Day 1 Highlights - AMA MRC 2009

Being a first time attendee at these sort of events and being part of the Interactivity Team, I thought Day 1 at AMA MRC 2009 here in Palm Desert definitely set the standard on what to expect on these kinds of events.

Day 1 was...
...thought provoking
...mind numbing
...unsettling


And here are 3 things I will tell my family, friends and colleagues back in San Fran when they ask me how Day 1 of the AMA MRC 2009 Conference was...

1. I learn that I'm a newbie-ish market researcher right at the cusp of the industry's evolution. I want to be part of that future - helping shape it via deviant leadership, searching for stories, striving for research brilliance and uniqueness and embracing change or enforcing change.
2. Media consumption is changing at breakneck speeds. Traditional media especially TV still takes a good chunk of time but social media is quickly becoming the prime real estate in marketing. This calls researchers to rethink how to ask the right questions.
3. As the medium we serve is changing, our roles in serving this medium is also changing. Marketers are fast becoming agents of change, social constructors more than just being "thought leaders" wallowing in data. It is no longer simply vendor-supplier relationships but becoming more and more of a partnership between key individuals in the process.

Side note, throughout today I heard this said a few times - Consumers don't act as they say. This fact makes me think whether survey research is dead or is gravely ill. How, then, can survey research spring back to life?

See y'all tomorrow!

Public Service Ad: Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) Fundraising

Years ago, I lived in a small neighborhood in Manila where Filipino expatriates (balikbayans) from the United States are always special guests in our communities. With their visits come stories of the American Dream and how they were living to fulfill these. Through these my respect for the United States and its promise is enhanced. Years later, I became a US Citizen myself through immigration and saw myself in the very same pursuit of the American Dream.

Recently, that neighborhood from my youth, underwent the most unthinkable calamity together with the other communities in the Philippines' most metropolitan city. Former neighbors, forever friends endured days with flood waters rising to their roofs and hours of waiting for the slightest sign of rescue.

The waters may have subsided but another storm is on the way. And rescue/relief efforts have yet to reach thousands of those displaced. They are not yet back to normal. Right now, I'm not sure if they ever will be again. But I stand for Hope and I represent the world looking at the Philippines from the outside eager to help.

They need YOUR help. Please support my fundraising efforts for Typhoon Ondoy Ketsana victims in Manila. Please click on the red widget on the left to help out!

Thanks for your generosity.

Liveblogging the AMA Market Research Conference 2009!!

I don't have posts here yet, but will soon have a lot!

Will be helping out as part of the Interactivity Team for the AMA Market Research 2009 in Palm Springs, CA - October 4-7.


Definitely watch out for some thoughts and ideas live from the battlefield.

See you then!

If you have not already and are interested, early bird discount still on for the conference! Reserve a front-row seat and we'll see ya there!