1. the magazine of the
Marketing Research
and Intelligence
Association
MAY 2013
vue
CanadianPublicationsMailAgreement#40033932
MIND THE
(ETHICS) GAP
STRUCTURAL
COLLABORATION WITH
CONSUMERS: AN
EVOLUTION, NOT A
REVOLUTION
“BRIDGING THE GAP”
2013 MRIA NATIONAL
CONFERENCE AS
SEEN BY CLIENT-SIDE
RESEARCHERS
THE POWER OF
STORYTELLING
THE POWER OF
STORYTELLING SPECIAL
MRIA
CONFERENCE
INSERT INSIDE

3. In this month’s features: (L to R) Diane Hessan, Tom De Ruyck
vue
MAY 2013
VUE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY THE
MARKETING RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE
ASSOCIATION TEN TIMES A YEAR
ADDRESS
The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association
L’association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing
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Tel: (905) 602-6854
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Annie Pettit PhD, Chief Research Officer, Conversition
(416) 273-9395
apettit@conversition.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Anne Marie Gabriel, MRIA
amgabriel@mria-arim.ca
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
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Interested in joining the Vue editorial team?
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Please email vue@mria-arim.ca to book your ad.
The deadline for notice of advertising is the first of
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All advertising material must be at the MRIA office
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Original articles and Letters to the Editor are welcome. Materials will
be reviewed by the Vue Editorial Team. If accepted for publication,
they may be edited for length or clarity and placed in the electronic
archives on the MRIA website.
The opinions and conclusions expressed in Vue are those of the
authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the
Marketing Research and Intelligence Association.
Publishing Date: May © 2013.
All rights reserved. Copyright rests with the Marketing Research and
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RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO
The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association
L’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing
2600 Skymark Avenue, Bldg 4, Unit 104,
Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5B2
Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40033932
ISSN 1488-7320
June 2 – 4 2013
5875 Falls Avenue I Niagara Falls I Ontario
June 2 – 4 2013
5875 Falls Avenue I Niagara Falls I Ontario
SPECIAL FEATURE
14 The Power of Storytelling
Diane Hessan
FEATURES
18 MIND THE (ETHICS) GAP
Holly Longstaff and Alice Hawkins Virani
29 STRUCTURAL COLLABORATION WITH CONSUMERS:
AN EVOLUTION, NOT A REVOLUTION
Tom De Ruyck
“BRIDGING THE GAP” – THE 2013 MRIA CONERENCE: CLIENT-SIDE
RESEARCHER COUNCIL
Kamal Sharma
COMMENTARY
4 Editor’s Vue
6 Letter from the President
10 Message from the Interim Executive Director
MRIA CONFERENCE INSERT
INDUSTRY NEWS
36 Research Registration System (RRS)
37 Chapter Chat
38 Qualitative Research Registry (QRR)
39 Off the RAC, Looking BAC
40 People and Company in the News
COLUMNISTS
QUALITAS

4. 4 vue May 2013
COMMENTARY / COMMENTAIRE
Tous les jours, les chercheurs jouent plusieurs rôles différents.
Lorsque les clients décident du but et de l’objectif d’une
étude, ils se tournent vers les chercheurs pour les aiguiller
pour déterminer quel est l’objectif réel de l’étude. Grâce à
notre vaste expérience et notre parcours académique, nous
parvenons à transformer des objectifs souvent vagues en
une méthode appropriée, un sondage pertinent ou un guide
de discussion clair – ce qui permet aux clients d’obtenir les
résultats qu’ils désirent voir.
Nous écoutons attentivement les consommateurs. Nous
faisons de notre mieux pour tenir compte de leurs idées,
nous observons leurs actions et nous détectons les discours
contradictoires afin de traduire des centaines de réponses
aléatoires des consommateurs pour les organisées et en faire
une base de données cohérente.
En consultant des centaines de pages de tableaux, de
transcriptions et de diagrammes, nous découvrons les
histoires cachées et parvenons à les expliquer, inspirant les
esprits et les cœurs de nos clients.
Nous, les chercheurs et les ingénieurs sommes des gens
différents. Nous ne bâtissons pas des ponts entre des villes
au-dessus des chutes et rivières. Plutôt, nous bâtissons
des ponts entre les gens séparés par leur culture et leur
expérience respective. Nous reconnaissons les écarts entre
les mots et les problèmes, et nous les faisons correspondre
pour établir des objectifs de recherche. Nous observons les
écarts entre les opinions déclarés et le comportement des
consommateurs, et nous parvenons à tirer des conclusions
et une vision. Nous aidons nos clients éberlués devant
des chiffriers Excel époustouflants en leur fournissant des
résumés clairs des données. Nous cherchons à réduire
ou éliminer les écarts en établissant des ponts bâtis sur
d’excellentes méthodologies et de bonnes idées.
Dans quelques jours, nous nous réunirons à Niagara Falls,
ce grand écart naturel. Nous ne parviendrons peut-être pas
à remplir cet écart, mais notre conférence annuelle offrira
aux chercheurs plusieurs nouveaux moyens intrigants pour
réduire les écarts que nous observons dans notre travail
quotidien. Allons-y sur l’autobus PeopleMover!
Researchers take on many different roles every day.
When clients decide on a study objective, it’s up to the
researchers to read between the lines and tease out what
the real objective is. We use our years of experience and
education to quickly and correctly transform often vague
objectives into the most appropriate method, a focused
survey, or a clear discussion guide – in order to generate
the results the clients really want to see.
We listen closely to consumers. We do our best to
hear their ideas, watch their actions, and read their
contradictory words so that we can best translate
hundreds of random consumer responses into organized
and coherent data.
With hundreds of pages of tables and transcripts and
charts before us, we discover the hidden stories and figure
out how to explain them – so we can move the minds and
hearts of our clients.
Researchers are engineers of a different kind. We don’t
build bridges between cities separated by waterfalls.
We build bridges between people separated by culture
and experience. We see the gaps between words and
problems, and bridge them with research objectives. We
see the gaps between stated opinions and consumer
behaviour, and bridge them with insights. We see the gaps
between mind-numbing Excel sheets and dazed stares,
and bridge them with clear summaries. We seek to reduce
and eliminate gaps by building bridges made of great
methodologies and smart thinking.
In just a few days, we will congregate at the amazing
gap that is Niagara Falls. We may not be able to bridge
that gap, but our annual conference will offer researchers
many new and intriguing ways to help bridge the gaps we
encounter in our work every day. To the PeopleMover!
Annie Pettit PhD, Chief Research Officer / Directrice de la Recherche, Conversition
Editor-in-Chief, Vue / Rédactrice en chef, Vue • Email: apettit@conversition.com • (416) 273-9395 • t @LoveStats
Editor’s Vue
Annie Pettit

6. 6 vue May 2013
COMMENTARY / COMMENTAIRE
Letterfrom the President
Anastasia Arabia
I am extremely honoured to become president of the
MRIA. You’ll be pleased to know that your National board
is a vibrant, knowledgeable, hard-working and deeply
considerate group of people. I am in very good company
for the tasks at hand and excited by the progress the
year ahead will hold.
Our overall focus this year will be to continue to
execute the MRIA Strategic Plan, as laid out in 2012 (and
posted on the MRIA’s website, www.mria-arim.ca/PDF/
MRIAStrategicPlan2012-14.pdf).
This will include focusing on these key areas:
Standards
On Sandy Janzen’s recent President’s Tour, I visited some
of the chapters with her. I was struck by how passionate
members continue to be about the MRIA’s standards.
They continue to be the backbone of our association –
whether you are client-side or supplier, qual or quant,
full service or field, what unites us all is our standards.
Members from coast to coast spoke eagerly and
enthusiastically about the importance of our standards
(and especially when asked what motivates them to
continue being a member). We have some work to do in
this area. We must continue to discover ways in which
Je suis très honorée d’avoir été nommée présidente de
l’ARIM. Vous serez heureux de savoir que votre conseil
d’administration national est composé de personnes
intenses, averties, travaillantes et attentionnées. Je suis
en très bonne compagnie pour accomplir les tâches qui
m’attendent et je vois d’un bon œil les progrès qui seront
accomplis au cours de l’année à venir.
Notre but cette année est de poursuivre les efforts
entrepris en 2012 pour définir le plan stratégique
de l’ARIM – y compris l’amélioration des normes, de
l’éducation et des relations entre les membres et le
gouvernement. En plus des progrès sur ces fronts, mes
buts personnels visent l’examen de l’ensemble de notre
industrie en renforçant nos liens avec nos associations
sœurs ainsi qu’en mettant l’accent sur l’aspect local,
accordant une attention particulière à nos racines
qui représentent notre plus grande force – soit les
chapitres.
Nous nous concentrerons cette année sur la réalisation
du plan stratégique de l’ARIM tel que défini en 2012
(affiché sur le site Web de l’ARIM : www.mria-arim.ca/PDF/
MRIAStrategicPlan2012-14.pdf). Ce plan stratégique met
l’accent sur les éléments clés suivants :
Normes
Lors de la récente tournée de la présidente Sandy Janzen,
j’ai visité certains chapitres avec elle. J’ai été agréablement
surpris par la passion qu’ont exprimée les membres
concernant les normes établies par l’ARIM. Ces membres
sont l’épine dorsale de notre association – que ce soit
du côté de la clientèle ou des fournisseurs, qu’il s’agisse
de la qualité, de la quantité, de services complets ou de
services sur le terrain, nous agissons tous conformément
à nos normes. Nos membres de partout au pays parlent
avec ferveur et enthousiasme de l’importance de nos
normes (particulièrement lorsqu’on leur demande ce qui
les motive à demeurer membre de notre association).
Nous avons tout de même du travail à faire sur ce
plan. Nous devons continuer à chercher de nouveaux
moyens d’adapter les activités de notre association pour
répondre au changement d’environnement dans lequel
nos membres exécutent leurs tâches – entre autres en ce
qui a trait aux nouvelles méthodologies de recherche et
Our goal this year will be to further the MRIA
Strategic Plan, as laid out in 2012 – including
furthering Standards, Education, Membership and
Government Relations. In addition to this, my
personal goals include looking at our industry
globally, furthering our ties to sister associations, as
well as focusing locally, highlighting our roots and
our greatest strength – the chapters.

