Archive for May, 2010

Why we do of course.  The “we” in this case is the researcher who uses sample in a research study to advise a client.  Ignorance is no protection.

But let’s face it. We have never taken responsibility for the online samples that we purchase.  After all, we have no access to the secret brew that the panel companies use in putting together their sampling soup.

This strategy might have been viable in years past.  But the data is amassing that proves that the panels differ and that demography alone will not suffice to define the sample we get.

We already said that we agree with SSI’s Dynamix™.   But let’s understand that it is not only a good research idea but a hell of a good business proposition.  Let’s face it, we have to find a way to incorporate social networks into the sampling frame.  Even better, we have to get river into the deal.

Dynamix™ , if it works, could just do the trick.   If respondents really could be characterized on the fly without taking up too much questionnaire landscape then we could assign respondents from social networks as they become available.  Not bad.

Brian Fine.  He speaks our language.  The guy from down under has got it right.  Brian is a respectable man who presents his science cautiously.  His talk, in partnership with JD Powers, provided a powerful message. 

Demographics are not enough to control variability in the sampling frame.  Behavioral overlays help soak up some of the variability. 

Brian you did it again.  Now do it some more.  

By the way, Fine just went out on his own and will soon deliver a probabilistic online panel under the name of Australia Online.   He will be the 59^th panel source in Australia by our count.  No problem. 

Brian believes, like we do, that the panels are different.   We are confident that Brian will make his very different.  If I was one of the other 58, I would watch Brian verrrrry carefully. 

Brian is in the quality business.  I guess you could say he is a competitor of ours.   We wish we had more competition like that.

With the economic recovery already peeking, we went in hope of seeing what changed.  Of course, we are thinking of only one issue.  Is there a switch from price to quality? 

We sell quality.  We are quite pleased to inform you that sales were good in Asia Pacific.   With pricing pressure starting to lift, there seems to be a move toward quality.  And yes, the end users drive the change.

Have faith.

The essence of Dynamix™   is rather simple.  Demographics will no longer explain enough of the variability we see in our data to use alone.  Therefore, we must rely on other models to capture some of the variability.  Thus behavioral, psychographic and other measures will be relied upon to build a sampling frame.  Good idea.  We agree.

Where were you when that happened?  That’s what a couple of hundred attendees heard when a key note speaker, an economist from HSBC, stationed in Kuala Lumpur, told an intrigued audience.  It seems that Asia has gone ahead without us in more ways than one.   Apparently they are no longer as dependent on us as they once were.   The economic engine is their own consumption and the Chinese are the driving force behind that engine. 

One need not go very far from the Marriott to feel what we were told.  Construction in the Malaysian capitol goes on feverishly all night and all day.  From my hotel room alone I could count no less than fifteen construction cranes towering over the city.

They have a park in the middle of that city.  Think Central Park New York, but no litter.  You wouldn’t dare.   No kidding.  They have teams of guys with special brooms sweeping continuously as the leaves fall.   The fountains are vacuumed every day.  The police blow whistles if you walk over designated paths with your shoes on.

Now we don’t want to be crude.  But a cop with a whistle better have a lot of friends if he thinks that his little musical instrument is going to slow someone down in New York.  I mean, forget about it.  But in Kuala Lumpur, the whistle goes off and off come the shoes.

ESOMAR in Bangkok never happened.  But Finn and his magical staff pulled off a neat hat trick by moving their convention from strife torn Bangkok, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Ten days before the convention all signals were go.  Attendees received notice on a Friday that we had the green light.   On Monday things had gone south, both the political climate in Bangkok, and ESOMAR.

We were sad that the InterContinental Hotel lost us.  Our understanding is that the team at ESOMAR made the right call.  The Inter Continental was the scene of riots and violence.  We do not understand the issues in Bangkok but wish peace to that city and its people.

Stop reading this blog immediately and download the compendium written by Reg Baker.  It is must reading.  Then let’s talk about it.  Deal?

Now here’s an idea.  SSI meet Peanut Labs.  If anyone can come up with a way to classify social network respondents then we know who has millions of them to spare.

The weakness in social network respondents is that they are not willing to sit around and do countless surveys.  In fact, they are not part of the market research panel universe.  Just about everyone wants to ‘riverize’ them and we hope that someone pulls it off.  They would make a great resource. 

Flash!!!  Here’s another idea.

Maybe the folks at DMS should get together with the people at Peanut Labs.  After all, few people know river better than they do!