Explaining people's behaviour is the basis of our industry. But that's not to say we don't appreciate a push in the right direction. Since the publication - and more importantly the runaway success - of Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, we've seen a boom in "idea books" looking to uncover organising principles behind behaviour and decision-making. We've also seen a revival of interest in the idea of the individual - a public intellectual - who can explain these things. Go to any research conference and half the speeches will cite at least one book or writer with the scoop on why people act how they do. Thinkers are in.
But which thinkers? Not only is there a glut of thought for researchers to choose from - drawing on disciplines from economics to physics to anthropology - there's also a huge role for fashion. Sometimes an idea is so successful that it enters general business vocabulary - the "long tail" and the "wisdom of crowds", for instance. Other times writers fall from grace: despite giving his new book the research-friendly title Outliers, Gladwell himself has hardly been mentioned at conferences this year.
This article is a - wholly unscientific - survey of who researchers' current top ten thinkers are, based on names dropped at the MRS, WARC and ARF conferences this past March. Anyone actually speaking at the conferences was disqualified - so the worthy likes of Mark Earls (Herd) and Charles Leadbeter (We-Think) miss out. We hope you find the list enlightening - whether as a pointer to summer reading, or a bluffer's guide for the next industry bunfight.
To continue reading, please visit Kantar.com, and navigate to What's New > Inspirations.
WPP Marketing Insights
Showing posts with label WPP Marketing Insights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WPP Marketing Insights. Show all posts
Friday, July 9, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
WPP Marketing Insights: Neuroscience: A New Perspective
The merits of neuroscience-based techniques continue to spark debate. New papers and articles persist in asserting that scientists' increased understanding of the brain will change marketing and the way we measure its results.
Logo - Millward Brown Martin Lindstrom's 2008 book Buyology makes a similarly strong claim: that neuroscience will play a revolutionary role in research and marketing in the future. As a result, many marketers are challenging accepted modes of advertising development and research on the grounds that "neuroscience says" that what we've done before is wrong.
However, we don't believe that marketers need to turn their backs on tried-and-true research techniques in favor of the apparent objectivity of neuroscience. Rather, marketers should use neuroscience-based research in conjunction with established techniques when (and only when) it adds value. If used in isolation, such methods can be hard to interpret, but when combined with qualitative or survey-based research, they can add a powerful new dimension of insight.
Which Methods to Use
In choosing among neuroscience–based techniques, we have found it useful to ask the following questions:
* Does the approach tell us something meaningful about brands or marketing?
* Does it tell us something we don't already know, and enough to justify its cost?
* Is it practical and scalable?
From among the many new techniques that have emerged from recent learning on the workings of the brain, we have identified three that meet all three of these tests. These are: implicit association measurement, eye-tracking, and brainwave measurement. When used in conjunction with established methods, these techniques can yield insights that lead to more effective marketing...Download the full report (pdf)
WPP Marketing Insights
Logo - Millward Brown Martin Lindstrom's 2008 book Buyology makes a similarly strong claim: that neuroscience will play a revolutionary role in research and marketing in the future. As a result, many marketers are challenging accepted modes of advertising development and research on the grounds that "neuroscience says" that what we've done before is wrong.
However, we don't believe that marketers need to turn their backs on tried-and-true research techniques in favor of the apparent objectivity of neuroscience. Rather, marketers should use neuroscience-based research in conjunction with established techniques when (and only when) it adds value. If used in isolation, such methods can be hard to interpret, but when combined with qualitative or survey-based research, they can add a powerful new dimension of insight.
Which Methods to Use
In choosing among neuroscience–based techniques, we have found it useful to ask the following questions:
* Does the approach tell us something meaningful about brands or marketing?
* Does it tell us something we don't already know, and enough to justify its cost?
* Is it practical and scalable?
From among the many new techniques that have emerged from recent learning on the workings of the brain, we have identified three that meet all three of these tests. These are: implicit association measurement, eye-tracking, and brainwave measurement. When used in conjunction with established methods, these techniques can yield insights that lead to more effective marketing...Download the full report (pdf)
WPP Marketing Insights
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