“Social Entertainment” Is Transforming Media

http://www.warc.com/News/TopNews.asp?ID=26741&Origin=WARCNewsEmail

More arguments for why MR needs to embrace the model of engagement pioneered by social media in order to get closer to consumers:

“While social networking sites may not yet be recognised as entertainment companies, they are leading the way in terms of adding value to the consumer experience of entertainment,” Edelman said.

Elsewhere, 63% of the panel stated a preference for being able to access content and services on different devices, a trend that has been encouraged by the advent of tools such as Apple’s iPhone.

Moreover, 56% would be prepared to pay for material they easily able to transfer between devices, which Edelman suggested marked a major shift away from the free versus paid content debate.

So, let’s imagine for a moment if researchers could change our mindset to be a bit more entertaining and what that could mean for respondent engagement: we already offer a value propitiation based on incentives, but if we actually conducted research in a way that was fun and engaging for consumers as well as rewarding financially, respondents could become partners in the research process. An interesting idea that may be coming sooner than we think based on some of the new companies we are hearing about!