GreenBook recently celebrated the debut of its 10th edition of the GRIT Report for Q3/Q4 2011, and the chance to work with everyone from GreenBook editor, Lenny Murphy to Tom Anderson was such a treat. I love these guys and all the other partners, so it was great to be involved with such a talented and smart group!   For those of you who do not know the GRIT Report, it is a study that covers the key issues and trends in the research and marketing communities. In this particular iteration of the report, the GRIT covered everything from research technology, emerging methodologies used in market research to expected changes in staffing characteristics and trends. The main findings showed that members of the research community are engaging in significant experimentation with new research technologies and methodologies, and that social media analytics will play an integral role in this experimentation. I found the graphs projecting these new techniques as we move into 2012 to be fascinating – check them out and let me know what you think!

I am thrilled that NetBase was able to be a part of this report by providing the social media component, used to analyze the latest industry trends. An enormous thank you to Malcolm DeLeo for his hard work and great results! See below for some of the charts that we provided for this year’s report…


In this graphic, the amount of chatter about a research technique is indicated by the size of the bubble, while the placement of the bubble shows both the sentiment and passion intensity expressed.

This graph shows the difference between how much a research technology is actually employed compared to the buzz about it in social media.

Here are some of the main takeaways we found about social media and why it’s poised to play a #1 role in market research and the business world:

Social Media analytics is the #1 research technique for the future – despite the trepidation about social media and how to use it, getting social is certainly taking up more time (and money) in marketing departments everywhere.

Social Media is considered the #1 hope for the future of market research, in anticipation of “significant change” within the industry.

Social Media experts are the #1 hire who are being sought out, when it comes to human capital strategies.

To download the report and see even more of the shape that the industry is taking this Quarter and into next year, check it out here. And let me know what you think – I’m eager to hear feedback on this report!