In this September’s issue of Admap Face’s very own Andrew Needham has written an article on how digital media allows deeper engagement with research respondents using techniques such as co-creation and crowd sourcing. We thought we would give you a little taster of the article and if you’d like to go for the full course then pick up a copy of this months Admap magazine!

Web2.0 and Social Media Create New Opportunities For Research

At the MRS Annual Conference earlier this year, there was a debate on ‘the opportunities, threats and ambitions for market research and innovation’. It became clear that empowered consumers and web 2.0 present the research industry with a challenge. Re- searchers are learning that the online world’s influence means that things need to change urgently in the face-to-face world of focus groups. This presents a threat and an opportunity. The threat is that the research industry will not embrace change fast enough. Research is rooted in thinking that pre-dates the web – find people, put them in a room with a two-way mirror and ask questions. Many forms of re- search are struggling because they are not engaging or interactive – the two things social media and web 2.0 have taught consumers to expect.

Case Studies

To help demonstrate the key points of the article Andrew gave examples of two of our case studies Unilver Surf where Face ran an online research community for 50 UK based women from different backgrounds. Another great example of co-creation is Face working with Britvic on their Tango brand. Click on the links to find out more.