As a market research professional, it is vital to keep up with the latest techniques and trends in the industry. The New England Marketing Research Association (NEMRA) holds semi-annual conferences allowing those in the field to connect, share ideas, and learn new and useful ways to conduct research.

All of the sessions presented at NEMRA this spring were educational and useful, but Jeffrey Henning, founder of Researchscape International, delivered my favorite (even though I didn’t win any of the trivia prizes). His presentation described several ways to easily “gamify” research studies. By adding games to online surveys, participants are more engaged and are more likely to provide actionable insights. Here is a sampling of his gaming techniques:

Time limits. Rather than asking survey respondents to simply recall cereal brands, turn it into a fun activity by saying “I challenge you to name as many cereal brands as you can in 30 seconds.” This phrasing will bring out competitiveness of respondents and make them want to give it their all.

Scoring. Another helpful tool for engaging survey respondents is to turn the questionnaire into a quiz. In a scoring game you would tell the respondent you are going to quiz them on their knowledge of cereal brands, then present several pictures of cereal boxes (without the names) and have them name the brand. For every cereal that they correctly identify, they would get a point added to their score. Again, this easy game will engage respondents and result in more accurate results.

Reward. A third way to excite respondents is by offering a non-monetary reward at the end of a survey. Similar to the scoring exercise, you could present respondents with a quiz and say that you’re going to test their cereal IQ. In addition to earning points for correct answers, you could also provide them with tips. For example, if a respondent incorrectly answers a question about the amount of fiber in a serving of cereal, you could give the correct answer AND information about why fiber is important to include in everyday meals.

I highly recommend NEMRA’s conferences. If you want to learn more about NEMRA Follow them on Twitter @NE_MRA. To check out more news from Anderson Robbins be sure to Follow us @ARResearch.

The post Out & About with Anderson Robbins: Reporting Back from NEMRA’s Spring Conference appeared first on Anderson Robbins.

Anderson Robbins Research recently conducted a national survey in an attempt to uncover insights into the modern American household. We wanted to ultimately gauge the level of satisfaction with how households run and see if there were differences in gender, age and other demographic breakdowns.

With all of the talk in the political world of Americans’ dissatisfaction with our country, we were pleasantly surprised that it doesn’t seem to resonate in individual households. We found that 93 percent of respondents said that their household is happy overall. Women, however, tend to be more stressed out with maintaining this level of happiness. So we broke down what made the difference for women who live in very happy households compared to other women.

We found that women with very happy households are more apt to say:

• Their household is run proactively
• They feel like the boss
• Everyone eats together at least once a day
• They communicate with members of their household through phone calls
• They have hobbies with their spouse

I love these tips not only because they seem practical but they have data to back-up the fact that they work. If you want to dive into some of the other information from the survey check out our infographic here. There are still more insights to be revealed so be sure to keep up with us on Twitter.

The post Number of the Week: 93 appeared first on Anderson Robbins.

There are one hundred and fourteen colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our company is surrounded by a few of those fine institutions here on Beacon Hill. This week, we wanted to pay tribute to the incredible educational tradition in our home-state and raise a glass to those graduating and entering the workforce.

We recently worked with WGBH on a series about community colleges and Americans’ attitudes toward the education they provide. This week WGBH provided a comprehensive list of graduation speakers appearing at ceremonies in our area including a Nobel Prize winner, professional athlete and Academy Award winning actor.

Have fun checking out the list and thanks to WGBH for putting it together.

The post Number of the Week: 114 appeared first on Anderson Robbins.

In choosing a number this week, I was selfish. I’ll explain. Recently, Anderson Robbins Research conducted a national survey in an attempt to uncover insights into the modern American household. We wanted to see what makes things run smoothly, what causes stress, and ultimately, what makes a household happy.

We are still analyzing and sifting through some of our findings, but as we approach Mother’s Day, I thought I would share one of the data points that hit close to home. 52% of the women surveyed said that sleep and alone time are the things that suffer most, due to the demands of running their household – more than exercise (42%), sex (38%) and reading a book (26%).

So if you were thinking of buying something fancy for May 8, save the cash. Let the woman in your household sleep in on Mother’s Day and for God sakes, leave her alone! Reference this statistic and you will be considered thoughtful. Trust me.

