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Coffee and Culture: My first Conference Paper in Rome

May 9, 2012 AQR, Conferences, Qualitative Research No comments

Our Senior Research Executive Tom Morgan presented a paper at the AQR ‘Qualititative Renaissance’ Conference in Rome last week. Here he tells us about his adventures with weapons-grade coffee, magical sights and what its like presenting to your heroes…

 

Last week I went to the AQR/QRCA ‘Qualitative Renaissance’ conference in Rome to present my paper as a young market researcher.

The first night of the conference involved a number of introductions, kisses on the cheek and handshakes as everyone got to know each other (probably one of the very few times I have legitimately given someone my card who isn’t my mum or grandma). The party split off into smaller groups for dinner; I had pasta, obviously.

The next day, any remnants of the first night’s dinner and drinks, were seen off with a small cup of coffee that can only be compared to plutonium in its strength – I know it’s a cliché but Italian coffee is SO GOOD! As I sat down at my table, it occurred to me how lucky I was. Not only had I left rainy London for sunny Rome, but I had been given the opportunity to sit at a table and listen to the likes of Rose Campbell, Liz Van Pattern, Wendy Gordon, Luigi Toiati, Ken Parker, Kevin McLean etc.

After much clapping, tweeting, nodding and note-taking, at the end of the first day we decided to walk through the streets of Rome to the ‘Gala’ event that had been arranged for us that evening.

As the majority of us didn’t really know what a ‘Gala’ was, you can safely say we were more than impressed when we walked up a flight of stairs to find that we were to be eating and drinking atop a balcony overlooking Rome as the sun was setting.

The next morning, after some more weapons-grade coffee and a few great presentations, it was time for the ‘Young Apprentice’ section of the conference. The idea was that Me, Sara and Ben all present our short paper, then our assigned mentors (mad props to Liz Van Pattern for being my ‘Simon Cowell’ for the conference) would tell the audience why they should ‘vote’ – presenter that received the loudest collective clap was the winner!

I have to say Sara’s wicked paper about trying overcoming the challenge of memory in research deserved to win – interesting stuff and really well presented. Being able to stand up and talk to so many great research heroes was such a fantastic feeling, having said that, there was a point where my nerves nearly got the better of me.

Every so often I would imagine the plethora of horrendously embarrassing things that could happen while up on stage; my Prezi presentation not working, the mic cutting out and top of them all; the classic broken-belt-trousers-falling-down-in-front-of-everyone scenario. Despite all this, I remember standing down from the platform to a hearty round of applause (second loudest according to some but who’s counting right?) realising that not only had I managed to avoid sounding like Dubya Bush in his speech-making heyday, but that I had actually enjoyed the experience!

At this point I would like to give a shout out to my awesome colleagues for all their support, they never once complained about hearing my presentation a gazillion times without complaining (not to mention the individually signed card from the Razor gang which Chloe gave me half an hour before my presentation). Matt was a great inspiration for the writing of my paper from start to finish too.

Biggest thanks definitely go to Chloe however, who on our arrival into Rome made this amazing transformation from agency co-owner and research director into a combination of trainer, coach and groupie – at one point I actually thought she was going to put on the Eye Of The Tiger and insist I run up some stairs but instead she just sat at the front of the room when I got up on stage and gave me the confidence I needed – nice one Chlo.

The afternoon after my presentation was testament to how much of a lovely bunch us qualitative researchers really are. I couldn’t move a step without someone congratulating me, patting me on the back and generally being nice about my paper. Some even billed our young apprentice session as ‘the best of the conference’ – high praise indeed when so many truly inspirational researchers had spoken before us and after us for that matter.

That evening, Chloe and I flew back from Rome and I could not wipe the smile off my face – all that work had paid off – and I decided while chomping on my slightly soggy British Airways chicken sandwich, sipping on an impossibly small celebratory can of beer, that I may have developed a taste for the bright lights. Now all I need to do is come up with is some groundbreaking theory…

 

Tom

Mothers of Invention; An Inspiring Dive into Start Ups

March 20, 2012 First Shave, Networking, Women in business No comments

Here at Razor we love supporting new business ventures and our First Shave initiative gives us lots of opportunities to work with the most cutting edge and exciting upcoming brands. We’re more a bunch of girls, not suits, so positioning ourselves as adventurous, enterprising women, Claire, Amelie, Tara and I went along to this year’s Mothers of Invention event at the British Library.

