Author’s Note: I’ve always been interested in biases. A poster of The Cognitive Bias Codex hangs in one of our home offices; and, I’ve bookmarked and often look at that interactive wiki to learn more. Just like I looked to two industry experts to learn more about bias in research for this article: Jeff Henning and Ray Poynter. Many thanks to you both for serving GreenBook as expert sources. We value your contribution to this piece, just as we value our readers.

Have you ever asked a question while assuming you already knew the answer? That’s a simple example of a bias. As humans, we inadvertently experience bias in every aspect of our lives. Our personal biases influence the lens through which we look at the world. And while some biases are innocuous, some are harmful; and, bias in market research can have a negative effect on the findings.

We marketing researchers can create quite complex data systems that start to push the limits of formulas in stat textbooks to determine confidence intervals.

RIM weighting

Using RIM weighting (also called Raking and Iterative Proportional fitting) is the start. There is a formula for that that tells you the effective sample size you are working with for stat testing purposes which is always less that the nominal number of interviews (how much less depends on the variance in the weights across respondents).

Now layer in weighting top box purchase intent twice as heavily as second box. And let’s consider differences in differences in that index, such as test vs. control across two advertising treatments. Is the lift from one tactic significantly greater than the lift in another tactic, exposed minus unexposed? You are going beyond simple formulas at this point to determine if a difference you are seeing in the

You would imagine that a lot has changed since I commenced my career four decades ago. Not everything has. Creative agency practices have been remarkably resistant to change. Back then, most advertising was considered ineffective at changing the relative trajectory of the brand. That remains the case today.

At the core of this inefficient allocation of resources, is the intuition based ‘big idea’. I like to call it “The Big-Idea Wheel of Fortune” and the problem at play here resides squarely with the communications message – that is, “what to say”. Instead of being based on the scientifically derived drivers of behavior, the communications message has, and continues to be, based largely on best guesses and gut instinct.

Being “creative” should not be permission to be unaccountable. Accountability in marketing communications requires the discipline to align advertising performance with the commissioning organization’s objectives. If the client wishes to gain relative

Recently we wrote about the implication of the QuestionPro and Digsite M&A deal, calling it a key signal in the next phase of the “Platformification of QualiQuant“. In this latest entry in the CEO series of interviews I dive deeper with Vivek Bhaskaran of QuestionPro and Monika Rogers of Digsite, exploring their thinking on what synergies will be unlocked by them joining forces, the challenges of integration, and the broader implications for the industry as the line between qual and quant blurs further driven by technology platforms.

This is a fun and insightful conversation that I am sure you will enjoy. Perhaps more importantly, it delivers a rare insider look into how technology leaders are assessing opportunities and making moves to create new models for research.

Transcript

This text has been edited for clarity.

Lenny Murphy: Hello, everybody. It’s Lenny Murphy here, with another in our interview series, separate from

Kim Smouter, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee for ESOMAR, sits down with Eyes4Research CEO Rudly Rapahel in a wide-ranging conversation about the lessons he has learned in his career, his role with ESOMAR, and his mission to achieve racial equality in Europe.

What did you want to do professionally when you were younger? How did you end up on your current career path?

When I was young, I wanted to be a cardiologist. When I was a teenager, I realized that I get queasy with blood and I hate dead bodies. And at that point, I decided I want to be an ambassador. I felt like my international background, my mixed-race heritage, and the fact that I lived in different places, probably made me suited to the role of an ambassador.  I moved back to Europe and ended up learning a bit more about that.

I ended up doing

Editor’s Note: Earlier this year, we had Linda Lomelino on our podcast to discuss how Walmart is now leveraging shopper data and serving commercial customers as a research supplier. This strategic decision positioned them as not just an iconic retailer, but a competitive vendor with a solid value proposition. We want GreenBook readers to know about this important development, not just our podcast listeners, so have a look and let us know what you think in the comments!

For more information on how Walmart is influencing the market research industry, tune into the GreenBook Podcast episode How Walmart is Commercializing the Power of Data Science streaming now!  

“For an industry that’s experiencing a mass acceleration in change, understanding what customers want can give companies a competitive advantage.”

The GreenBook podcast recently sat down with Linda Lomelino, the Senior Director of Product Management and data ventures at Walmart,