Speakers of TMRE 2009: Randolf Kosloski, MeadWestvaco
In the weeks leading up to The Market Research Event 2009, we're going to be hearing from the speakers of The Market Research Event. This week we have Randolf Kosloski, MeadWestvaco (MWV), who will be presenting "Using Social Media to Gain Insights for Packaging Innovation," in the Proof: What's New & Next In Packaging Research Symposium on Tuesday, October 19, 2009. To learn more about The Market Research Event, download the brochure here!
1. Tell us about a project you are working on or recently completed that you are proud of?
Kosloski: Recently I completed a project on the effect of packaging materials upon Carbonated Soft Drink Sales. The study sought to prove whether or not consumers would chose to switch bands or vary their buying behavior based solely upon the materials used in the creation of the secondary packaging. The results clearly illustrated the effect that secondary packaging had upon purchase intent and brand perception. In addition, for those consumers who were brand switchers the effect was even more pronounced. These results were shared with a beverage company and were very compelling to them as they contemplate packaging materials.
2. Think ahead 5 years, what major changes for MR/Consumer Insights do you see?
Kosloski: The largest changes I see will be based upon the one we have seen in the past 10 years- technology. Just a short time ago our industry routinely depended upon mail surveys as a inexpensive method to gather the opinions of a large group of consumers. The internet changed that. As I look to the future I see technology enabling us to reach out to large or small groups of consumers in new deeper ways and in real time. If we take mobile communications, eye tracking, and real time surveys and combine them we could be looking at all day all the time virtual ethnography. I have no idea how we would ever shift though the data (a critical skill now and one that will become even more important) but I can only imagine the wealth of information we could get through the virtual tracking of a consumer's life. It would extend far beyond any one company's purview but could become a syndicated source of ethnographic type of information.
3. What inspired you to get in the field? What keeps you motivated?
Kosloski: A professor back while I was an undergraduate student. She told me I had the type of personality and thought patterns that would make me a good market researchers. Given my current goal at the time was engineering I took little heed of her words. A few years later I found myself back in school and happen to run across a part-time job fielding central location studies for a company. The rest as they say is history.
My motivation comes form a strong personal curiosity coupled with a desire to learn. It also doesn't hurt that I am always questioning not only what others do but what I myself do. This has allowed me to continue to grow and learn thus remaining fresh. Like the products many of us work on we need to relaunch ourselves periodically in order to remain in the forefront of our respective fields or risk becoming irrelevant.