In the US, auto giant Ford has launched an interactive portal, which it claims ‘goes beyond traditional consumer market research, studies and focus groups’.

Through the ‘Your Ideas’ section of its site http://www.thefordstory.com , consumers are invited to submit, share and suggest ideas and technologies.

President Mark Fields says that Ford is turning to the social web as an ‘innovative way of generating new vehicle feature ideas customers really want and value’. He describes the portal as the firm’s latest demonstration of collaborative efforts to engage ‘automotive outsiders’.

The pilot of ‘Your Ideas’ enables consumers to participate in a community-based setting where they can review and rate posted ideas, and track what people think about their own suggestions.

Ideas that receive the most ‘thumbs up’ from viewers will be added to a most-popular idea list and reviewed by Ford’s Advanced Product Marketing and Planning teams.

‘Our philosophy about innovation has rapidly evolved,’ states Gerhard Schmidt, Ford Chief Technical Officer and VP, Research and Advanced Engineering. ‘We no longer believe that any one company or industry has a monopoly on good ideas; and embrace the fact that every good idea for our customers doesn’t have to start with us.’

Microsoft uses fake research project in ad campaign

Shoppers recruited for ‘research’ are actually being filmed for marketing purposes

US– Microsoft has used a fake market research project in its latest ad campaign to show customers choosing and buying Windows PCs.

Participants in the Laptop Hunters campaign were told they were being filmed for a research project looking at purchase decisions. In fact it was all part of a Microsoft campaign by Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

A post on the Microsoft Team Blog says: “The Laptop Hunters are not told they are taking part in an ad campaign by Microsoft. Instead, they think they are participating in market research.”

Each of the ten people filmed was asked go out and find a laptop to fit their own budget and requirements, and all of them, according to Microsoft, ended up choosing Windows PCs rather than Macs. Only then did the camera crews reveal who they were really working for. “The participant can of course decline to be part of the ad series if they so wish,” said the firm.

By using research as a front to film people for promotional purposes, Microsoft has employed the same tactics which drew accusations of ‘sugging’ against Ford in 2007. Industry asociations Casro and CMOR both raised concerns at the time about Ford’s portrayal of research, and the potential consequences for respondent cooperation.

The agency behind the new Microsoft ads is the same one responsible for last year’s Whopper Virgins film for Burger King – another campaign based on a real-life product test, which was accused of insensitivity in its treatment and portrayal of remote communities.

Anne Belec, Director – Global Marketing at Ford Motor Co., is reported to be leaving the company after nearly 24 years.

The decision comes less than a year after Belec, previously CEO of Volvo Cars North America, took up the new role. Reports in Advertising Age (www.adage.com ) say her next destination and successor are unknown at this stage.

Based in Dearborn, Michigan, Belec was responsible for marketing strategies and processes, brand positioning and consumer insights and reported to VP Marketing and Communications Jim Farley.

Before Volvo, she worked as Director of Sales Planning and Distribution for Ford Motor Company, Network Business Development Manager and General Marketing Manager at Lincoln-Mercury Division, and Worldwide Marketing Plans Manager (Product Development) at Ford. She holds an MBA from Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and two BAs from the University of Ottawa, in business administration and marketing.

Appreciate you sending us the link and updating this post.

Thanks.

Merrill

Here we go again…

Merrill

Finally, at the risk of piling on… My first reaction to Ford Motor Co’s recent ad campaign was probably the same as yours. It couldn’t happen for legal reasons, but how would Ford react to a competitor borrowing the image of Henry Ford to trick people into doing something for one of their campaigns? They’d feel used, as the MR profession did in the automaker’s “Swap Your Ride” commercials.

Thanks for letting us ad this to the conversation Bob.

Merrill

As the newest addition to MRA’s staff (Director of Communications), I am only beginning to understand the breadth and depth of the MR field. There’s a lot to learn and your blog is a good jump-off point.

It strikes me that the MR industry needs a healthy shot of positive PR, especially in light of an article from Pantagraph.com on 12/9 (Everyone’s got a cell phone, so who are pollsters polling? Mobile phones, caller ID create new challenges for pollsters; here is the link to the full article: http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/12/09/news/doc475a45ce33810354435677.txt).

I have some questions about what this article means to the industry and to the public:
1) With response rates plunging for phone surveys, what does this mean for the accuracy of political polling as we enter the heart of the primary season—and into the national election cycle?
2) What are some of the innovative and creative ways (be they tools or techniques) research marketers are taking to overcome resistance to surveying?
3) Is Internet polling accurate and reliable? If not, why not, and what’s the industry doing to fix it?
4) Why are young people so hard to reach for polling purposes, and what’s the industry doing to reach this highly skeptical audience?

I look forward to your further comments on this and other matters.

There has been a lot of interest in this story, both on this blog, and throughout various circles within the profession. From everything that is public about the Ford commercial, there is nothing that would allow us to conclude that Ford was not conducting legitimate research. In fact, there is at least one interview with Ford that refers to the research they did in this advertisement, beginning with their intention to perform actual marketing research.

Unfortunately, the advert conveys the idea that (esp. to the public) that there may have been some below-board activity. As a profession, we realize that the public sentiment affects us deeply- with respect to legislation, respondent cooperation, and our general identity. For this reason, CMOR’s official response to Ford is through communications designed to educate them to be sensitive to how opinion research is portrayed. It’s not enough for us to maintain high ethics and standards- we need to communicate our legitimacy to the public effectively as well.