the new era of expressive research

Tim Stock
twitter: @timstock

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

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where can mobile research take us?

vision is the art of seeing things invisible to others.
- JONATHAN SWIFT

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mobile has begun to evolve beyond the device.

the importance of any one type of device is already declining as personal information, contacts, photos and files move to the cloud.
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SOURCE: CISCO

world mobile data traffic expected to explode by factor of 26 by 2015.

6.3 exabytes per month, predicted.

there will be 788 million mobile-only Internet users by 2015.

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SOURCE: IDC

cloud services (expected to grow 27% annually) will empower mobile capabilities.
thats a lot of data in motion...

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within that data... we want to find the human... but the human becomes harder to find.
our research seeks to find perspective in growing noise.

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we have an intimate device in our hands

it exhibits all characteristics necessary for fluid and authentic expression.

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problem is: were half in... half out

we continue to see mobile as more tactic than strategy.

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same interrogation... new channel

this stifles our ability to hear the unexpected...and see the big picture.

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we need to kill the echo chambers

we inadvertently involve only consumers willing to comply with our rules.

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researcher & subject

networks

reflexive research
circular relationship of cause and effect confirmation

expressive research
revealing the structure and mechanics of meaning.

shift from reflexive to expressive models

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our research must reflect this shift...

CONSUMER SAVVINESS

CULTURE DRIVEN ANONYMOUS CLUSTERS

UNSYNCHED
reflexive research

PRIVACY CONCERNS A FLOOD OF DATA

expressive research

SYNCHED

PATTERNED DATA AS NARRATIVE

research models must get in sync

and transform the structure of engagement.
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research must feed innovation

...requires sustained and incremental interactions to yield real insights...to get us to new territory.

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SIGNALS

innovation is a mating game...

understanding signals embedded into the rituals we want to engage.

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sustainable

TRAITS
unsustainable

our interaction builds in behavioral traits

reflexive modalities can reinforce behaviors that dilute and distort the data.

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LANGUAGE

BEHAVIOR

expressive research is social mechanics

its about understanding the networks that drive language and behavior.

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networks thrive as community

you cannot simply transform an audience into a community with technology, because they assume very different relationships between the sender and receiver of messages. - CLAY SHIRKEY

audience
one-way relationship, one-to-many pattern

community
two-way relationship, many-to-many pattern

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right brain

left brain

consumer insights
shut off from the bigger story

discovery

DATA GAP
a disconnect on definitions of data...

data analytics
meaningless unless connected to a narrative framework

proof

we need whole brain data thinking

internal camps can entrench and stifle innovation.
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trajectory

story

where most research focuses

what we miss
motive

existing hidden symbolic production

we seek to reveal the consumer journey...

but our methods focus on only part of this journey.
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CULTURE NETWORK
her motives are shaped by the network that feeds meaning and motivation

we must sync with the networks driving motives

her choices are shaped by an existing culture network of language and meaning.

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low cultural relevance

what is the cultural heat map for your brands?

high cultural relevance

expressive research reveals the structure

what networks are driving meaning around specific attributes of a brand?
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expressive research swims with the consumer

...it reveals and builds on the mechanics of consumer networks.

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expressive research is real time research

the role of the expressive researcher will be in revealing these structures in the constant flow of data flowing to and from consumers.

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quit trying to land...first understand the mission.

mobile thinking is bigger than any one tactic. We must strive to get in sync with the data that is already there for sustained and incremental insights.

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"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

- STEPHEN HAWKING

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Thank you.
timstock@scenariodna.com @timstock

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