The February edition of the Revelation Dispatch is hot off the presses! Inside this month's issue you'll find:
- Information about the latest additions to our Great Research Thinking (GRT) webinar series. Ray Poynter will present "The Case for NewMR" on March 2nd, and Andrew Vincent will give his talk on "Insight Integration" on April 13th.
- Our Activity of the Month: the Product Eulogy. Find out how product eulogies can help researchers get at the heart of a consumer's affinity for a product.
- What Market Research Software Companies Can Learn from "Avatar." Revelation CEO Steve August explains.
Click on the PDF below for the full issue.
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| Revelation Dispatch February 2010.pdf |
Activity of the Month: Product Eulogy
Posted February 23rd 2010 by Rachel Bell
A eulogy activity can be a powerful way to get at the heart of a consumer’s affinity to a product. In a eulogy activity, participants are asked to write about what the loss of a product would mean to them and how they might replace it. You can even opt to include a video segment. This can yield some very powerful results.
Here’s an example where participants were asked to eulogize a kitchen appliance: Imagine that as of tomorrow, your food processor no longer existed. Pretend that all food processors have vanished and that you’ll never see or use one again. No more slicing, grinding, or shredding. Please think about and respond to the following questions.
- Write a brief eulogy for the food processor. Reflect on its life and accomplishments, and how it will be remembered. What might you say at its funeral?
- Once you've written your eulogy, please make a short video of yourself delivering the eulogy and upload it here.
- Who will miss the food processor the most? Who will miss it the least?
- What or who might take its place now? And what is the one thing you can tell us about food processors that others might be surprised to hear
- Lastly, what do you think caused the food processor’s demise?
This activity comes to us courtesy of Jon McNeill of Hall & Partners. If you have an activity you would like to submit for an upcoming Revelation newsletter, please email us at info@revelationglobal.com.
What Market Research Software Companies can Learn from “Avatar”
Posted February 23rd 2010 by Steve August
James Cameron’s “Avatar” is a certified phenomenon, taking months to surpass his previous all time box office leader, “Titanic.” Having seen the film in 3D, I can report there’s really no mystery as to why “Avatar” is such a hit. The movie immerses the viewer in both the world of Pandora and the story in a way that makes it feel more like a theme park ride than everyday cinema.
As odd as it might seem, since I saw the movie and subsequently learned more about how it was made, I kept thinking that the making of “Avatar” holds some important lessons for makers of MR software.
1. Technology must serve the purpose, not be the purpose.
Starting way back in the 1950’s, 3D movies were predominately created as novelty films. 3D technology was used as an excuse to have filmgoers experience things flying at them or jumping out from the screen usually at the expense of plot, story, dialogue, acting, all the things that go into making a good film.
In “Avatar,” Cameron used the 3D technology primarily to create stunning depth of field views of the world of Pandora. This plays perfectly to the idea of avatars and the immersion of the characters into this world where the audience is taken along for the ride. The number of gimmicky moments of objects flying out at the audience is kept to a minimum, and used only when it really adds to the scene and story.
How often have we all used software that has flashy graphics and interactions, yet those very same flashy graphics seem to only get in the way of what you are trying to accomplish? Ideally, technology should disappear into the user’s experience.
2. Don’t take technology at face value.
Cameron knew he wanted to do “Avatar” in 3D, but he wasn’t satisfied with the experience delivered by even state of the art 3D systems. Knowing that this was critical to the experience he wanted to deliver, Cameron went to Sony to see what could be done. Sony created a special line of cameras to suit Cameron’s specs, and the rest is history.
I’ve seen this happen more than once in the past decade in the MR industry. A new technology or phenomenon emerges in the wilds of the Internet and it gets adopted almost note for note for MR. Forums, chat rooms, blogs, communities, and Second Life are all wonderful things, but it’s crucial to step back and look at them from the core MR mission to find the best applications. The biggest leaps happen not from a note for note application, but from a re-interpretation of technology to enable researchers to fulfill their mission more efficiently and effectively.
3. Little details can make a big impact.
Watching a scene of people strolling through the Pandoran forest, I was struck by a tiny detail that is foreign to most computer-generated landscapes: bugs. As the characters walk through the forest, you can see bugs flitting about. The bugs are too small to see any real detail (even on an IMAX screen), but clearly they are there, and thousands of half-formed incandescent critters have a huge impact on the setting.
