Why are research communities so hot today?

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Tom De Ruyck

We all know social media has gained considerable human relevance. User-created content, citizen journalism and online social interactions are embedded into the daily lives of consumers. And it goes without saying that these evolutions have and are still changing the entire market research process and industry. Market research has changed from asking questions to having conversations with consumers. And Online Research Communities have proven to be a viable environment to engage with consumers as well as marketing executives in a connected and participatory way. But what makes research communities so unique?Read more

ESOMAR CEE Research Forum 2013

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Natalie Mas

After the successful launch of the CEE Research Forum in Krakow in 2012, ESOMAR will return to the Central and Eastern European region this year to host the second edition (this year in Prague on 17 and 18 March). Our Head of Research Innovation & Division Manager of our Romanian office Annelies Verhaeghe is one of the program committee members of this year’s ESOMAR CEE Research Forum 2013. Next to that our ForwaR&D lab colleagues Tom De Ruyck and Anouk Willems were selected to host a workshop on MROCs the second day of the event (18 March).Read more

Community member of the year

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Henri Van Bost

Thousands of consumers have already participated in one of our Online Research Communities all around the world (in 25 countries this year alone). As we know how cool it is to receive awards for our hard work, we thought it is only fair that we pass this feeling on to our participants, a way of showing our (and our clients) appreciation for the value they bring to make better products/services and create more relevant marketing. Read more

3 ways how community members become co-researchers

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Anouk Willems

There will always be a gap between what a consumer is sharing and how a researcher understands it. This disparity is either created by a culture, generation and/or knowledge gap. These different gaps make it difficult for a researcher to put things in the right perspective. Here, community participants can help us out. By becoming our co-researcher, they can find more and new insights that would otherwise not have been captured. Customers feel empowered and honored when they are asked to become co-researchers. In this blog post series, our experience with co-researchers is illustrated in 3 case studies from Campbell’s, Air France and KLM and Philips.Read more

How online communities can shape your business

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Anke Moerdyck

Join Tom De Ruyck and Anouk Willems on Tuesday 6 November 2012 at the ESOMAR Qualitative Event in Amsterdam for a full day ESOMAR workshop. Tom & Anouk will guide you towards structural collaboration with your consumers. For us structural collaboration means the integration of the voice of the customer in all decision-making flows of your company. In most companies, customers are only allowed to give feedback at the very end of a decision making flow through traditional market research.Read more

How MROCs helped Heinz to bring their consumer to life

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Anouk Willems

Last week I already shared a review of the the Insights Valley Europe summit, offering 3 main trends that currently dominate our industry. One of the hot topics at the event was ‘Communities’, Discovery Channel and BBC News shared some great cases of how they ran their communities. Today I’d like to share more insights on the presentation of me and Joella Marsman from Heinz. Together, me and Joella presented a Heinz community case, with a specific focus on how to grow the value of a long-term community within an organization. Read more

Upcoming Webinar: The Consumer Consulting Board

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Natalie Mas

As our Head of Research Communities Tom De Ruyck is currently travelling around the world to present his new story ‘The Consumer Consulting Board’, we can now also anounce an upcoming webinar about this presentation, organized by MRA (the US Marketing Research Association). On Wednesday 26 September at 1 pm, Tom De Ruyck and Niels Schillewaert (Managing Partner USA) will explain everything about the success factors for structural collaboration with customers. When we talk about structural collaboration, we mean the integration of the voice of the customer in all decision-making flows of your company. We experienced that in most companies, customers are only allowed to give feedback at the very end of the decision making flow through traditional market research.

How to build research communities in Brazil

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Anneleen Boullart

In a previous blog we already talked about some general guidelines to consider when conducting Online Research Communities (MROCs) in BRIC countries. In this article we want to focus on Brazil as there are some important takeaways we should take into account when conducting MROCs in Brazil.

Conversation framework: Brazilians tend to have a flexible attitude; a very tight schedule doesn’t work for them. Therefore the conversation roadmap shouldn’t be fixed.
Recruitment: Brazil has the 2nd highest Facebook penetration in the world, after the US. Inviting participants through their social networks ensures a higher success rate.
Moderation: The talkative nature of Brazilians generates lots of interesting bottom-up discussions, but should be regulated by a moderator who functions as a guide. So keep the overview of the community and highlight the social corner.Read more

Innovation as a driving force for the future of BRICS

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Thomas Troch

Today leading figures in emerging markets are sharing their thoughts and experiences at the first edition of the innovaBRICS Conference, hosted in London. A great location to gather thought leaders on innovation in the BRICS countries, as it is no surprise that the London Olympics is ‘sandwiched’ between guest cities Beijing and Rio, according to Sir Edward Lister, Deputy Mayor of London. As a business hub, London is embracing their relationship with the BRICS countries. The thought-provoking conference agenda – with speakers ranging from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Vodafone Group to FIFA – inspired me to share some highlights of the first sessions.Read more

Immersion in the world of the coffee consumer

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Sébastien Van Laere

Last year we got a brief from D. E Master Blenders 1753 (an international coffee and tea company) for a challenging research project. D. E Master Blenders 1753, the ambitious company that they are, wanted a complete immersion in the world of the 21st century coffee consumer. The objective was to:

Gain understanding in the perception of the coffee category
Gain understanding in the consumption patterns of consumers
Explore how the different coffee categories can remain relevant
Chart the mental representations of the different brands
Gain understanding in the coffee shopper/experience
Connect with coffee lovers and understand their expectationsRead more

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