Fall 2011
NorthWest MRA Topline
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Table of Contents
We Have Ways Of Making You Talk
Interview with a new member – Kassie Chaney
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Message from the President
As you may or may not know, the new NorthWest MRA board year just started July 1. I’m excited to lead such a talented and motivated Board of Directors this year, but our Chapter is nothing without the support of our Members.
Thanks to the outstanding leadership of last year’s president, Amanda Durkee, our Chapter is in excellent shape. So with that, we are giving back to our members. Yes – YOU! You may have already noticed that our meet and greet events this year have been free for MRA members, whereas there that was not the case in years past. You will see more of this throughout the year as we offer events at no or low cost for MRA members. This is our way of saying THANK YOU for supporting us with your membership.
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Editor’s Note
This Fall edition of our Topline is the first under the watch of our new President Jeff Spitzer. As we usher in a new year of Topline, we have made some design changes as well as a few new features. We have a great article from our President Elect Chris Robson. Chris always has a fresh point of view and this article is no exception. As always we would like to welcome new members to our chapter with a list of all new members but we have added a new member profile and interview of one of our newest members- Kassie Chaney.
Thanks to the event organizers for sending pictures and a little snippet about our Summer Meet and Greets in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. Stay tuned to our website NorthWest MRA for upcoming events.
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We Have Ways Of Making You Talk
We are living in very exciting times. People are more connected than ever. There are more conversations going on than we could have even imagined a few years ago. People are sharing more and more about themselves with their peers – and often with the whole online world. Whatever you are interested in, someone is right now sharing an opinion. And a hundred other people are chiming in with their own opinions.
It seems like every day there is a new start-up, offering people the ability to share some new aspect of their lives. Some of these probably leave you scratching your head – like Blippy.com, which allows you to share your credit card transactions with the world, or MyFreeImplants.com, which allows … well you can work that out for yourself.
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Interview with a new member – Kassie Chaney
How did you get started in Market Research?
With a background in Psychology and Sociology and a long-standing interest in mass media/mass communications, I’m surprised I didn’t know about market research years ago. I started my research career in a non-profit, education policy research institute. I loved the day-to-day of my work but over the years, I realized I preferred to work in a field where I could see a more immediate impact of the research. Market research seemed like a great fit, combining many of the research skills I already had and focusing them on industries that are looking for real-time insights and course corrections.
What do you feel is the biggest challenge/area of concern for our industry?
I’m still pretty new to the industry, but it seems like an interesting time to be in market research. New technologies and capabilities are intersecting with our work and I wonder how we, as an industry, will respond? I’m excited by researchers who are trying to incorporate new capabilities into our industry and hope to see more of that trend.
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Fall Meet and Greets!
This year, we will be offering many free or low cost events to our members as part of the NorthWest Chapter’s goal of increased member participation and value. August kicked off this board year with our summer meet and greets – pictures and info from Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco events are below!
PORTLAND
On August 16, the NorthWest MRA held its Portland summer networking mixer at the Ecotrust building in the Pearl District. The event was co-hosted by the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) Portland Chapter, and featured a joint panel discussion among public relations and market research executives about the impact of social media on research.
The event, titled “Not Your Father’s Marketing and Research Strategy” (Twitter: #nyfmrs) drew a record 89 attendees. The joint panel discussion covered topics such as:
- How social media tools are used in conjunction with traditional quantitative and qualitative research methods.
- How to determine when social media is the right method to use.
- How to put social media information in context (e.g., sentiment analysis, influencers, etc.)
- What deptartment should “own” social media in corporations (e.g., PR, sales, advertising, customer service, etc.)
SEATTLE
“Most recently the Seattle faction of the Northwest MRA event invited members to enjoy the racy comedic styling of Dat Phan at Bellevue’s Pallor Club Live. Besides being completely free for members and highly discounted admission and unlimited food and drink for non-members, the evening promised and delivered its attendees a memorable night out with new and old colleagues. Ixaris, a UK based organization that recently joined the Northwest MRA out of the Seattle market graciously sponsored the event. In addition to the core group committed members, new faces from the research community represented Microsoft, TNS, Market Decisions, GfK and Logic 20/20.”
