I've worked in MR for some time now and I've finally concluded the industry is full of shit. In a world where we are supposed to be the experts, we land up being forced to deliver results that match the pre-conceived ideas the marketing manager had on the toilet before finalising the RFP.

OK, maybe not all clients are like this but I'm certain that those of us in the industry have encountered this somewhere along the line. The consequences for trying to do the right thing and not bias the sample or torture the poor data are of course an unhappy client and a loud interaction with a manager who thinks they understand statistics but completely misunderstand the word 'ethics' when it comes to MR. The SAMRA code of conduct seems to be a faint noise in the background, drowned out by the sound of call-centres ignoring the fact that I work in the industry and should not be answering their questions despite me insisting they should have screening criteria. Those same weasels who do not identify their company are quick to disconnect once I start asking about their firm, client and for their supervisor though! :)

Sure the clients have the money and should call the shots, but don't the clever people have a duty to their benefactors to grow a spine?! I would say that we all owe it to ourselves to decide to let the sample, the data and reasonable conclusions talk and ignore the "this doesn't fit with my ego" behaviour of intellectual gatekeepers both in client companies and within MR itself.

To this end I think I'd like to begin harnessing the power of google wave to create a Market research framework that will deliver methodologies, questionnaires, data and awesomely packaged presentation slides to deliver brand research the likes of which has never been seen.

The first step is to put together a process of how things should happen from scratch, then fill in the statistical wizardry and finally the presentation of ultimate usefulness. Obviously I sound like a raving megalomaniac here but I assure you I do not have neuro-syphilis and this is not a drill!

Observe this hypothetical 2-dimensional mindspace carefully...

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PS: Blogpress, if you ever tell me you're not ready to post and post anyway EVER again I will delete you like Nigerian Spam!

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