The current series of The Apprentice has poignantly illustrated the distorted and potentially damaging representation of market research currently being broadcast to the public on a weekly basis.
Don’t get us wrong we are big fans of The Apprentice here at Evolution, but when we take our telly hats off and put our research caps on, we feel we have to fight our corner a bit because The Apprentice doesn’t always portray our industry in the best light.
The thing about The Apprentice is that, for the benefit of entertainment, it necessarily shoe-horns projects that, in the real world would take months to complete into a two day mad scramble. The results are not so much half-baked but more a doughy mess.
So in this context it’s inevitable that a research project that would in reality involve a range of methodologies conducted over multiple stages is reduced to a ‘research bit’ consisting of a single “let’s ask 5 people” focus group and base an entire idea around it.. How often would we as research professionals recommend just one focus group…?
Then there’s the Cardinal Sin that these groups are moderated by the candidates themselves, who obviously have something of a vested interest in seeing their ideas come to fruition.
Of course, it’s all part of the fun that these supposedly brilliant business minds are rarely more than egotistical wannabes, but it’s unfortunate that their collective perspective on research is that it’s a hurdle over which their ideas need to leap, rather than a tool that can help to develop and hone concepts.
In truth, it’s pleasing that research is recognised on such a high profile show. And really it’s quite satisfying that the results of poorly conducted research are laid bare for all to see.
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