With our ‘First Shave’ heads firmly on we set out to immerse ourselves into the mind-set of these budding entrepreneurs. What challenges do they face in launching a new brand and what concerns them most? How have successful entrepreneurs tackled these problems and what advice do they have for start-ups?

The Business and IP Centre at the British Library seems to have played a core role in supporting new start-ups. Since its establishment in 2006, it has assisted in creating approximately 800 businesses with a good balance of gender ownership.

The speakers were testimony that there is no template for the successful start-up. With over 56 years business experience between them (some enviably young), they were, as chair Emma Jones said “incredible women who have built amazing businesses.” These weren’t women who moaned about men and glass ceilings and maternity leave. The ‘g’-word was barely used: the women were there to talk business, not gender.

There were, however, some common strains of advice:

Research. Research. Research. Research

“Be incredibly well prepared…it just has to be done”

As Sophie Cornish from notonthehighstreet.com said, her overnight success was pretty much due to being the “right brand at the right time. For her, research meant knowing what kind of customers she wanted, and more importantly, what they actually wanted to buy, whilst enabling customers to get the ‘feel-good’ factor of supporting small retailers.

Research doesn’t end the moment the site goes live

Consistent knowledge of trends and changes means that notonthehighstreet.com can really stay on top and basically “targeting the right people with the right story” – a consistent brand profile and message enabled her to do this. With one straight, clear story, she was able to sell over 40,000 little products.

Being a great start-up doesn’t necessarily mean relying on the latest technologies or whizzy gadgets to do the work for you

Kamal Baran from the Authentic Food Company talked about how she succeeded in a bygone era (ok, 1985), when she didn’t have the Internet at her disposal. Her inspiration came from the kitchen and from the conviction that she could, and would do better than the average Joe mass-produced Samosa. Having a conviction in a product gave her, she said “the confidence to say yes”, and from this, her research stemmed- the competition was lame, the quality poor. Regardless of gender, age, nationality, or technological tools, she’s testimony that opportunities do exist with a little research and a lot of hard work.

Sometimes we stumble on ideas by complete chance

The non-conformist Tatty Devine duo is a swell example of going beyond a standard brainstorm session. By literally stumbling on their materials, and by being self-confessed clueless on setting up a business they went back to basics- asking strangers for advice (calling up Radio Kent for some sewing advice!), and against all odds, their scatty, disorganised, bit bonkers and slightly off the wall approach has been a success. Tatty Devine have also navigated the tricky issue of being small fish in a big pond – their recent popup shop in Selfridges, for example, enabling them to make a mark. Constant product development, too, has featured in their repertoire. Once the start up is, well, started up, it can’t be static. By mimicking the fashion seasons, publishing a book, alongside constant product development, the dynamic duo ensure that they remain, ‘out there.’

These women were representative that starting a start-up means… hard work. There’s no quick fix- the likelihood of networking your way to a multi-million investor is, alas, fairly slim.

 

Some key points that we really found useful…

  • “Be distinctly different by playing a different game” Christina Richardson of The Nurture Network really emphasised this. If the market doesn’t exist for your idea, make it. If you’ve got the interest and passion and conviction in your ‘onlyness’ thing, then make that idea a reality.

 

  • Brand everything: Spread your message- whether this is through collaborations (make friends!), social media, or just good old word-of-mouth. Build lasting relationships and make your mark. But don’t be afraid of innovation.

 

  • Networking: If this idea sends you into paralytics, relax. t’s not the be-all-end-all! See events as opportunities to boost your brand, and share your personality quirks- play to your strengths, not what you think others want to hear.

 

  • Take risks: Because really, what else are you going to do?

 

Rhonda

TEDs 2012 Ad’s Worth Spreading

February 29, 2012 Advertising, Opinion No comments

Each year TED sets a marketing challenge to create ads that communicate messages in a way which TED wants to communicate with its followers. In short, they ask for ads you want to share with everyone around you. Personally I think this is an incredibly useful campaign to run, ALL advertising should be interesting, engaging and most importantly, talked about so I love to see something like this challenge lazy advertising and encourage creativity.

The 10 finalists really do just that. TED have scouted the globe for the winners and its easy to see why they were picked. Raising the bar for advertisers everywhere, these ads make you think, inspire you and get you talking and really isnt that what advertising should be about?