7. vue May 2013 7
COMMENTARY / COMMENTAIRE
we can adapt the association to meet the changing
environment in which our members operate – specifically
as it pertains to new research methodologies and
technology being employed in place of the traditional
survey methodology that many of us are most familiar
with. The MRIA has been working through the standards
committee to bring new rigour to the practice of mobile
research, social media, and qualitative standards. Moving
to implement these with appropriate adherence to
monitoring and disciplinary measures will be a start.
Moving forward, I will also be looking for opportunities
through our communications and events portfolio to
engage members with webinars and events like Net Gain
to demonstrate our commitment to this new world in
which we operate.
Membership
The second of these areas of focus laid out in our
strategic plan is member development which ties into
this new focus for our industry. We stand to gain an
increase in membership through a variety of initiatives
that would reach outside our traditional backyard to gain
increased individual and corporate membership from
companies in emerging industries such as social media,
CRM business, database mining organizations, analytical-
based businesses and field houses. We also will continue
our work in member value to make sure we are aligned
to the needs of our members, and that they are well
supported.
Education
MRIA must continue to develop courses, conferences,
symposiums and webinars that are relevant and
innovative to both new audiences and our existing
membership. Our online courses need a review and
possibly an update.
Also, the CMRP is under a formative review. The CMRP
designation is extremely important to members and
we are committed to having it thrive. However, status
quo is not an option. We do not have the critical mass
needed for the designation to survive. Given this reality,
last October the board voted to allow the education
committee to come up with options for increasing CMRPs.
We all know exceptional practitioners in the industry
that should have the CMRP designation but do not. What
will motivate them to embrace a CMRP designation?
Is a seven-hour, full-day exam the only valid approach
to provide a CMRP designation to a seasoned senior
practitioner? These are the types of questions we are
wrestling with. The education committee is developing
some options to present to the board for consideration.
aux nouvelles technologies utilisées en remplacement de
la méthodologie de sondage traditionnelle avec laquelle
la plupart d’entre nous sont familiarisés. Le comité des
normes de l’ARIM travaille à l’amélioration de la rigueur
dans l’établissement des normes sur les pratiques en
matière d’unités mobile de recherche, de médias sociaux et
recherche qualitative. Assurer une conformité appropriée
pour maintenir une bonne surveillance et l’application
des mesures disciplinaires est un bon début. Ensuite,
nous chercherons des possibilités dans le cadre de nos
communications et de nos événements pour inciter nos
membres à participer à des webinaires et des événements
comme « Net Gain » visant à leur démontrer notre
engagement dans ce nouveau monde qui se présente à
nous.
Adhésions
La seconde priorité de notre plan stratégique est
l’augmentation des adhésions associée à la nouvelle
orientation de notre industrie. Nous pourrions augmenter
nos adhésions par une variété d’initiatives à l’extérieur
de nos champs d’activité traditionnels, incitant l’adhésion
de personnes et d’entreprises des industries émergentes
comme les médias sociaux, les firmes de gestion des
relations avec la clientèle, les organisations d’exploration
des données, les entreprises d’analyse des données et
les bureaux sur le terrain, à se joindre à nous. Nous
poursuivrons notre travail sur la valeur des adhésions
pour nous assurer d’aligner nos besoins sur ceux de nos
membres et de leur fournir un soutien approprié.
Éducation
L’ARIM doit continuer d’élaborer des cours, des
conférences, des symposiums et des webinaires pertinents
et novateurs destinés à de nouveaux auditoires et à
nos membres existants. Nos cours en ligne doivent être
examinés et mis à niveau au besoin.
La désignation PARM (professionnel agréé en recherche
marketing) fait également l’objet d’une évaluation
formative. La désignation PARM est très importante pour
nos membres et nous nous engageons à ce qu’elle se
développe. Le statu quo n’est pas une option pour nous.
La masse critique nécessaire à la survie de la désignation
n’est pas au rendez-vous. Dans ce contexte, le conseil
a voté en octobre dernier pour permettre au comité de
la formation d’élaborer des options pour augmenter le
nombre de PARM. Nous connaissons tous les praticiens
exceptionnels dans l’industrie qui pourraient se prévaloir
de la désignation PARM, mais qui ne le font pas. Qu’est-ce
qui les motiverait à convoiter la désignation PARM? Une
évaluation d’une journée complète, soit sept heures, est-
elle la seule approche valide pour délivrer la désignation
PARM à un praticien aguerri? Voici le type de questions
que nous nous posons. Le comité de la formation élabore
actuellement certaines options qui seront présentées aux
membres du conseil pour leur considération. Comme le

8. 8 vue May 2013
As the MRIA’s LinkedIn group
(www.linkedin.com/groups/MRIA-113690) and a call
for member feedback have illustrated, this is a very
important issue for members. I can tell you CMRP
admission requirements have been on the agenda of
every board meeting I’ve been in. One thing that I
know to be true – whatever your opinion about the
evolution of CMRP – in your National board you have
a group of people who care deeply about it surviving
and thriving.
Government Relations
We must continue our outreach and communication
initiatives with the various levels of government, the
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and
with the CRTC. These bodies regularly consult with the
MRIA, and we are given the opportunity to comment
on proposed regulation and legislation that may affect
our industry. This is of vital importance to the MRIA, as
we are proud to be self-regulated and in a position to
provide our opinion and perspective to these groups.
Our government relations portfolio is working now on
ensuring that the new Anti-Spam legislation will not
adversely affect our members or the general public.
Every President also has a few particular items that
he or she would like to focus on throughout their term.
I have two – they include strengthening the MRIA’s
position GLOBALLY and LOCALLY.
The MRIA is well poised to advance our presence
globally. There are many reasons why this is of critical
importance. Our members work globally; strong
relationships with sister associations around the world
will allow us to develop common standards, learn from
each other, provide cross-member benefits, share the cost
of major initiatives, and expose us to what is happening
in marketing research outside of Canada. We need to
reinvigorate our relationships with some organizations,
and continue to foster (and in some cases provide a
leadership role) to others. We often play in our own
sandbox, but are realizing more and more that we are
very far ahead of other organizations and should be
taking on a leadership role. We are looking far afield to
maintain our alliances and have a voice with other global
associations, such as ARIA and ESOMAR in particular, but
with other individual MR associations in the U.S., the U.K.,
and Australia. We want to bring the best practices that
they have developed back home while providing support
to many who lag behind us.
I also believe it is time to shine a greater light on the
foundation of our association – the local chapters.
Our seven regional chapters are the key to the success
démontrent les messages du groupe LinkedIn de l’ARIM
(www.linkedin.com/groups/MRIA-113690) et un appel aux
membres pour recueillir leurs réactions, cette question est
très importante pour nos membres. Je peux vous dire que
les exigences d’adhésion à la désignation PARM sont à
l’ordre du jour à chaque réunion du conseil. Une vérité que
je sais indéniable – peu importe votre opinion concernant
l’évolution de la désignation PARM – votre conseil national
est composé de personnes qui se préoccupent grandement
du maintien et du succès de la désignation PARM.
Relations gouvernementales
Nous devons poursuivre nos initiatives de sensibilisation
et de communication avec les divers paliers
gouvernementaux, le Commissariat à la protection de
la vie privée du Canada et le CRTC. Ces organismes
consultent l’ARIM régulièrement ce qui nous donne
l’opportunité de commenter la réglementation et la
législation proposées pouvant affecter notre industrie.
Ceci est d’une importance vitale pour l’ARIM puisque nous
sommes fiers d’être une organisation d’autoréglementation
et que nous avons la possibilité de présenter nos opinions
et nos points de vue à ces organismes. Notre portefeuille
des relations gouvernementales travaille actuellement
pour s’assurer que la nouvelle législation antipourriel n’a
pas d’effets néfastes pour nos membres et le public en
général.
Chaque président préconise certains points qu’il ou elle
aimerait défendre durant son mandat. Pour ma part, j’en ai
deux – soit le renforcement de la position de l’ARIM au
niveau MONDIAL et au niveau LOCAL.
L’ARIM est bien positionnée pour améliorer sa
présence au niveau mondial. Ceci est d’une importance
capitale pour plusieurs raisons – nos membres travaillent
partout dans le monde avec nos associations sœurs
pour nous permettre d’élaborer des normes communes,
d’échanger nos connaissances, de s’offrir des avantages
entre les membres, de partager les coûts d’initiatives
majeures et d’être à l’affût des avancées dans la recherche
marketing à l’extérieur du Canada. Nous devons
revigorer nos relations avec certaines organisations
et continuer d’encourager les autres (et dans certains
cas, jouer un rôle de dirigeant). Souvent, nous jouons
dans notre propre cour, mais nous réalisons de plus en
plus que nous avons une bonne longueur d’avance sur
d’autres organisations et que nous devrions assumer un
rôle de dirigeant. Nous cherchons beaucoup trop loin
pour maintenir nos alliances et joindre notre voix à celle
d’autres associations dans le monde, comme l’ARIA et
l’Association européenne pour les études d’opinion et de
marketing en particulier, mais également avec d’autres
associations individuelles de recherche marketing aux
États-Unis, au Royaume-Uni et en Australie. Nous voulons
importer leurs meilleures pratiques au pays tout en offrant
un soutien à ceux qui tirent de la patte.