In software, the little details can have a big impact as well. Beyond, the basic issues that need to be navigated, how you get from one place to the next, how clearly information is presented, and how your code performs, little details and touches can greatly impact the sense of responsiveness both to purpose and to the users “touch.”
At Revelation, we constantly strive to create the experience of delight for our customers. While we may not be crafting the biggest movie of all time, these lessons from “Avatar” are on our minds every day.
Thought Leaders Converge on Great Research Thinking Webinar Series
Posted February 19th 2010 by Josh Goldberg
We are happy to announce two new additions to Revelation’s Great Research Thinking (GRT) webinar series.
- On March 2nd, Ray Poynter will give his talk, “The Case for NewMR.” Registration for this event can be found here.
- On April 13th, Andrew Vincent will present, “Insight Integration.” Registration for this event can be found here.
These complimentary, hour-long events will begin at 12:00 PM ET/9:00 AM PT, and will end with Q&A sessions.
For speaker bios, webinar descriptions, and videos of previous GRT events, please visit GRT's homepage.
Revelation Sales up 240% in 2009
Posted February 16th 2010 by Michael Stapleton
Next generation qualitative tools provider Revelation has reported a 240% growth in sales in calendar year 2009 versus the previous year. The company says the increase was driven by surging demand for both its cutting edge online qual research platform and high-touch online field support services.
"We are extremely pleased with our results," says Revelation CEO Steve August. "In the face of a very difficult environment for the market research industry and the overall economy, Revelation is seeing robust growth."
During 2009, Revelation continued to expand platform capabilities, expanding languages supported to include traditional and simplified Chinese, Thai, Bahasa Melayu, EU and Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, French, and German. The company also released upgrades to the research platform's video capabilities and added enhanced group discussion features.
Additionally, the company expanded its service offerings to include Helping Hands Project Setup and Participant Management, Helping Minds Guide Development, and People Provider best of breed participant recruiting service.
Hitting the Road: Conference attendance list
Posted January 29th 2010 by Josh Goldberg
We're taking a sprint around the field as spring looms. Here are some conferences we plan on attending in the upcoming weeks.
- Pharma Market Research Conference in Parsippany, NJ on February 1 and 2, 2010.
- Re:think 2010: The ARF 56th Annual Convention + Expo in New York City, NY on March 22 and March 23, 2010.
- Research 2010 in London, UK on March 8 and 9, 2010.
Don't be a stranger. Let us know if you're attending any of these events. We'd love to see you there.
Revelation has released the last issue of the Dispatch for 2009. This month's features include:
- The December Activity of the Month: Getting To Know You. Read about why Getting to Know You activities are a great way to kick off a project.
- A step-by-guide for including videos in your projects. We explain the importance of recruiting, engaging and supporting participants, and how to best set up video projects.
- Snap or Shoot? That's the Question. When is it better to use photography or video in your study?
Click on the PDF below to read more.
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Activity of the Month: Getting To Know You
Posted December 4th 2009 by Rachel Bell
Kicking off a project with a "Getting To Know You" activity is the most effective way to get a project off to a great start.
"Getting to Know You" activities serve several different purposes in a project. First, they enable you to learn a little more about each participant – home, family, hobbies and interests – in an easy warm up activity. This first activity is the participant’s first interaction in the project and provides a 'low risk' assignment that enables the researcher and technical support team to help participants address any technical issues. Second, showing a video or photo of the research team is beneficial and can really set a great atmosphere by showing there’s a real person on the other end of the line. And lastly, the researcher can use this first activity as a low effort 'first touch' with participants. Researchers don’t need to spend much time analyzing any data from the activity and can quickly acknowledge that they’ve read the participant’s answers and welcome them to the project.
In this activity participants are asked to answer a few open-ended questions and post photos. These photos could be of their family, home, friends–basically, photos of people, places and things that are important to them. I would encourage you to share a bit about yourself here – either a photo or introductory video. Here's an example "Getting To Know You" exercise taken from a past Revelation project. We introduced the activity this way:
I'd like to start off by learning a little about you. What do you do during the day? What are your hobbies? And what does a typical weekend look like for you?