Since Father’s Day is just around the corner I’ll let you in on another secret. 41% of men said that sleep is the thing that suffers the most for them too. This year, no ties and socks, just some extra shut eye.

If you want to check out some of the other information from the survey check out our infographic here. There are still more insights to be revealed so stay tuned.

The post Number of the Week: 52 appeared first on Anderson Robbins.

In less than a week, all eyes will be on the city that Anderson Robbins calls home for the 120th running of the Boston Marathon. Our CEO, Jen Robbins, actually lives in Hopkington, not far from where the race begins. Despite our work across the country, Boston is our home-base and we decided that this week it would be fun to highlight the number of miles that thousands of runners with cover this coming Patriots Day.

Although the day is one filled with cheers, it is also with heavy hearts that we honor the three people who lost their lives during the race in 2013. May we always remember the youngest victim’s message of love: “No more hurting people… Peace.”

Good luck to all the runners! You can watch the entire race on WBZ-TV starting at 7 AM.

The post Number of the Week: 26.2 appeared first on Anderson Robbins.

Forbes recently surveyed nearly 500 Millennials in an effort to discover their beliefs, habits, and preferences. In a recent article for AdWeek, Carrie Cummings outlines everything that Forbes found makes Millennials “tick,” and realizes that many of them are actually highly motivated and entrepreneurial. For example, eight-in-ten Millennials believe in the “American Dream,” but they associate it less with white-picket fences and more with owning a company or being debt free. In fact, Millennials are so focused on advancing their careers that they view LinkedIn more often than Twitter or SnapChat. On top of all that, a whopping 97% are optimistic about their future.

Not only are Millennials driven to be successful in the business arena, but they are also driven to lead a healthy lifestyle. Walk into any Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Market and you’ll observe consumers, especially Millennials, seeking out foods and other products that are free from complex and artificial ingredients. A recent article in Supermarket News explains that Millennials are drawn to items that boast “free-from” claims, such as non-GMO or no preservatives, because they equate “health” with minimally processed items. In fact, a recent report found that younger shoppers actually prefer products that eliminate harmful ingredients over products that add healthy ones. The study went on to conclude that six-in-ten Millennials “worry quite a bit about harmful ingredients” while older generations are much less concerned.

Maybe Baby Boomers could learn a lesson from their happy and healthy Millennial counterparts!

To make sure you don’t miss an installment follow us on Twitter @ARResearch.

The post Millennials in the Media: Week of April 11, 2016 appeared first on Anderson Robbins.

At Anderson Robbins Research, our currency is data. We eat, sleep and breathe digits. Today we are launching a new blog series: Number of the Week. Each Tuesday, we will give you a number that means something to the world, the country, our clients, Anderson Robbins or a cause we care about. We hope this number will spark a thought or idea that can be used in your own life.

This week’s number is 104. It is the number of days until the national parties start convening to finally pick who will represent them on the Presidential ballot in November. The Republicans will come together first on July 18 in Cleveland and the next week the Democrats will follow suit in Philadelphia.

Anderson Robbins is the officially polling firm for Fox News and our own Chris Anderson is on their Decision Team. We have been following this fascinating political frenzy from the get go and are truly counting down until we see the nominee take the prime time podium, with their delegates cheering them on.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @ARResearch for the most up to date information and insights from our data on who will be the next resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The post Number of the Week: 104 Days Until Conventions Commence appeared first on Anderson Robbins.

Even though Millennials outnumber other generations, this group donates the least amount of money to charity…or do they? Andre Bourque’s new article for Entrepreneur suggests that Millennials are simply not getting the credit they deserve when it comes to being charitable. With the recent innovation of crowdfunding websites like YouCaring.com or GoFundMe.com, donating to charitable causes has become easier than ever, and Millennials are leading the charge! In fact, Millennials are three times more likely than Baby Boomers and 70% more likely than Gen Xers to donate to these online campaigns that help those with medical expenses, funerals, adoptions, disaster relief, and more. Bourque theorizes that the reason Millennials are responding so well to this new wave of charitable giving is because they value transparency and accountability, which are two things that crowdfunding offers. Whereas money donated to a huge organization could be used for advertising or overhead costs, crowdfunding enables the donator to follow the story of the person or cause to see that the money was put to good use. When I donated to one of these causes that was advertised on Instagram, I LOVED receiving pictures and updates in my inbox to ensure that my money was used to help rehabilitate an injured animal. Crowdfunding has become so successful among Millennials because it utilizes what comes naturally to them: mobile phones and social media.