9. vue May 2013 9
Anastasia Arabia, Partner / Partenaire, Trend Research Inc.
President, Marketing Research and Intelligence Association / Présidente, L’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing
Email: anastasia@trendresearch.ca • 780-485-6558 ext./poste 2003
of the MRIA. I will look for opportunities to increase
the National board’s engagement with our chapters.
Furthermore, we will develop tools for chapters to
more easily share information so that opportunities for
multi-chapter events or educational courses can be
implemented. We need to continue to gain the local
exposure we have been successfully growing over the
past year. Members state that the second most important
benefit of MRIA membership is local chapter events –
getting out there and connecting with fellow members.
I am truly looking forward to serving as your President,
and I welcome your suggestions and comments as we
move ahead in the MRIA’s 2013–2014 year.
Let me conclude with a special note of thanks
and gratitude to those who are working alongside to
make this year exceptional. Our board is filled with
bright, innovative, insightful people who deeply care
about our association and our industry. Our interim
Executive Director, John Ball, who is passionate about
the marketing research industry and is himself an MRIA
past president, stepped in and took over the running
of the office and is supporting all the work the board
is undertaking. The office staff is a team of dedicated
professionals who care about our members. Our past
presidents and fellows, who are so generous with their
time and always available for a quick phone call or
some sage advice, truly are the keepers of the history
and legacy of our association. And most particularly,
Sandy Janzen – our immediate past president. Sandy
embraces the spirit of change and innovation. She strives
for excellence in everything she does, and has been an
exceptional MRIA President and mentor. I am so pleased
that she will continue to be active on the board as our
Past President.
It is an honour to be the incoming national president
of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association.
I welcome any comments or suggestions as we move
forward into MRIA’s 2013/2014 year. You can reach me at
780-485-6558, x2003 or anastasia@trendresearch.ca.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Je crois également qu’il est grand temps d’affirmer
haut et fort que les chapitres locaux sont le fondement
de notre association. Nos sept chapitres régionaux
sont la clé du succès de l’ARIM. Je cherche des moyens
d’améliorer l’engagement du conseil d’administration
national envers nos chapitres. De plus, j’élaborerai des outils
facilitant l’échange de renseignements avec les chapitres
pour permettre l’organisation d’événements ou d’ateliers
pédagogiques dans plusieurs chapitres simultanément. Nous
devons continuer d’augmenter notre présence localement
comme nous l’avons si bien fait au cours des dernières
années. Les membres ont indiqué que le deuxième avantage
le plus important de l’adhésion à l’ARIM est l’organisation
d’événements locaux – sortir et rencontrer les autres
membres.
J’ai bien hâte de vous servir à titre de présidente de
l’ARIM et je vous invite à me faire part de vos suggestions et
de vos commentaires au cours de l’année 2013-2014.
J’aimerais conclure en remerciant et en exprimant ma
gratitude aux personnes qui travaillent avec nous pour
faire de l’année à venir une année exceptionnelle. Notre
conseil d’administration est composé de gens intelligents,
innovateurs et sages qui ont notre association et notre
industrie à cœur. Notre directeur exécutif par intérim, John
Ball, un passionné de l’industrie de la recherche marketing et
lui-même ancien président de l’ARIM, s’est offert pour assurer
le bon fonctionnement du bureau et appuie tous les travaux
entrepris par le conseil d’administration. Le personnel du
bureau est composé d’une équipe de professionnels dévoués
qui s’occupent bien de nos membres. Les anciens présidents
et associés, offrant généreusement leur temps et toujours
disponibles en répondant au téléphone et nous offrant leurs
sages conseils, sont les véritables gardiens de l’histoire
et du legs de notre association. J’aimerais remercier tout
particulièrement la présidente sortante, Sandy Janzen. Sandy
est habitée par l’esprit du changement et de l’innovation.
Elle recherche l’excellence dans tout ce qu’elle fait et elle
a été une présidente et un mentore exceptionnelles pour
les membres de l’ARIM. Je me réjouis de savoir qu’elle
demeurera une membre active du conseil d’administration à
titre d’ancienne présidente.
C’est un honneur pour moi d’assurer la présidence
nationale de l’Association de la recherche et de
l’intelligence marketing. Je vous invite à me faire part
de vos commentaires et de vos suggestions alors que
l’ARIM entreprend l’année 2013-2014. Vous pouvez
me rejoindre au 780-485-6558, poste 2003 ou à
anastasia@trendresearch.ca. J’ai hâte de vous entendre.

10. 10 vue May 2013
COMMENTARY / COMMENTAIRE
Messagefrom the Interim Executive Director
John Ball, CMRP
You Say It’s Your Birthday
There is a tradition at the MRIA office that we regularly
observe around our staff birthdays and it involves
cake. Discussions at these events typically revolve
around various celebrations planned but also meander
comfortably to include extended family who may have
birthdates close to the lucky birthday boy/girl or those
gathered. However, what is typically never discussed is
the year of birth, in deference to the privacy rights of the
celebrant and to protect other staff members from the
knowledge of how impressively young their colleagues
actually are. In fact, even when asked in general
conversation, I find myself, as I imagine others do, simply
imparting the month and date without mentioning the
year, just in case there are those of the astrological
persuasion in the vicinity who wish to characterize us
according to our sign (personally, cusping between
Scorpio and Sagittarius, for those keeping score). I
think most would agree that this is a fairly copacetic
and comfortable way of having a conversation about
birthdays at any time during our everyday lives.
However, from time to time as researchers, we find it
necessary to confirm with more clarity the demographic
profile of our respondents by asking for a person’s full
date of birth. Well-intentioned, we do so to group our
respondents with like-aged individuals or to confirm that
they are of a particular age to qualify for certain studies
that require a minimum age of majority to participate
when the topic is of a sensitive nature. In doing so, we
also typically reserve the right of respondents to refuse
to answer. If this means they cannot move forward in a
Bien, c’est ton anniversaire!
Il existe une tradition au sein de l’ARIM lors de
l’anniversaire d’un des membres de notre personnel.
Nous lui offrons un gâteau! Lors de ces événements,
nous discutons habituellement des célébrations prévues
entre nous, mais nous incluons également les membres
de la famille dont la date de naissance se rapproche
de celle de la personne célébrée ou qui connaissent
les personnes présentes. Cependant, il est important de
ne jamais discuter de l’année de naissance, par respect
pour la vie privée de la personne célébrée et éviter que
les autres membres du personnel sachent à quel point
leurs collègues sont jeunes. En fait, lorsqu’on me pose la
question, je ne fais que mentionner la date et le mois sans
mentionner l’année, comme beaucoup d’autres sans doute,
au cas où le sujet du signe astrologique est soulevé par
ceux qui aiment nous définir selon les caractéristiques de
notre signe astrologique (pour ceux que ça intéresse, je
suis à la limite entre le scorpion et le sagittaire). Je crois
que nous convenons tous que c’est un moyen formidable
et confortable de tenir une conversation au sujet d’un
anniversaire dans la vie de tous les jours.
Malgré tout, en tant que chercheurs, nous trouvons
parfois nécessaire de confirmer avec plus de clarté le profil
démographique de nos répondants en leur demandant
leur date de naissance complète, y compris l’année. Sans
malice, nous le faisons pour regrouper nos répondants
avec des personnes du même groupe d’âge ou pour
confirmer qu’ils ont l’âge pour être admissibles à certains
cours exigeant au minimum l’âge de majorité pour étudier
un sujet de nature délicate. Ce faisant, nous donnons aux
répondants le droit de refuser de répondre. Si cela signifie
qu’ils ne sont pas admissibles à des champs d’études
particuliers, nous acceptons de respecter leur droit et leur
vie privée, nous les remercions et nous passons à un autre
répondant pour la recherche en question.
Une décision récente du Commissariat à la protection
de la vie privée du Canada (CPVC) met en lumière cet
échange anodin en apparence ainsi que les règles
régissant les droits accrus en matière de protection de
la vie privée de nos répondants en tant que citoyens
“Public opinion research firm must better inform
survey respondents about their personal information
use; refrain from collecting full birth dates.”
Canada’s Office of The Privacy Commission (OPC)

11. vue May 2013 11
COMMENTARY / COMMENTAIRE
particular study, we accept their right to maintain their
privacy, graciously thank them for their time, and move
forward with another candidate for the research in
question.
A recent ruling by the Office of the Privacy
Commissioner of Canada (OPC) brings this seemingly
innocuous exchange into focus and shines light on
the rules governing the extended rights of privacy of
our respondents as citizens protected under Canada’s
private sector privacy law (PIPEDA). The case in question
pertains to a complaint received by the OPC, in January
2010, from an online panelist who was asked her
date of birth as part of a profiling exercise and then
again as part of an online ad hoc request to provide
further information which, in addition to repeating the
request for date of birth information, also happened to
ask questions regarding personal use and behaviours
pertaining to financial services and products. Concerned
that this engagement was not part of the expected
nature of exchange of information and that the nature
of the re-asking of her date of birth along with some
financial data would possibly form the basis for fraud
or a potential theft of her identity, the panelist first
contacted the company directly and, being dissatisfied
with its response, contacted the OPC to lodge a formal
complaint against the company.
While this case dates back to 2010 (two or three
birthdays ago), the OPC’s findings have only recently
been published under the heading, “Public opinion
research firm must better inform survey respondents
about their personal information use; refrain from
collecting full birth dates.” After reviewing the particulars
of this case, the OPC resolved that the key issues from
a privacy standpoint were covered by three questions it
posed to ground its investigation. These are as follows:
• Is it necessary for the company to collect, at
registration, all three elements of the date of birth?
• Is it necessary for the company to confirm, in profiling
surveys, all three elements of the date of birth?
• Did the company adequately inform the complainant
of the purpose of the profiling survey? In other words,
was consent meaningful?
In defending its position, the research firm claimed
that the collection of all three elements of the birth date
was required to ensure adequate demographic profiling,
confirmed that these details would be collected by the
company only for accuracy and identification purposes,
and that they had explicitly communicated, as they do
with all panelists, that this information would be used
only to qualify them as appropriate for various future
research the firm might conduct. Further, it contended
protégés en vertu de la loi canadienne sur la protection
des renseignements personnels dans le secteur privé. Le
cas précis concerne une plainte reçue par le Commissariat
à la protection de la vie privée du Canada en janvier 2010
de la part d’un panéliste en ligne à qui on a demandé la
date de naissance dans le cadre d’un exercice de profilage
et lors d’une demande ad hoc en ligne pour obtenir
plus de renseignements qui, en plus de représenter une
deuxième demande sur sa date de naissance, comportait
des questions concernant son usage personnel et ses
comportements par rapport aux services et produits
financiers. Préoccupée par le fait que cet échange de
renseignements était inhabituel et qu’on lui demande
sa date de naissance deux fois ainsi que d’autres
renseignements de nature financière qui pourraient être
utilisés pour commettre une fraude ou un vol possible de
son identité, la panéliste a communiqué avec l’entreprise
directement et, mécontente de sa réponse, a communiqué
avec le Commissariat à la protection de la vie privée pour
porter une plainte formelle contre l’entreprise.
Même si cette cause remonte à 2010 (il y a deux ou trois
ans déjà), les conclusions du Commissariat à ;a protection
de la vie privée n’ont été publiées que récemment sous
le titre, « Une société de recherche sur l’opinion publique
doit mieux informer les répondants à un sondage au sujet
de l’utilisation de leurs renseignements personnels et doit
s’abstenir de recueillir les dates de naissance au complet
». Après examen des faits en cause, le Commissariat à la
protection de la vie privée a conclu que les questions clés
touchant la protection de la vie privée sont couvertes par
les trois questions qu’il s’est posées comme fondement
pour son enquête. Voici ces questions :
• Est-il nécessaire que la mise en cause recueille les trois
éléments de la date de naissance à l’inscription?
• Est-il nécessaire que la mise en cause confirme les trois
éléments de la date de naissance dans les sondages
relatifs au profil?
• La mise en cause a-t-elle informé adéquatement la
plaignante de la fin du sondage relatif au profil? En
d’autres termes, le consentement était-il valable?
En défendant sa position, la société de recherche
allègue que la collecte des trois éléments de la date
de naissance est nécessaire pour assurer un profilage
démographique adéquat, elle confirme que ces détails
sont collectés par la société pour assurer la précision
des données et l’identification de la personne, et affirme
qu’elle a communiqué explicitement, comme elle le fait
avec tous les panélistes, que ces renseignements ne
seraient utilisés que pour déterminer l’admissibilité pour
des recherches futures qu’effectuerait la société. De
plus, elle prétend qu’il s’agit d’une pratique habituelle et
nécessaire dans cette industrie qui dépend en partie de
la précision du profilage démographique, et que cette

