Each year there are predictions for upcoming market research trends, but how accurate are they in reality? As we find ourselves in summer (although you wouldn’t believe it from the weather!), we have passed the halfway point of 2024. To mark the occasion, we’ve been reviewing how some predicted consumer trends are playing out.

At Magenta DE&I is at the heart of everything we do. We aim to create a welcoming, supportive environment for everyone. In this blog, our Research Manager Jo Meredith, talks about how Magenta has fostered an environment for people with caring responsibilities.

2023 saw many new developments in culture and technology. Consumers around the world witnessed a cost-of-living crisis, AI developments, continuous growth in sustainable behaviours and new social media trends. As we look ahead to 2024, brands and consumers alike will need to adapt to the major shifts in priorities and behaviours.

At Magenta, we’re experts in doing research with kids, and we love it! From exploring face painting through the eyes of the child, to talking all-things-online behaviour, we’ve spent years refining our approaches to conduct best practice and effective kids and teens research that generates meaningful insights for our clients. 

But what does it take to carry out successful research with kids?

AI, or more accurately Language Learning Models (LLMs), can pass the Imitation Game, the test devised by Alan Turing to measure human intelligence in machines, but we know they’re not exhibiting true intelligence. So, how can we measure a machine’s intelligence? Enter… the Cryptic Crossword Test (trademark pending*).

Trends once meant meaningful social change: an emerging and defining collective thought, behaviour, value, or attitude. They signified a shift in society and significant consumer change. But now, thanks to social media, the nature of culture and consumer desires is rapidly changing, rendering trends meaningless and nonsensical.

Language is all around us. It’s the name you pick for your new product, the vocabulary you use in your latest advertising campaign, and the way your consumers talk about your brand on social media. The words we use matter. In this blog piece, we discuss three potential opportunities to use discourse analysis to give additional insight into consumers and brands.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have been making headlines for some time now, with tools like Chat GPT able to create text and have human-like conversations, and Midjourney able to create life-like images. In many sectors there are concerns about the impact that AI is having and is likely to have but what does all of this mean for the market research industry, should we be worried?

From the beginning in 2016, Magenta set out to be different by acknowledging the ‘human-ness’ of our colleagues and understanding that each of us brings our own rich backstory to work that goes far beyond our gender, age or ethnicity. In 2022, we worked with a bioinspired business consultant to pioneer a new way of approaching DE&I at Magenta.

Watch and learn. Observation is a hugely powerful tool that allows the researcher to uncover insight into the complex and contradictory nature of human behaviour. Yet, pure observation techniques are often overlooked, forgotten, or embellished into intercepts. But why is an observational approach just so powerful?

When Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of Facebook to Meta, he presented the Metaverse as the centrepiece of his company's future. Recently, there has been less buzz about Metaverse with more focus around Generative AI, ChatGPT taking the world by storm. With the birth of ChatGPT is the Metaverse already dead?

Here in the UK, our healthcare professionals do an incredible job offering a range of services in very demanding and often restrictive circumstances. Consequently, this often results in limited time spent with patients which can leave them with a multitude of unanswered questions and a lack of clarity about what is happening to them.

The past few years have witnessed significant changes in the world. Undoubtedly, the coming year will be the same. At Magenta, we like to have our finger on the pulse and have identified key consumer trends to watch out for in 2023…

Research Manager, Olly Brown, was interviewed by GuineaPig Fieldwork to find out more about his journey along the research career path and what he loved about being part of the Magenta team. Here are some highlights from the podcast.

Global research projects are both fascinating and thought-provoking. It is always inspiring to talk to people with a variety of different experiences. It opens up new pathways of discovery and reveals surprising insights that challenge our way of thinking. However, cultural differences don’t just raise exciting new insights. They also present challenges…

Our Project Manager, Rob, shares his story of growing up gay in Poland. At the close of Pride month, Rob reminds us of the prejudice and discrimination that still exists in many parts of the world and the importance of acceptance and fighting intolerance.

The pandemic has impacted people’s lives differently and we’ve responded with a variety of coping mechanisms. Some of us are looking forward to life getting back to normal, other are going to try to hold onto their new freedom. Which of the four typologies are you?

Pre-pandemic a purposeless, and possibly solitary stroll, wasn’t necessarily seen as an appropriate use of time but now its value is highly appreciated and actively encouraged and widely considered a ‘ctrl, alt, delete’ for the mind. Will the daily walk remain as we go back to our busy routines?

With lots of recent talk across the research industry about the need be more inclusive, we’ve put together some practical tips for both agencies and clients on how to achieve this.

It is no longer just the young who are comfortable with digital tools and practices. During the global pandemic, those previously reluctant to engage have embraced technological advancement. Where there is a need for closeness with research participants and to understand real world behaviour over time, digital ethnography is now a viable and desirable alternative to traditional qualitative methods.