Tell me about the other people and pets who live with you.
I'd like to get to know your environment a little better as well. Please upload photos of you and your home and any photos of family members, friends and pets you think would help me get to know you better. Anything else you'd like to add that would help me get to know you better?
Personal motto, favorite coffee drink...anything that you'd like to add? Thanks!
Why qual researchers may be over "online" - and why that's a good thing.
Posted November 30th 2009 by Steve August
At the ESOMAR Qual conference in Marrakesh two weeks ago, I was struck by a subtle, but striking, evolution that seems to have taken place. I've attended three out of the last four ESOMAR Qual conferences and when I started back in 2006, online was a novel thing. So novel that it seemed that people felt that it was a method in itself. So many presentations made "we did it online" as their major point. This year in Marrakesh, things were subtly different. Online was present in nearly every presentation. Yet, researchers were not really calling attention to it. It was almost a matter-of-fact - "we did this bit via online, but the big thing is what we did methodologically." It seems that now that online is becoming mainstream, researchers are starting to treat online for what it really is: a medium that supports many qualitative methods and provides an amazing reach into people's lives. This is a good thing. We are making progress.
Revelation Announces Support for Additional Foreign Languages
Posted November 25th 2009 by Michael Stapleton
The Revelation team has expanded its language capabilities to include traditional and simplified Chinese, Thai and Bahasa Melayu. These additions bring Revelation to a total of ten supported languages, including EU Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Italian, Japanese, French, German, and English.
Some highlights from this month's Dispatch:
- Ever wondered how features are added to the Revelation tool? This newsletter takes a behind-the-scenes look at our feature development process.
- Revelation has added new languages to those it already supports and will continue to add even more.
- Follow Revelation CEO Steve August's marketing research trip around the world.
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The Elephant & the Blind Men: Thoughts on the Current MR Zeitgeist
Posted November 5th 2009 by Steve August
Over the past month, I have had the pleasure of attending three (and presenting at two) research conferences, the MRS Online Conference in London on September 30th, the QRCA Annual Conference the first week of October in Palm Springs, and the ESOMAR Online Conference. During and in between those conferences, I have also had numerous conversations with researchers. Rather than attempt to wrap up the specifics of each conference, I thought I'd wait, process a bit and see if I could find themes that cut across all of these conferences and reflect on the current MR zeitgeist.
I think the overwhelming sense from both the presentations and, perhaps more importantly, the many individual side conversation with researchers of all stripes, is that the industry is changing, perhaps fundamentally. The economic crisis has forced the industry to slow down and take stock, and in doing is forcing MR to confront issues that have been brewing for a number of years now - commoditization of access to people, sample quality and validity, engagement practices and more.
Yet, while there is general agreement that things are changing, the scope, pace and ultimate end game is the subject of much discussion, gnashing of teeth and conjecture.
In my Pecha Kucha presentation at the ESOMAR Online Conference, I used the picture above to bring to mind the parable of the blind men and the elephant to explain why it is so hard to pinpoint one definition of Web 2.0. If you recall that story, each man touches a different part of the animal, which gets described alternately as a fan, a snake, a rope, a tree, or a wall. I think this is also an appropriate analogy for where we are in understanding where MR goes next. It feels to me like we are all touching different parts of the elephant and shouting: It's online communities! No, it's mining social media! No it's sample quality! No, it's flash surveys! No, it's 'listening'!
But in my opinion, no one has described the whole elephant. I don't think anyone has stepped back far enough to see it wholly yet. But we know something big is in the room.
I confess I don't know what the MR elephant looks like, but here are some thoughts:
- Start with Mission not Methods — First, we have to start from the MR mission, which as simply as I can express it is "to understand people to answer business questions." The recent history of MR online is a narrative of a method oriented technology adoption. We've taken offline methods - surveys and focus groups - and simply used technology to replicate them in the new medium. It's time to step back, look at the mission and ask ourselves, "Given that technology has now given us access to people at the moment of purchase, consumption, use, decision, etc., how can use our new tools to best serve the mission?"
