Comments for Quirks Marketing Research Review Blog

Comment on Will Salt Sugar Fat bring heat on marketing research? by Wes Michael

Wes Michael — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:24:27 +0000

It was indeed an interesting article. But there are ways that market researchers can be on the side of good. I recall research done years ago when I was at General Mills. We were able to reduce the sugar in Kix cereal by putting it on the outside rather than equally throughout the corn puff. We were able to use consumer research to confirm that the lower sugar version was equally preferred.

Comment on Admitting defeat: JCPenney abandons ‘Fair and Square’ by Mary Aviles

Mary Aviles — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:39:50 +0000

I’ve been following JCP’s activity as well and I think, as you pointed out: (It’s simply going to take more than a year and more than one retailer’s efforts to change the way I – and most likely the rest of America – think about promotions, pricing and what constitutes a good deal.) time and commitment to a course of action is critical. I’m not sure they gave Fair and Square enough of either.

Comment on Do elections bring out the worst in research? by Rob Bixler

Rob Bixler — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 20:13:34 +0000

Pollsters typically only call registered voters who voted in the last election. Their goal is to predict the election. They only care about your prediction of how you will vote. There are certainly telephone surverys conducted in elections that are used to test messages and whether messages shift your intentions to vote for a candidate.

No telling what this actually was, but that you were just asked one or two questions is not that unusual.

Comment on Smash Mute: What is shutting up the ads worth to you? by AlyR

AlyR — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 02:43:02 +0000

Hmmm, the Smash Mute sounds like a very interesting idea, but I don’t think I would shell out any money for it for two reasons. One reason is because like mentioned my TV already has a mute button if I wanted to use it, and two, I have one of those Hopper DVR’s from DISH with Auto Hop. I used to be able to sit through commercials, but these days it seems like there are more of them than the actual show I’m watching. That’s why when one of the gals I work with at DISH recommended I upgrade to a Hopper it was a no-brainer for me. PrimeTime Anytime and Auto Hop are my favorite features because not only do I not have to setup individual recordings for my primetime shows on the major networks, but I also don’t have to sit through the nonsense of commercials anymore the day after. I’ll be happy when the day comes that I don’t have to watch commercials on any of the TV channels I pay for!

Comment on Do elections bring out the worst in research? by Annie Pettit

Annie Pettit — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:12:46 +0000

Well, this clearly wasn’t a call from a registered market research company. There are very strict guidelines on how they must identify themselves and this didn’t meet those criteria. So, as a measure of people who aren’t in the market research industry attempting to conduct research, it’s probably fair to say that the quality just isn’t there. Oh yeah, ANYONE can do research. #Sarcasm

Comment on Acquisitions fueling research company growth by Nolan Ryder

Nolan Ryder — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:58:56 +0000

I really appreciate all that information. And just as a side note, I’ve been looking for some product research guidance in chicago. I’m really interested in marketing and how focus groups work.

Comment on Mountain Dew crowdsourcing project goes off the rails by David

David — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 22:57:20 +0000

In terms of creating a new name, it’s undoubtedly a failure. In terms of creating word of mouth and press, it’s at least a partial success (assuming you subscribe to the “no such thing as bad press” philosophy). As was mentioned, for a brand like Mtn Dew, it probably didn’t hurt their image that much, if at all.

It was risky, but at the same time there was a lot of upside potential had it worked. For the right brand, that’s probably worth the risk. Similar to market research, when you take the chance sometimes you fail and sometimes you come out with some great insight that a “safe” method may not have unveiled.

Comment on Mountain Dew crowdsourcing project goes off the rails by Pat Kidd

Pat Kidd — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:15:41 +0000

If anything, this is a good argument for keeping NPD crowdsourcing in a relatively controlled environment (e.g. online community).

Comment on Mountain Dew crowdsourcing project goes off the rails by The Immorality Of Laughing At Corporate PR | Irregular Times

The Immorality Of Laughing At Corporate PR | Irregular Times — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 11:44:02 +0000

[...] a recent article, Goon writes about the “immorality” of a recent rebellion against Dub The Dew, a public [...]

Comment on This executive understands how to use research by Jenny Irons

Jenny Irons — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 22:15:17 +0000

I have spent the last twenty years listening to people tell me what they think they think and for about nineteen of those years it has been quite apparent to me that they can only tell us “what” and “how” but really very few can tell us “Why”….that is our job as qualitative researchers – to observe, listen, question and give meaning and context around the “Why” in order to tell our clients “what next”.
Jen