Sheila Byfield: “We are drowning in data and lacking in insights”

“We are drowning in data and lacking in insights,” according to Sheila Byfield, leader, business planning at Mindshare Worldwide.

Speaking at this morning’s MediaTel Group seminar on the ‘Future of Media Research’, Byfield said: “If I had one wish, it would be that I had nothing to do for six months, so that I could take in all of the research and get a better understanding of what is happening.”

She added that research agencies have been “at fault for not being innovative enough – we have taken existing research for granted”.

One approach to getting the most from existing research was outlined by David Brennan, research and strategy director at TV marketing body Thinkbox.

He said: “At Thinkbox we are looking at past research to see how we can reversion it and combine it with other research for new insights.”

Finding a coherent narrative was essential for truly compelling research, he added. “Every single project I commission I am looking for the narrative every time,” he said.

Brennan added that over the coming months the industry, while staying engaged with existing research, should attempt to move away from old-fashioned thinking. “In this industry we have a tendency to move on quickly – the challenge over the next 12 months is to move on from silos,” he said.

Panellist David Fletcher, head of MEC MediaLab, Mediaedge:CIA, spoke a little about Touchpoints. While he agreed with the rest of the panel that it was a good piece of research, he said that most agencies have “struggled to make use” of it.

However, he said that MEC MediaLab has a “gizmo to make charts for you” from the Touchpoints data. This has its downsides though, he said, as “in agencies, people are never going to be experts, so it is ring fenced and not every one can use it”.