OPEN MIKE
reflections
ARTICLES AND PERSONAL REFLECTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS, AND ON BLOGS
Rethinking Shopper Insights
The bulk of my projects are in the subfield of shopper insights. In this article I argue that the internal structures of shopper insights and shopper marketing departments be revamped in order to bring more rigor and discipline to the field. [gview...
Three Places to Find Humor in Qualitative Research
Mary Poppins taught us that "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." In other words, if we have to work for a living, we may as well try to have a little fun while doing it. This article summarizes the areas where I have some fun during the qualitative...
Three Hurdles in Front of the Glass
Its not easy to become a moderator. Its not something you decide to do one day and all of a sudden become successful at it. It takes time, perseverance, and a little luck. This article summarizes the obstacles I faced when getting into this business and the...
A Moderator’s Guide to Working with the Creative Department
It seems as if there is always tension between those who create stuff and those who are tasked to evaluate it. In this article published in Quirks's Marketing Research Review, I argue that this tension does not always have to be negative. [gview...
In Defense of Qualitative Participants
Many industry voices are belittling qualitative research as they believe, in short, "consumers are stupid." In this article I challenge that notion and defend the people who take the time to share their thoughts and experiences with us. [gview...
Evolving Ethnography
Many of us say that we use ethnography as a consumer insight tool. I challenge that notion in this article.[gview file="http://www.uncorkingastory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Evolving-Ethnography.pdf"]
Moving from Validation to Inspiration
It seems as if most of the work market researchers are asked to do involves validating ideas. In this argue I present a case for using consumer insights to inspire ideas. I find that when more rigor is placed on ideation, we get better results in validation. [gview...
Tear Down the Wall
The album The Wall by Pink Floyd is, in my mind, a masterpiece. Like the wall Pink built around himself in the album, I believe that marketers build up walls between themselves and their consumers. In this article I argue that it is time to tear down this wall and I...
The 5 Golden Rules of Online Branding
Back in 2000, I helped launch a company called Dynamic Logic. The company was built around 1 core idea, that the value of online advertising was being underreported due to the industry's reliance on click through. We set out to change all that by proving there was...