Danielle Todd shares with us how she experienced ESOMAR Congress 2015 in Dublin as a young researcher. This is the last of a 3-piece blog series.
The final day boasted a somewhat more muted atmosphere, with the slow trickle of fuzzy-looking market researchers indicative of the success of the dinner the night before. The morning session were a whistle stop tour of the world with talks on snacking in India, beer in Ireland, politics in Scotland and voluntary medical male circumcision in Africa. Congress concluded with two incredibly captivating keynote speakers. First up was Panti Bliss, ‘gender discombobulist’ and all-round inspiring person. Panti held the audience captivated, as our eyes were opened to a very real problem in society: homophobia.
If you are gay, even the tiny act of absentmindedly holding hands in public could prove dangerous. Constant microaggressions, continual insults and maybe even assaults all resulted in avoiding this small bit of human contact in public spaces. Quite a sobering thought, isn’t it? Panti reminded us that once you reduce another human being to one small part of their identity, such as being gay, you strip back all the other elements that make them who they are, a person, just like anyone else. I think the standing ovation Panti Bliss received accurately demonstrated the humbled respect we all have for her bravery and honesty. Finally, to round off 3 days of revelations, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the world’s greatest living explorer, enchanted us with tales of his travels.
ESOMAR Congress 2015 provided some truly delightful revelations. The atmosphere was one of genuine revelry and commadery. The attitude was one of eternal curiosity and inspiration. And promoting and inspiring the next generation of researchers was firmly on the agenda.
The experience of ESOMAR was invaluable to a junior researcher; returning to the folds of her company, armed with new thinking and ideas, full of strategies for blending data and methodologies and excited to continue the great work we do as an industry. So I challenge any ESOMAR member and senior researcher, to inspire and nurture the talent in your company, find one of your juniors with less than 5 years experience and send them out to experience the delights of ESOMAR. Who knows what they’ll learn next year?
Key revelations of a young researcher:
- We are brave: Numerous talks, especially Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company, demanded researchers to be bold, take risks and use new blended methodologies in getting closer to people. Stop asking questions, and listen more. Tear up the rulebook and you will be rewarded!
- We are authentic: Diageo recognised the importance of brand authenticity in marketing to both genders; Three gained a rich understanding of who their customers really are and embraced this in their campaign based around ‘sharing silly stuff’ #danceponydance. I have learnt, it is vital to be authentic and true to yourself as both a brand, and a researcher.
- We are fun: Kristin Hickey’s eye-opening talk on engaging participants in research earlier, let them have fun in co-creating with us, and we will have richer understanding and better quality data!
- We are the future: A key theme was recruiting and nurturing the skills and talents of the next generation of researchers. This talent is vital if we are to tackle the challenges of our world and continue the great work of our industry. I back the #get_involved campaign and call on every senior researcher to sign up to visit a university through an outreach programme, or mentor through Women in Research. Help shape the stars of tomorrow!
Danielle Todd is Senior Research Executive at Relish Research
