In July, our team had the opportunity to attend Quirk’s New York and get stuck into two days of networking and listening to some incredible speakers talk about things that matter to researchers.
A couple of things that stood out for us at the conference…
It’s clear that things are continuing to move quickly in the research world (especially with regards to the use of AI); only a few months ago people were talking about the potential new tools that are emerging, and now we are hearing how these tools are being put into practice! In particular, we really enjoyed Kira Greenberg ’s session with Betsy Nelson where they broke down some of the myths around AI, and shared some easy and actionable examples to get more value out of qualitative data with simple prompts.
A key theme across several sessions was the importance of bringing in the right tools and expertise for each challenge. Sammy Cohen from E&J Gallo talked us us through using an AI questioning tool to unlock greater depth in open ended responses, enabling them to super charge their product development roadmap, whilst Francesca Springhall (McDonald’s) and Dinisha Cherodian (BAMM) spoke about collaborating with a behavioural economist to bring in new thinking to solve an age-old problem – improving their reputation amongst the over 55’s in the UK. Together, they came up with some key tactics they were going to use to reach this audience – humour, messenger, and certainty. This resulted in a campaign, specifically targeted at that audience, which included cultural references from the 90s to show how McDonalds had changed (with environmental information included) but not everyone had kept up with these changes. The campaign was a success amongst the target group.
Both of those sessions proved that combining unique skills and capabilities from various partners can lead to far better outcomes than trying to tackle it alone.
Building long-standing partnerships emerged as a crucial point throughout the event. With all the challenges that can come with onboarding new suppliers, brands are looking to create lasting relationships that can grow, evolve, and continue to bring in new thinking. We really enjoyed sessions from Microsoft , PepsiCo , L’Oréal and McDonald’s(and their agency partners) talking about how they have built enduring partnerships. The better the relationships, the more seamless the collaboration, and the more successful the results.
Quirks reinforced the idea that in today’s world, the best results come from working with a diverse group of experts. It’s all about leveraging specialized skills and building solid partnerships to tackle complex challenges. As we move forward, let’s keep in mind that collaboration isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must for achieving great things!
Claire Reid
Client Director
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