- Data is Everywhere - We Must Master It — The servers of the world are bulging with data. Club card purchase records. Millions of tweets and blog posts. Data marts and data warehouses on business intelligence systems. Primary research that we gather ourselves, both qual and quant. Government reporting data. Focus group video. Mobile phone logs. Video diaries. All that data contains pieces to the puzzle. If market research is truly about the mission, we must learn how to triangulate data from any relevant source and make sense of it. We must be equally adept with Business Objects, SPSS and qualitative analysis, text and media analysis tools, trend mapping, and other skills that that help us piece together and present customer narratives in a compelling fashion.
- We are studying PEOPLE — Call them what you will, respondents, participants, co-creators - at the end of the day we are in the business of understanding people - from ground truth to 30k feet trends. We have greater access to engage people in conversation than at any time in history. This is a good thing. Let's converse. Let's also share what we learn with them - they are interested to know about themselves and will give us even more for the bargain.
- The Fundamental Business Questions Do Not Change — As the recent crisis has illustrated all to dramatically, the fundamentals of business do not change (as much as each generation deludes itself). Companies do not hire researchers to do surveys, focus groups, ethnographies, online communities or any other specific method. They hire us to provide answers to the fundamental business questions. These questions - developing core customer understanding, discovering opportunity, evaluating ideas, and measuring results - are as timeless as business itself. No matter what the elephant turns out to look like, it must be about serving these questions.
The good news in all of this is that we are researchers. We should be well equipped to figure the elephant out. And I think we are in the midst of this process. To be sure, there is a lot of meta-research going on - research on MR. ARF and others have been focusing on sample quality. At the ESOMAR Online Conference last week, Ray Poynter presented some excellent and surprising research on what study participants find most engaging.
One of the things about tough economic times is that they force people to re-think things that were previously taken for granted as true. Even though it can be a painful process, I think MR will look back on this time as what we needed to acknowledge and reveal the elephant in the room.
Simon Chadwick joins Revelation’s Board of Directors
Posted October 21st 2009 by Michael Stapleton
Revelation is pleased to announce that Simon Chadwick, Managing Partner of Cambiar, the management consultancy dedicated to the market research industry, has joined the company’s Board of Directors.
In commenting on Chadwick’s appointment, Steve August, founder and CEO of Revelation, said, “We are very excited to welcome Simon to our board. In addition to the wealth of experience and industry leadership Simon brings, he shares our vision of truly unleashing qualitative research. We cannot think of a better person to help guide Revelation’s growth in the coming years.”
“Revelation is a prime example of how technology and inspired design can unleash new possibilities in the world of market research,” commented Chadwick. “Revelation Project, the firm’s core product, not only eases the pain and cost of organizing qualitative research but also conjoins qualitative and ethnography online and offline in a powerful way. I am delighted to help Revelation’s management fulfill its dreams and ambitions.”
Revelation Launches Feedback Forum
Posted October 5th 2009 by Rachel Bell
We love your feedback!
Over the course of the past two years we've had phone calls, email exchanges and in-person discussions with many of you about what you want out of online immersive research software. Your input was the driving force behind our relaunched Revelation V2 in October, 2008. And since that release, we haven't stopped enhancing our product. Because you asked, we've added group discussion activities, enhanced our video experience and incorporated seven languages - to name a few of our latest features.
We want to continually expand the conversation and keep listening. That's why we're happy to announce that Revelation has integrated UserVoice into Studyspace.net. UserVoice is a tool that enables researchers to post their suggestions for new features in Studyspace, vote on ideas and keep track of the features our development team is working on for future releases.
UserVoice is easy to use - simply log in to Studyspace.net and go the the "suggestions" area on the dashboard page and get started.
We look forward to your continued feedback and suggestions. Thank you - you make us better!
Upcoming Events and Presentations
Posted October 2nd 2009 by Michael Stapleton
When: October 8th 2009
October 7-9: 2009 QRCA Annual Conference, Palm Springs, CA
Revelation CEO Steve August will present, "Create Powerful Questions & Activities for Online Qualitative Research."
Thursday, October 8, 4:15-5:15 PM.
Click here for more information.
October 26-28: ESOMAR Online Panels and Beyond, Chicago
Revelation CEO Steve August, along with Tom Ewing of Kantar Operations, linkfluence CEO Anthony Hamelle, and Lee Ryan of TNS, will present the Pecha Kucha Session, "Web 2.0: Transformational technology or pretty gradients and hype?"
