MRS 2008 Conference Awards - shortlists
The finalists for the MRS 2008 Conference Awards were announced on Friday 4 April.
The Conference Awards Panel commented:
'The MRS Annual Conference took as its theme for 2008 The Great Debate – changing business through better customer understanding and involved not only the speakers on stage but also the audience, each of whom was provided with a key pad to register their opinions throughout the conference.
There were more Keynote speakers than at previous conferences, providing a stimulating point of view on the subjects under debate, before presentations were delivered to the theme of each session. This structure made each session a mini event, with a healthy exchange of viewpoint and opinion, tackling such themes as insight versus research or getting research into the boardroom, R.O.I. and research within the digital space.
With a strong representation of clients and agencies amongst the audience, some interesting views were expressed. This new conference format produced a smaller pool of written papers for evaluation by the Awards Panel, and while there were more papers tackling the application of research to business, there were fewer genuinely innovative and technical papers or contributions to review.
All in all, this conference was very different in style to previous years, with the emphasis on collective exchange and debate and, perhaps not surprisingly therefore, presented a challenge to the Awards Panel who seek to recognise individual excellence and effort, as well as significant contributions to the core body of research knowledge.
Notwithstanding, there were some very good papers offered to the conference and some excellent presentations. Special mention should go to some of the younger contributors who not only impressed the judges with their ability, but also with their genuine interest, enthusiasm and pride in Market Research. Also the Workshops were all good, thoughtfully constructed and provided the opportunity for researchers of all levels of experience to update themselves on developments.'
The winners of these awards will be announced and presented at
the Research Awards dinner in London on the 8 December.
There are five Conference Awards:
Best Paper
This award is judged on the merits of the written paper - not presentation - although a poor presentation would be taken into account.
Sponsored by 
There are three shortlisted papers this year - all excellently presented. They are, in alphabetical order of author:
  Fiona Blades & Ana Medeiros:
Capturing how a catchphrase caught on.
What the judges said:
'A well written paper, full of examples, helpful and honest. The paper describes in an accessible and practical way how a researcher with a determination to solve a real problem, and a client with the vision to experiment, can create something genuinely new and useful. The approach to measurement of integrated ad campaigns using simple real-time texting is clever but not tricksy and is described in an accessible, replicable way. The approach allows patterns in the data to be seen that might not otherwise be visible, and importantly allows research findings to influence and enhance the roll-out of a campaign.'
 Tom Ewing
Confessions of a Moderator: how web communities fail and how marketers can stop that happening.
What the judges said:
'Tom’s mature reflection and intelligent commentary on his out of work interest - moderating a non-research website I Love Music - and its application to his working life in market research, was an object lesson to others. He demonstrated moderating techniques and ways of asking questions that elicit richer responses, and showed how research using the medium of on-line discussion boards is not simply a matter of transferring techniques found useful in conventional group qualitative work. His generosity in sharing his insight beyond his own company was immensely welcome and truly helpful.’
Lisa Galarneau
What virtual worlds tell us about participation, community, globalisation and marketing in the 21st century
What the judges said:
'The judges liked Lisa’s paper as it was well argued and referenced. The paper was comprehensively researched and its ideas and observations on virtual worlds were presented in an accessible and understandable manner. Concepts such as “playfulness” and future gazing through gaming were well covered. The judges were impressed with the depth of work that had gone into the paper including observations from around the world.'
Best Conference Presentation
This award is judged on the merits of the presentation on the day - the quality of the content, style and visual aids are fundamental. Presenters of written papers and non-formal sessions are equally eligible.
Sponsored by 
Amongst a number of excellent presentations, four presenters have been shortlisted this year. In alphabetical order of presenter they are:
Fiona Blades:
Capturing how a catchphrase caught on.
What the judges said:
'Fiona delivered her refreshing paper on communication tracking in a clear, confident and compelling way. She connected well with her audience by being at ease with her material and enthusiastic about her message. She took the initiative to answer questions in a cheerful, helpful and constructive way. The advertising clips and data charts she chose to illustrate her case study gave pace and entertainment to her presentation.'
Tom Ewing
Confessions of a Moderator: how web communities fail and how marketers can stop that happening.
What the judges said:
'Tom’s presentation didn’t disappoint following on from an accessible and engaging paper. His presentation style was both humorous and educational. The slides were well thought through and got the message over simply and the judges particularly liked the forum user typology and troll slides and the use of music. We also liked the way a potentially complex subject had been observed, reported and concluded with some practical steps to running online forums’.
Lisa Galarneau
What virtual worlds tell us about participation, community, globalisation and marketing in the 21st century .
What the judges said:
'Lisa’s fascinating work as an anthropologist in the world of gaming was delivered with the enthusiasm and exuberance of someone who truly enjoys what she does. In her short presentation she persuaded her audience to consider the motivations and benefits of engaging in multiplayer games. She was keen to give us a flavour of the gamer’s mentality. Although her work is underpinned by a thorough academic approach she was never dry in her delivery or arrogant about her knowledge. She merely wanted to share her experience and give us a glimpse of the future.'
 Liz Harrison:
When CSR is in your DNA
What the judges said:
'A straightforward message, given from the heart. Using no notes, and speaking directly to the audience, Liz gave an assured, professional performance, aided by simple but effective slides and some gentle humour. Her passion for her subject and her commitment to the values of her company shone out.'
