Too Many Research Conferences Choices - So Little Time!
I remember when I used to go to the ARF in New York and the exhibit hall was on two floors. The hall was jammed with wall to wall people and frankly it was the place to be. I couldn’t wait to see the newest technology in our industry, hear about what was on the horizon or frankly go to the Beta Research booth, get an autograph and picture of one of the many celebrities that were there year after year. Every November when I purchased my new day-timer it was the first date I blocked out. A can’t miss conference if there was every one.
I am planning my travel schedule for the next three months which includes a number of conferences. AMA, CMOR, IIR, MRA, QRCA, CASRO, PMRG and ESOMAR are all in a span of 45 days.
http://www.quirks.com/resources/events.asp
- What conferences are you going to and why?
- How do you choose?
- Do you have any can’t miss conference that you attend year after year?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
August 4th, 2006 at 11:27 am
There are too many conferences. The question should be, are they all necessary? Which ones are valuable? Which ones are copy cats? I’ll see you at the AMA. From a small company standpoint, we just don’t have the time or the energy to go to very many of them year to year. If I make one a year I’m happy.
August 4th, 2006 at 11:32 am
It would be self-serving to comment on any MRA conference, so I will pass. AMA still delivers the $ worth. I am looking for a good conference that covers CRM.
August 4th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
I’ll take the risk of being self serving in suggesting (heck recommending) that everyone in the industry attend “The Research Industry Summit: Improving Respondent Cooperation.”
It’s September 28-29 at the Drake Hotel in Chicago.
It is the U.S. research industry’s first real unified attempt to take action against the continuing erosion in respondent cooperation, which has spiraled downward for 30 years.
I’ve been telling everyone that this is the one conference “you” must attend if research, intelligence, etc. will continue to be your career. If we can’t grab this tiger by the tail and start t control it, no one will be assured of a job 10 years from now.
For those who believe that we should wait until the situation is nearly out of control, But we are already at a crisis point. So many industry executives openly complain about professional respondents, the inability to reach low-incidence groups, do-not-call lists (which aren’t supposed to impact MR, but we all know they do in consumers’ minds), etc.
Why would we want to wait until the respondent cooperation problem has its foot on our collective throats?
And for the companies who believe they have proprietary respondent solutions that lessen the impact of respondent cooperation problems, I ask:
Even if you have figured things out, if everyone else out there continues to pollute the respondent pool how long will it be before even your best practices are null and void?
So join the industry in Chicago in a show of solidarity as CMOR rolls out a program and campaign that takes on myriad challenges, including reorienting respondents to the value of participating in research and elevating the best practices of suppliers who interact with respondents.
This meeting won’t be a tools and techniques forum (though it will be full of great ideas about improving respondent cooperation).
It is going to be a gathering of Presidents, CEOs and Chairmen of MR companies, the leaders of research departments at top 100 companies and respondent cooperation experts.
Find details about the conference at:
http://www.iirusa.com/respondentcooperation
August 5th, 2006 at 10:34 am
Of course, I share Mr. Sugar’s MRA bias, but beyond my own involvement in those, I must say that many of the conferences out there are too academically oriented…too esoteric. I have long maintained that one of the weaknesses of our profession is that we often focus too much on process and the pursuit of perfection at the expense of being strategic and offering the client what they really need…sound, constituent driven insight that is utilized to guide marketing strategy.
I find too many conferences (ARF) that have devolved into soap boxes for tortured academics to pontificate and espouse their latest “papers”, replete with a good amount of calculus and doctoral level statistical theory. These speakers may think that they are impressing others, but instead, I think they are reinforcing a negative stereotype of our profession as being detached and siloed from its true potential.
What does everyone else think?
August 24th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
I also agree. There are too many conferences. However, I do enjoy the conferences generally.
Of course, I’ll attend MRA, AMA, AAPOR, PAPOR, CMOR, IIR, TTRA, SIR, SWMRA, etc. Why? I have a variety of roles I fill– like all of you. I need to “fly the compnay flag” via exhibiting. I need to have sales contacts and visits via interacting with attendees. I need to generate leads via meeting folks and obtaining attendee lists. I need to contribute to my profession via volunteering or assisting in any way I can. I need to learn and grow via meeting people from different walks of life, breaking bread, enjoying a drink and just getting to know fellow beings. I need to grow via attending sessions, addresses and interacting with colleagues, strangers, prospects, friends and competitors. In the end, I attend conferences for many reasons…but agree, we need fewer opportunities in the future. But I will miss seeing you all as frequently as I do now.
How can we lobby for fewer? By not attending? I don’t think so. By unifying our industry, having one voice…oh, sorry, we tried that route. Hmm…I see no immediate solution to our shared concern. Anyone else?
August 31st, 2006 at 2:58 pm
[...] Merrill Dubrow from MARC asks in his blog if there are too many market research conferences to attend for busy professionals. The same question is raised in all industries, including the Internet industry. [...]
October 27th, 2006 at 12:06 pm
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Interesting post. I came across this blog by accident, but it was a good accident. I have now bookmarked your blog for future use. Best wishes. Jillian Hall.