Every year, the Leeds Community Foundation help thousands of charities and voluntary groups across the city by distributing grants and providing advice.  They do this through the support of local businesses and individuals, connecting people who want to make a difference to the city. Last year alone, the foundation gave out over £6 million to nearly 500 groups across Leeds and Bradford.

It’s my first time at Nudgestock, Ogilvy’s behavioural science conference. I’m in a room with 450 people, a lucky dip of marketers, academics, researchers, students, brand and operations peeps from the private, public and third sectors. We’ve all travelled to Folkestone, which is sleepy, welcoming. It’s a 10 minute amble through the faded Victorian grandeur to Leas Cliff Hall. Beyond the stage and I can see the sea, which is unexpectedly turquoise.

We were delighted to welcome Richard Shotton (Manning Gottlieb OMD) on Tuesday to introduce some of the key themes in his book The Choice Factory. The book has had a real impact because it makes the implications of behavioural science crystal clear for practitioners.

You might have noticed it was Trinity McQueen’s 5th birthday recently. To celebrate this milestone, the whole company (minus our amazing very nearly mothers to be) jetted over to Bruges for a 2 day, one-night celebratory getaway. For those travelling from Leeds it was a bleary-eyed start to Monday morning with a 6am flight from Manchester.  Our London compatriots meanwhile had a slightly more sedate start travelling via Eurostar. 

As part of our involvement within the Breadwinner Agencies network, Trinity McQueen were proud to jointly host our first event in Leeds on May 23rd on the topic of Influencer Marketing.  The venue was the gorgeous Lost and Found Bar at the newly multi-million-pound renovated Leeds Club. 

Luke Perry, from Jigsaw took us through The Importance of Moral Institutions in Qualitative Research. This explored a framework of moral foundations from psychology which can be used to understand how people interpret the world. The perennial “better deals for new customers” relates to the “loyalty / betrayal” paradigm for example

Summarising a conference is a challenge.

You can’t cover everyone. And you certainly can’t convey the speaker’s topic with as much nuance as they would. With these caveats in mind, some highlights from day 1 of #wwqual, pulling out takeaway ideas from 8 of the sessions.

Being stereotypically English, I dislike hyperbole.

I bristle when I am told something is awesome. I have a deep suspicion of razzmatazz.

Despite this I can say without hesitation last week’s #WWQual conference was the best research event I have ever been to. I have never got more value from a conference.

The workplace of the future will be very different to the one we know today, and employers must adapt and develop a future proofed employer proposition if they are to continue to attract and retain the best talent.  So was the crux of the talk given by Sally Bucknell, EY’s Head of Diversity and Inclusiveness for UK and Ireland who spoke at a recent event held in Leeds that Trinity McQueen attended as part of our involvement in The Leeds Fund.

It’s a cold and wet Wednesday morning in Manchester. A group of 25 eager qual researchers gather at Aspect Viewing Facility to hear Dr Nick Gadsby from The Answer demystify the world of Semiotics.

We need to change the ways we shop, but behaviour is hard to change. It could become even harder to change if all customers are treated the same. Environmental issues, and the use of plastics in particular, are the hot topic of the day. As a society we are slowly accepting that our use of plastic is dangerous and that change is sorely needed.

Trinity McQueen were proud to be a part of the Leeds Digital Festival this week, a city-wide event to celebrate the digital community in Leeds. Exploring the role that digital technology plays in consumers lives has become a key part of our research offering, so we were excited to share our latest thinking and showcase how we are using technology more than ever before, to get closer to real-life behaviour.

We all know behavioural economics is a big issue for our industry. What I know after attending Tuesday’s MRS event is that it is also far too complex a topic to cover in an hour’s session. You could have the oratory skills of Barack Obama, the wit of Oscar Wilde and have Kahneman there field questions, and you’d still only be able to achieve so much.

Let’s be honest, Belgium receives its unfair share of ridicule, especially from a close neighbour.  And that simply isn’t cricket.  A birdie told us there are some little known gems worthy or exploration for our cultural, gastronomic and architectural adherents.  Paying a wee visit is clearly the right thing to do. 

Last week, we were delighted to be present at X4 Europe, Europe’s largest experience management event that is run, and hosted by Qualtrics. We have been working with Qualtrics for a number of years now, and were keen to hear what they, and some of the world’s leading businesses had to say about CX.