12. 12 vue May 2013
COMMENTARY / COMMENTAIRE
that this was a usual and necessary practice of the
industry that, in part, relies on accurate demographic
profiling in practice and has led in the past to very few
instances of complaint prior to this occasion.
In its written findings, the OPC made the following
conclusions with respect to the collection of all
three elements of a birth date (month, date, year),
in particular, favouring a “two out of three is better”
recommendation:
“It is easy to understand why age is an important
element of demographic research. We are not convinced,
however, that collection of the complete date of birth is
necessary to satisfy the company’s purposes. It seems
to us that little, if any, accuracy would be lost if the
company collected month and year of birth – a less
privacy invasive metric – in order to target its surveys to
the appropriate demographic.”
To remedy the situation, the OPC asked the company
to make the following changes to its profiling practices
moving forward. The firm’s response to each is
summarized in bold italics. The respondent (company)
will
1. Delete all of the complainant’s personal information
from its files. Agreed.
2. Revise the language of consent for the collection of
participants’ personal information in profiling surveys
so that the purposes for the collection are explicit
and unambiguous. Agreed.
3. Delete the day of the week [sic] from the date of
birth in all members’ files; furthermore, … cease
collecting and confirming the day of the week [sic]
in the date of birth – in other words, collect and
confirm only the month and year of birth. Disagreed.
Given this latter result, the OPC then made the
following conclusions in this matter which, in part, led
me to include it as the topic for my article this month.
We conclude that this complaint is well-founded
but is partially unresolved. In particular, the complaint
remains unresolved with respect to the recommendations
to delete the day of the week from the birth date of all
members’ files, and the requirement to cease collecting
and confirming the day of the week in the date of birth,
and;
Given that the complaint is well-founded and remains
unresolved, we will be exploring further options for
addressing the issues in accordance with our authorities
under PIPEDA.
For me, this underscores a couple of key issues
that surround the work we do in the public domain as
MRIA members. The first is that identity theft and fraud
pratique n’a provoqué que peu de plaintes avant cette
cause.
Dans ses conclusions écrites, le Commissariat à la
protection de la vie privée fait les recommandations
suivantes concernant la collecte des trois éléments
de la date de naissance (mois, jour, année), favorisant
particulièrement la collecte de « deux éléments sur trois » :
« Il est facile de comprendre pourquoi l’âge est un
élément important de la recherche démographique. Nous
ne sommes pas convaincus, toutefois, que la collecte de
la date de naissance au complet soit nécessaire pour
satisfaire aux fins énoncées. Il nous semble que l’exactitude
des renseignements serait peu ou pas touchée si la mise
en cause recueillait le mois et l’année de naissance – un
paramètre qui porte moins atteinte à la vie privée – en vue
de cibler le groupe démographique approprié. »
Pour remédier à la situation, le Commissariat à la
protection de la vie privée a demandé à la société
d’apporter les changements suivants dans ses pratiques de
profilage à l’avenir. La réponse de la société à chacun des
changements proposés est résumée en caractère italique
gras. Le répondant (société) devra :
1. Effacer tous les renseignements personnels de la
plaignante de ses dossiers. Convenu.
2. Réviser le message de consentement à la collecte
des renseignements personnels des participants aux
enquêtes de profils de manière à ce que le but de la
collecte soit explicite et non ambigu. Convenu.
3. Effacer le jour de la semaine [sic] de la date de
naissance des dossiers de tous les membres; de plus,
… cesser la collecte et la confirmation du jour de la
semaine [sic] de la date de naissance – autrement dit,
collecter et confirmer seulement le mois et l’année de
naissance. Refusé.
Ainsi, le Commissariat à la protection de la vie privée
en vient aux conclusions suivantes dans cette cause ce qui,
en partie, m’a incité à inclure ce sujet dans mon article ce
mois-ci.
En conséquence, compte tenu de ce qui précède,
nous concluons que la plainte est fondée mais qu’elle est
partiellement non résolue. En particulier, la plainte n’est
toujours pas résolue en ce qui concerne la recommandation
de supprimer le jour de la date de naissance dans les
dossiers de tous les membres, et l’exigence de cesser de
recueillir et de confirmer le jour dans la date de naissance.
Vu que la plainte est fondée et n’est toujours pas résolue,
nous examinerons d’autres options afin de régler les
questions en suspens conformément aux pouvoirs qui nous
sont conférés par la LPRPDE.
Selon moi, cette situation met en valeur deux éléments
clés de notre travail dans le domaine public en tant que
membres de l’ARIM. Premièrement, le vol d’identité et

13. vue May 2013 13
are currently and will continue to be real concerns
for Canadians. What we believe to be clear and
unambiguous about the way in which we communicate
with our respondents when we conduct research with
them is not always so. Secondly, I can’t help highlight
the value that all of our members receive by ensuring
that all projects and surveys are properly recorded
through our Research Registration Service (www.
mriaportal-arimportail.ca/mpower8/rrs/portal.action).
In addition to providing third party validation of
legitimate research on a self-serve basis, this service
also provides an opportunity for the public to open
up a dialogue with the MRIA to make inquiries as to
the legitimacy of a particular research undertaking
(even those operating in the online space). Through
this service, we can communicate to the public that
our members adhere to strict standards and privacy
regulations, particularly as they pertain to collecting
what could be perceived as sensitive information
that could be otherwise misconstrued as part of a
fraudulent misrepresentation. We need to be vigilant
in warding off the misconception by members of the
public, as in this case, that they may somehow be
engaged in a fraudulent activity by participating as
respondents with one of our member firms. The MRIA
Research Registration System is designed to permit
this engagement with the general public and, had we
been involved early on, we might have prevented this
particular instance from escalating as it did.
We will continue to be involved with the OPC in
any consultations on this matter moving forward
and update our members as things progress. For
the detailed findings of the Privacy Commission
on this matter, please see www.priv.gc.ca/cf-
dc/2011/2011_011_0630_e.asp (English) or www.priv.
gc.ca/cf-dc/2011/2011_011_0630_f.asp (French).
la fraude sont une préoccupation actuelle et réelle pour
les Canadiens. Ce que nous croyons clair et non ambigu
concernant notre manière de communiquer avec nos
répondants dans nos travaux de recherche ne l’est pas
toujours. Deuxièmement, je me dois de souligner la valeur
de tous nos membres qui s’assurent que tous nos projets
et toutes nos enquêtes sont enregistrés correctement
par notre service d’enregistrement des sondages (www.
mriaportal-arimportail.ca/mpower8/rrs/portal.action).
En plus de fournir une validation par un tiers pour
donner de la légitimité à la recherche sur une base de
libre-service, ce service offre également la possibilité au
public d’ouvrir le dialogue avec l’ARIM en présentant des
demandes de renseignements concernant la légitimité
d’une recherche en particulier (même les recherches
en ligne). Par l’entremise de ce service, nous pouvons
communiquer au public que nos membres respectent les
normes et les règlements stricts en matière de protection
des renseignements personnels, particulièrement lorsqu’il
s’agit de la collecte de renseignements qui pourraient
être perçus comme étant de nature délicate pouvant être
utilisés à des fins frauduleuses en raison d’une fausse
représentation. Nous devons demeurer vigilants pour
contrer les idées fausses que se font les membres du
public, comme dans ce cas, voulant que nous nous livrions
à des activités frauduleuses par des participants aux
sondages menés par nos sociétés membres. Le système
d’enregistrement des sondages de l’ARIM est conçu pour
permettre de communiquer avec le grand public et,
puisque nous sommes là depuis le début, d’éviter que ce
type de cause n’escalade comme ce fut le cas.
Nous continuerons de participer à toutes les
consultations avec le Commissariat à la protection de la
vie privée sur cette question en communiquant les progrès
à nos membres au fur et à mesure. Pour consulter les
conclusions détaillées de la Commissaire, voir : www.priv.
gc.ca/cf-dc/2011/2011_011_0630_e.asp (Anglais) ou www.
priv.gc.ca/cf-dc/2011/2011_011_0630_f.asp (Français).
John Ball, CMRP, Interim Executive Director /Directeur général intérimaire
Marketing Research and Intelligence Association / L’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing
Email: jball@mria-arim.ca • (905) 602-6854 ext./poste 8724

14. 14 vue May 2013
Really? In this world, where all the players are competing to
be the one who has the best numbers about every move that
consumers make, they want stories? Granted, some of this
might be biased. We at Communispace are known for our
storytelling, and so perhaps clients would answer differently
for someone from another company … and yet I have a
feeling many of you hear the same request.
Inundated with data, we are hungrier
than ever to make meaning of what we
are seeing and learning: to bring our
insights to life, and to understand the
whys behind our new-found access to
overwhelming amounts of information.
Diane Hessan
THE POWER OF
STORYTELLING
As a CEO, I spend most of my time
on the road, visiting executives from
our 150 client organizations. When I
ask what they really need from us, I
usually brace myself for a daunting
challenge, probably related to their
need to master analytics, and for
everything associated with the new
world of big data. Instead, the most
frequent response I get is “I would
like more stories.”

