FieldGoals.us

Don’t Play Russian Roulette with Your Marketing Budget

2012 April 2 by admin

I met with some colleagues this morning to discuss how we might integrate our capabilities into a “consulting partnership” – which is something that was never heard of “back in the day,” where large corporations ruled the marketplace and the option of “working from home” was only available to domestic engineers.

Technology has now afforded us the opportunity to work from the “virtual office” anywhere in the world, frequently spending our ten-hour days in home offices – and actually being productive for those ten hours – rather than commuting in four hours’ worth of traffic to arrive to a day filled with meetings, office politics and drama.

The beauty of growing up in a generation where we had to use our knowledge of the language to WRITE for a living is that we are therefore now able to use the progress in technology to fortify this key element to our success; this avails us the opportunity to create content, blogs and research surveys and market them to a number of different industries, even in the midst of an unprecedented snowstorm!

When I met with these charming fellows, we immediately fell into a lively discussion on what it is like to suddenly be the “oldest” one in the room (Jim said the “most experienced,” but we all knew what he meant) rather than the youngest. Suddenly the ideas of the young seem juvenile and unrealistic in the realm of developing this “transition” generation. But mostly we spoke of how research can now be carried over into many arenas of the marketplace, and how traditional market research is NOT a thing of the past, but is often misunderstood and may sometimes need re-visited or re-evaluated in terms of the vast and unique areas of business which now exist.

What used to be “quantitative” vs. “qualitative” is now “Qually-Quant,” a blend of traditional research methodologies which reach out into the new technological approaches to qualitative and ethnographic research that our clients desire, but in the past could not afford.

FieldGoals.US makes these methodologies available and affordable to even the smallest businesses. Take a quantitative study, from which to base your initial ideas, identify your target audiences, what they are thinking – and then develop a qualitative plan in order to create that message informed from the quantitative portion, exploring communication through lifestyle and media usage. This is the best scenario for you to utilize your limited marketing budget.

In this day and age, NO COMPANY CAN AFFORD TO PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE with even the smallest of marketing budgets.

This is what makes our faction of the marketing world so very important and now, so very affordable. What makes us different at FieldGoals.US is our unique relationship with you. You can literally pick up the phone and call Gabby Fabrizio to discuss ideas, talk about challenges and ask questions about research – all for free and toll free!

We can help you decide in which direction you want to go and create a budget that fits your revenue structure. And if you want to talk about the old days – well, we can do that too. For now, let’s focus on your future.

FieldGoals.US. Scoring market share with superior field research.

Avatar: Talk about an Ethnographic Research Adventure!

2012 April 2 by admin

Avatar: Talk about an Ethnographic Research Adventure!

“Instead of being presented with stereotypes by age, sex, color, class, or religion, children must have the opportunity to learn that within each range, some people are loathsome and some are delightful.” M. Mead

Yesterday, Christian Science Monitor’s, Chris Gaylord commented:

“Barely one month after its release, the 3-D epic Avatar is $2 million away from sinking Titanic’s record.”

Similarly, The Wall Street Journal exclaimed:

“Avatar Poised to Overtake Titanic!”

A mountain in southern China known as the Southern Sky Column was renamed after the floating “Hallelujah Mountains” featured in James Cameron’s blockbuster. The peak, in the Zhangjiajie area of southern Hunan Province, is already part of an official scenic zone. But renaming the mountain “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain” is expected to attract even more tourists.

Talk about ethnographic research, in its purest form! Avatar reminded me of the days of Margaret Mead, who, in 1925, trudged through the South Pacific territory of American Samoa seeking to discover whether adolescence was a universally traumatic and stressful time due to biological factors or whether the experience of adolescence depended on one’s cultural upbringing.

You know, back then they called it Anthropology – and all joking aside, there is a difference between the way immersion is used in Anthropology – the science of human beings, specifically the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture (academic) – and the way it is used in Marketing Research (Ethnography is the branch of Anthropology that deals with the scientific description of specific human cultures.) Ethnography is a microcosm specific to behavior. And it is a methodology that will never be obsolete. Here’s why:

It doesn’t matter if you are a youth pastor in a community, an insurance salesman, a high school math teacher, or a physician. If you want to succeed in understanding and reaching out to a community – a market – with products and services relevant, cutting-edge, progressive, MOBILE, you need to take the time to understand how the community works. Understanding ethnography helps you understand how the people think, how the politics of both elected and unelected people control things, and understand how cultural phenomenon dictate community behavior.

Now, can we cross barriers like Marine Jake did in Avatar, developing a love interest transcending different life forms, different worlds, different universes? The challenge in immersion research has always been to negotiate acceptance into strange environments, therefore particular methodological techniques, as well as social skills, are necessary. The issues of deep qualitative access centers depend on the researchers’ ability to be invited into closed communities.

From both an anthropological and a marketing POV, since the 1960s, the idea of a single monoculture has begun to deteriorate. Our societies are evolving toward pluralistic societies that continue to evolve through cultural integration and influence. These changes are commonly evident in fashion, dietary habits, entertainment, music, literature and sports.

Suddenly, within the family, it is DIVERSITY which empowers its members to capitalize on unique skills and areas of expertise. Careful attention must be given to mutual understanding and appreciation of individual differences. Strengthening the sense of positive cultural identity is an important aspect of establishing a viable coalition.

Just as we have recently studied the 55+ generations – and I pluralize here, as my many years of older adult ethnographic research have uncovered there are many factions of this previously monastically perceived demographic – a custom, unique approach must be recognized and utilized in the development of products and services, as well as the marketing of these products and services, which can only be investigated through immersive, ethnographic studies.

So hang in there, Margaret Mead and Dr. Grace Augustine wannabe’s – your passion will live on!

