Oh, don’t you love the smell of 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline?

Today, a marketing lesson from the kiddo:   What he is talking about, here, is the role of smell as a stimulus. Smell (and other stimuli like colour, temperature, or sounds) can create an affective response in shoppers. This can either be a direct emotional reaction to the stimulus (e.g., the smell makes us feel hungry); or … Continue reading Oh, don’t you love the smell of 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline?

April 2016 round-up

It’s Spring, there are flowers peeking everywhere… ... and snow. That’s right. It snowed. At least it melted quickly. I am so ready for warm weather…   Here are my highlights for April. Tell me yours, in the comments below.   Researching The panel proposal that I was working on last month was rejected. But … Continue reading April 2016 round-up

The limited value of ad views

Think with Google published the results of a very interesting study measuring the effectiveness of different video versions of an ad for a new product. The study uses three alternative approaches – with very different results.   The product The ad was for a new line of make up from L’Oreal Paris.   The ad … Continue reading The limited value of ad views

Want feedback? Ask your customers… or maybe not

A trip to the gym last weekend resulted in an unexpected market research lesson, which I talked about on Snapchat*:   Our usual instructor had been away on the previous weekend, and had been temporarily replaced by somebody else. This one had a very peculiar style – ‘though love’, if you wish. He kept telling … Continue reading Want feedback? Ask your customers… or maybe not

Day in the Life of an Academic #5: a little bit of everything

Got up at 6 am, made myself some coffee, and then sat down to work on a research grant proposal. It is for a small pot of money, only, but it would be great to get it, so that I could do some exploratory work on parents’ views of sharenting. At 7am, the kids woke … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #5: a little bit of everything

The drivers of word of mouth are: them, you and it

Word of mouth (WoM) is important for all organisations. It is the main source of new business for small and medium enterprises. It is key for the success of niche products, as well as mass market products.   So, we really need to understand what drives WoM, don’t you think?   Based on my work and … Continue reading The drivers of word of mouth are: them, you and it

March 2016 round-up

This month felt very much like a Mad Hatter tea party, with quite a bit of nonsense, and weirdness, and twists and turns. At least there was a lot of tea. And cake. These are my highlights for the month that was. Tell me yours, in the comments below.   Researching I worked on a … Continue reading March 2016 round-up

On social media, be human and be active

If you are managing a brand’s social media presence, you probably came across recommendations such as ‘interact regularly with your customers on social media’, or ‘humanise your brand’.   But does it work?   According to a series of studies, conducted by Simon Hudson, Li Huang, Martin S. Roth and Thomas J. Madden, with social … Continue reading On social media, be human and be active

Tay, the Turing test, and us

Yesterday (March 24th, 2016), Microsoft launched Tay, an artificial intelligent chat bot developed by Microsoft's Technology and Research and Bing teams to experiment with and conduct research on conversational understanding. Tay is designed to engage and entertain people where they connect with each other online through casual and playful conversation. The more you chat with … Continue reading Tay, the Turing test, and us

10 amazing tweeps I met in 10 years of Twitter

Twitter turned 10 years old, and I, like many others, have been reflecting on what it means to me.   Twitter tells me that I joined it in July 2008. I remember the day, vividly. I was following a thread on an online forum, where academics were sharing experiences of using Second Life, Facebook, Twitter, … Continue reading 10 amazing tweeps I met in 10 years of Twitter