Best New Thinking
This award is for a written contribution (normally a paper) which clearly describes a real innovation and thus adds to the profession's bank of knowledge. This could be an entirely new method, or the imaginative application of an existing technique in an untried environment.
There were fewer eligible contributions to consider this year, but two papers clearly stood out. The shortlist in alphabetical order of author is:
Fiona Blades & Ana Medeiros:
Capturing how a catchphrase caught on.
What the judges said:
'This paper offers a viable and accessible solution to a long-standing problem of measurement in integrated campaigns. Practical, open and straightforward, with possible criticisms and limitations acknowledged and dealt with, the paper introduces a new method and makes a valuable contribution to the store of knowledge available to researchers and clients alike.'
  Graeme Griffiths & Ed Bartlett
Digital advertising in 2142
What the judges said:
'This paper imaginatively applied tried and trusted research techniques in a new media environment in order to test awareness and communication of in game advertising. The process was well described and Graham and Ed shared the highs and lows of the techniques and the findings in an honest way, such that the reader too benefited from the learnings they had derived from the study into the effects of advertising in an important new medium.'
Best Newcomer
This award is for contributions from a newcomer to MRS conference - someone who is has never presented at conference before and is either under 35 or has less than five years research experience. Both written contributions and on-the-day presentations are eligible.
Sponsored by 
This year there were a number of outstanding contributions from new and young contributors and three have been shortlisted for the award. They are, in alphabetical order:
Tom Ewing for his paper and presentation:
Confessions of a Moderator: how web communities fail and how marketers can stop that happening.
What the judges said:
'Tom presented his paper in a clear, mature and well considered fashion, and with a degree of humility and a degree of humour often lacking in more senior and more experienced presenters. We were particularly impressed by how he had created a good piece of research out of the natural behaviours of consumers in an online forum and turned this into a compelling piece of work on its longitudinal development. The observational approach was well concluded demonstrating how it could be applied to research forums as well as standing alone as a fascinating research project into the dynamics of an online community.’
 Jo-Ann Foo for her presentation at the Pecha Kucha session:
And that's why I love market research!
What the judges said:
'Jo-Ann’s high octane ‘Pecha Kucha’ presentation got this innovative session off to a cracking start. Well prepared, clever, fluent, funny, managing to be at the same time both self assured and self deprecating, Jo-Ann spoke for exactly 20 seconds against each of her allotted 20 slides. But this was no mere party trick. A genuine love of market research shone throughout this tour de force, leaving her audience gasping, exhilarated and (let us hope) inspired.'
Lisa Galarneau for her paper and presentation:
What virtual worlds tell us about participation, community, globalisation and marketing in the 21st century .
What the judges said:
'One of the most vibrant newcomers to have graced the Conference in many years, Lisa applied classical anthropology techniques by immersing herself in the virtual community of players of the game City of Heroes. She has been a participant observer for 4 years, has travelled the world interviewing players in real life, and conducted a survey of over 100,000 participants.
Her paper shows how researching gaming communities can provide a global view of people and common issues. She presented the paper with élan and verve, supreme confidence and passion.'
Special Contribution to Conference
This award is given for a contribution which has really added value to the conference experience. It could be awarded to a session, a paper, a workshop, a speech, a personality, a technology ...
Sponsored by 
The nominees for this year's award are:
 Pete Comley for devising & presenting the workshop:
Real-time research.
What the judges said:
'Pete pre-recruited a sample of 200 respondents, asked them to view and compare two websites on the morning of the workshop, complete a questionnaire and login again at noon to see the results. At 11.30 the Conference delegates saw the results of both closed and open-ended questions. With the client in touch by video link, the audience considered the results, and devised further questions for the 160+ respondents who joined in at 12pm. We then saw the results for the new questions, together with an online group discussion among some respondents from the sample. Finally, we saw the results of further questions about the respondent experience…All within an hour. Wow!'
Pecha Kucha panelists: Jo-Ann Foo, Liz Judson, James Morris, Ray Poynter, Rich Shaw and Kat Slater for devising and presenting the session:
 And that's why I love market research!
What the judges said:
'A perfect antidote to the navel gazing and hand wringing that we researchers tend to go in for, this celebratory session ended the Conference’s first day on a refreshingly upbeat note. Ray Poynter’s skilful and enthusiastic chairmanship showcased, but did not upstage, a talented, sparky team of five young researchers each adeptly handling the session’s whirlwind format - 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide - to tell us ‘why I love market research’. On a day when earlier debate had suggested that ‘Research’ might need a new name these delightful people were asked to suggest one; unanimously they agreed that ‘we think it should still be called ‘Research’ – we just need to change the way that people think about it’. One can believe that they will.'
 Richard Young for chairing the session:
Web 2.0: Harnessing the potential for business.
What the judges said:
'Richard demonstrated his skills as a chairman in the session on Web 2.0: Harnessing the Potential for Business. The format of the conference centred on debate and for the first time, all members of the audience had key pads to vote, ask questions and offer comments through the sessions. In this session Richard made the debate come alive by being Chair and compere, ally of both the audience and speakers. He challenged, cajoled, made links to create a seamless, integrated mini event that left his audience truly feeling they had participated in a stimulating session.'
Conference Awards Panel
Back to Awards 2008 |
