Comments on: Ad Agencies: Are focus groups dead?

By: florciampoli

florciampoli — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:18:35 +0000

I live and work in Panama, Central America and i have to say thanks to all of you. I’m learning a lot from all of the opinions and facts you are sharing here. In Panama internet penetration still needs to grow, thats why i cant compare but a few months ago i started to work “in advance” with a mixed formula, i mean, online surveys: with open surveys distributed by mail or promoted banners and private surveys with the facebook fans community of my clients. With all the feedback i get from this i work the questionary for a reduced number of focus group sessions. I save some money, prepare more accurate questions and in a few sessions (with the facebook fans members) i also share some info from the open surveys with them. I have to say i was a bit nervous at first (its my clients money!!) but we ended up with remarkable results and found great help from people who love our brands and want to help us make a better work.
I dont know if this is ok, but its working for me at least for now.

PS: English is difficult for me. Sorry if i write o use it in a wrong way.

By: Dave Morawski

Dave Morawski — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:02:02 +0000

I loved online research at first, but now it is very difficult without using a panel. There is a lack of engagement and energy in online focus groups. Isn’t online viewing of a live focus group the best of both worlds? That never seemed to catch on.

By: Heath Clara

Heath Clara — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 06:52:41 +0000

Just to let you know… your site looks very strange in Mozilla on a Mac

By: Quora

Quora — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:18:03 +0000

What’s the best way to set up focus groups/student interviews on college campuses?…

Can you interview students on on one? Focus groups suffer from a number of issues, including vocal people dominating the discussion. I suggest Stephen Denny’s advice on the matter. He is a highly regarded marketing consultant and blogger. Source: ht…

By: Focus Group Research

Focus Group Research — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:28:59 +0000

This just made my day much brighter. Thanks a lot. Something else I came across was this Focus Group Research .Take a look!

By: Michael Gass

Michael Gass — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:35:02 +0000

Thanks for the additional insight Philip.

By: Philip Wocken

Philip Wocken — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:34:38 +0000

Interesting points that you made Michael. The online monitoring of these comments does, in effect, accomplish the same objectives as an in-person focus groups. I feel that in-person focus groups are still beneficial (see recent Domino’s Pizza ad campaigns). Regardless of which method is used (in-person or online), I like the recent strategies that companies are taking to increase transparency. Domino’s has launched a large campaign based on their in-person focus groups and HGTV has used viewer tweets and Facebook wall posts in recent advertisements to respond to viewer comments. By publicly addressing these customer views, it shows other customers/prospects that the company is concerned with customer feedback.

By: Michael Gass

Michael Gass — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:12:59 +0000

Thanks for sharing your insights Sasha.

By: Sasha

Sasha — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:30:08 +0000

Another point to add to "Increased accuracy" is the anonymity that comes with online surveys/market research participation. People are more apt to speak their minds, to their hearts desire no less as the hawthorne effect (being watched) keeps participants from being true to themselves and their perceptions. But I must also state that it is not dead and one review of the current Domino's campaign should suffice to keep real-life market research as part of the brand and product development process.

By: Stephen Denny

Stephen Denny — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:25:14 +0000

Focus groups, when done correctly, raise the right questions. They are terrible at answering them, though, which is why so many get frustrated with them.

In depth one-on-one interviews will cost less and give you better results. Ethnography – the closest analog to the ‘safari hunter’ metaphor – gives us a better chance to observe rather than be told what the subject thinks we want to hear. Focus groups are wonderful if we need qualitative feedback to grow an idea where the group dynamic helps. If it doesn’t, a focus group is a bad use of $4,000.

It’s a rare agency that actually wants to test its creative. Focus groups are so ambiguous that they can be packaged in such a way that they validate almost any preconception. Maybe that’s why they’re still around.

Regards.