The world's biggest small research company

I have asked myself before if big research firms can act small (see the post here), and back than, I already was convinced we could. As we all are here at Synovate. Now here's some corporate Synovate arguments I simply have to share:

Synovate's new corporate video! And make sure to not miss the final 15 seconds.... here it is, I think it's great:

Well there you had the original and official corporate video. But wait, there's more: the outtakes! Will they start a fight? Check for yourself, and do mind the final 20 seconds or so....:

Add the WOW to online shelf tests: what's possible today?

On December 5th, Merrill Dubrow had a post in which he gave reasons why today's market research business is broken. I described four causes:

1. Length of questionnaire
2. Boring, repetitive, poorly written surveys
3. Declining cooperation rates
4. Great variation in quality across online sample providers

Many people left a response so Merill's comments are right on the button! Oliver replied that the issues are all intertwined, and quite rightly so! #4 is a consequence of #3, which is a consequence of #1 and #2. So, we need to fix #1 and #2 to fix #3, which will allow us to fix #4. I am currently checking what's out there that will help make the surveys more engaging, and I am specifically looking for today's interactive survey solutions. Here is a first great example from Fuse: Fuse Pack Test Fuse specialises in interactive market research survey solutions globally and they claim that all Fuse stimulus can be embedded into 3rd party surveys. So what other companies are offering great examples of engaging respondents? I am particularly interested in seeing 3D product design tests, package test and Shelf tests. Here is just another example, but if you now any others, just leave a comment! CIAO's (Greenfield Online) Fridge Shelf Test: So anyone who would like to add other examples of great shelf tests? Just leave the name of the company, your reason why you like it the URL to their demo in a comment. I will add to my list below (as long as the demo is openly accessible over the Web) Looking forward to receiving your other impressive examples!

• Fuse Shelf Tests
• GMI's Virtual Shopping
• Harris Interactive's Shelf Test
• Synovate's 3D product display

Synovate's View of the Future

Synovate has a fun clip on YouTube illustrating their Online service / approach / function. The cartoon left Ray Poynter of the Future Place worried by some of the imagery of what is being offered (see his post). He thinks the use of the robot in the video implies that the future is rather a long way off, and avatars might have seemed more current since he things the robots looked quite old fashioned, perhaps designed by somebody who watched their TV in the 80s or early 90s. What do you think?