There is no doubt that the digital space is evolving at an amazing pace but it has often been debated, what is driving this. Is it that the technology is evolving or is it that the consumer is evolving in their use of online. (it’s a bit like the chicken and the egg problem)
Either way, the propensity for the Australian consumer to adopt digital technology is a fundamental consideration in the solutions and campaigns that we develop. Research is often a critical component in justifying digital solutions into boards and key stakeholders and as practitioners of digital marketing, staying on top of this information is fundamental to our jobs.
In the recent conference on social media we had a panel with a number of research companies. I had expected this to be a fairly dry session however was amazed at how engaged the audience were with the analysis of data.
The panel did a great job but what the crowd really wanted to know was “what’s the killer stat we can take away”. The panel where able to make broad observations but had not necessarily expected this hunger for new insights so they hadn’t brought their magic bag of killer stats ready for us to consume.
I am wondering if there is a place for a research panel with the specific brief of telling us some stuff we might not already know or at least a perspective that might help us do our jobs.…what do you think ☺
Oooo, now you’re talking my language: I’m a self-confessed stat junkie – a research panel belting out undiscovered Digital/Online stats does it for me .
Stats like these (from 2007):-
– The Internet is the fastest-growing medium to date. To reach 50 million people, it took radio 38 years, television 13 years… and Internet just 4 years
– AU is a GLOBAL leader in both internet penetration (71% of population) and broadband penetration (83% of Internet-enabled homes – double that of 2 years ago) – second only to the US
– 54% of all Australians purchased online within the last 12mths
– AU makes Top 3 countries for Internet Purchase frequency, despite low adoption of full eCommerce solutions by major local brands
…bring it on!
When we presented at Cannes, we found people engaged more with consumer insights than stats – so i video clip of a woman talking about how her boyfriend, who’s a musician, now spends lots of time surfing YouTube, watching music videos, how to videos, uploading riffs, etc. rather than watching TV. This brought to life the stat around the growth in consumption of video content online.
Coming back to your point -it’s often not just the what, but the WHY that gives the most value.
So maybe some stuff around Digital Ethnography, or a study / day-in-the-life type of thing about how people are changing. We’ve put together a raft of videos from around the world showcasing the changing habits, and this seems to make a good impression.
Not sure how this type of approach would work in a panel format though…. :)
this has huge potential … as long as we get data beyond nielsen/morgan/hitwise
what is rarely answered is WHY do people use online channels (ie what motivates someone to look at theage.com.au in the morning, does this change in the evening). And how their usage differs across the day … ie, more transactional in the morning, more entertainment/escapism later in the day etc.
this is the data advertisers seem to want. problem is – it’s not really out there.
Great input guys!
Think there is a lot of scope to extend the research piece beyond pure stats and focus more on behavioral stuff. Love the day in the life idea, particularly if we can combine qualitative with some quant stuff that is AUS relevant like Ben is referring to.
Perhaps in the panel, we get a team of people to work together to map this out?
J
Love the idea of taking stats and explaining the story behind them. What is driving this transformation in our culture, how it is also now transforming the workplace … the insight that accompanies data can and should be compelling.
Being practical for Ad:Tech or any Summit, lets face it they’ll be left brainers and right brainers who all look for different things to take away, so Insights and their presentation needs to cater for all ‘religions’.
At the end of the day though, it’s the one’s who aggregate then boil right down different sorts of inputs, that get ahead.
We’re all too aware that the nature of the Digibeast means two things often happen, that Budgets go on NPD because the tech CAN be built, and secondly that ‘not invented here’ attitudes often get in the way of really concentrating on the Features or backend that really makes a difference at the consumer end.
I’m a Brand Marketer first and Mobile Marketer second so I’m always going to start with the Consumer. I find the Digital industry is still comparatively weak in solid consumer marketing strategy planning of which genuine actionable Insights is key.
The problem is age old. Consumers don’t know, what they don’t know, and Research ‘effects’ often exacerbate the problem leading to blind alleys. A concoction of hard data, soft data, diary studies, Publisher data, Beta consumer taskforces, seeding Blog sites, etc, all need chucked in the blender, put on speed 3 and interpreted skillfully.
PS I’m not a real fan of Headlines.