15. vue May 2013 15
Think about it.
In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, John McCain
challenged Barack Obama’s small-business policy, which
proposed to levy a tax increase on businesses that took in
more than $250,000 per year. “Most of you don’t have to
worry,” Obama claimed. “Ninety-eight per cent of small
businesses earn less than that amount and are thus not
affected.” Obama added more data and details, including
the fact that the tax increase would just take rates back
to what they had been during the Clinton years. No one
seemed to care much about the issue.
Enter Joe the Plumber. Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher
challenged the tax during a town meeting in Ohio and,
shortly thereafter, his story became a symbol of a hard-
working small businessman who would be crushed by new
taxes. Suddenly, the debate changed. Instead of arguing
about 36 versus 39 per cent and which rates would benefit
whom, the McCain campaign made the story of Joe the
Plumber (Wurzelbacher’s new nickname) a symbol of all
that was wrong with the Democratic Party. Tales abounded
about the industrious American who would not be able
to make a decent living under the new plan. Most people
don’t remember the tax policy or whether it even passed, but
many people remember Joe the Plumber as someone just
like them.
The same holds in our organizations. If the goal is
validation or decision-making, we obviously need all of the
data we can find. However, if we are to activate our insights,
if we are to mobilize others, if we are to make complex
human experiences come alive, we need to be skilled at
telling stories. Good stories can transform how executives
think about and conduct their business – and, thus, they can
transform our organizations.
What Makes for Great Storytelling?
At Communispace, we are often asked to share how we are
building our storytelling capability. When we first started
to invest in telling great stories, we made an incorrect
assumption that the key was to write creatively. Surely, a
good writer or a good art director can take a dry story and
transform it; but many of the critical components happen
much further upstream.
Build relationships with consumers. It is much easier to craft
a truly great story if you have the right ingredients: rich
and textured perspectives from consumers. To get these,
you often have to give a little to get a lot. Consumers have
to trust you as their advocate and ally, and believe that you
have their best interests at heart.
Spend time with them. Listen early so that you
understand who they are as individuals. Tell them about
yourself so they feel more comfortable opening up to
you. Be honest and authentic. Introduce them to other
consumers to foster trusting relationships with you and with
each other. Whether you’re online or in person, you’ll need
to build a foundation to get you from the transactional to
the personal.
Once a relationship is established, it’s amazing how
consumers will share their dreams, their frustrations, and
their deepest, darkest secrets. Recently, one woman showed
us on video how she is getting every last drop from a
shampoo bottle by diluting it with water in order to make
her dollars stretch; a high-net-worth individual laid out
his entire investment strategy, including a statement of his
assets; and incontinent consumers bravely shared photos of
what living in adult diapers is really like.
Design early and intentionally. Good stories don’t happen by
accident. You have to design for them. People are not robots,
and it’s rarely a one-to-one relationship between question
and answer. We have learned that when we tackle a business
challenge, we need to explore it with consumers – from a
number of different angles.
Instead of asking a consumer to measure satisfaction with
a product, we might have them write the brand’s obituary.
Or we might ask them to go without the product so we
can really understand its value proposition. Or we might
ask them to keep a one-month journal that documents
their interactions with substitute products. Using multiple
techniques makes it possible to go much deeper, and
to move beneath the surface to uncover white spaces,
motivations, and unmet needs.
Activate the human filter. Finding the story is as much an art
as it is a science. Once we’re fully steeped in the data and
have immersed ourselves in the consumer’s world, we start
distilling. Sometimes our distillation process is inductive: we
have been formulating hypotheses all along, and we start to
connect the dots. In other cases, we start with a clean sheet
of paper and ask all members of our team to weigh in on
what themes stand out for them.
We rely both on data and on our own intuition from
the conversations in our communities – and that intuition
allows us to pick up nuances in consumer language and
connect seemingly disparate data points, guiding us through
the noise. Along the way, we ask why it really matters to
our client’s business, and remove anything that doesn’t get
through that filter.
SPECIAL FEATURE

16. 16 vue May 2013
SPECIAL FEATURE
Engage their hearts and minds. It’s not enough for a story to
be heard; the story must be felt and internalized if it is to
be remembered. One thing you’ll always have in common
with your audience is that you’re all human. There’s a lot
of neurological science around the importance of appealing
to the emotional side of the brain as well as to the rational.
When we create stories, we certainly try to use those time-
tested elements we all remember from when we first heard
the words “Once upon a time.” We focus on the time frame,
the plot, the setup, the conflict, the tension, the surprises
and, of course, the moral of the story.
We try to go further by thinking about what will work
for our audience. If we have a lot of data to communicate,
we’ll represent the data visually, in a way that will evoke an
emotion, or by using an image with which the audience can
connect. We enrich the data with consumer voices, videos,
collages or infographics to help the audience feel inspired by
what they are hearing. Or maybe we choose a simple “stat
story” format. It all depends on what we have to work with,
how complex the message is, and what medium we are using
to deliver it.
Capturing people’s imaginations in the first few minutes
is also key; thus, we think a lot about the first five minutes:
Does the audience need something affirming that makes
them nod their heads in agreement and digest the goals in
the beginning? Or are they more impatient, needing “the
answer” upfront as a surprise opening? We’re not handcuffed
by traditional reporting and, from the beginning, our
storytellers work hand-in-hand with our creative department
to identify the right medium to inspire and compel a client’s
organization to action.
How to Build a Culture of Storytellers
Over the years at Communispace, we have made many
storytelling mistakes – from telling a colourful but irrelevant
story to telling a story based on a few comments but not
grounded in enough data. To really get good at this, you
have to have the right people doing the work all along the
way. We start by hiring people who are naturally curious
about the complexity, messiness and beauty of the human
condition and are driven to continually ask why until they
uncover the truth. When we interview people, we often ask,
“What’s your story?” as a way of seeing whether they can
capture our imagination.
Once they are on-board, we encourage our people to
immerse themselves in their clients’ business until they feel
confident that the stories address the most burning issues
in the company – rather than just asking our people to get
creative about less meaningful chatter. And our teams work
in close partnership with designers to bring it all to life in
a way that will get someone to say, “I have never thought
about this issue that way before.” Only then does the story
become a catalyst for change.
Of course, building a storytelling culture requires valuing
the skills of weaving together content just as much as the
skills of doing the analysis itself, and we continually look
for opportunities to collaborate and learn from each other
in this arena. We’ve developed proprietary training on how
to find and tell stories; as part of this effort, over lunch, we
often discuss the work of filmmakers, journalists, authors,
and TEDTalks presenters. We continually push ourselves
to experiment with new ways to bring the voice of the
consumer to our clients’ organizations, and we have a robust
internal system for sharing our innovations.
We also continue to take risks. In the last few years, we’ve
codified a process called Storyforming, which helps our
teams unlock the longitudinal perspective and consumer
intuition that they have developed over time – and
we’re proactively bringing those narratives to our clients.
Sometimes, our clients are the ones pushing us out of our
comfort zones, or asking us to bring our internal training to
their own organizations. We also find that it’s a good idea
to share our general story ideas with clients way before we
have a final story; the collaboration process often creates
the magic because clients know which parts of the story will
resonate most with stakeholders.
At the root of our own storytelling philosophy is a deep
commitment to consumer collaboration. The ability to
engage with consumers, immerse ourselves in their lives, and
tap into their creativity means we get real human narratives,
not just data. Their words, images and actions – raw and
pure – can flip a preconceived notion on its head, shining a
light on possibilities not yet imagined.
Diane Hessan is the CEO of Communispace, a leading
next-generation market research company “with a Blue Chip
client list that would make a Madison Avenue giant jealous,”
according to Advertising Age. A pioneer in creating online
communities to help marketers generate consumer insights,
Diane helped found Communispace in 1999 – when no one
knew what social media were – and hasn’t looked back. Diane
can be reached at dhessan@communispace.com or you can
follow her on Twitter at @CommunispaceCEO

18. 18 vue May 2013
Holly Longstaff and
Alice Hawkins Virani
MIND THE
(ETHICS)
GAP
As an ethics-based consulting group, we at Engage Associates
were very intrigued by Scott Koenig’s article on industry
ethics in the January/February 2013 issue of Vue, which
outlined some of the ethical challenges facing those who
work in the marketing research industry and the usefulness
of clearly communicated ethical standards and codes. We
wanted to join the conversation and further explore the
value of ethical inputs and analysis to marketing research
professionals.
People often assume that ethicists are a sort of “ethics
police,” set on hunting down evil researchers and tying up
their research endeavours with endless reams of red tape.
But this perception could not be further from the truth.
Through our regular work with research professionals and
the scientific community, we are keenly aware that most
research professionals subscribe to the highest of ethical
standards and care deeply about the work they do for
their clients. Good ethics collaborators are not interested
in judging you or your work. They are, instead, there to
help you apply ethical principles to your research practice,
ultimately strengthening the process as well as the final
products.
Traditionally, research ethics in the health arena has
provided the most substance in terms of principles and
guidance with regard to what constitutes ethical (and
unethical) practice. Consider, for example, the following
case: Suppose that your firm has been asked to conduct a
study about patient satisfaction levels among those enrolled
in a new type 2 diabetes treatment program at a small rural
hospital. The hospital plans to use the results of your study
in a forthcoming advertisement campaign to raise public
awareness of the program.
Ethical practice would ask you to consider some of
the short- and long-term ethical concerns that should be
discussed with your client before you begin this study. These
issues might include protecting the anonymity of patient
feedback within a small community and small sample;
potential consequences to the patient-provider relationship;
use of private health information; possible stigmatization
of the patients who participate in this program; and
appropriate communication of results.
Simply put, bad marketing research is unethical. And
good ethics collaborators do more than provide you with a
list of ethics papers and guidelines to read and follow. They
help you incorporate an ethics-based approach throughout
the entire life cycle of your research. Principles and concepts
from research ethics can help you design better projects, select
appropriate methods and representative samples, and report
results in ways that serve your research objectives without
harming those who have participated in your research.
FEATURE

