Spot on Market Research, 1st Edition 2017
 

Spot On Market Research

1st Edition 2017

HIGH-LEVEL INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE ON A TRANSFORMING SECTOR

Ken Sonenclar, Oaklins’ market research specialist, is pleased to share some high-level industry intelligence in this edition of Spot On.

Long a backwater of marketing services, the Market Research (MR) industry has sprung to life over the past decade with a series of technological infusions. This revolution continues in every major market around the world. M&A activity has flourished in tandem with the proliferation of MR businesses and Oaklins’ firms have advised on many important deals.

This newsletter is highlighted by an overview of the key digital technologies transforming the sector. We also take note of recent MR deals led by Oaklins’ firms, focus on one recent cross-border transaction and track the world’s leading, publicly traded MR organizations.

Subsequent issues will continue to track this dynamic industry and emphasize critical trends.

DMR: THE NEW DIGITAL MARKET RESEARCH

Companies deploying an arsenal of pioneering techniques and technologies to collect and analyze customer feedback are reshaping the Market Research (MR) industry.

Much as we have seen the flight from traditional media to digital media with perhaps only TV enduring, we are now witnessing a shift to Digital Market Research (DMR), with some traditional approaches to MR enduring as well. Market research firms looking to serve clients with only traditional methods may linger on, but only as commoditized, low-value options.

Digital market research is not a single technique. It is instead a collection of innovations underpinned by a diverse mix of technologies, some of which have been brewing in computer labs for decades while others seem to have sprung to life overnight. This mixed bag includes web-based surveys, social media monitoring, computer vision, brain activity scanning, and the Internet of Things and Big Data.

Meanwhile, customer demand for market research that is faster (as close to real time as possible), better (more insightful) and cheaper (always) — or all of the above — is pushing new techniques into commercial use as fast as vendors can deliver.

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