We Can Do “Virtually Anything”or the Emperor's New Clothes…

Ben Page, Managing Director, Ipsos MORIben.page@ipsos.com

1518

3231

2625

1112

1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009

Real Trends 2008

2008

I cannot imagine life without the Internet

2005

Base: 2,019 British adults 15+, 9 May-5 June 2008, self-completion and online.

65

63

2

6

5

6

11

15

9

0

6

6

3

% Never % Only on special occasions% Once a month or less % Every now and then% Most days % Every day

Around a third might look at them sometime

How often, if ever, do you do each of the following

Use social networking sites on the internet (such as Facebook, MySpace or Bebo)

Use the internet to contribute to a blog or post messages on a bulletin board

Base: 2,019 British adults 15+, 9 May-5 June 2008, self-completion and online.

30

61

81

92

1

4

3

1

7

7

3

1

20

12

9

2

23

10

1

18

6

2

% Never % Only on special occasions% Once a month or less % Every now and then% Most days % Every day

But as with internet generally, very age concentrated….How often, if ever, do you do each of the following

“Use social networking sites on the internet (such as Facebook, MySpace or Bebo)

15-29

30-49

50-64

65+

Base: 2,019 British adults 15+, 9 May-5 June 2008, self-completion and online.

What are we talking about?

But offer plenty of potential, as long as your are not trying to produce representative research….

Engage users/citizens

Provide added insight into the research process

This is done by harnessing the power of Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, General Blogs for research purposes

Or by creating communities and applying social media techniques (e.g. interactive discussions, user generated content, collaboration, co-creation etc.) to increase engagement or provide added insight.

We are not talking about making the survey look or work better – we take this as a given!

Some challenges…. Only c69% of the UK population are Online in the first place.

Users visiting these sites can not be assumed are actually collaborating and engaging with the content writer and technology

Therefore is it just nerds and freaks who will respond?

These techniques require a fundamental shift from traditional research practices

– Researchers must cede control to research participants

– We no longer just ask questions and expect responses

– We have less control on the direction of the research project

– Senior politicians/managers need to be more involved in the process

It all feels a bit scary!

Social Community Insight

02 is using Facebook for research

Big organisations like the BBC are already onboard

Visit Britain: Blogging diaries

Creating engagement through “democratised research”

The Guardian and Market Truths has experimented in Second Life research

“We need to "let go", to cede control to consumers, to be in touch.”

A.G. Lafley, Chairman and CEO, P&G

“78% do not believe advertising”

“66% believe what they are told by their friends and family”

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five

minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."

Warren Buffet CEO, Time Magazine‘s 100 Most Influential People in

The World

Consumer content more trusted

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Celebrity recommendation Television Adverts

Blogs/Weblogs-blog w ritten by people you do not know

Peoples w ish/fav lists on retail w ebsites e.g amazon.com Recommendation in a television programme

Comments/view points on social netw ork sites e.g facebook.com

Readers letters page in a new spaper Blogs/Weblogs- professional blog e.g engadget.com

Shelf information and product displays in store

Company/brand Website Search engine (e.g live.com)

Review s w ritten on new s w ebsites e.g guardian.co.uk New spaper article

Magazine article

User review s on an online auction site (e.g ebay.com) Blogs/Weblogs- personal blog w ritten by people you know

Review s on retail/ price comparison w ebs e.g priceline.com

Consumers review s on retail sites e.g amazon.com Instant Messenger conversation w ith a friend/ colleague

Emails from a friend/ colleague

Personal recommendations from professionals Personal recommendations from friends/ family/

Least trusted Most trustedGlobal Average. Source: Universal McCann When Did We Start Trusting Strangers

Global. Source: Universal McCann Trusting Strangers

US Jan 2009: Personal content leads

Global Web Index: January 2009 USA 1000 respondents

Social web powers viewing

Global Web Index: January 2009 USA 1000 respondents

Why has social media evolved this way?

Growth of broadband

Dec 2006: 282 million broadband connections

Dec 2008: 400 million broadband connections

Dec 2013: 635 million broadband connections

Dec 2008: China overtook US with 80m lines

New economy: global innovation

Low costs

Single person multi-national

Global market place for ideas and skills

Tools are democratised

Access is open

Free broadbandLaptops for £200

HD Video camera for £200 Video on Mobile phones

cheapest form of entertainment

Hugely liberating

Hierarchy Individualism

A new part of research

No lines

Rise of data & analytics

Social Media as a data collection

Global perspective

Listening economy: lines disappear

=Research Marketing

= ResearchMarketing

Listening is the future of marketing

Data: Buzz tracking

Listening is the future

Interpretation / trend analysis is key

Important ……but won’t replace research

Data: Analytics a big deal

Conclusions…

New world – fusing survey data with observational data….

Distribute surveys into social networks / RSS / social networks

Allow consumer content generators to share surveys, create their own

Use conversational media to drive insight

– Blogs, microblogs etc

– Take the plunge but don’t inhale….

Let us consider just three scenarios

in which social media can engage