The market research industry, as we have known it for decades, is disappearing. It is being absorbed into a rapidly transforming collection of market intelligence sub-disciplines. For others, this dynamic represents unprecedented opportunity: the opportunity to deliver a far more comprehensive voice of the market; the opportunity to transform our agency business model and substantially increase its valuation; and a stair-step increase in the decision-making impact of the insights we deliver.
Regardless of whether this point of view elicits a positive or negative sentiment, today’s conference agendas, industry journals, and merger and acquisition activity leave little doubt that a significant industry transformation is underway.
The AMA (formerly Honomichl) Top 50 Gold Report has long been the industry standard for annually documenting patterns in the global business of marketing research, and the major players driving its growth. This will continue. But just as the market is transforming, so too will this report. Yes, we will continue to track and publish annual changes in the traditional survey research market, but beginning this year we will also explore the evolving marketing intelligence space in which we reside, and the expanding field of players in the emerging sub segments defining this morphing space.
Relatively little data to project such movement exists today. So in coordination with CASRO and Michigan State University, AMA introduces a comprehensivelook at the evolution of this space within which we contribute and compete.
The Broad School of Business at Michigan State University is one of several U.S. universities committed to developing the next generation of marketing leadership through internship-based Master of Marketing Research Programs. In May 2014, Michigan State University hosted the Educating the Market Researcher of Tomorrow symposium during which representatives of the industry’s universities, clients, agencies and associations met to begin mapping this evolving space and the corresponding skillsets and traits that will be required of its future leaders. Building upon this, in 2015 Michigan State University created the Research Transformed Collaborative as an academic and industry partnership to begin vetting and quantifying related points of view.
AMAnow begins to incorporate these findings, plus the perspectives of other industry sources, into the gradually expanding depiction of the market. The journey begins with this article building upon the annual examination of the survey-research market, with the additional outline of macro dimensions in its evolution. Our July/August global report will follow up with detail on the sub segments and the perspectives of the players in each.
Many business disciplines are similarly examining the development of the broad market-intelligence space. We are, however, approaching it from a “traditional survey research-out” perspective. In other words, how is this space expanding around us?
A Galactic Parallel
The direction of research transformation may not be as much a true evolution as it is a collision—not a collision in the sense of two objects physically hitting each other, but rather analogous to the collision of galaxies in space. When two galaxies collide, due to the vast amounts of interstellar space, they actually get enmeshed into each other. The final shape of the combined galaxy is different from the two original galaxies but takes on attributes of the dominant one. In our situation, the “galaxies” in the process of colliding are numerous and include:
- traditional survey research;
- advanced predictive analytics;
- a plethora of “productized” offerings for technology-enabled data collection and reporting;
- specialized visualization offerings;
- the fundamental handling and management of vast sums of Big Data;
- the shift from social media aggregation to social media integration and analytics;
- the merging of panel management, sample management and online community management practices.
The marketing research industry has seen disruptions before, perhaps the most significant being the move to online surveys (and by extension, mobile). This time, however, the disruption is not emerging only from within. The existence of more and varied data sources, and the sophistication of the technologies used to harness them, is inviting a broader range of disciplines to the development of solutions. This is why the number and breadth of these colliding galaxies is growing. It is not as much the marketing research industry moving toward these other disciplines but rather these other lines of business recognizing the existence and value of survey data and the proven statistical techniques being applied.
This coming together to address the expanding needs of market intelligence has defined a much broader universe. And this universe has attracted lines of business not previously considered as partners or competitors in the traditional marketing-research space. In recent years the global research market has typically been defined a $35-45 million opportunity. But this expanded viewpoin defines a market approaching $170 million.
The Role of Survey Research Can Thrive
In such a market model the need for traditional marketing research remains. Various combinations will appear from these collisions, each requiring strong research expertise. Each will require either the collection or analysis of survey data. But the traditional marketing research disciplines risk being subsumed or marginalized by higher order offerings. Today’s large custom research companies may face the risk of being reduced to data collection companies unless they are able to provide these value-add capabilities involving data management, predictive analytics or visualization.
There are signs of this “coming together” all around us. It may be in the form of large players from within our traditional market, such as Nielsen’s recent acquisitions of Pointlogic(analytics), Informate (mobile intelligence) and Innerscope (neuroscience). Or it might be in the form of large players from beyond our traditional space such as IBM’s recent acquisitions of Truven (analytics), Resource/Ammirati (analytics) and Explorys (analytics). Or it might be in the form of nascent combinations forming in our backyard, such as MARU’s recent acquisitions of eDigitalResearch and Vision Critical Research & Consulting.
new by; https://www.ama.org
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