19. vue May 2013 19
Unfortunately, it is possible for good, well-meaning
professionals to conduct unethical research. Imagine the
harm that could be done to your reputation, the participant
group, and your client if you were to release results that
unintentionally stigmatized certain groups or individuals.
What would happen if you did not recognize or follow the
established ethical research guidelines for working with certain
vulnerable populations, children, or cultural and religious
groups? Are you even aware that such guidelines exist?
A knowledgeable ethics collaborator can help you design
studies that are culturally significant and relevant to your
sample and ultimately produce high-quality results for your
client. We all know that speed and efficiency are key factors
when conducting professional research. However, ignoring
ethical guidance might not only destroy well-intentioned
marketing research projects but also significantly harm
future research opportunities and relationships.
Ethicists can also provide guidance and advice about
issues related to organizational ethics. Why is this
important? Consider the massive success of companies – like
Google, for example – that strive to treat their employees
with respect and to project an ethical brand to the wider
community. Typically, when we think of organizational or
business ethics, we think of how our brand can be served
by attention to ethical principles by reducing our firm’s
carbon footprint or by paying attention to the triple bottom
line. But organizational ethics encompasses much more
ground than this and includes important issues such as
the treatment of employees and the moral climate that is
established within a firm.
So why do we need to care about ethical workplace
cultures and the moral distress of employees? Suppose for a
moment that you have a boss who seems to enjoy picking
on one of your colleagues and close friends. This friend has
started to call in sick a lot lately and, one day during lunch,
you even notice your friend crying in the bathroom. You
would like to do something to address this issue, but you
aren’t sure what to do or who you should talk to about this
kind of thing. You are starting to dread coming into work in
the morning.
Prominent ethics researchers such as Bernadette Pauly
and Jan Storch have shown that unethical workplaces
can impact the quality of work conducted by employees,
employee retention rates, and a range of other things. (See,
for example, the autumn 2012 edition of Communiqué,
entitled Toward a Moral Horizon: Nursing Ethics, available
at www.uvic.ca/hsd/nursing/assets/docs/research/
communique/08_Communique_autumn_2012.pdf)
It makes intuitive sense that fostering meaningful and
ongoing engagement with employees allows you to swiftly
identify and address workplace issues (such as bullying) that
are impeding individuals’ ability to conduct high-quality
and efficient work. Such issues can be ameliorated and
managed with ethics training and education. Promoting a
respectful environment where your employees can thrive is
an ethical issue as well as good business practice.
Organizational ethics also draws attention to how
employees actually conduct their work. The media have
been focusing a great deal lately on the controversy
generated by decisions, made by Yahoo and others, regarding
telecommuting and flexible work options. While the “right”
thing to do from a competitive perspective is subject to
intense debate, it is important to consider whether there are in
fact circumstances in which flexible hours or locations could
work for your firm. Employers need to ask what they might
lose, or gain, from not being flexible. What options allow
them to best attract and retain a diverse and loyal workforce?
Are the anticipated tradeoffs worth the potential benefits?
Consider the concept of bringing pets to work. Studies
have shown that pets in the workplace can lower stress
levels and foster better overall health among employees. As
an employer or employee, what are some of the steps you
could take to make your firm a more productive, attractive,
and even healthier workplace for your current and future
colleagues?
In closing, mindfulness of ethical principles and practices
should influence all aspects of the marketing research
industry. Such an approach can help us develop ongoing
trusting relationships with our employees, our research
participants, and our clients, and will impact all aspects
of our research activities, from idea formation to the way
in which we treat our colleagues. As professionals, we
seek to develop long-term trusting relationships with the
communities we research and to do so in ways that will
benefit all of us in the long run, including our bottom line.
Actively engaging with the types of ethical issues raised in
this article will impact both the short- and the long-term
success of our research companies.
Engage Associates Consulting Group is a Vancouver-based
partnership of three consultants. Together, they conduct qualita-
tive and quantitative research in applied ethics for clients across
Canada, including research on the ethics of genetic science, neu-
roethics, the ethics of biofuels, health-care ethics, organizational
ethics, public health ethics, and a range of other topics. You can
reach Holly Longstaff at holly@engageassociates.com and Alice
Hawkins Virani at alice@engageassociates.com
FEATURE

20. vue May 2013 25

21. vuethe magazine of the
Marketing Research
and Intelligence
Association
MAY 2013
JUNE 2–4, 2013
SHERATON ON THE FALLS
NIAGARA FALLS I ONTARIO
2013 MRIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE

23. Welcome to the 2013
MRIA National Conference
Hard to imagine sometimes where the time goes … seems like only yesterday I was enjoying a
cold beer at our Annual Conference in St. John’s when Brendan Wycks sidled up beside me and
starting talking about the 2013 Conference. By the time the “Rally in the Alley” was complete
and Tylenol had made good on its promise of fast (though not fast enough) pain relief, I had
agreed to Chair this great event.
Our conference theme this year is “Bridging the Gap: Bringing clients and suppliers together
to shape business discussions, guide business decisions and drive business growth.” The
Conference Committee is of the firm belief that, by more fully exploring and understanding the
intimate link between marketing research and business decisions, our industry will be well-
positioned to take a seat in the meeting rooms – and the boardrooms – of the world’s most
progressive and successful companies.
Given this emphasis on the relationship between research insight and business objectives, we
have focused our attention on building a balanced program, with representation from both sides
of the research fence. Joint client-supplier presentations will be the norm, not the exception.
We’ll be informed and entertained by researchers, marketers, panelists and Keynote Speakers
from companies who help to keep us clean, feed and water us, give us a place to lay our
weary heads, keep our money safe when we’re not using it, advertise all of the above and an
organization that bridges global gaps with the click of a mouse.
The sold-out tradeshow will be the gathering place for sage marketing research veterans, the
young whippersnappers nipping at their heels, and those of us who fall somewhere in between.
We’ll celebrate the deserving with the Excellence Awards, nosh at the magnificent Table Rock
Restaurant overlooking the Falls, and likely enjoy a sip or two from the barrels of a local winery
during the wine tasting and opening reception.
We have organized a golf outing on Sunday, playing at the home of the 2004 BMO Canadian
Women’s Open. Once the conference is complete, plan to stay around to take in a play at the
Shaw Festival, tour the local wineries and distilleries, or visit one of the sites where battles
were fought during the War of 1812. For those who are so inclined, Casino Niagara offers a wide
variety of ways to spend your money and bridges the gap between the young-at-heart and the
just plain young, with Gerry and the Pacemakers and Russell Peters performing while we’re in
town.
Please make sure to join us for what is sure to be a conference to remember. On behalf of
all the committee chairs and the countless volunteers, we are looking forward to a phenomenal
conference, from June 2–4 in Niagara Falls.
Conference Chair
Tim McCutcheon
June 2 – 4 2013
5875 Falls Avenue I Niagara Falls I Ontario
June 2 – 4 2013
5875 Falls Avenue I Niagara Falls I Ontario

24. THANK YOU
TO OUR
SPONSORSJune 2 – 4 2013
5875 Falls Avenue I Niagara Falls I Ontario
June 2 – 4 2013
5875 Falls Avenue I Niagara Falls I Ontario
PINNACLE
PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
Reliable, Actionable Consumer Insights
by Design.TM

25. Don Gloeckler – EVP, Chief Research Office at the Advertising Research Foundation
Dhan Kashyap, Director, Consumer Research and Competitive Intelligence, Humana
Andy Reid, Founder, President Chief Product Officer, Vision Critical
Daniel Speck, VP Sales and Marketing, Henry of Pelham
Susan Abbott, CMRP, Abbott Research Consulting
Margot Acton, CMRP, Senior Vice President, TNS
Monica Alfonso, Shopper and Media Insights, Unilever Canada
Emily Anderson, Director of Client Advocacy, Environics Analytics
Dominic Atkinson, Executive Director, DIG Insights Inc.
Ahmed Badruddin, Co-founder, WatrHub
Lesly Bauer, Canadian Medical Association
Tricia Benn, Senior Director, Rogers Connect Market Research
Derek Blair, PhD, Managing Director, ATB Financial
Maya Bourdeau, Managing Partner, Attune LLC
Christian Bourque, Executive Vice-President and Partner, Leger Marketing
Margaret Brigley, CMRP, President COO, Corporate Research Associates
Winnie Chan, Director, Strategic Marketing Research, RBC
Doug Church, CMRP, Phase 5
Angie Cicciarella, Manager, Strategic Market Research, RBC
Sylvie Croteau, VP, Ad Hoc Research
Amy Davies, Senior Manager, Wrigley Canada
Cam Davis, PhD, CMRP, FMRIA, Managing Director, Social Data Research
Catherine Dine, CMRP, President, Dine Discoveries
Nick Drew, Head of Research, Yahoo! Canada
Lise Elder, President, heads up
Michael Ennamorato, CMRP, Managing Director, TNS Canada
Adam Froman, CEO, Delvinia AskingCanadians
Jan Fuller, Confectionary Lead, Bars, Nestle Canada
Julie Kellershohn, Department Manager, Brand Menu Insights, McDonald’s
Janine Keogh, Vice President, Mondelez Canada
Rick Lempera, Capital One
Alison Leung, Director of Marketing Foods, Unilever
Steve Levy, CMRP, President, Ipsos
Gail Livermore, Senior Manager, Guest Insights, Target Canada
Bernie Malinoff, CMRP, President, Element 54
Jon Mamela, Director, Four Seasons Hotels Resorts
Raj Manocha, Vice President, AskingCanadians
Marco Massa, Consumer Insight Manager, Sweet Biscuit
Karen McCauley, Managing Director, Fresh Squeezed Ideas
Joline McGoldrick, Research Director, Dynamic Logic
KEYNOTES
PANELLISTS AND SESSION PRESENTERS
C O N F E R E N C E S P E A K E R S
Accruate at time of printing: April 29, 2103

26. Sharon M. McIntyre, CMO, Chaordix Inc.
Scott Megginson, President, Millward Brown Canada
John Morton, President, Market Probe
Dr. Stephen Needel, Managing Partner, Advanced Simulations, LLC.
Paul Neto, Co-founder, Crowd Science
Paul Neumann, Director of Insights and Planning, Diageo
Steve Olsen, Associate Manager in Consumer Market Insight, Unilever Canada
Anagha Patwardhan, Vice President, Research Incite
Devin Pratt, Research Specialist, Foresters Insurance
Kevin Press, Assistant Vice President, Market Insights, Sun Life Financial
George Rassias, CMRP, Senior Manager, Ontario Lotteries and Gaming
Usha Srinivasan, PhD, Program Director, Business Acceleration Program (BAP), MaRS
Stephen Thompson, EVP, Ramius Corporation
Brett Townsend, Director of Strategy and Insights, PepsiCo
Steve Tile, President, Ignite Lab
Vikram Verghese, Marketing Manager – Americas, AB World Foods
Cathy Williamson, Director, Brand Development, heads up
Carol Wilson, CMRP, Director of Market Research, SPIELO International
Cesar Zea, Director, Client Service, Millward Brown Canada
PANELLISTS AND SESSION PRESENTERS
C O N F E R E N C E S P E A K E R S

27. T R A D E S H O W B O O T H S E X H I B I T O R S
3Q Global..........................................28
ACCE Intl............................................8
Advitek Research................................24
AIP New York Co..................................4
ASDE Survey Sampler (Providers of
the Annual Speed Networking Event)....10
ATP Canada / Rosetta Studio..................6
Canadian Viewpoint Inc.........................9
Cido Research......................................7
CLS Lexi-Tech Ltd...............................15
Confirmit...........................................13
Economical Select...............................12
E-Tabs...............................................26
Focus Vision Worldwide.........................1
LMS Prolink Ltd..................................11
MRII / University of Georgia...............TBA
Marketing Systems Group /
SM Research......................................19
Network Research..............................30
Opinions Ltd....................................TBA
Provalis Research...............................23
Research House Inc............................16
Research Now............................ 17 18
SSI...................................................22
The Logit Group Inc..............................2
Tellepoll Market Research....................27
Toluna.................................................3
uSamp..............................................25
Reliable, Actionable Consumer Insights
by Design.TM

