As 2019 rolled around I started to consider in more depth the impact my dairy consumption was having on the planet. After much back and forth I decided to give Veganuary a shot as a starting point, and after a mere 3 weeks of veganism, here’s what I’ve learnt.

There are cynics among us who refuse to be seduced by the lure of Black Friday, as questions are increasingly raised about how great these deals really are.  But as rational as we may wish to be about the offers pinging into our inboxes and heralded across our high streets, we are hard-wired to succumb to temptation.  Why?  Because BF uses all the BE tricks in the book to convince our natural instincts that we need to pounce.

I’d argue we value what we believe in, and that belief is largely driven by scarcity, context & signalling. Here’s as brief a summary as I can manage.

On December 3rd, a lucky contingent from Trinity McQueen put on their glad rags, dusted off their dickie bows and headed to Billingsgate Fish Market to celebrate the very best of market research at the MRS Annual Awards Dinner.  The champagne was flowing and the tension mounting as we waited to see whether we had scooped the big award, Best Agency 2018. 

Trinity McQueen is thrilled to be nominated for Best Agency 2018.  It’s the 11th successive year we’ve been award winners or runners up, a long-running love affair with great work and, of course, after parties.

On Thursday 15th November, Robin Horsfield (Trinity McQueen) and Jo Caley (Legal & General) strode upon the stage to entertain the crowd for the headline slot at the MRS Financial Services conference.

In the past 5 years, the face of Christmas shopping has changed dramatically in the UK. The previous world of two sales peaks, one in December and another in the Jan Sale, has been blown up by the introduction to the UK of Black Friday by US protagonists such as Amazon & Walmart owned Asda. But something seems to be stirring in UK retail that may mean that Black Friday has had its day.

Following on from the previous blog, this is designed to give you some practical hints and tips to avoid a fixed mindset.

How do you approach learning? Do you seek to learn or do you just ‘get through the here and now’ and hope to learn a few things to evidence just before your next 1-2-1?

We had a great night on Tuesday at the MRG, sharing findings from our recent study, Generation Game, which examines the role gaming plays in the lives of young consumers. With the increasing fragmentation of hardware platforms and a proliferation of services and payment models, there has never been a better time to understand how young people interact with this medium.

I’ve recently read two books which have made me think about the way we do research, particularly qualitative research. They helped me see the importance of understanding topics from another person’s perspective and translating lived experiences back up to the motivations.

The conference theme is contrarian thinking and how it can inspire creativity and change. As you’d expect from the industry body which represents strategic thinkers from across the marketing ecosystem, it’s a carefully curated menu served up to provoke and inspire. Half the speakers are experienced insiders, half are charismatic outsiders.

So you think you know your own mind?  A canny decision-maker immune to manipulation? Well think again… On Tuesday night in Leeds Richard Shotton brought us all down a peg or two by illustrating powerfully how we’re slaves to our psychological biases.

Whenever smart-speaker are mentioned in a conversation at work, Dan (our tech and media research director/gadget guru) bemoans the fact that he has been conditioned to only ask his Alexa what he knows it can understand. He also hates that Alexa can’t pick out his favourite Bob Dylan album (that I’ve forgotten already) * and has to settle for a mix of the greatest hits.

We know it’s important for brands to meet the needs of more vulnerable customers. There has been an emerging trend recently of inclusivity in supermarkets and online retail brands, for example supermarket accessibility for wheelchair users and quiet hours for those with Autism. It is likely that this approach will gradually expand into other sectors as companies increasingly adapt their research to include this significant proportion of the population and seek to obtain and be receptive to feedback from more vulnerable customers.