TMRE 2010 - Morning Recap

The Market Research Event kicked off with some great presentations this morning. Here's a couple of recaps and photos from the sessions.

What's Next in Wellness: New Research from Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness
Speaker: Johanna Skilling, EVP, Director of Strategic Planning, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness

Johanna Skilling opened her presentation by discussing what wellness meant to people in 2008 and 2009. Believe it or not there was a big difference! In 2008 wellness meant feeling good, being balanced, and being fit. This was a different story for the next year. In 2009 it meant trying to sleep well, trying to change, and being able to cover rent. The biggest driver in the survey wasn't even money it was anxiety. A lot of income from the surveyors did not change during this time period.

The conclusion from 2009 was that we were becoming more Unwell. Women buy more than 85% of all wellness products so they focused primarily on women. So what's happening in 2010? 63% of Americans say that they don't think they can maintain their standard of living. No matter what level of income you have people are still feeling anxiety from the economy.

But things are getting better..check out the resolve for 2010 below:

New Resolve in 2010
1. Be healthy
2. Feel good inside and out
3. Be balanced

Changing Channels: QVC's Soft Sell in a Targeted World
Speaker: Jim Powel, Vice President, Consumer Insights & Business Intelligence, QVC

The important thing is to understand how the consumer interacts with the tv. You need to understand not only the triggers for purchase but also for entertainment. It is important to understand customer engagement. At the end consumers will trust their neighbor or their friends, and so customer testimonials on live tv can easily spike customer engagement.

Mobile is the new frontier and so QVC has launched iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, and iPad applications. About one-third of all iPads sold have the QVC application installed on it. That's an amazing adoption rate.

At the end QVC is trying to reduce the effort on the part of the consumer to make it easier for them to shop. Customer engagement is another factor that will help spike their involvement. Repeat customers will ultimately bring in the most revenue so loyalty and incentive

Get on their List: Understanding the Trip Prep Mode
Speakers: Russ Onish, Director, Category Leadership & Shopper Insights, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream; Dard Neuman, PhD, President, Insights, SmartRevenue

A lot of brand and category decisions from shoppers have been done before entering the store. Most consumers come prepared even with a shopping list and go through different rituals in creating the list. Many things can influence the list such as friend recommendations, coupons, and ads.

The level of pre-planning shopping has increased throughout the economic recession. On the other hand before the recession planning was already high. The use of written lists has gone up as well. Nearly 60% of shoppers leave the home with a brand already in mind which leaves only 40% that make that decision in-store.

So what exactly constitutes the process of list-building?

Many take inventory before leaving so they check their cupboards, pantry, and refrigerator. That is about 50%. Another 50% don't take inventory so there's a possibility that they do not know what they don't have.

We need to better package our goods so that it gives some kind of reminder to shoppers that they are running out and need to refill. That's a great way to get on the shopper written list. Convenience and cost-savings must be brought to the customer with perfect synchronization with shopping.