As we prepare to dive into 2025, we want to extend our thanks to our authors, readers and advertisers. Your contributions and support have made this past year one of exceptional insights and content we were proud to publish.
To reflect on the year, we’ve curated a selection of our editors’ favorite articles from 2024. Explore them below!
Editors’ choice articles 2024
(listed in no particular order)
How marketing researchers can evaluate AI applications
By Lisa Horwich
With all the hype around using AI for research, wise researchers may want to step back and ask: Can I trust this vendor’s application? We, as research professionals, are not necessarily equipped with the knowledge to effectively evaluate these systems. We don’t spend our days worrying about governance and compliance, data privacy or cybersecurity. This article outlines steps you can take to help you measure an AI application’s trustworthiness to confidently assess the latest AI research tech. Read more.
Can marketing researchers embrace AI while balancing sustainability goals?
By Charlotte Hearn
AI is silently working in the background across a variety of sectors. In health care, AI models are assisting in the prediction of patient outcomes, readmission rates and the likelihood of disease. In finance, AI algorithms are foundational to executing trades at optimal times, improving investment strategies and profitability. When we shop online, AI is enabling brands to present consumers with tailored offers. Read more.
How does a country’s cultural profile influence consumer responses to new products?
By Mark Vroegrijk
A typical global brand is constantly developing new and innovative products to drive continued growth. But the adoption of innovations does not necessarily follow the same path in each country. Differences may exist in how soon sales of new products take off after launch or how many consumers will be converted into buyers. These differences are important for brand managers as they may require new products to be supported with varying degrees of marketing support across countries – such as in the intensity or the amount of time campaigns are run. Read more.
Younger qualitative researchers struggle to find their place in a post-pandemic world
By Florian Groth, Rieke Burfeind
As young qualitative researchers who embarked on our career paths during or in the aftermath of the COVID-19 era, we’re acutely aware of the pandemic’s lingering shadow on our professional lives. We are part of Generation COVID. The retreat of COVID-19 globally might prompt some to believe we’ve moved past its implications but the reality we live and work in suggests otherwise. Our everyday research practices still bear the marks of COVID-19’s upheaval, so we thought other young researchers around the world must be feeling the same. Read more.
Neurodiversity: Learning to drive methodological innovation in marketing research
By Sam Myers
Designing for neurodiverse experiences has become prominent in the marketing research industry and in culture. Neurodiversity is now acknowledged as a genuine expression of self that should be celebrated and openly discussed. People who experience the world in neurodiverse ways have shared how they want society and brands to respond to and reflect their experiences. Their minds and lives are creative and provide deep insights that can transform research methods and interpersonal relationships. Read more.
Tips for elevating yourself and your role as a researcher
By Anne Beall, Mark Geniesse
Early in our careers, we always executed the research design we were given. Whether it involved conducting six focus groups or collecting 250 surveys, we did what we were told. We were both service-oriented, so we believed that doing what the client wanted was paramount. However, we had a significant challenge: Our roles weren’t as simple as flipping burgers at a fast-food restaurant. We were employees of professional services firms that clients relied on for high-level insights and consulting. But the transition from merely following orders to offering consultative insights wasn’t something we were prepared to do early in our careers. Read more.
Research looks at the role of pharmacists as retail and pharma continue to change
By Abbey Ahearn, Jarod Ricci|
It is no secret that large retail pharmacy chains have been expanding their services over the past few years, with CVS Health adding Health Hubs and minute clinics and Walgreens acquiring VillageMD. Even Amazon has gotten into the game with One Medical retail locations. Previously, Intellus reported that the main driver for patients seeking health care needs was convenience (Understanding the Intellus Trends and Futures Survey: Key Themes in Consumers, Clinical Trials and Technology), where these pharmacy initiatives tap into that need. Read more.
Discovering the real story: How virtual IHUTs offer deeper insights
By Krystal Rudyk
What if we told you that the best way to observe how someone really uses something in their home is to never actually enter their home? While this may seem a little counterintuitive, there’s a convincing case to be made for transitioning away from in-person research altogether when it comes to in-home usage testing (IHUT). Read more.
