Tchicaya Robertson, Accenture (Moderator)

Diversity & inclusion campaigns can be nothing but a mirage – statements or imagery hastily and haphazardly conjured. For those working in insights, achieving a truly equitable research practice requires more than good intentions, but a thorough foundation and methodical, unwavering resource investment. How can we do a better job of including ALL people in our qualitative sample and how can we best engage during interviews with traditionally underrepresented groups?

We need to be current on acceptable and preferred language, cognizant of technology and access limitations, and so much more.  

Behavioral science has reshaped how the market research industry is approaching human decision making.

Instead of using cognitive Likert-scale questions that lead consumers to provide overly rationalized answers, there are an increasing number of tools and techniques available that can be applied to uncover motivations.

With the advancement of AI technology, we now have the means to quantify messy data and develop insights from contextually rich data sources such as text, speech and images.

In this presentation we’ll cover how some of the new technologies can be used to develop insights for innovation and brand building.

-AI technology for quantifying messy data
-Behavioral science
-Motivation and consumer intent

How have leading brands transitioned during the pandemic to online qualitative research for optimal data collection outcomes?
This session will provide tips and tricks in the recruiting and project management process, as well as a review of tools you can use to execute your research and improve data quality.

Technology has transformed qualitative learning, making it more powerful and far-reaching than ever before. How do we sort through the options, make the most of it, and not feel pressure to “chase the shiny object?”
This presentation will discuss how technology-enabled qualitative adoption takes place and what tools are here NOW, soon to be NEW, and coming NEXT to take your learning to the next level.
And, how choosing the right tools, used in the right way, can drive your success.

Three takeaways:

• What’s Now, What’s New & What’s Next
• Connecting technology options to qualitative best practices for maximum impact.
• Our industry can drive development of technology and safeguard consumers if we act to do so. This is a call to action.

Bias is part of our culture. But it is also built into our brains. The way we feel, behave, and think is largely driven by our unconscious thoughts and implicit assumptions. As insights professionals we are expected to speak the truth, to reveal what is really going on--but we are subject to the same biases and heuristics as the rest of humanity.

In this talk we'll learn:

Starved for on-site events? This is the next best thing! It's your chance to meet several of your fellow "Y" attendees in a fast-paced round of 1-to-1, F2F Zoom meetings. 

Don't miss this fun way to build your network and connect with peers who are also seeking to understand the "Why" behind the "What" in consumer insights.

Research and insights leaders face enormous pressure to decipher for their brands the rapid cultural transformation underway in the U.S. marketplace. Demographic change, shifts in consumer values and behaviors driven by COVID-19, and the social justice movement’s reemergence in 2020 make Cultural Fluency—the ability to use culture itself to connect effectively and authentically across segments—an imperative in 2021 and beyond. 

Based on 10+ years of research, Collage Group—the leading source of consumer insights for 200+ iconic brands—has developed the Cultural Fluency Roadmap, a unique approach that combines quantitative analysis of cultural traits and CultureRate, a proprietary measure of the cultural resonance of brands and ads. 

During this session, insight leaders will gain a better understanding of how to establish and evaluate Cultural Fluency, including: 

• A framework for understanding America’s diverse consumer segments.
• The critical mass of demographic fundamentals that are now catalyzing America’s cultural transformation.
• How to use a “science of culture” to improve marketing performance by respecting the cultural traits of consumers across race/ethnicity, generation, sexual identity and gender.
• Examples of ads that leverage deep cultural resonance with one segment in ways that appeal to all segments.
• Cultural Fluency Roadmap: How insights leaders at CVS Health are driving change through the power of culture. 

The Laughing Cow product sales had been in decline since 2012. Bel Brands needed to determine whether to make major changes or minor adjustments in positioning and communications. Through a multi-phase, mixed methods research approach, the team explored their target consumer mindset, covering identifying triggers and barriers to brand adoption and experience The team went from research to relaunch in just a few months, and returned to massive and consistent growth.

Attendees of this session will learn how Bel Brands:
• Used both qual and quant interactive and digital techniques, to uncover consumer perceptions and experience of the Laughing Cow brand necessary to reposition in a competitive market
• Transformed the brand’s iconic image as a direct result of the research learning
• Successfully activated against research outcomes to turn the brand around and increase sales

Takeaway 1: Qualitative methods do not yield "data" but materials from which we can tease out the whats, hows, and whys of human behavior

Takeaway 2: Best practices for doing rigorous naturalistic analysis of qualitative materials with just a computer and your brain

Takeaway 3: How to turn qualitative findings into practical insights and solutions that meet your client's needs

Between the future of Market Research and the current landscape of leading companies are a batch of new venture-backed businesses that are looking to redefine the industry.
This session will explore the new companies that have been backed by venture dollars between the pre-seed to Series A phase, which should give us a glimpse into what's directly on the horizon for MR.

REAL Insight has specialized in in-context, behavioral qualitative research for over 30 years, working closely with General Mills for 25 of those. A key method to understanding new product and package performance at the first moment has been in-store intercepts. The pandemic’s emergence in early 2020 immediately disrupted this method and created a significant learning gap that needed to be solved for, given existing constraints. REAL Insight and General Mills’ In-context Experimentation (ICE) team rolled up their sleeves and partnered to find solutions. REAL Insight uncovered two novel qualitative approaches (virtual and mobile) that ICE was able to bring back to the organization, collect feedback, sell-in to key CMI stakeholders, champion a pilot, and ultimately endorse these new methods.

Attendees will learn:
1. How a close client/supplier collaboration can produce value
2. The journey from solution development to org. integration
3. Some lessons WE learned along the way

Much was tried and much learned as many qual projects were moved online during the past several months.
This fast-paced session will detail those experiences along with hard-earned advice and guidance.   

How Client-Side Teams Can Use New Tech for Faster Qualitative Insights

New scalable qual methodologies that enable teams to get a deeper understanding of their target consumers and how automated dashboards and new reporting capabilities speed up the process of analyzing research

- Monika Wingate, CEO and Co-founder, Digsite

 Face-to-face versus online product qual: the benefits and challenges explored using a snacking project

Learnings and observations from a case study will be discussed, including the success of online sensory screening, the role of context, the ability to read body language, control during product serve and differences in the depth of findings.

- Caitlin McLean, Associate Director, Sensory Qual, MMR Research Worldwide, Inc.

Qualitative Technologies: Breaking Down Barriers to Promote Diversity and Representation in Research

Learn how digital qualitative solutions are reducing barriers to participation and increasing diversity and representation in research and understand the elements that will define a future state of market research, including AI, DIY, and advanced qualitative capabilities.

- Rick Kelly, Chief Product Officer, Fuel Cycle

Ethnographic Research in a Socially-Distanced World

The journey to develop a workable model to conduct research on shopper experiences in the new WFH, socially-distanced landscape. Using combinations of established methodologies, addressing safety and liability considerations and more through the sharing of actual case studies.

- Brian Barnes, Vice President, Qualitative Services, M/A/R/C Research