MRG Conference: Vienna Overview
I wonder how many delegates returning to their desks today after the 2006 MRG Conference will heed MRG Chairman, Hugh Johnson’s, parting comment to push for research to be higher in their organisation. It’s a very reasonable plea, and the current technology-led environment is as good a time as any to demonstrate that key business decisions can be influenced by sound research (and some visionary thinking), but I wonder if it will happen.
Was it research that convinced Rupert Murdoch to make an about turn and embrace the net all of a sudden? Is it research that is behind Google’s meteoric rise? Can research currently tell us whether mobile TV or gaming or IPTV or social networking is where clients should be looking to influence today’s youth? Maybe the answer is yes to all of these – if it is then research is already empowering key decision-makers and Hugh need not worry!
This was an interesting conference and some themes emerged, but they were a little scattered, and then only fleetingly discussed.
Google-bashing and IAB-lambasting led the way as two of the three keynotes (Tess Alps, Thinkbox and Phil Georgiadis, Walker Media) waded in to false assertions on ROI, engagement, favourite media and revenue. The summary was: The internet is not a medium; engagement in it does not rival press or TV or any other display medium; display advertising revenue on the web is standing still despite broadband take up advancing fast; and search is most effective when combined with TV – so measure the TV cost too to deliver a realistic ROI.
As to other themes. As much as I enjoyed both viewings of the inspirational sporting clips, I can’t say I quite got to grips with the overall line – “They think it’s all over” – and there were times when the programme line-up did the conference no favours. A couple of examples:
Response rates was clearly a key issue – IPSOS and BMRB both referred to this; NRS admits it is struggling (in London especially). A question was posed, but a session in which all of these spoke and in which PDAs were also more fully considered as an answer to this, might have presented greater time to focus on a very important research collection issue.
Keynotes – all very good and thought provoking. I quite understand why it balances the conference to lead with one each day, but it’s a long trek for just a couple of questions and these would still benefit if they sat at the table together after each delivering their speeches, maybe with a moderator, and then took questions and debated the issues more fully, including questioning each other. Phil Georgiadis said how daunting he had found it taking on Michael Grade at a previous conference; and it seemed like the audience felt the same about Phil now.
A per-session focus – same as the above really, because otherwise you end up with three very different papers taking very different questions, and it limits or fragments debate.
How about the JICs?
NRS is to start asking questions about online readership of its titles too – every newspaper sales executive should be pleased if that can provide some usable data. Hopefully we will have more for you later this week on MediaTel NewsLine.
JICIMS has a fairly simple starting point – creating a universe for net users, using the NRS. But its longer term implications – that this could lead to a planning currency for online (maybe by the end of next year?) are far more interesting – and well overdue as IPA research director Lynne Robinson pointed out.
Talking of Lynne, TouchPoints was possibly the most awaited paper – many saw it as the answer to Mike Kirkham’s concerns (other keynote speech from ex-TNS CEO) that the JICs were not structured in a way that enables them to help planners now. We got a full run-down on the methodology from Steve Wilcox (RSMB) and an understandable ten minute “sigh of relief” from Lynne that this had not turned into “her own personal Wembley Stadium”. Clearly TouchPoints is provoking much thought around the industry and can answer questions that were not answerable before, but where will this be in three to five years. Is it just a catalyst? Will TouchPoints as such still exist or will it spawn others – industry wide or bespoke?
Lynne agreed with Mike’s assertion that the JICs would remain single-industry, but Hugh Johnson’s closing comments as MRG Chair, and Tess Alps’ implied remarks both nudged the traditional media owners to combine to re-enforce display advertising’s strengths – or at the very least how they lead consumers to search in the first place.
It was a conference that gave us a chance to catch up on interesting research across the industry (a representative balance of papers covering all media) but did not deliver any new insight (advergaming apart?) or really start to debate the few themes that emerged.
Question of the week – John Billett to Martin U’ren (after an entertaining presentation showcasing NI’s online initiatives) – “Excellent, but I don’t really get the business proposition – how do NI intend making any money online?” More senior newspaper executives than Martin would have struggled to answer that one too!
Presentation of the Conference – well-deserved for slick production and entertainment value alone – the David Aitchison Award winners – Mark Horton and Chris Branford of Northcliff… closely followed of course by Steve Wilcox’s on-stage explanation (and illustration) at the Gala Dinner of the branding and client servicing USP that only RSMB is able to offer ([email protected] for more on that).
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