Fifty leaders of the marketing research industry have initiated a network of research users and providers from around the world. On 15 and 16 January 2001, research industry leadership gathered for the first time in Geneva, Switzerland. The Research Leadership Summit (RELEAS), organised by ARF and ESOMAR, is envisaged as a three-year process with annual meetings and continued action and feedback in between. The emphasis is on identifying and addressing the challenges and opportunities facing the research industry.
The paper will examine, with the help of specially prepared data, some of the potential advantages of integrating research amongst healthcare professionals (predominantly doctors and pharmacists) with more conventional consumer data. This paper utilises the results of some specific research conducted amongst doctors and consumers in 1987, to illustrate the way in which doctors are currently advising patients on lifestyle issues, and the significance this can have in some areas of consumer product marketing.
One of the major concerns of agricultural marketing is to identify opinion leaders among a population of farmers since they supposedly influence others in the choice of agrochemicals, seeds fertilisers, farm equipment etc. The survey described hereafter has for main objective to establish a simple method to identify the leaders. It was carried out in 1984 for 11 companies of various sectors of the agro-industry. The methodology falls into 4 phases.
Especially in local politics of small towns and communties the formulation of objectives and the development of decisions is highly intransparent. The new method provides applicable results for the decision-taking procedure of honorary persons acting in local politics together with full-time government or municipal politicians and special consultants from the government or municipal administration (civil servants). Particularly companies offering certain capital goods that are needed for traffic control, municipal illumination or for the equipment of municipal buildings and the like, can use this (low-cost) method to inform themselves about ways of optimum offer argumentation and about the competence of persons to be contacted. The method shows attitudes, opinions, motives, objectives and wishes of those who are involved in the process of opinion formulation and the formulation of objectives. Beyond the formal function of the person involved also his or her real importance for the formulation of opinions and objectives is brought out clearly.
Especially in local politics of small towns and communties the formulation of objectives and the development of decisions is highly intransparent. The new method provides applicable results for the decision-taking procedure of honorary persons acting in local politics together with full-time government or municipal politicians and special consultants from the government or municipal administration (civil servants). Particularly companies offering certain capital goods that are needed for traffic control, municipal illumination or for the equipment of municipal buildings and the like, can use this (low-cost) method to inform themselves about ways of optimum offer argumentation and about the competence of persons to be contacted. The method shows attitudes, opinions, motives, objectives and wishes of those who are involved in the process of opinion formulation and the formulation of objectives. Beyond the formal function of the person involved also his or her real importance for the formulation of opinions and objectives is brought out clearly.
This paper presents an instrument which serves to identify opinion leaders, a simple "strength of personality scale" developed by the Institut fur Demoskopie Allensbach and sponsored by the Spiegel Publishing Company. Testing the instrument with a log-linear procedure demonstrates that the strength of personality variable differentiates at least as well as or better than the variables sex, age and socio-economic status. It is also shown that the instrument demonstrates a high degree of reliability and that it can be validated by an external criterium.
This paper presents an instrument which serves to identify opinion leaders, a simple "strength of personality scale" developed by the Institut fur Demoskopie Allensbach and sponsored by the Spiegel Publishing Company. Testing the instrument with a log-linear procedure demonstrates that the strength of personality variable differentiates at least as well as or better than the variables sex, age and socio-economic status. It is also shown that the instrument demonstrates a high degree of reliability and that it can be validated by an external criterium.
This paper presents a short case study of the introduction of a new automobile in a small town. It analyses the characteristics and the role of innovators in the diffusion process. The analyses have shown that innovators with opinion leadership qualities have influenced the people whom they have contacted. This influence, however, is modified in turn by the opinion leadership characteristics of these individuals. Analyses have indicated that communicating with innovators directly and cultivating their opinion leadership function is likely to be more effective advertising policy than somewhat aimless mass communication.
Improved knowledge of the characteristics of consumer change agents, opinion leaders and innovators, can provide the fashion marketer with an informed basis for tactical and strategic decision-making. The research project reported in this article focuses upon an empirical determination of the characteristics of innovators and opinion leaders in the fashion diffusion process.
The classic two-step hypothesis was rejected by its creators. Subsequent studies have demonstrated shortcomings in the data on which the hypothesis was based. For one thing, the dichotomy of opinion leaders and followers was shown to be unfortunate because the 'followers' proved to comprise two very different categories - information seekers and initiatives. The Marknadssociologen study abandoned this dichotomous definition and exploited the seeking and advising activities instead. The finding of a strong positive correlation between these two activities demolished one of the corner-stones of the two-step hypothesis. One and the same person was in fact frequently an opinion leader and a follower. It was also found that topically active persons were also high on both topical exposure to advertising and topical personal communication. The dynamic multilateral hypothesis indicated that "shared interest seems to be a channel through which communications flow". Interest proved to be a suitable variable for defining the target group for a message, because interest is strongly correlated with both seeking and advising activity. Interest has been used in practice to define the persons who are likely to disseminate the message most effectively, the persons who fill the same function as the classic opinion leaders.
This paper discusses a point of view often overlooked: The importance of being - as an advertiser - talked about. The most successful of advertising executives are sometimes Irked when research people come up with survey results Indicating what really made consumers change their mind, what made them try a new brand or alter their behaviour patterns. Was the change a result of advertising? Most of the respondents state that "other persons" (neighbours, friends, colleagues) had made them convert. As so-called "opinion leaders", "influentials" or, in German "Melnungsbildner" and "Leithammel " (DOMIZLAFF). have these "other persons".gained a certain re-known as a subject for research as well as an argument in space selling. Let us investigate this phenomenon briefly.
This paper discusses a point of view often overlooked: The importance of being - as an advertiser - talked about. The most successful of advertising executives are sometimes Irked when research people come up with survey results Indicating what really made consumers change their mind, what made them try a new brand or alter their behaviour patterns. Was the change a result of advertising? Most of the respondents state that "other persons" (neighbours, friends, colleagues) had made them convert. As so-called "opinion leaders", "influentials" or, in German "Melnungsbildner" and "Leithammel " (DOMIZLAFF). have these "other persons".gained a certain re-known as a subject for research as well as an argument in space selling. Let us investigate this phenomenon briefly.