industry thoughts from Clarteza

At a certain point of my life I realized that I don’t fit in! I’m sure some of you have felt that way too. After working at big companies for over a decade I realized there might be something I do that’s not conforming to “the rules”. At big companies, I always tried to fix everything, find new solutions, create new departments, and eliminate inefficiencies (and yes this is my pet peeve!). Most importantly, I believed that some rules are meant to be broken. At heart, I was an entrepreneur, but … Continue Reading

In our recent post on qual vs. quant research, we touched on one of the critical issues facing market researchers today, the question of how we use, store and re-use data we obtain from the investments we make in research and information.  The amount of data available to us continues to grow in magnitude and scope.  We have qual data, quant data, syndicated data, social media data, competitive intelligence data, all coming at us all the time in … Continue Reading

Both quantitative and qualitative research data play important roles in understanding consumers, developing and designing products, and creating effective marketing strategies and executions. Quantitative research provides a wealth of broad-based data on market sizes, demographics, and user preferences and helps us understand differences between groups of people, products and usage occasions.  But, quantitative research can also lead to an over-reliance upon numbers, leading researchers to analyze percentages and statistical significances, rather than people.  Qualitative research, on the other hand, can sometimes lead to biases based on the opinions of a small set of people, at a certain place or time.  … Continue Reading

The term “re-frame” has never been more appropriate than in marketing today.

It is apparent that a massive paradigm shift in the way marketers approach their marketing and communication plans is well underway (for those who haven’t previously embraced it).  For years now, front-loaded plans where the bulk of thought and resources are spent influencing the consumer well before she sets foot in a store have been giving way to a more holistic approach where the integration and synergy of brand messaging across multiple consumer touch-points is not only important, but essential.  But more recently, the key player in the game … Continue Reading

Yeah, the “binder full of women” comment was a bit like a deleted scene from The Simpsons where Mr. Burns (the decrepit boss at the neighborhood nuclear power plant) whispers to his assistant, “Smithers, bring me the binder.” But then it gradually occurred to each of us at Clarteza that, hey, we’re kinda like that binder.  The whole point of the now infamous reference guide is that it was like a well kept secret of trusted talent.  And, to obtain the almighty “three ring” would be like getting a powerhouse or a Dream Team of professionals.

Just think of all … Continue Reading

The last several months have gone so fast that it’s hard to believe our last post was in March. (Yes, I know….It’s been a while). This is not to say that we had nothing to say.  To the contrary, we had too much going on with our projects, our families, in our lives overall. All elements contributed to the fact that our blog was kindly put on the ‘back-burner’ so I hope you don’t mind.

Now, since the summer is nearly over (and I’m so not ready for Fall!), all of us had some time to re-charge and reflect.  Here’s what … Continue Reading