Abstract:

The paper outlines how the establishment of a new, online audience appreciation panel for ITV has changed the nature of the research process throughout the organisation. Whilst originally envisaged to be a faster offline panel, the sheer variety of projects made possible by the online panel is proving invaluable. The research is able to work at the same speed as the core business areas within ITV, contributing to the day-to-day business decisions. 'You can't do today's job with yesterday's methods and be in business tomorrow' (Anonymous). In today's business environment, decisions are made in days rather than weeks. Conventional research methods often find it hard to keep pace with business demands, with judgements often made before final research data is available. This is particularly true in the television arena, and even more so in the current advertising climate.