My favourite has to be ‘Bear’ by Canal+, silly but clever message about getting involved in film:

I found the L’Oreal Aimee Mullins spot inspiring and courageous:

This stunt by Ogilvy Tunis for Citizen Engagement provoked a genius reaction from the public, clearly getting the message across:

“The Difference Between a Dream and Reality is Just Doing it” – inspiring words from illustrator Boey for Sharpie’s ‘Start with Sharpie’ campaign:

 

View all the winners on Youtube

Tara x

 

Saatchi Live Chat 22/2/12 ‘Is the High Street Dying?’

February 22, 2012 Debate, Twitter One comment

Today Saatchi & Saatchi launched their first live twitter debate on the subject “Is the High Street Dying and do we Care?”. The result was a mish-mash of adland professionals, research gurus and concerned consumers battling it out to get their opinion heard with some really interesting results! Chloe, Tom and our new intern Rhonda all got stuck in to the online discussion which provided some very enthusiastic (and vocal) debate throughout the Razor Office. From analysing the tweets we found some of the main points to be:

  • It’s all about the ‘experience’ of shopping and the local high street has to offer something special to draw people in.
  • Government incentives are needed to draw the big stores in to the high street rather than locating in out of town retail parks. Alternatively local authorities should buy up derelict buildings on the High Street and rent them out at more affordable rents to new retailers.
  • If brands get too involved in the local community will people start to think of them cynically and as just vying for customers.
  • High Street needs to be more exciting (see the ‘experience’ point above) and pop-up shops were seen as a positive way to encourage High Street growth.
  • Buying online obviously has its pros but you can’t beat the thrill of buying something and having it physically in your hand
  • Is this a cultural problem too? Does the onus lie with the consumer to be locally aware and support their local shops?
  • Integration is the solution, how can the online world and high street world operate harmoniously?

Got an opinion on the above? Send us your thoughts: @razorresearch

Want to join the chat? Check out Saatchi Chat for details of the next live debate.

Tara x

In Praise of the Respondent

January 23, 2012 Qualitative Research One comment

We’d like to take a moment to consider our respondents. The people who participate in and shape our findings for every project. Some are young – recently we had a group with children as young as 6 months! – and some are not so young, all have different styles, tastes and personalities and us Razors find it fascinating interacting with each and every one of them. Put simply, they make our work feel less like work.

Recently we completed a project which required a post task from our respondents. Amelie contacted one of them to say that she had won the prize for best post task and here is the wonderful response she received via text:

“Oh my word Amelie! Thank you so much for that wonderful news, i am over the moon! Just on train home from Manchester (been training with work) there is lots of whooping and cheering from my colleagues, disrupting the whole carriage! Will get hubby to have the champers at the ready , woo hoo! Thrilled! You have made my week! Love you and all at R.RESEARCH ! Xxxxx”

So here’s to all the respondents who have put in the time, effort and gone the extra mile to help us deliver to our Clients, we salute you!

Tara x

Razor Hits the Ice!

January 16, 2012 Razor news No comments

As part of the prize for winning Sharpest Blade, I was awarded £150 and the honor of choosing an activity or gift for the whole Razor group to spend it on. I chose ice-skating. The date: 13th January (Friday the 13th – woops!) the venue: the Spectacular Somerset House. As a massive Christmas fan, I was keen to stretch out the Christmas goodness for as long as possible but I was so happy to see everyone else really get into it. The location was fabulous, Somerset House is beautiful at the best of times but seeing the gorgeous ice rink lit up with blues and reds and all the skaters underneath would take your breath away.

We all gave it a go, some very wobbly legs and nervous screeches at first but after a few laps nearly all our fears were gone. Chloe, with camera in hand, was taking pictures as we raced by.  Michaela and Steve quickly proved to be the best Skaters. The rest of us challenged them to have a race around the rink with Steve, knowing he was bested, making a mad dash for the finish line and cheating on the final corner – for shame! I taught Tom to glide, not walk and he was soon looking graceful until there was a wobble from me and after a second of offering his hand to help I took him down with me!  Amélie and Elle had no problems getting to grips with the ice and squeals could be heard from Rachel and Claire as they got into the flow.

As the evening ended we took our tired and achy feet over to Tom’s Skate Lounge where we had some delicious mulled wine and hot chocolate. All in all a fantastic evening and a great start to the New Year; well done to everyone for taking part!

Tara x