Editor’s note: Finn Raben is director general, ESOMAR, Amsterdam.
We have long talked about qualitative research providing the “why” behind the “what” of big data. If big data is all about capturing every customer interaction and using machine learning algorithms to process and analyze data, you end up with a great big fat “what?” – what people do, when they do it, how frequently and how long. There’s a qualitative-shaped hole in your consumer understanding. Even in this brave new digital world, qualitative data is vital to develop deep insights.
Qualitative in a digital environment is growing quickly and with the emergence of companies like Remesh we are witnessing the rise of qualitative research at scale. Insights professionals are less and less likely to be experts in just one area. In fact they now need to be able to determine the best combination of approaches to generate actionable insights and create the biggest business impact.
So, it makes sense to create an insight conference that both allows us to explore the latest thinking in qualitative and the latest thinking in big data; to bring the two together to see what dynamic new approaches emerge when the two worlds collide.
This is the idea behind ESOMAR Fusion, which is being run this year for the first time in Dublin. Fusion brings together human understanding from the world of qualitative with AI and analytics from the world of big data.
The first two days are more focused on the big data element and the second two days dive into the qualitative world.
Many readers may have attended the Global ESOMAR Qual Conference in the past and still not know about ESOMAR Fusion. The line-up of speakers includes researchers from companies like Google, Facebook, Intel, Tata, MARS, Beiersdorf and Delta Airlines so attendees will hear new thinking from an inspiring variety of global minds. You will also meet people and hear ideas from a culturally diverse range of places – Colombia, Pakistan, Singapore and India as well as the usual suspects like the U.S., the U.K. and Northern Europe. So, if you want to expand your horizons in one week, it’s an excellent place to start.
Fusion is being held in Dublin, a city that has transformed itself in recent years. It’s a great opportunity to discover the cool “silicon” Dublin and find out why it hosts the international HQ of leading players like Airbnb, Twitter and LinkedIn. You may find that there is more to it than Guinness.
The bottom line is this that the best insights come from combining quantitative and qualitative research. To drive the best decision-making you need to get the big picture.
Quirk’s and ESOMAR are media partners.