A new venue, a first-ever call for papers and many first-time exhibitors amplified the buzz at CASRO’s 13th Annual Technology Conference, June 26-27, 2008 at New York’s historic Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel.  

“The call for papers and new venue helped CASRO deliver another outstanding Conference in this industry-leading series of events,” remarked Peter Milla, CIO, Survey Sampling International L.L.C. and Conference Co-Chair.  “Several speakers presented for the first time and many new exhibitors were on hand demonstrating some of the most current research technology.” Many of the more than 170 attendees complemented the content of the sessions and appreciated the viewpoints of the new participants.  

“I was impressed with the depth and thought behind the research and observations made by the presenters and the pertinent questions the sessions prompted from the audience,” said Christian Super, Vice President, Information Technology, Ipsos and Conference Co-Chair.    

Presenters discussed mobile research, Web 2.0, automation, reporting, mixed mode and many other topics.
In a discussion of integrating more structured data into the survey process, Jeff Thompson, Director of Research Technology at Kantar Operations, reviewed the pros and cons of GUI Authoring Tools, Centralized Wizards, Macros, Code Generation Tools.  Brett Schnittlich, CTO at OTX Research discussed the Open Sample initiative to improve the quality of online surveys by industry-wide sharing of information about respondents’ historic survey participation.

Panel quality stands to improve substantially with use of digital fingerprinting, according to Prosper Nwankpa, Chief Technology Officer at Peanut Labs Inc. Digital fingerprinting, Nwankpa explained, employs a deterministic algorithm, which works within the browser and assigns a unique machine ID based on publicly available information about the respondent’s computer.

In “A Pragmatic View on the Integration of Text Analysis and Statistical Analysis Techniques” Normand Péladeau, President of Provalis Research Corp., pointed out the shortcomings of certain text mining software and the different results found when applying to different product categories.

Presenting research on Flash survey tools, Charles Pearson, Senior Vice President of Research Now, discussed the application of Flash technologies to online surveys and noted the advantages it presents for survey completion rates. Niel Oscarson, Director of Client Services at Western Wats, discussed the benefits of Service-Oriented Architecture and the advantages it can offer in the automation, time and cost.

Lizza Miller, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-founder of DatStat, discussed the challenges of current mixed-mode surveys.  She noted that the key to tapping the time and cost-savings potential of multi-mode is incorporating a unified platform that provides real-time access to survey and process data, effective case workflow management, and monitoring and reporting tools.

Noting that 95% of all mobile phones are text message ready and only 30% of phones are mobile internet ready, Kristin Luck, President of Decipher Inc., expanded on the emerging uses of text messaging, including alerts, contests, couponing, voting and, of course, surveys. 

Among the conclusions noted by Steve Lavine, President of Common Knowledge Research Services, during the panel discussion on Mobile Research was that mobile IVR presents a viable opportunity for mobile interviewing, response times for mobile modes are half that of non-mobile modes, and mobile text invitations speed response to online surveys.

Brad Johnson, Senior Consumer Insights Associate at General Mills, discussed the application of mobile technology of the company’s panels. He said his department works on tailoring the right tools - including online focus groups, photo blogging and online diaries - to the right people. A priority is capturing “the feedback moment” by getting out of the den and into the store via communication through mobile devices and focusing on “Drip Irrigation” (collecting less information on a more frequent basis).

Hugh Davis, Co-founder and EVP at Greenfield Online Inc., discussed keys to successful mobile surveys and effectively recruiting and engaging mobile panelists.

Alex Gofman, Vice President at Moskowitz Jacobs Inc., noted the importance of web design and proper investment of web tools and web staff to complement MR-specific activities. Web analytics produce many stats, but actionable insights need to be identified, he said.

Peter Milla and Chetan Dube, President and CEO, IPsoft, presented “SaaS for Market Research”. They noted there are significant opportunities for SaaS in MR as company size and business models are compatible with the technology’s strengths.
Other speakers included John Weisberg, Vice President of Marketing at Techneos Systems Inc., who provided an overview and insights on mobile research, Sean McDade, CEO at PeopleMetrics, who discussed the pillars of “Research 2.0” and their integration,  Darcy Norman, Senior Vice President, Software Development at Kantar Operations, who presented “Thinking Like a Fraudulent Panelist and Stopping Them”.

“I’m certainly looking forward to co-chairing this conference next year,” commented Mike Webster, Vice President, Technology, at Burke, Inc. “We are determined to once again place a call for papers – the content this year was outstanding. I think everyone is eager to see where the research on research technology will take us next June.”

Special thanks to Conference Chairs Peter Milla and Christian Super and the entire Conference Committee: Peter Andrews, SPSS Inc.; Doug Bates, Itracks; Dan Bernard, Marketing Systems Group; Chris Crouch, Decision Analyst, Inc.; Jim Collins, Mediamark Research Inc.; Tony DiPonio, Market Strategies International; Jim Fredrickson, Harris Interactive Inc.; Mark Galgano, Lightspeed Research; Andrew Jeavons, Nebu; Kristin Luck, Decipher, Inc.; Todd Myers, TNS; Mike Webster, Burke, Inc.; and Andy Weiss, Abt SRBI.

CASRO appreciates the support of Premier Sponsor e-Rewards Market Research, Lunch Sponsor Survey Sampling International L.L.C., and Cocktail Reception Sponsor Datatelligence Online.

A CD with the event proceedings is available for $175 (members) and $395 (non members). Contact CASRO (631-928-6954, casro@casro.org)

 

 

 

CASRO President Diane Bowers		Conference Co-chair Peter Milla, SSI		Niel Oscarson, Western Wats
Kristin Luck, Decipher Inc.		John Weisberg, Techneos Systems Inc.		Brad Johnson, General Mills (right) and Steve Lavine, Common Knowledge Research Services
Prosper Nwankpa, Peanut Labs Inc