Effie season is arguably one of the busiest times of the year in the advertising industry. The Effies (Effectiveness Awards) judge campaigns based on the effectiveness of their execution and outcomes, holding both – clients and advertising agencies accountable for their work.
According to Communication Council’s statistics, 94% of Effies winning cases used research to help solve the problem. However, the research industry has no equivalent awards that would hold the research agencies accountable for the business effectiveness of their output.
This could partially be due to the fact that traditional research agencies play no part in helping clients and their agencies with the implementation of research findings. Therefore, while the delivered research may contain vital business information, it is still completely up to their clients to decide what they wish to take on board.
Secondly, many researchers are still failing to realise that they are there to solve business problems. It’s sad to say, but some research professionals can spend their whole lifetime in their careers thinking that their job is to produce and talk about charts.
So what can we do differently as an industry? The more we can collaborate with our clients in the implementation process of the research, the more value they will see reflecting in their business performance. While research papers may not generate the same level of excitement as an advertising campaign, hopefully one day our industry will also be judged on the ability to define the problem, conduct relevant research, generate impactful insights and apply the findings in the most effective manner in order to maximise business performance.
Written by:
Lana Bruskina – Strategy and Insight Manager
For further information on THINK Global Research, please contact Kristy Ihle (Managing Director) at info@thinkglobalresearch.com.
