The End of Consumer Surveys?
In AdAge – September 15, 2008
By Jack Neff
P&G, General Mills and Unilever Join ARF in Effort to Move Beyond Question-and-Answer
After issuing dire warnings about the future of consumer surveys, the two biggest advertisers and buyers of market research in the world – Procter & Gamble and Unilever – are linking with the Advertising Research Foundation for an industry effort to embrace online chatter and other naturally occurring feedback like never before..
To tackle the issue, the ARF will hold two industry summits in the coming six weeks to support new ways of listening to consumers that don't involve the traditional question-and-answer format. "Our consumers have been sending us messages for years that they're not interested in the traditional survey process," said Ms. Dedeker, who declined to elaborate, saving her thoughts for an Oct. 29 keynote at an Industry Leader Forum to be hosted by the ARF in New York.