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ESOMAR announces research award winners
“These awards celebrate the authors of some of this year’s most brilliant and innovative research papers, and for one most exceptional career,” said Gunilla Broadbent, President ESOMAR. “Many of the papers reflect our Congress themes and are dedicated to helping the market research industry play a larger role in supporting and evaluating corporate social responsibility initiatives.”
1. The ESOMAR Excellence Award for Standards of Performance in Market, Opinion and Social Research – The John Downham Award. This biennial award for standards of performance in market research recognises the highest contribution to the market research industry and carries a prize of €10,000 sponsored by ESOMAR.
Kim Dedeker, Chair of the Americas at Kantar, receives this award for her impact on the online research industry, helping clients and suppliers to understand and agree the factors which impact quality in online samples. Dedeker first spoke publicly and persuasively about the online quality issues experienced by Procter and Gamble back in 2006. Her activities directly resulted in the founding of the Online Research Quality Council, which was co-chaired by Dedeker and established by the ARF (Advertising Research Foundation). Dedeker is currently co-chair of the ORQC Industry Solutions Committee.
What the jury said: “This award is for Dedeker’s leadership, pro-activeness and passion in driving the ‘Online Quality’ debate and putting this at the forefront of the agenda for clients and suppliers.”
2. The Young Researcher of the Year Award was launched this year. Researchers under the age of 30 were asked to submit a project on one of three broad social issues: world poverty, ageing, or the environment. More than 80 entries were received from over 25 different countries.
“And they lived happily ever after...” Annelies Verhaeghe, of InSites Consulting, Belgium. Verhaeghe used social media netnography and co-creation to better understand how health conditions can affect the elderly and their care givers. Inspired by her grandmother, Verhaeghe delivered a wealth of insight into health related anxieties, with wide ranging practical and easily implemented recommendations for those who provide family and institutional care.
What the jury said: “Verhaeghe has shown innovative thinking throughout, which has led a first-rate piece of work. An excellent example of exploratory research into an increasingly important aspect of humanities.”
3. The ESOMAR Excellence Award for Best Paper of the Year 2009 is given to the highest quality paper from an ESOMAR event between September 2008 and June 2009. The nominated papers demonstrated a concrete contribution to the decision making process while sustaining ESOMAR best practice. This award sponsored by ESOMAR carries a prize of €4000.
A Holistic Approach To The Measurement Of WOM – Its Impact On Consumer’s Decisions by Ed Keller, The Keller Fay Group, USA and Barak Libai, Faculty of management, Tel Aviv University, Israel. The paper reports on the findings of a unique approach to word of mouth measurement that enables marketers to systematically plan word of mouth strategies, develop campaigns and evaluate word of mouth marketing effectiveness The research provides a holistic approach to the measurement of word of mouth—one that measures all modes of conversation (not just online), all brands and all consumer segments including the talkers and the receivers.
What the jury said, “This study provides a unique approach for measuring and quantifying the impact of word-of-mouth. It highlights the financial importance of WOM, which is key to understanding its importance.”
The next three awards honour the researchers who developed outstanding papers prepared for this year’s Congress.
4. Best Overall Paper, the ‘Fernanda Monti Award’, rewards the best paper in any field presented at Congress. This award is sponsored by ESOMAR and carries a prize of €2500.
The Longest Day -Cultural Differences In CSR by Tom De Ruyck, Niels Schillewaert, Annelies Verhaeghe & Micheal Friedman, InSites Consulting, Belgium. Corporate (social) responsibility is high on the agenda of almost every national and international company, but little is understood about what it does to a brand or how a brand should deal with it. “The Longest Day” delivered the analysis from an in-depth multi-country study with insights into the relationship between corporate social responsibility and branding across multiple industries and supported by multiple clients.
What the jury said, “This paper shows a real understanding of business issues by providing its actual impact on decision making.”
5. The Best Case History Award is given to the paper that highlights an interesting application of research that proved beneficial to its users and carries a prize of €1500.
The Future of Work by Keith Bailey, Nokia, UK and Andy Dexter, Leanne Tomasevic & Adam Chmielowski, Truth, UK. This global project aimed to develop a fully envisioned and robust set of scenarios, and create a Nokia point of view on the Future of Work against the backdrop of a firm understanding of what work and mobility really mean to people. The project was developed using a truly multi-method approach.
What the jury said: “A great piece of research, with very inspiring findings. Thanks to the authors for sharing their results in detail.”
6. The Best Methodological Paper Award carries a prize of €1500 and is given to the paper with the greatest technical and innovative interest which adds to the tools available to researchers.
Evaluating Social Mission Projects In Emerging & Bottom Of The Pyramid Markets - An Innovative Behaviour Measurement Methodology by Namita Mediratta, Unilever Indonesia and Raghavan Srinivasan & Astiti Suhirman, TNS Indonesia. The growth in the number of CSR activities poses a unique set of challenges: how to evolve a reliable & valid tool for ROI measurement and, since a lot of the CSR activities target BOP segments in emerging markets, how to overcome literacy & articulation challenges that are typical in BOP segments. This case study outlines an innovative approach to measuring the impact on behavioural change for a social mission project carried out by Unilever in Indonesia among the BOP segments.
What the jury said: “This shows a real and deep understanding of a difficult culture and could be applied to other similar segments. This is an excellent paper due to its structure, organization and conclusions.”
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