BMRA head backs World Research Day

16/August/2001

Marcotty (left) and Stocker

He may have been joking, but the notion bears thinking about. Indeed Ivor Stocker, Chairman of NOP Research and of the British Market Research Association, believes it deserves close examination, though he would prefer a World Research Week to a single day, and is willing to help get talks started on how to organise it.

Sally Ford-Hutchinson, Chairman of Britain's Market Research Society, responds more cautiously. She is "not convinced that it's the best way to market market research." The way to combat any downturn is, she says, "by reminding people that investing in research is likely to benefit their business."

Another UK research leader, Greg Smith, newly installed Chief Executive of MRSL, thinks "it's an interesting idea. I'd question whether it would help my business, but it might help response rates."

It is undoubtedly true that no collective campaign is a substitute for the marketing efforts of individual companies. It is also true that collective advertising can be very costly without necessarily doing anything for the individual companies that pay for it.

The point of Marcotty's proposal, however, is surely to attract editorial publicity, which would be both cheaper and probably more effective than advertising. A Research Day or Week could be an umbrella for an individual agency's own publicity efforts rather than a substitute for it.

Readers can have their own say about whether the idea is worth trying by taking part in our online poll. To do so click here.

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