The biblical book Revelation is an apocalyptical telling of the end times of the human race. Some in our industry who have been warning of the perils of change may feel, therefore, that our entitling the theme of this year’s ESOMAR Congress Revelations is a long overdue endorsement of their dire predictions. However, nothing was further from our mind! Instead, we are using the word “Revelation” in its most literal form, meaning “the unveiling of truth”. For what is the ultimate aim of research than to unveil truths capable of unleashing positive outcomes for businesses, society and community?
That being said, this is a time of tremendous change, both where the role of research is concerned and the model by which we have applied it for the last seven decades.
We are asking existential questions of ourselves which challenge the models by which we operate and lead to some crucial meta-trends. There is no doubt that we are in era of creative destruction, for example. Clients tell us that they are spending less on things like brand tracking, usage and attitude studies, copy testing and face-to-face focus groups; and spending more on data analytics, synthesis of data from divergent sources, digital ad optimization and digital qualitative. Beyond this, if we are to move from the provision of insights (even revelations) to really having an impact on strategic business decisions, then we have to embrace the power skills of effective communication, influencing and consulting. And all of this is happening at a point where we are entering generational change – today, 20% of MR management positions are in the hands of Millennials; by 2020 that will rise to over 50%.
While some may see all of this as being very frightening, others (the author included) see it as highly exciting. Research has always been a meeting place between science and creativity, but today that convergence is as never before. As we wrestle with data analytics, so are we also wrestling with how to distil and understand human emotive functioning – and how to put the two together. It is a time of renewal for the industry, a time of reimagining not only what we do but how we do it and, indeed, who we are. Advances in technology, seismic shocks in terms of the way we live and interact with electronic media and serious demands from senior management to up our game all mean one thing: we have to challenge established ways of thinking. We have to look outside our normal circles to find, understand and embrace new ways of revealing hidden truths. We have to retool our skill sets and reimagine who we are.
Our remit today is extraordinarily exciting. If we want to, we will hold the keys to organizations achieving behavioral, emotional and cultural understanding, not only of consumers, but of citizens, populations and individuals. We can achieve real impact not only in the commercial arena but also on some of the great social issues of the day – hunger, poverty, sustainability and health. No other profession has this all-encompassing view of the world, which should make this one of the most exciting and, yes, sexy professions on the planet.
Think of the people you know in this industry. How many of them would you describe as being truly passionate about what they do? I would suspect that there are quite a few of them. How many young people have you met in the industry who ask, with incredulity, why we do not do more to spread the word about just how exciting it is to be a researcher? Finn Raben has issued a clarion call for us all to shout from the rooftops just how influential, key, essential and passionate this industry is and can be.
And that is precisely what the 2015 ESOMAR Congress seeks to do.
This is a Congress which celebrates our revelatory triumphs and prowess. It celebrates the impact that we have in business, on and with clients, socially and culturally. It is a Congress that reveals how some of these triumphs have come about and shares new ways of thinking, novel approaches and how we can learn from adjacent professions. It examines the way in which we live our lives today, especially in the mad new world of media – and it demonstrates just how revelatory research can be in untangling the seeming chaos of modern digital life. In addition, it educates us in critical power skills such as data visualization and story-telling.
This is an exciting Congress. It’s a Congress packed not only with content, but also with chances to learn by joining the workshops. It’s a Congress that celebrates achievement at every turn, with awards and recognition throughout the event. It’s a probing Congress, with the unveiling of the exciting Insights 2020 study. And it’s an entertaining Congress – where else would you find keynote speakers that include a controversial economist, a master of interaction, a 15 year old CEO, the world’s greatest living explorer, Ireland’s most famous Drag Queen and a dance psychologist? (And, no, I don’t know what that last one is either!).
So, please join me in celebrating this great industry of ours. Take pride in its ability to reinvent itself, reimagine itself and continue to do what it does best: Revelation.
I hope you truly enjoy this Congress. Please tell us what you did and did not like. And please join me in thanking, from the bottom of my heart, the Programme Committee and the wonderful professionals at ESOMAR who worked so tirelessly to bring this event to fruition.
Simon Chadwick is Programme Committee Chairperson, ESOMAR Congress 2016
1 comment
Well said indeed!