28. T H A N K Y O U T O O U R
Conference Volunteers, Suppliers and Staff
O R G A N I Z I N G C O M M I T T E E
V O L U N T E E R S
CONFERENCE CHAIRS
Tim McCutcheon
t.mccutcheon@marketprobe.com
PROGRAM AND SPEAKER CO-CHAIR
Joseph Chen
joseph.chen@unilever.com
SPONSORSHIP CO-CHAIRS
Anu Bhalla
abhalla@advanis.net
Carolyn O’Keefe
carolyn@mqoresearch.com
TRADESHOW CO-CHAIR
Anastasia Arabia
conftradeshow@mria-arim.ca
MARCOMM CO-CHAIR
Gera Nevolovich
gera.nevolovich@hotspex.com
GALA AND AWARDS EVENING CO-CHAIR
Cam Davis
camdavis@sdrsurvey.com
SOCIAL EVENTS CO-CHAIR
Christian Mueller
christianmuellerphd@gmail.com
CONFERENCE COMMUNICATIONS
EVENT LOGISTICS
Anne Marie Gabriel
amgabriel@mria-arim.ca
REGISTRATION LOGISTICS
Erica Klie
eklie@mria-arim.ca
WEB DESIGN AND GRAPHICS
Michael Maske and Louise Maske
info@lsgraphics.com
Anu Bhalla
abhalla@advanis.net
Tabatha Bourguignon
tabatha.bourguignon@hotspex.com
Connie Classen
cclassen@bbmanalytics.ca
Jeff Cole
jeff.cole@georgiancollege.ca
Dionne Daley
Dionne.Daley@hotspex.com
Cam Davis
camdavis@sdrsurvey.com
Roy Gonsalves
rgonsalves@askingcanadians.com
Kelsey Hackenschmidt
kelsey.hackenschmidt@hotspex.com
Lesley Haibach
Lesley.Haibach@ipsos.com
Fiona Isaacson
fisaacson@corbinpartners.com
Robert Kolatschek
robert.kolatschek@mdlz.com
Marina Korotkikh
marina@rsginc.net
Peter Krelove
peter.krelove@hotspex.com
Katya Matkova
katya@rsginc.net
John Morton
j.morton@marketprobe.com
Carolyn O’Keefe
carolyn@mqoresearch.com
Zissis Parras
zparras@hotmail.com
Anagha Patwardhan
anagha.patwardhan@riconsultants.com
Sarah Paz
sarah.paz@hotspex.com
Carlos Rubios
carlos.rubios@hotspex.com
Kamal Sharma
Kamal.Sharma@sobeys.com
John Snow
john.benchmark@rogers.com
Margaret Tso
margaret.tso@cadillacfairview.com
Cora Waters
coraw@rogers.com
Cathy Williamson
cathy.williamson@headsupgroup.com

29. 20 vue May 2013
FEATURE
Tom De Ruyck
Currently, only 3 per cent of all companies have experience
with developing new products and services with their
consumers. In most cases, this collaboration starts with
a pilot project (see InSites Consulting’s Social Media
Integration Survey, 2011, accessible at www.slideshare.net/
stevenvanbelleghem/social-media-integration-survey). If the
test is successful, the collaboration can gradually be built
up in a more structural manner. Fewer than one out of ten
companies that co-create with their customers also use this
collaboration for the launching of new products. We may
say that co-creation is mainly focused on the initiation of
new ideas (see Frost Sullivan’s 2011 RD/Innovation and
Product Development Priorities Survey Results, available at
www.frost.com/prod/servlet/cio/246147871).
But even if consumers are more or less continually
involved in the process of dreaming up new ideas, this
involvement is still not enough to be able to speak of
“structural collaboration.” Structural collaboration means that
the customer is involved in all aspects of your company’s life,
including the following.
• Getting new insights. Explore the target group. Listen
directly to how they perceive the product and service quality
in order to optimize the commercial portfolio. Doing so also
implies discovering new market trends and unmet needs from
your most relevant customers.
STRUCTURAL
COLLABORATION
WITH CONSUMERS:
AN EVOLUTION,
NOT A REVOLUTION
Co-creation is hot. In recent years, the world has been
witness to a whole host of successful co-creation cases.
Doritos allowed its fans to develop an advert to be
shown during the Super Bowl; Lay’s Crisps asked its
customers to help choose a new flavour; and snack
manufacturer Mora produced a new croquette in
collaboration with its consumers.
Co-creation and crowdsourcing are high on the agenda
of the majority of today’s marketers. They are seen as
quick ways to experiment with a new way of working.
There is nothing wrong with the approach but, in most
cases, it doesn’t go any further than being just a trendy
marketing campaign. The other problem with all of the
examples above is that they were all “one-offs.” There
is no long-term vision, nor an intention to collaborate
with the customer in a more structural way.

30. vue May 2013 21
FEATURE
• Development of new ideas and fine-tuning of existing
ideas. Work together with customers to create new commer-
cial value. By involving customers in the product, campaign
or brand development flow, you create a sort of self-fulfilling
prophecy. The most relevant customers decide almost upfront
what they will buy.
• Key role during implementation. Include customers
during the implementation phase to make sure that your
interpretation of their ideas is done in a correct way.
• Continuous evaluation and optimization. Use the voice
of the customer as a continuous flow of information to
improve a number of smaller, tactical issues and to reshape the
future of your company with your customer as your primary
consultant.
The figure above provides an overview of structural
collaboration and business objectives.
And structural collaboration pays off. Scott Cook’s article,
“The Contribution Revolution,” in the October 2008
issue of Harvard Business Review, claims that companies are
better able to solve all their main business problems if they
collaborate closely with their consumers. The good news is
that consumers are willing to help companies out with these
efforts: more than half of them want to collaborate with
one of their favourite brands around one or more of these
issues (see InSites Consulting’s study entitled Social Media
around the World 2011, accessible at www.slideshare.net/
stevenvanbelleghem/social-media-around-the-world-2011).
Moreover, recent research carried out at the University
of Wageningen, in the Netherlands, has demonstrated
that products whose packaging is labelled “co-created with
consumers” will sell significantly better than equivalent
products that are not labelled in this way (J. Van Dijk’s MSc
thesis for the Faculty of Social Sciences, The Effects of
Co-creation on Brand and Product Perceptionsm).
In other words, consumers have more confidence in each
other’s judgment than in the judgment of professional experts
within a company. And they are probably right to feel that
way. In a recent study, we found that new product ideas
co-developed with consumers score higher, especially
on “being relevant” and “fulfilling ones needs” (InSite
Consulting’s RD study in collaboration with Heinz).
The goal of the present article is to look into the ingredients
that are necessary for a company to get the consumer on board
structurally – every single day and for almost all decisions that
need to be taken. As a consequence of this intense collaboration
between your company and the market, decisions will no
longer be imposed from above. And when the majority of your
Overview of Structural Collaboration and Business Objectives

31. 22 vue May 2013
decisions are taken in this manner, following consultation with
the market, you may justly speak of structural collaboration.
Consumers are truly represented in the boardroom. Their voice
can be heard in every part of your company, a voice that is
every bit as loud as the voice of management and staff. You may
even want to consider appointing a consumer as an honorary
member of your board.
Objectives of Structural Collaboration
Companies that are working on structural collaboration with
their customers have four clear objectives in mind with this
approach.
1. To create better products, improve customer service,
and communicate in a more impactful way. This is by far
the most important objective for large brands’ collaboration
with consumers. By succeeding in this objective, the overall
performance of the organization will improve.
2. To become more agile. By involving customers in
every phase of a decision-making chain, things move faster.
Companies can make better decisions faster and have a better
feeling for what will be needed to be as successful in the future
– a big plus in today’s fast-moving world.
3. To add consumer feeling to the gut feeling. A lot of
managers rely on their gut feeling – a wonderful practice.
Structural collaboration should add “consumer feeling.” By
collaborating so often, managers develop the ability to put
on the consumer’s hat during a meeting and think as the
customer would, allowing them to make more consumer-
relevant choices.
4. To address marketing PR. Companies that listen
to and involve consumers in decision-making are popular
nowadays. Tell all your customers that you take decisions
based on consultations with other customers and they will
like you more. Leveraging the internal collaboration platforms
toward external communication has an impact on the
customer’s overall perception. This is not the main goal of
structural collaboration, but a very welcome indirect effect.
Evolution, Not Revolution
It is clear that structural collaboration with consumers is not
about having the right technology to make it happen. It is
about a shift in mentality, for most organizations – a shift
from a “we know best” attitude toward an open mentality.
The most beautiful result for collaborating companies is
the creation of what we just called the consumer feeling.
Adding the consumer feeling to the gut feeling of companies
is the biggest change that can be achieved through structural
collaboration.
To reach this situation, there are a number of steps to take.
Based on our research among fifteen C-level executives of
global companies that practise collaboration with consumers,
we learned that all companies started small and evolved
toward bigger and bigger collaborative projects. In the end,
collaboration was truly embedded in company organization. It
was a process of evolutionary change, not revolution change.
The evolution toward structural collaboration happens in
three steps.
1. Collaboration always starts with a first time tryout.
Companies organize a co-creation project in which they
allow the customer to participate in one specific project. The
most frequently occurring examples are co-creations of a new
product, a new package, or new marketing communication.
2. If this tryout is experienced as a success, the second
step is to apply collaboration on a project-based level in the
organization. At this stage, companies have the habit of
involving the customer in every important new project on
which they work.
3. After a while, it becomes hard for the companies to take
decisions without the voice of the customer during the
process, and they decide to collaborate structurally.
Five Pillars of Structural Collaboration
Based on our interviews with C-level executives, we conclude
that there are five crucial pillars of success in the evolution
toward structural collaboration.
1. Fit with the company culture. In our interviews,
everyone mentioned company culture as a very important
pillar for evolution from co-creation to structural
collaboration. It is easier to collaborate with employees and
customers if your organization is characterized by an open and
positive culture.
However, the implication is not that collaboration is
possible only in certain companies. Collaboration is possible
in every company, but the current culture determines
where you can start. To be successful in collaboration, it is
important to select an approach that fits the current company
culture. Don’t try to change the culture through your first
collaborative projects.
For example, if you have a culture in which low cost
is key, make sure the objective of the collaboration is to
reduce the costs of other expenses (e.g., doing less ad hoc
marketing research). If you are a company whose connection
with its target group is high on the agenda, add consumer
connectivity as an objective.
FEATURE