Tuesday, October 27 - Conference Day One
Click here for more information.
November 15-17: ESOMAR Qualitative 2009, Marrakech, Morocco
Revelation CEO Steve August and Philips Design Senior Research Consultant Nicole Reinhold will co-present, "Online Qualitative Research: Immersive and Ethnographic Inspired Online Approaches."
Sunday, November 16.
Click here for further details and registration information.
Revelation is hiring: Graphic Design Intern
Posted September 28th 2009 by Michael Felix
We’re looking for a graphic design intern to help us with our marketing endeavors. This individual will work closely with our Design and Marketing teams to synthesize communication ideas into visual forms. She or he must possess a passion for design and an appetite for challenging creative work.
THE APPLICANT SHOULD CONVEY:
- Solid understanding of color, form and shape
- Tasteful comprehension of typography
- Skill in crafting both raster and vector objects
- Familiarity with design production processes
- Resilience when thoroughly critiqued
BONUS POINTS FOR THE FOLLOWING:
- Communication by sketching
- Proficiency with HTML & CSS
- Illustrative prowess
Please send us a resumé, cover letter and (a copy of or a link to your) portfolio. Submissions without a portfolio will not be considered. Please no phone calls.
Revelation is hiring a Part-Time Marketing Associate
Posted September 28th 2009 by Rachel Bell
Revelation is hiring a part-time marketing associate. The ideal candidate is a highly organized self-starter with a strong sense of accountability. We have a great opportunity for a motivated individual looking to expand their skills. Starting out part-time, this position will be organizing and growing our sales and marketing database, working directly with management to execute marketing plans and sales strategy. The marketing associate will play an integral part in executing marketing campaigns and creating materials as well as work with sales to create proposals and internal sales reports.
Hours: 15-20 hours a week
Educational/Certification Requirements:
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in a related field
Qualifications:
1-2+ years of marketing experience required
Knowledge of Salesforce.com required
Strong organizational skills required
Knowledge of market research industry a plus
Computer Experience/Special Skills:
Solid MS Office and Salesforce.com skills required
Salary: Salary depends on experience.
Email your resume and cover letter to jobs@revelationglobal.com for immediate consideration. No phone calls, please.
Fall 2009 Great Research Thinking series has begun! Gretchen Gehrett of G2 Marketing presented "Immersive Research: The Perfect Tool for Researching Experiences". We will be posting the webinar online shortly. Stay tuned!
What's New in Revelation? Read all about our new enhancements.
Revelation is conducting our own study! If you have used Revelation recently in your study, we would like to have you participate in our study: http://www.revelationglobal.com/news/news/summer-09-customer-research
Activity of the Month: Representational Photography - Steve August shows how powerful and revealing photos can be in your study.
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July's Quirk's Marketing Research Review features a review of Revelation's research software by Tim Macer. To read more, click here.
Activity of the Month: Call for Submissions
Activities are a key concept and feature in Revelation-based studies. We ask that you share an activity you think provided valuable insights and learning from one of
your Revelation studies. If we publish your submission in one of our upcoming newsletters, not only will you receive credit for your brilliant activity idea, but you also will receive a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com. Just send your Activity of the Month to: info@revelationglobal.com.
Revelation is now offering custom branding! Our design department can integrate your logo, brand colors and fonts into the Revelation interface so that your clients see your own branding when they log into view projects. The entire process takes just a few weeks to implement and includes up to three design iterations. To learn more, email us at: info@revelationglobal.com.
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Revelation Announces Improved Video Capabilities and Additional Foreign Languages
Posted September 23rd 2009 by Kat Gomm
Revelation, a developer of next generation online qualitative research tools, has improved the experience for participants uploading videos to Revelation. Participants now are able to upload much larger files, thus longer videos, and the Revelation system provides the necessary insight to keep participants apprised of their upload status. Participants and researchers are also able to play back videos in a YouTube style video player.
Revelation has expanded their language capabilities to include, EU Spanish, Italian and Japanese, taking Revelation's language capabilities to seven, including the current English, Latin American Spanish, French and German.