Speaking of social media, Snapchat is paving new ways for business to reach Millennials. For those of you non-Millennials who don’t know what Snapchat is, it’s a social media app that allows users to send photos or videos to their friends or post them to their “story” for 24 hours. Even though this form of social media may seem silly for businesses to use, it is wildly successful. With over 100 million daily users who send more than 65 million photos or videos daily, who can resist jumping on the bandwagon?! One way businesses can incorporate Snapchat into their marketing portfolio is by creating a filter that users can insert into their pictures or videos to increase brand awareness. According to Jillian Hausmann at Adage.com, in order for a Snapchat filter to be successful it must be funny, memorable, and share-worthy. After all, Snapchat filters can cost upwards of $500,000 so they better be unforgettable!

To make sure you don’t miss an installment follow us on Twitter @ARResearch.

The post Millennials in the Media: Week of March 28, 2016 appeared first on Anderson Robbins.

In recent years, many marketers have believed that the best way to reach Millennials was to advertise in a brief, Twitter-esque fashion. Chris Giliberti, Chief of Staff at Gimlet Media, disagrees. In an article for Forbes, Giliberti discusses the developing trend among Millennials to desire longer, more complete information over “snackable” content that is short and catchy.

Some primary examples of this new movement are the podcast Serial and popular Netflix docu-series (who else binge-watched Making A Murderer like I did?). Millennials found both of these true-crime stories captivating, despite their lengthy, story-telling approach. Giliberti offers his insights into why Millennials are abandoning the 140-character content. One of his assertions is that Millennials crave companionship. Particularly with Serial, listeners felt that they had a relationship – even a friendship – with the narrator. Giliberti goes on to say that this type of narrative offers authenticity and trustworthiness, both of which matter greatly to Millennials. In both Serial and Making A Murderer, the audience was given incriminating evidence, as well as facts that showed reasonable doubt. As Giliberti notes, Millennials form their opinions based on information, and would not appreciate being told half-truths or only some of the story, even if it meant that the narrative would be more their speed.

Another surprising development from Millennials is their recent interest Walmart over trendier stores like Target or Whole Foods. According to statistics reported by Phil Wahba at Fortune, two-thirds of American Millennials report shopping at Walmart in the last month, and they are more likely to shop at Walmart than any other generation. So what’s drawing them in? Wahba suspects it’s Walmart’s low prices attracting this value-driven generation. Preference for long-stories and bargain shopping over quick content and chic boutiques? Maybe Millennials are growing up after all!

To make sure you don’t miss an installment follow us on Twitter @ARResearch.

The post Millennials in the Media: Week of March 19, 2016 appeared first on Anderson Robbins.

When we heard the theme of this year’s Ad Club Women’s Leadership Forum was #NoFilter, we knew the Anderson Robbins Research team would fit right in. Not simply because we have no filter all day in the office, but also because our data allows us to unmask the hidden truths to any pressing business or lifestyle question. You want insights, we’ve got them.

Deciding to sponsor the Ad Club’s event was a no brainer. They are always able to bring together the smartest group of women and most interesting speakers impacting our lives. The fun part was being able to use our expertise and come up with an interesting story to share with all of the participants.

On everyone’s chair at the conference at the Seaport World Trade Center on March 1, was the infographic you see in this blog post. It tells the very real story of how women feel about their households in 2016. While all of their family members might be very happy, women aren’t as satisfied and they are doing more.

From our survey, of over a thousand Americans in January 2016, we uncovered what the happiest women and households have in common: they spend time together. Some ways they accomplish this: They eat meals together everyday, they talk instead of text and they even have hobbies they share.

This is just a small piece of what we uncovered from this survey. In the coming months we will be revealing more about the state of the modern American household. So stay tuned.

The post Ad Club’s Women’s Forum + Anderson Robbins Data = A Look at the REAL Modern Household appeared first on Anderson Robbins.