I’ve been back from IIeX for a few days now and here are some lasting impressions I came away with:
This year’s event was touted as The Insight Innovation Exchange. And truly keeping with the theme, what struck me as interesting was how drastically the players at the insights table have changed over the past several years. Communispace’s Diane Hessan observed that she never would have been invited to a conference like this 5 years ago because the firm’s work wasn't considered research. Does Communispaces acceptance explain the “pushing the research boundary” presenters I encountered – like the ones who passively monitor Twitter data. Is that within the realm of research and insights?
I think yes, and I embrace the spirit of the event which asks us all – whether firm or client – to challenge our notions about research and how meaningful discoveries are made. As client guides through the evolving landscape of MR, we need to encourage them to think differently about consumer interactions and dialogues. Our role is to lead them to approaches that address their challenges from atypical perspectives - factoring in completely new technologies and techniques, such as neuromonitoring, facial recognition, and more. This sentiment was echoed by several presenters.
Our own presentation focused on changing the dialogue. In our case, we illustrated how we brought TOGETHER doctors and patients in one forum, when typically these groups are separated, and the powerful, positive impact that has on the patient/provider relationship. Can we change it for the better? Yes! (For more info on that, click here.)
But while I’m all for innovation (after all, that’s BuzzBack’s reason for being), it can’t be innovation for innovation’s sake. At the end of the day, no matter how 'cool' or creative the insights supplier, the challenge remains very simple: making sure we are delivering methods of meaning and value. And then our job is to help clients understand where these novelties fit in their world, what the approach brings, what it delivers – especially if it's radically different to what they did before.
