Panel discussion
Our study describes and gives insights about a consumer-driven consumer touchpoint development: the network of favours, and helps to understand why it is important to use innovative techniques to drive innovation. The study is based on a real case, conducted in 2007. It is a relevant example of developing a completely new platform bespoken to the target audience, using an innovative consumer-driven methodology.
These two presenters are probably among those very few who can allow themselves to converse openly about the efficacy of using research and, in particular, qualitative research by clients. The reason is the 12-year-old unbroken partnership of the two companies: Unilever as a client and Research International in Hungary as a research agency. The long-term co-operation and the hundreds of projects conducted led both parties to realise that the power of qualitative research could be much more fully exploited than it usually is. This understanding made us design the training program called 'Silence behind the Mirror'. The program aims to support users of qualitative research in order to obtain better value from those hours spent behind the mirror and in backrooms and be more sensitive to qualitative information. The program was conducted on the first two groups of marketing managers. This presentation describes the creation, the procedure and the follow up of the entire program.
The content of this paper is coming from purely empirical sources. The author has experienced the years of the transition as a market researcher coming from the academic field. This brand new situation opened up the world of West, with its developed technology, well-trained professionals and standardized procedures. The paper approaches the transition and its effects upon market research from two angles: first, from the input side: what was the most striking when understanding the difference of doing research for Western clients, how does it effect the personal attitude of the researcher and what are the most frequent types and strategies Western client apply in dealing with researchers and agencies from the East. The second part concentrates on phenomena Western marketers and researchers working in the region should keep in mind, like the fact that East Europe is not unified, that the differences between social-demographic groups might be greater than elsewhere, that the special historical and socio-cultural background of East European consumers might require unique techniques and care. The problem of branding is touched upon, from the aspect of new and relaunched brands. The paper is accompanied by a number of personal experiences, observations and examples.
Hungary is one of those countries in Europe that have undergone a tremendous change during the last two years. This political change has basicly influenced economy and the actors of the market as well. The first part of this paper describes why neither research institutions nor clients were interested in carrying out qualitative projects under the socialist era. The second part of the paper analyzes why the present Hungarian society and the Hungarian consumers are in a frustrated situation as a consequence of the distorted social and interpersonal relations. On the example of car drivers and refuelling customers a presently adequate typology is suggested. Further on, it is shown how advertising research and image studies can make use of qualitative techniques in an environment where most actors are not ready to cope with the results. It is described how certain research problems were answered. Finally, the paper gives a general overview of how paradoxical identification efforts work in Hungary and what qualitative research could do to help them assimilate to each other. It is mentioned that the training of qualitative researchers is not sufficient in Hungary.