Removing self-bias when doing cross-cultural research
By Isabel Aneyba
As a researcher and research company founder, I love when researchers and marketers can see Latino, Black and other cultural groups for who they are and I take very seriously the work of guiding clients to find impactful market, product and brand opportunities. One factor I have seen stand in the way of that is self-bias. Read more.
Work and Play: True crime stories and thinking ahead
By Nancy Cox
Hello to Crystal Majik, Fieldwork Webwork/Anywhere president
What is the “play” in your life?
True crime stories have been an obsession my whole life. As a pre-teen, I got hooked watching “Dateline” with my mom. Maybe I fancied myself Nancy Drew. My mom and I would riff off each other, hypothesizing what really happened. Today, it’s definitely podcasts. If I’m commuting, I’m listening. If I’m cleaning up the house, I’m listening. Read more.
How a measured, respectful approach to interviewing yields more insights
By Kai Fuentes
There’s a common saying amongst researchers that we “put 20 pounds of sugar in a 5-pound bag” – that we have this superpower to expand the allotted time of our research to contain every question the client needs to have answered. We always try to fit in more. Read more.
Why B2B research is about more than data
By Jim Nowakowski
William Wrigley, Jr. originally turned to chewing gum as a way to bring attention to the premium baking powder he was selling. He included gum along with the powder as a kind of cheap, easily portable premium he could carry with him as he made his rounds. According to Erin Blakemore, “Wrigley may not have come to gum first, but he brought a salesman’s savvy to the product. He knew that in order to get gum to consumers, he’d have to hook dealers. Read more.
Alone but not lonely: Three things we can learn from Gen Z
By Katie Gillespie
Gen Z are at the forefront of media as their voices offer new perspectives on lifestyle, fashion, finance, media, dating and food. However, in our conversations with this generation, we’ve identified a new trend that highlights the power and meaning of being alone in nature – whether it’s in the woods, next to a pond or even just a walk outside. This kind of alone time offers Gen Z increasingly rare experiences of quiet, peace, simplicity and time for self-reflection that they can't find in the noise of the rest of their lives. Read more.
How friendship pairs can help marketing researchers
By Zara Marouf
You’ve heard of paired depths as a research method – a great in-between of interviews and small groups with many benefits to specific and time sensitive projects – but what are friendship pairs in market research?
A friendship pair, as you can imagine, is an interview with a pair of friends. Read more.
Gen Alpha: How brands should approach advertising to kids and parents
By Stavros Triseliotis
There is currently a unique opportunity for brands to formulate strategies that speak to the hearts and minds of Gen Alpha, a generation characterized by increased spending power, as well as appetite, but also eclectic and demanding tastes and a vocal and impactful voice. Read more.
Study looks at how German citizens are using collective action to reclaim a sense of agency
By Patricia Sauerbrey Colton
Isn't a little dose of relief something we all yearn for? Amidst a relentless onslaught of crises, maintaining a sense of control has proven daunting. The pandemic, climate change, wars, migration, radicalization, inflation and more have left many feeling overwhelmed, uncertain where to start or retreating to the safety of our inner circles. The crisis-laden new norm has numbed us, driving us into autopilot to shield what remains intact of our daily lives. Read more.
Eye-tracking research helps Indianapolis museum steer guests in the right direction
By Marlen Ramirez
Prominent signage is key when navigating a new space. This is especially true when the majority of a location’s visitors are parents or guardians who are attempting to guide themselves while caring for young children. In partnership with the University of Southern Indiana (USI), the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis used eye-tracking to determine how effective their wayfinding signage truly was for first-time guests. Read more.
Breaking barriers: How investing in girls’ sports drives brand growth
By Susan Stacey
Women's sports are taking the spotlight like never before, and it's a thrilling time to witness the momentum. Whether it's WNBA stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese electrifying the court or Simone Biles reclaiming her title as the world’s greatest gymnast, the buzz around women athletes is undeniable. The 2024 Summer Olympics marked a historic milestone, with women outnumbering men in medal counts (Team USA medals). Brands are starting to pay more attention, as record-breaking viewership and growing fan engagement prove that women's sports are a powerful force. Read more.