market Research SocietyMarch 22–24, Londonwww.www.mrs.org.uk/res06/

MAY 2006ESOMAR Research Innovation ConferenceMay 10–12, Miami, FLwww.esomar.org

MRIA Annual ConferenceCanada’s Marketing Research and Intelligence AssociationMay 31–June 2, Calgarywww.mria-arim.ca

JUNE 2006AQR Trends Day ConferenceJune 14, Londonhttp://aqr.org.uk/

Annual MRA ConferenceMarketing Research AssociationJune 14–16, Washington, D.C.www.mra-net.org

• EDITORIAL GUIDELINES •

Call for Authors: Publishing Opportunitiesditorial content for QRCA VIEWS is managedby an editorial team that includes the editor-in-chief, managing editor, copy editor, contributingeditor, and the features editors for each of

VIEWS’ regular columns such as The Qualitative ToolBox and Tech Talk.

VIEWS’ editors welcome QRCA members andmembers of the marketing research community tosubmit article ideas or manuscripts for consideration.

We review each manuscript on an individual basis toensure that the article conforms to VIEWS’ mission andgoals as well as to the topic mix needed for each issue.Occasionally, we may save a manuscript to use in afuture issue. We reserve the right to edit any manuscriptor to change the title.

Submissions should be objectively written andsupported by case-study examples. Self-serving articlesor those that promote a moderator’s or a researchcompany’s expertise will not be published in VIEWS.

Please remember that it takes a good deal of time for oureditors to read through all the submissions. We will let youknow as quickly as possible whether or not your article hasbeen accepted for publication in QRCA VIEWS.

Submitting a ManuscriptPlease send articles via email as an attached Word file tothe attention of Lana Limpert at [email protected]

• The preferred article length is 1,500–2,500 words. • To make sure that your manuscript can be easily identified and retrieved once it has beendownloaded in our “Article Submissions Folder,”your Word document/file attachments should belabeled as follows:

Brief title.Last name of author.doc

• Please be sure to tag each page of your manuscriptwith a left header that identifies the article titleand author’s last name and a right header with thepage number.• In addition to the title of the article, the front page of your manuscript should include the author’sfull name, full company name and address, phonenumber, and email address.• Please use only simple formats in your Worddocuments. Avoid using unusual indentations ortabulations as well as outline-style paragraphs withsubsets, boxes, or other page graphics. When theediting process has been completed, VIEWS’ graphicdesigners will format your manuscript so that it willbe attractive and easy to read.• Include your full name, company name and mailingaddress at the bottom of your manuscript. If your articleis published, in appreciation of your contribution, wewill send you three complimentary copies via U.S. mail.

FAQs about Article SubmissionsWill I see my article before it is published in QRCAVIEWS? No, our tight publication schedule does notallow for author review of edited manuscripts.

Will I be paid for the time and effort I put into writingthe article? No. Like most professional associationpublications, VIEWS does not pay contributors.However, since the magazine is distributed broadly inthe research community, you will gain a good deal ofvisibility as a result of being published in Views.

Can I submit an outline for consideration before I submit the completed article? Yes, you may submit a 50-100 word description of your story idea to theappropriate features editor.

My article was published in another journal ormagazine. Can I send it to VIEWS? No. We don’thave the resources to deal with the complicatedcopyright issues raised by articles that werepublished elsewhere. An article is considered“previously published” if it was published before in another print or online trade journal, magazine,or newspaper. However, if you have substantiallyrewritten the article before submitting it to VIEWS,we will consider it. Should this be the case with amanuscript that you are submitting to VIEWS, pleaseinform us. Along with the rewritten manuscript, please enclose a copy of the article as it was first published.

Writing Style Guidelines• Write in the present tense and use the activevoice as much as possible. Avoid the use ofcontractions, i.e., don’t, wouldn’t, can’t, etc.• Footnotes, endnotes, or lists of references arenot necessary in a trade magazine such as VIEWS.• Make liberal use of topic subheads to helpreaders scan your article and follow your main points easily.Please direct your queries and/or submit yourmanuscript to Editor-in-Chief Lana Limpert,[email protected]

Electronic Article ReprintsAuthors who publish in VIEWS now have theopportunity to obtain a PDF file of their article asit appeared in the magazine. The cost to authors for an electronic article reprint in PDF format is$50. Please direct your request by email to EddieCoutras at Leading Edge Communications, [email protected].

We look forward to working with you!

E


Index of Advertisers20/20 Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 www.2020research.com

About Orlando Market Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 www.aboutorlandoresearch.com

Accudata Market Research Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 www.accudata.net

Active Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover, 48-49 www.activegroup.net

Advanced Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 www.advancedfocus.com

Atkins Research Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 www.atkinsresearchinc.com

Baltimore Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 www.baltimoreresearch.com

Bernett Research Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 www.bernett.com

Consumer Opinion Services, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 www.cosvc.com

Copley Focus Centers, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 www.copleyfocuscenters.com

Creative Consumer Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 www.ccrsurveys.com

Crimmins & Forman Market Research Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 www.crimminsandforman.com

Delve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 www.delve.com

Doyle Research Associates, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Ecker and Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 www.eckersf.com

Everyfinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 www.everyfinder.com

Field & Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 www.field-n-focus.com

Fieldwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 www.fieldwork.com

First Choice Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Flagship Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 www.flagshipresearch.com

Fleischman Field Research, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 www.ffrsf.com

Focus Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Focus Groups of Cleveland Survey Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.focusgroupsofcleveland.com

Focus Market Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 www.focusmarketresearch.com

Focus Pointe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 www.focuspointe.net

Focuscope, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 www.focuscope.com

FocusVision Worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover, 5, 31 www.focusvision.com

Gongos and Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 www.gongos.com

Group Dynamics In Focus, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 www.groupdynamics.com

Group Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 www.group-net.com

Hill Research Focus Group Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 www.hillresearch.com

Home Arts Guild Research Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 www.hagrc.com

InterClipper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 www.VicCD.com

Jay Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 [email protected]

JRA, J. Reckner Associates, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 www.reckner.com

Leibowitz Market Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 www.leibowitz-research.com

Market Resource Associates, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 www.mraonline.com

Market View, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 www.emarketview.com

Market Vision/Gateway Research, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 www.marketvisionresearch.com

Mars Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 www.marsresearch.com

MBC Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 www.mbcresearch.com

Meadowlands Consumer Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 www.meadowcc.com

Morpace International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 www.morpace.com

MRC Group Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 www.mrcgroup.com

MRT Services, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.mrtservices.com

Murray Hill Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 www.murrayhillcenter.com

National Data Research, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 www.national-data.net

National Field & Focus Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 www.nff-inc.com

NSON Opinion Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 www.nsoninfo.com

O’Hare In Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 www.ohareinfocus.com

Observation Baltimore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 www.observationbaltimore.com

Opinions of Sacramento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 www.opinionsofsac.com

Opinions Unlimited, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Precision Research, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 www.preres.com

RDD VuPoint Portland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Sabena Qualitative Research Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 www.qual.com

Schlesinger Associates, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 www.schlesingerassociates.com

Suburban Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.subassoc.com

Taylor Research, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 www.taylorresearch.com

The Focus Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 www.thefocusnetwork.com

The Wedewer Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 www.wedewergroup.com

Tragon Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 www.tragon.com

Trotta Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 www.trotta.net

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