32. FEATURE
In other words, let the objectives of collaboration and the
way of working (duration, intensity, and level of involvement
of different departments) fit with the existing culture. This
approach will allow you to start. After a while, the company
culture will change automatically, project by project.
Employees will be more connected to consumers, resulting in
direct feedback, which will allow better and faster decisions
and, in the end, bring in more money. As a consequence,
the opinion of the customer will increase in value and
your company will evolve toward an open, collaborative
environment.
2. Select the right participants. There are two types of
customer collaboration possible: an open online platform,
where everyone can participate, and a closed online
community, where you select the people to join in.
In the large, open communities, you have little direct
control over who joins in and who doesn’t. The members
come together in a very spontaneous way to discuss particular
subjects that are of interest to them. Your role with regard
to these people is simply to listen. Doing so will allow you
to discover a series of unfulfilled market needs, potentially
leading to new products and services. Of course, you are
also free to ask members questions, but you must always
remember that these communities are open – anyone else
might be listening to the members’ answers!
Companies that want to involve the customer in more
strategic decisions and have a need for in-depth feedback
tend to work with a closed online community, with a limited
number of relevant customers. If you want to solve a specific
management problem, it is better to discuss possible solutions
with a smaller, closed group of between 50 and 150 of people
with a keen interest in your category. The community could
also be a group of your most ardent fans, whom you have
carefully vetted and selected yourself. The major advantage of
this approach is that you have everything in your own hands
– and this state of affairs is advisable when you don’t want the
whole world to know what decisions are being taken.
It is important to acknowledge that not every customer
will be able – or is suitable – to help you solve management
problems. To give your company access to the right advice
on a daily basis, you need to listen to the right (and relevant)
people; for your communities seek to attract people who
can offer an added value. The minimum condition for
participation is that the participants have a clear commitment
to the company and what it stands for. They might be experts
in the sector, knowledgeable and enthusiastic amateurs in
it, or just big fans of your brand. Research has shown that,
without this kind of emotional commitment, people seldom
have enough interest to contribute effectively to an online
community (Ludwig, De Ruyck Schillewaert, InSites
Consulting, the University of Maastricht’s 2011 study).
In other words, you need to talk to people who are
interesting and interested. If they don’t have an opinion or
the natural motivation to take part, your community will not
achieve what you want it to achieve. But natural engagement
is not enough; you will need to manage the community well
in order to make it a real success. A number of things are
important: be open and transparent about the goals of each
project; listen in an active way (allow participants to put their
issues on your agenda too); make it a fun experience (after all,
people are doing this in their spare time); and give enough
feedback on what you did with their answers.
3. C-level involvement and support are not enough.
One of the critical success factors is the involvement of your
top executives. To implement collaboration in a way that is
credible to the market, there is need for tangible proof of the
results of the collaboration. Consumers want to see a new
product, change in service, or improved communication. If
they feel there is no impact from their efforts, they will drop
out. Consumers participate in this type of project to get
recognized by a company, not to get rich.
In order to make sure the feedback of consumers is used
during implementation, the involvement of your C-level is
necessary. Top management support is actually not enough.
Based on our interviews, we conclude that the most successful
cases of collaboration are all stories in which the CEO has
an active role: both internally and externally. Internally, he
or she leads by example, using consumer feedback to make
important decisions. To the external world, the CEO is the
face of the company reporting back on decisions that have
been made.
CEOs who invest in collaboration want to add consumer
feeling to the gut feeling of the organization. Many
organizations don’t have a clue about what the consumer
thinks. As a consequence, marketing research is needed
for every small step. The moment your organization gets a
consumer feeling, managers can look at the world through
the eyes of the consumer, thereby increasing the speed and
decreasing the cost of ad hoc research.
4. Internal communication is not enough: internal
= external. Managers show more interest in a project or
approach that gets external credits than in a project with a
sole internal focus. In other words, make sure your structural
collaboration does not take place completely behind the
scenes of your organization.

33. 24 vue May 2013
FEATURE
Sharing your collaborative work with the whole
organization and the rest of the world has a number of
advantages. In addition to an increase in the motivation of
your management, it will also increase the motivation of the
participants in your communities. Furthermore, research has
shown that consumers have a higher level of trust in, and a
better perception of, brands that co-create. So, there is also a
commercial benefit to leveraging your efforts externally.
5. Measure impact. To keep the flow of collaboration
going, there is a need for evidence that the approach works.
Therefore, we advise using a number of clear success
indicators that you can employ during the implementation
of structural collaboration in your organization. There is no
standard list of key performance indicators to use; they differ
from company to company, as they are closely linked to a
company’s culture and its (long-term) objectives. There are,
however, a few KPIs that apply to all companies in following
up on the impact of structural collaboration.
• Success of innovation, impact of communication and
improvement of customer service. By involving customers
early in the process, your company will make better decisions.
Product launches, new advertising campaigns, and so on,
should have a higher success rate than before the collaboration
was implemented.
• Cost reduction. By integrating the voice of the customer in
the entire decision-making flow, the cost of ad hoc marketing
research could be reduced. In addition, by creating better
products and services based on the input of the market, the
impact of word-of-mouth will increase, potentially leading to
lower media budgets.
• Consumer feeling of the organization. You can measure
to what extent your management has a better feeling for
the attitude and behaviour of your target market. The goal
is for managers to think as a consumer and improve their
performance through this newly acquired skill.
• Brand perception. Listening actively will humanize your
brand and make it more popular.
Define your KPIs, measure them, and celebrate success!
Conclusion: Need for Change in the Internal
Implementation Processes
Collaboration should lead to decisions that are taken
through cooperation between the market and your
company. The proof of structural collaboration is in the
implementation of the ideas. In order to succeed in this
crucial step, there is a need to change the internal decision
streams. The challenge is to integrate consumer input and
feedback into every phase of the decision cycle. And such
integration does not happen overnight.
List of Interviewees
In order to get a sense of the state of co-creation and
structural collaboration with consumers as a business
practice today, we conducted in-depth interviews with
fifteen senior executives with experience in this area. Here is
the full list of interviewees:
Caroline Van Hoff (concept development manager,
Heineken International)
Charles Hageman (research manager, KLM)
Erkinheimo Pia (global collaboration manager, Nokia)
Graham Kahr (social commerce product manager, Zappos)
Hans Similon (evangelist, Mobile Vikings)
Joella Marsman (marketing researcher, HJ Heinz)
Marc Fouconnier (CEO, Famous)
Marjan Rintel (vice-president of marketing brand, KLM)
Martijn Van Kesteren (Yunomi leader, Unilever Benelux)
Pascale Mignolet (international market research director for
coffee tea, Sara Lee)
Philip Rogge (CEO, Microsoft BE)
Piet Decuypere (CEO, Danone)
Pol Van Biervliet (CEO, Cisco BE)
Stan Knoops (head of consumer insights for Europe,
Unilever RD)
Tormod Askildsen (senior director of community
engagement events, Lego)
Based in Belgium, Tom De Ruyck is head of Research
Communities at InSites Consulting and in charge of InSites’
global community research activities. Among others, his awards
include the American Marketing Association’s “4 under 40:
Emerging Leaders Award,” for those who have made significant
contributions to the industry (2010), MRS ResearchLive’s
“Tweeter of the Year” (2011), MOAward for the “Innovation
of 2012,” and the CMO Council USA Asia’s “Leadership
Award for Contribution to Market Research” (2012). Tom can
be reached at Tom.DeRuyck@insites.eu.

34. 26 vue May 2013
FEATURE
Kamal Sharma
Before the study …
Client: “Here are the business objectives for the research we need
to conduct. We want to use methodology X to run this study.”
Supplier: “Based on our understanding, here are the proposal and
our recommended methodology and approach.”
During the study …
Supplier: “Since field time for the survey is longer than we
anticipated when costing, there will be some adjustment in cost.”
Client: “We are tight on budget. No scope for additional cost.”
After study completion …
Client: “The deliverables are not up to the standards I
expected. The report is pages and pages with no real findings or
recommendations.”
Supplier: “We provide a report with key findings and not
recommendations. You are closer to the business and so should
provide the recommendations. This is what we promised and
delivered.”
These are very familiar conversations we have all had or
heard in our research career, whether as supplier or client.
The closing panel at last year’s MRIA conference in St. John’s
hosted by the Client-Side Researcher Council, served as the
perfect background for the invitation to the 2013 conference in
Niagara Falls, Ontario.
TheClient-SideResearcherCouncil (CSRC) andtheResearch
AgencyCouncil(RAC) conductedindependentsurveys in2012to
helpunderstandthegaps between theclient’s needs andexpectations
andthoseofthesupplier.Thetableabove presents thekeythemesthat
emergedandwhichI presentedattheconference lastyear.
We in the marketing research community know that a void
has always existed between suppliers and clients. The gap can
occur anywhere – in understanding of the business questions, in
methodologies employed, and in reporting deliverables. Together,
as a community, we have been working in pursuit of improving
the quality of research, getting meaningful insights, and building
a relationship of trust between clients and suppliers. MRIA
has always encouraged driving synergies between the research
individuals working on either side of the fence.
From a supplier’s perspective, in order to provide actionable
insights, suppliers need to have access to more internal
information or the context of the research being done. They want
to be involved in the research at an early stage. Sometimes they
work in a haze where they are considered neither just field and tab
CLIENTS’ PERSPECTIVE
Positives
Suppliers make clients’ lives
easier.
Suppliers contribute to clients’
success.
Clients, in turn, value the
relationship.
Opportunities
Collaboration needs to be
encouraged.
Highlight the value add.
Feedback leads to improved
productivity.
SUPPLIERS’ PERSPECTIVE
Positives
Suppliers appreciate the team
approach.
Clients consider suppliers
valued partners.
Suppliers appreciate their
expertise being honoured.
Opportunities
Involve suppliers in the project
early in the process and
provide sufficient detail.
Be consistent in how projects
are awarded.
Consider rewarding suppliers
based on performance.
Clients and Suppliers: Differing Perspectives
‘Bridging the Gap’
The 2013 MRIA Conference: Client-Side Researcher Council