BAY AREA
San Francisco had a successful Meet & Greet in August at MoMo’s Restaurant across the street from AT&T Park where the Giants were taking on the Astros. In the spirit of giving back to our membership, the event was free for Members and just $10 for Non-Members.
Heavy hors d’oeuvres and drinks were enjoyed as our 3 hour planned event lingered well into the evening! Many old friends were in attendance, as well as a number of new faces. Our private room and patio at MoMo’s provided the perfect atmosphere for networking and catching up with industry associates.
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New Members
Regan Funk, Consumer Insights Manager, iLoveToCreate
Kassie Chaney, Consultant, Zanthus
Branden Durst, Managing Partner, Rational Strategy Consulting
Chuck Bowden, Owner, Broad Reach Technical Communications and Research
Or Gorsky, Sr. Manager, Research Medallia, Inc.
Vanessa Lund, Research Director, Cocker Fennessy
Mike Mittelmark, Sample Sales Account Manager, MarketTools Inc.
Jill Gordon, Director, Field Service Lead, TNS – North America Operations
David Brudenell, EVP Global Sales & Marketing, pureprofile
Andres Grunbaum, Client Services & Delivery Manager, pureprofile
Richard Maullin, President, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, Inc
Misha Neverov, Managing Partner, Amry Research
Jane Ronquillo, Manager, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc
Ksenia Senesiuk, Director of Operations, Amry Research
Dwight Hyland, Product Manager, NoteWorld Servicing Center
Terence McCarron, SVP, North America, CINT
Jim Topitzes, Student,
Sandy Intraversato, VP, Client Development, BuzzBack Market Research
Erica Nelson, Director, Comsumer Insights, Netflix
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Financial Reports
NorthWest Chapter Balance Sheet 2010-2011 Year End
NorthWest Chapter P&L 2010-2011 Year End
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Message from the President Continued
We are also giving back in other ways. Did you know that we have a Professional Development Program which is designed to reimburse members for qualified expenses associated with educational courses, seminars, specialized training, etc? We literally want to give you money – take it! We also have scholarship partnerships with Oregon State University and the University of Washington and will be adding a third school this year.
We want, no – we NEED to hear from you, so we are launching our member assessment survey in the coming months. Please keep an eye out for it and take a few minutes to complete it. Your feedback is vital in helping us to provide you with relevant events and content throughout the year.
But I don’t want to wait for the assessment survey; I’d like to hear from you right now. Whether you have a comment, suggestion, complaint, whatever – email me directly and let me know. In fact, just click here and shoot me a note to let me know you read this article.
I’m excited about the things we are going to accomplish this year, but I want to make sure we are addressing the needs of you, our members. So please do provide us with your feedback. This organization is nothing with your input and support.
Jeff Spitzer
Universal Survey
President, NorthWest MRA
By the way, the NorthWest Chapter now has a presence on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Take a moment and connect with us!
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Editor’s Note Continued
As always we have information on our financial status from our tireless treasurer Michaelyn Williams. On the Treasurer note, Michaelyn has served as treasurer for the last several years and we need to give her a break. We are looking for volunteers to fill that role. If you or someone you know is interested, please e-mail us here.
Keeping an industry newsletter relevant and interesting is definitely a challenge. We definitely welcome any feedback, suggestions, article submissions, etc. We are also looking for volunteers to help put the quarterly newsletter together. If you would like to help, please e-mail me here.
Brian Parker
watchLAB Studios
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We Have Ways Of Making You Talk Article Continued
So with all this sharing of opinions and information, it should be a golden age for researchers. Shouldn’t it? We all know that the truth is that we, as an industry, are struggling to get respondents to talk with us. We even have a rather ominous phrase for the problem – respondent cooperation. We want them to cooperate with us. Even the word ‘cooperation’ conjures up sinister pictures of interrogations. “This survey will go a lot easier for you if only you would choose to cooperate…”
It begs the question: In a time when people are so willing to share so much about themselves, why are we finding it hard to get people to talk with us?
