The Marketing Research Awards 2005 are now open for entries. The awards, now in their third year, are the biggest event in the UK to recognise the contribution made by market research to businesses' bottom lines, and exist to champion the importance of the discipline in the marketing mix.
Last year entries increased by 50% and the awards night drew a record crowd of 350, from both agency and client sides. This year's event, which takes place on 4 July, will not only provide the opportunity to recognise the achievements of leading practitioners, but also to network with some of marketing's leading players.
Supported by the BMRA and The Marketing Society, and sponsored by Firefish, Maritz and TNS, the awards are open to agencies, consultancies and clients' in-house departments of any size that initiate, plan, implement and evaluate research activities.
Specific industry sectors are covered by 15 categories, from FMCG to travel, as are research issues, including best use of research in advertising and research with a budget below £20,000 (see box).
Outstanding success
A further award will recognise the most outstanding use of research for business success, with the winner selected from those that top each category.
Last year's winner of this award was the Home Office. It hired Ogilvy & Mather to research the best way to make teenagers aware of the threat of paedophiles in internet chat rooms and adjust their behaviour accordingly.
The aim of the research was to gain an understanding of the attitudes of 14- to 16-year-olds toward the internet, and chat rooms in particular, and to gauge their awareness of paedophiles. It also aimed to discover the precautions being taken by parents and children to tackle the problem and what needed to be said to encourage 'safe surfing'.
As a result of the research, the proportion of children willing to give out personal details online dropped from 40% at the start of 2002 to 27% in 2003.
Other winners last year included the RAC, as it battled the threat of rivals by seeking to establish a point of difference; Comet, which evaluated the in-store experience of a format redesign for its 'destination' stores and Sony Ericsson, which ran a consumer perception study to inform target-setting.
Entry guidelines
The 2005 entry form is split into four sections: business challenge; objectives; the project itself; and evaluation and results. The first section should explain the nature of the project and its challenges. Budget details should be included, particularly if the limit was a challenge - these details will remain confidential. The objectives and project segments should explain the aims of the research work and what the activity involved, including the extent to which research expertise contributed to its success.
The judges, who will be drawn from the most senior agency and client levels, will take into consideration both best practice and effectiveness.
A premium will be placed on confidentiality, regarding both business performance and individual judges' voting decisions.
Entries must apply to work carried out between 1 October 2002 and 31 December 2004. It is assumed that much of this work will relate to activity carried out in 2002 and 2003, and that the information given will no longer be commercially sensitive when an Awards book of the winners' case studies is published.
Entry forms can be downloaded from the awards website at www.marketing researchawards.com.
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Award categories
Industry sector
- FMCG
- Financial
- Healthcare/pharmaceutical
- Media
- Government/public services/social research
- Automotive
- Retail
- Telecommunications/IT
- Travel/leisure/entertainment
- Business/professional
Research issues
- Best use of new research for customer insight
- Best new product development research
- Best advertising research
- Best international research project
- Best research - budget under £20,000
The fee for each entry is £188 (£160 plus VAT). A cheque made payable to Marketing Research Awards should be included with completed entry forms. The fee covers the cost of processing the entries and judging.
The closing date for entries is 1 April. Completed entries should be sent to Zoe Bedford, Events Manager, Marketing Research Awards, 174 Hammersmith Road, London W6 7JP.
For further enquiries please call 020 8267 4042; fax 020 8267 4331; or email zoe.bedford@haynet.com.
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