Mean Girls

2012 April 2 by admin

“You’ve always been there, even in

Kindergarten, pushing my face into

a can of worms on the playground.

In grade school, calling me a witch

and telling me you’ll burn me

at the stake at recess.

In middle school, you didn’t want to

be my friend, you said I was weird,

too smart, too serious.

High school moments of pure hell,

of National Honor Society,

leads in school plays. Kisses of death.

In college, I kept to myself,

stayed clear of your jealousy,

alone with my own self-loathing.

In the real world, at every job,

you’ve always gone out of your way

to hurt me.”

Aliza Sherman, “Take Me Down”

In her 2005 breakthrough novel “I can’t believe she did that!” Nan Mooney explores the newest generation of women working with other women in leadership, providing a provocative social and cultural exploration of the painful dynamics that unfold among professional women.

Nan states, ”working together, women have fostered a breathtaking degree of positive change. But there is another side to the story. If women are to continue moving forward, the time has come to examine — honestly and unequivocally — our very human impulse to compete with, hurt and even destroy one another to get what we want. No one has taught us women how to interact with each other in the competitive world of office politics, and as a result we often botch things up.”

I have unwillingly experienced this gut-wrenching scenario two times in my life – both at the same company – perhaps NOT ironically, a marketing and communications firm which prances the word ”respect” around in its core values as if its leadership actually values the integrity, work ethic and academia of its employees – MOST disrespectful company I have ever encountered.

Frankly, the women are the worst. Nepotism, sexual relationships with others in leadership, intellectual property theft, BULLYING! They prey upon those not as devious and manipulative, luring them in with false female advocacy, and then dumping them aside once they have peripherally gleaned a small set of skills they feel enable them to take over that young lady’s position – ultimately performing it with lackluster ineptitude, forcing the profitability of the company to take a nosedive along with its reputation. And then the rest of the women professionals have to take the rap for failing profit centers.

Author Cheryl Dellasega addresses the behavior of adult female bullies in her book “Mean Girls Grown Up”. “Relational aggression in younger women generally involves three players: the bully or aggressor, the victim or target, and the bystander, a girl in between who watches aggression occur but may or may not intervene. In adult women, it seems apparent that RA becomes much more deliberate as well as subtle, and the in-betweener may play a different role because adult women are less likely to stand by passively and watch such situations unfold. Some of these women even adopt a malicious variation of the in between role, [becoming the sidekick of the bully.]”

Dellasega adds, “Women who don’t believe in themselves, who are threatened by others and see them as ‘the enemy’ will lash out in an effort to make themselves feel more in control. In reality, they’re not. But this isn’t rational behavior we’re talking about.” She adds that victims and in-betweeners often experience the same conflicted emotions.

Sometimes it is not worth staying and fighting, especially because the bully’s leadership role is usually protected by nepotism or a love interest. Everyday sanity is worth more than any $100K a year salary, although you would be hard-pressed to get your male companion to understand this. Men are built differently. Testosterone enables them to view harsh, demeaning, competitive posturing as a challenge, and they are often excited to explore it.

It just flat-out gave me heartburn.

To Merge or Not to Merge

2012 April 2 by admin

To Merge or Not to Merge: The Advantage of Staying Custom in a Cookie-Cutter Industry

About a year ago, I read a blog on a colleague’s website www.thetrendjunkie.com which compelled me to comment on his theory that there are three paths a company’s leadership can follow in an economic recession.

“With all of the doom and gloom in the news these days, and our country going through one of the worst recessions in history, there seems to be 3 common ways that companies are dealing with it. Depending on what kind of company you are or want to be, or what kind of company you work for, will dictate how your organization reacts to a recession. More importantly, the actions your company takes now, can potentially have a dramatic impact on its future success.” Greg goes on to say these three methods of dealing with the recession are: “give up,” “sit and wait,” or “run hard.”

In the marketing research industry, I have been the unfortunate witness to the adoption of yet a fourth method of dealing with recession – merge with a larger firm (that has no previous experience in OUR INDUSTRY) in order to fortify and secure payroll and marketing efforts. A lot of companies do it, why shouldn’t research agencies?

1. Typically, the first firm to approach an independent marketing research agency in hopes of merging efforts is a marketing and communications firm – an ADVERTISING AGENCY. Now, let me think, what did my ethics professor say about biasing pure statistical research with input from the marketing team? Hmmm. Most end-clients would stay as far away from an agency-owned research firm as possible simply by virtue of the possible implications.

2. Cost is always a major consideration. The more corporate leadership compensations involved, the higher the field costs will be passed on to you-know-who – our beloved end-client. In this OR ANY economy, clients weigh total project cost almost equally with turnaround and quality. What if you could offer them all three? With fewer staff comes a lower overhead. A lower overhead means more money for a firm to keep up with current technology and help develop best practices within the industry

3. Being small also allows leadership to be more involved with the business: from the development of process, to field supervision, to brand development, to industry research to writing articles. Working in a smaller business also means that the client doesn’t have to fight with so many layers for conclusions and recommendations. The late night reporting and revisions are our commitment to our client that we will always be available to them, night or day. At how many companies can you can talk to a Director at midnight on a Friday?

4. BRING IT ON! We take great pride in the opportunity to address the challenge presented by the morphing nature of our business and certainly the economy. Our business plan was created to embrace the evolution of revenues: creating programs to provide the same level of service for A LOT less is one of the challenges we face this year; but we should constantly be striving to maintain consistency and excellence.

One stop shopping, reliable, consistent, skilled, SMART – stay with the boutique field service which can handle all of your full and field service needs nationally for the most cost-effective budgets.

Here at FieldGoals.US you know our team of experts from years of speaking engagements at the MRA and AMA and published articles on best practices in marketing research. FieldGoals.US – scoring market share with superior field research.