A clue to what may be wrong here is that the joke I made earlier. Surveys as ‘interrogations’ isn’t so far from the truth. When we run a quantitative study we don’t have a conversation with our respondents, we interrogate them. We don’t ask for their opinion and listen; instead we give them huge matrices of confusing radio-buttons. If they have something to say that’s not on our list of things to ask, we don’t hear it. Worst of all, we overstay our welcome. Recent research from Lightspeed Research* shows that people start tuning out after 15 minutes of an online survey, yet we routinely try to keep quizzing them for half an hour or more.
It is time that as an industry we start to get more in tune with the zeitgeist, and recognize that people want authentic conversations, not interrogations. Time that we start to acknowledge that there is information already out there, even before we ask the questions. Several research companies have begun the charge, their cry being “Listen More, Ask Less”. Consider joining in – this is an exciting time for information sharing, and it should be an exciting time for the research industry. There is much to be done, and there are bound to be some obstacles on the way. Here are a few ideas to help you stay ahead:
- Be informed: Even though some developments may cause you to roll your eyes, keep an active eye on all that is happening (How many of us dismissed Twitter a year ago, only to realize it’s importance now?);
- Think conversations, not interrogations: How can you rethink your survey instruments so they are more approachable and pleasing to participate in?
- Don’t ask questions when you can get what you need by just listening. Be creative in where you get information from. For instance, rather than asking a long survey on satisfaction, why not start with analyzing the text of support calls?
- Be the expert: Don’t incorporate every last bit of input from a stakeholder team so that you end up with a long, difficult survey. Re-focus the team on core research objectives to generate a short, snappy survey instead. It will yield better results.
- Stay on top of new technologies: A great example is Text Analysis. It is still early days, but trust me it will be your friend soon;
- Most of all, participate. Don’t just see new media as a research opportunity; see it as something you can give back to. Dive on in!
(*)Steve McHugh & Mike MacLeod, ‘Bad Respondents’, MRA Webinar August 2011
Chris Robson is co-founder and Chief Scientist at Parametric Marketing LLC, a market research and data sciences company. You can contact him at Chris.Robson@ParametricMR.com, or follow him on Twitter.
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Interview with a new member – Kassie Chaney Continued
What is your first impression of the MRA/ Northwest MRA chapter?
I’ve attended several networking events and educational conferences sponsored by the NWMRA and really enjoyed them. It is such a pleasure to have great colleagues in the industry who are smart and fun. One of the reasons I was motivated to join the MRA was because of the great experiences I’ve had with other MRA members.
What are you hoping to get from your involvement in the MRA?
I’m looking forward to being more involved in the MRA, both through continuing participation in events, conferences, etc. and in stepping up my contributions to the association through volunteering. I also look forward to learning more about how the association operates and supports the work of our industry.
Give us a story, something amusing?
On my way to a recent NWMRA event, I was stopped by a gentleman checking out our building (a historic location in downtown Portland). He asked me a little about the building and the kinds of business who work here. After noting some of the businesses that share the building, I mentioned that I work at Zanthus, a market research firm. It was clear he wasn’t familiar with market research, so I tried to relate it to products or marketing that would be familiar such as testing an advertisement he might see on TV or his experience using a product. He thought about it for a few seconds, and then asked “You mean, like the people who stop you in the mall?” I couldn’t help but laugh – this wasn’t the first time that I’ve had someone associate what I do with mall interceptors (though I’ve never done intercepts myself). “Something like that,” I smiled, “except now it’s more likely to be on the Internet or maybe over the phone.” That seemed to help his understanding, but I wonder if, similar to the conversation with this man, what we do makes sense to the general public?
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to travel – I only wish I could do more of it! I love to read and watch movies. I am particularly fond of “geek” popular culture, so most of what I read, watch, play, and write about is typically related to that in some way. I also recently started doing yoga and hope to get to know more about hiking trails in the area.
Tell us about someone who has influenced you?
I’ve had a lot of great mentors over the year. One person who stands out is Jennifer, a woman I worked with years ago. I learned so much working with her – everything from engaging people during qualitative work to analyzing and writing up results. Her mentorship and guidance had a lasting impression on me and I think I’m a better researcher for it.
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