Ipsos OTX: 100 Stories….Big Changes Come From Small Steps - Shelley Zalis - MediaBizBloggers

Welcome Shelley Zalis our newest MediaBizBloggerLast week the 4A39s asked us to transform our industry Good suggestion but let39s be realamp8230it39s getting a little clichamp233 One thing in the research industry we all know won39t change is how often we39ll be lectured about change I would have liked to hear more about quottransformingquot the way we conduct and use research a part of our business that seems immune to evolutionDavid Ogilvy39s famous criticism about the communication industry39s use of research quotThe way a drunk uses a lamppostamp8212for support rather than illuminationquot should serve as a prophetic warning about inert processes that won39t cut it in a dynamic 21st Century ecosystem Yes there are more tools and data but data detached from insight is just a collection of numbers The only way we transform research into more than a wellpresented data dump is if we quotthe research specialistsquot turn the data into insights that make it meaningful As Thoreau so memorably noted quotThings do not change We changequot Research will not transform itself Each of us the minds behind the numbers must work towards a common goalThe way I like to visualize this challenge is with an analogous 100story building You can do what research does today take the easy way out get on the elevator and push the button marked quot100quot ie here are the tables here39s the methodology here39s the executive summaryamp8212thanks Or consider an alternative route take the stairs even if they are steep and winding and it takes an extra effort to climb What if you climb every floor You39ll be up on the roof out of breath but filled with insight You39ll know the building literally from the inside bottom to top You39ll have the same dataamp8212but you39ll also have something far far more valuable contextContext puts the data in perspective How do you do that Not by erecting a numbers temple but by sharing actual nuggets of knowledge by marrying all of the qualitative and quantitative data inputs with consumer immersion and active listening You do it by listening to the story the numbers tell and breathing life into them not just with executive summaries but with passion fun conviction and yesamp8212contextThis is a simple fix most solutions are they just need a little creativity and determination Let39s demand the same toptobottom overhaul in the way we conduct use and evaluate research that we have demanded in every other aspect of our business Change is scary The steps might seem too steep so we tend to avoid them but what if we think of it as a transformation It39s a process and it39s achievable if we embrace it Let39s each take responsibility if we don39t who will to transform and ascend the building floorbyfloor creating a story with research that brings our consumers to life Imagine how transformative that would be quotResearchquot could even become a sexy wordamp8230now that39s a change that makes senseShelley Zalis has over 25 years of experience working in traditional marketing and advertising research companies In early 2000 Shelley Zalis founded OTX which in nine years has grown to become a top 18 global research agency with offices in Los Angeles New York Cincinnati Chicago Miami and London In January 2010 OTX was acquired by Ipsos Shelley now leads the Ipsos Global Innovation Center Shelley can be reached at szalisotxresearchcom

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Ipsos OTX: 100 Stories….Big Changes Come From Small Steps - Shelley Zalis - MediaBizBloggers

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Ipsos OTX: 100 Stories….Big Changes Come From Small Steps - Shelley Zalis - MediaBizBloggers

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