VANCOUVER – A new method of conducting mobile research could supply some unexpected, and valuable, results for marketers and researchers.
Vancouver-based market research organization Techneos recently trialed a new survey research application called Survey On-Demand Application (SODA) across various Nokia and BlackBerry devices. The project, called ‘The Great British Weekend’, was conducted last May in partnership with survey-based market research company Ipsos.
The study examined how people use their mobile phone in their everyday life. Using a mobile diary program, it enabled participants to provide anytime, anywhere feedback, and answer the question “what’s happening right now?” The project also incorporated the use of a new mobile research technique which combines surveys with multiple choice, sliding scale, open text, the capture of pictures, and GPS-locations to understand people’s lives, moods, environments and decisions.
“This new technique truly opened our eyes and made us challenge our stereotypes of consumer segments we thought we had figured out decades ago,” said Techneos VP, Sean Conry, in a statement. “We came across many unique day-in-the life mobile diary entries including a tech-savvy grandma who used our app on her BlackBerry in between looking after her granddaughter and checking Facebook, and an unassuming stay-at-home mom who surprised us when she stayed out playing cards until 5:30 a.m. after attending a Hells Angels funeral. Marketers and researchers can leverage the concept and results of this study to dive deeper into just about any consumer segment.”
