Delivering the opening keynote lecture at this year's MRG Conference in Budapest on Wednesday afternoon, Morris told delegates that the research industry had "lost its way" and did not deserve to occupy a place at the industry's "top table".
In what was intended to be a wake-up call to the industry, Morris suggested that media researchers had become misguided and advised them to be more creative in order to avoid portraying consumers as a "docile population that needs carpet bombing" with 30-second TV commercials.
Morris blamed syndicated, qualitative research techniques for focusing too much on headcount and emphasised the importance of assessing the communicative effect of advertising on specific audiences.
He described the Barb, NRS, Postar and Rajar systems as flawed and urged the industry not to lose sight of its main aim, which, he said, is to provide a "simple and robust trading currency".
Morris also advocated a move towards media neutrality and emphasised that cross-media planning would be vital to the future of media research. He said: "We need to include content in our thinking. The old idea that the medium is the message is wrong, nowadays that message is the message."
After arguing that media research will always be biased and underfunded as long as it is financed by media owners, Morris concluded that the industry must concentrate on telling advertisers how to communicate effectively with consumers. Only then he argued, can it take its place at the "top table".
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