Using social media for market research and new product development: the case of Hallmark
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Transcript of Using social media for market research and new product development: the case of Hallmark
Hallmark‟s Journey into
Social Media
Experiences and Learnings
LISTENING
J.C. Hall
(1891 - 1982)
Social Media Listening
2000 - launched first consumer community for the purpose of
research.
2005 – pilot w/ Umbria to understand the Hallmark brand in the
social space.
2007 - pilot with Spiral 16 to understand Influential Bloggers.
2009 - major RFP with 8 vendors – find partner for research
and marketing.
2010 - consulted with Ben Smithee; contracted with Collective
Intellect for a look into holidays, ornaments.
1 Hard Question
“Is there a framework we can use to
understand social media data?”
3 “Simple” Questions
1. “Can we use social media sources to get
new product ideas?”
2. “Can we use social media data to create
marketing interventions „in season?‟”
3. “Could we use social media data to help
understand people and their lives?”
Hard Question
“Is there a framework we can use to
understand social media data?”
Discovery
Monitoring
Specific
Topic Open
Search
“Ocean”
of Data
Small “pond”
of data
Ways of approaching the data
Wh
at y
ou
’re
tryi
ng
to a
cco
mp
lish
Brand Reputation
KPI‟s
Understanding people
Uncovering white
space
Topics + dashboard
Social Media
Analysis
Space?
Source: Hallmark CU&I, 2010
Hallmark Social Media “Listening” Activities
Focus
We
Lead
Consumer
Leads
Breadth of Learning
Single
Stakeholder
Multiple
Stakeholders
Listening audit showed that
activities are many and varied
Hallmark
Initiated
Conversation
Consumer
Initiated
Conversation
Breadth of Learning
Single Stakeholder Multiple Stakeholders
Focus of Conversation
9
Dimensions of listening
Feedback is more about
the brand and rational
Discovery is more about the
consumer and emotional
Source: CEB
Listening activities tend to fall
towards feedback and tactical
Source: CEB
Research Landscape
Qualitative Quantitative
Structured Data – it is what we made it
Unstructured Data – it is what it is
Focus
Groups
Communities Ethnography
Observation
PA‟s
Multivariate
Trackers
……
Social Media
Where does social media data play in the research landscape?
3 “Simple” Questions
1. “Can we use social media sources to
get new product ideas?”
2. “Can we use social media data to
create marketing interventions „in
season?‟”
3. “Can we use social media data to help
understand people and their lives?”
What Did We Conclude?
• Getting “New” Product ideas is very hard!
• If you do lots of traditional research and ideation, chances are you’ve heard of thought of everything you will uncover through social media.
Some Thoughts on In-Season
Marketing
• Twitter promotional sweepstakes generated
major spikes in Hallmark Ornament Mentions
• Hallmark Gold Crown store visits emerged as
a conversational theme - how could that be
leveraged?
• Emotional connection to Hallmark brand
ornaments vs. those bought in Wal-Mart or
Target – how could that be leveraged?
• Focus on connecting the troops and their
families – what would that look like?
What Did We Conclude?
• Beware of making any marketing suggestions without having Marketing in the design and analysis discussions!
• Research in social media begins to “rub up against” Marketing and can create friction!
Thoughts Going Forward
What Have We Learned
About Social Media?
• There are new vendors emerging daily in
the social media listening space.
• Most vendors provide the same
capabilities – it is hard to find
differentiation.
What Have We Learned
About Social Media? • Social media data is messy (spam, advertising, porn,
context) and requires significant validation and cleaning – suppliers are getting better and better at this, but it is still an issue.
• Text analysis capabilities vary from vendor to vendor – you have to know what questions to ask to know what you‟re getting.
• Sentiment analysis is about 75-85% accurate (based on external research) and everybody does it at some level. It is of limited value.
• It is difficult to classify individual contributors – but not impossible, and it costs more. This capability is still emerging.
What Have We Learned
About Social Media?
• Clear and specific listening objectives are essential to getting meaningful data and information from listening efforts.
• Social media conversations can be very rich and could support many different aspects of our business.
• Getting meaningful learnings and insights is very time and labor intensive, despite the software tools. There is a learning curve!
Social Media Data is…
- Self-selecting/Opt-in –
- Participants who create social media content
must opt-in or choose to participate.
- They may or may not represent your target
consumer.
- They do not necessarily constitute a “probability
sample” of the population.
- The researcher is not establishing the topic and
controlling the conversation, but rather listening
to whatever is posted.
Social Media Data is…
+ Not recall-based –
– Recall data is known to be the least reliable
source of data.
– Recall is usually the result of some stimulus
(question, prototype) that can affect what the
respondent recalls (due to priming).
• Social media data is less subject to recall
biases and errors, as it usually represents
comments and observations made “in the
moment” or shortly thereafter.
Social Media Data is…
+ Longitudinal and Instance-based –
– Tradtional MR is usually instance-based
feedback/insights, social media research can
represent “flow of life.”
– There is a constant stream, or flow, of social
media data continually being created.
Social Media Data is…
+ Self-recording/Archival –
– Conversations, both public and private, within
the social media environment are archived and
available for others to consume at will.
– Conversations with people in traditional
research methods are recorded, but are
generally only available to permission-based
viewers/listeners.
– This creates an interesting blend of liability and
value to researchers and brands.
• Data Transparency –
• Data Ownership –
• Blurring Boundaries between Research and
Other Divisions –
Paradigm Shifts for the World of
Market Research
• Control of the Environment –
• Blurring of Qualitative and Quantitative –
• Re-thinking Sampling –
• Disproportionate Influence of Respondents
Paradigm Shifts for the World
of Market Research
• Shrinking space between brands and
people.
Social media has “leveled” the playing
field for both consumers and brands.
• Relationships are the Ultimate Sources of
Insights within Social Media –
Paradigm Shifts for the World of
Market Research
Food for Thought
Just as Technology is NOT an Idea, so Social
Media Listening is NOT an Idea! Both are
means to achieving whatever it is we want to
achieve!
Spectrum of Desired Outcomes
Protect the Brand
Understand People‟s Lives
Grow Revenue This Quarter
Resources:
People,
Time, &
Money
Food for Thought
http://www.slideshare.net/CuratingPixels/utilizing-social-media-
to-understand-people
http://bit.ly/UnderstandingPeople
Social Media Research White Paper
QUESTIONS? Tom Brailsford – Hallmark Cards, Inc.
816-274-3989
Presented at:
Market Research in the Mobile World 2nd International Conference | July 19 & 20, 2011 Atlanta
Organized by: Thank you to sponsors:
LinkedIn Group: Mobile MR
Upcoming Merlien Events: Merlien.org GreenBook Directory: GreenBook.org Market Research Blog: GreenBookBlog.org New Qual Blog & Directory: NewQualitative.org
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