by Richard Jenkins | Jul 14, 2010 | Consumer and brand behaviour
Recently the Centre for Disease Control released updated information on the proportion of the United States who rely on wireless or cell phones for their telephone access at home. The research found that at the end of 2009, 25 per cent of American households (up from...
by Richard Jenkins | Jul 7, 2010 | Industry News and Trends
The future of market research will not just be determined by the data collection modes we will use. The future is not about telephone or online. It is about how we work and how we position ourselves. Size will matter but bigger won’t always be better. Several years...
by Richard Jenkins | Jun 15, 2010 | Consumer and brand behaviour, Public Policy
Apps are the new Internet. Actually, they are transforming it from what has largely been a shared space (public websites, social communities, and email communications) to something more. Apps often use the Internet to deliver experiences and now more than ever...
by Richard Jenkins | Jun 9, 2010 | Consumer and brand behaviour
The recent release of the Ipad in Canada highlights the continued relevance of the Internet and web-enabled devices for Canadians. It comes as Canadians gradually (though not completely) move online according to Statistics Canada. The Internet savvy will be surprised,...
by Richard Jenkins | Jun 3, 2010 | Industry News and Trends
If market research organizations are going to become more like consulting companies (providing value and added insight) and less like data collection companies, they must shed their inverted pyramid client service models in favour of true teams. Not all firms work...
by Richard Jenkins | May 19, 2010 | Industry News and Trends, Survey methodology
There is a natural temptation to glaze into the future and make predictions. Many of these regarding the telephone survey are not positive. “Eighty per cent of Canadians are online. The telephone polling industry will be largely dead and gone in five years. The...
by Richard Jenkins | May 13, 2010 | Industry News and Trends
It may seem paradoxical but the do-it-yourself (DIY) online survey applications are not all bad for the market research industry. Even if small boutique firms like mine often do not use the tools themselves, preferring to out-source to someone who can manage the whole...
by Richard Jenkins | May 6, 2010 | Public Policy
When governments back down from a policy announcement or change it has the media image of the people’s will being brought to bear against an out of touch government; something, perhaps, to applaud. When governments back down from a policy, especially when they did not...
by Richard Jenkins | Apr 28, 2010 | Public Policy
Yesterday, the Conference Board of Canada issued a news release indicating that confidence in Canada “took a dive in April”. This counters somewhat the findings from the most recent TNS poll which shows confidence at its highest level since April 2008. Survey timing,...
by Richard Jenkins | Apr 17, 2010 | Consumer and brand behaviour
Chances are that the following happens to you when it comes to grocery shopping. You were the happy purchaser of product ‘x’ until your store decided not to carry it anymore. Your choice was either to substitute (either with a different brand or different product) or...
