Articles

Illuminas at MRS Healthcare Research Summit The Market Research Society (MRS) is presenting a one-day Healthcare Research summit in London today tailored specifically to the healthcare industry, focused on discussing the challenges facing healthcare researchers in light of recent ongoing issues of trust, competence and management.  Conducting ethical and effective research that keeps the patient needs at the forefront is the primary […]

John Connaughton, CEO Illuminas presented a paper entitled ‘Global attitudes to Financial Services 2010′. The paper explores attitudes to financial services in the last 12 months across UK, USA and Asia. It discusses shifts in perception and behaviour over the last year and potential changes over the next 12 months. Specifically looking at the UK, […]

At Illuminas, we take pride in remaining a proven leader in testing and analyzing new research capabilities in the research industry.  As the industry has seen a shift in online panel sampling options, we set out to rigorously test and analyze these new options before we could trust their validity and recommend the online panels […]

In this paper the author outlines a new approach to enable manufacturers to identify the optimum range in store. With ever-increasing pressure to innovate and supermarket shelf-space at a premium the manufacturer’s dilemma is to optimise the range of varieties and formats and still improve the margin. Illuminas have developed a technique using conjoint analysis […]

Semiotics works by identifying links between deep emotional consumer needs and the signals used in branding, advertising and other media to convey them. It looks from the outside-in, exploring the context in which consumers operate, looking at the culture which influences consumers. In this way it can access insights which are not directly available to […]

Critics had a field day with the Conservative Party’s poster campaign featuring an airbrushed David Cameron “We can’t go on like this. I’ll cut the deficit. Not the NHS”. These ads, of course, were launched when the Conservatives held a significant poll lead and they seemed to do no favours to the Tories. Numerous doctored […]

Financial Service providers need to re-build trust as consumer confidence falls in the economy and financial institutions The latest consumer confidence survey from financial research experts, Illuminas confirms that falling consumer confidence has dented trust in financial service providers compared to 12 months ago. Illuminas conducted the research among 600 adult consumers in the UK in […]

In this paper the authors outline a new approach to measuring the value of research and identify the future conditions under which it might gain widespread acceptance. The paper discusses the issues that reveal this to be a complex area as well as offering a solution. The authors define the conditions required to measure the […]

The paper explores the role of research in organisations without a formal hierarchical structure; how new trends in business architecture and management are making new demands on internal research functions and calling forth a new generation of client side research leaders and practitioners. Download PDF 

The changing requirements of both clients-side and agency researchers are reflective of wider technical, economic and cultural trends impacting on the way businesses are organised. In particular, it has been argued that researchers need to develop a range of new skills in order be more effective in the future. In addition, numerous and more sophisticated […]

Internet enabled communications have long been regarded as the panacea for market research – providing access to hard to reach audiences in a timely and cost effective manner. But while technological advances in survey software have engendered much debate on the data production line, the market research industry has a duty to itself and its […]

The Internet promises to be a commonplace feature of conducting business in the near future. In a recent telephone study conducted by DVL Smith Ltd amongst a representative sample of UK small and medium sized businesses, over 2/3 of all businesses had internet access. The US based Boston Consulting Group predicts that by 2003 one […]

This paper examines the increasing use of usability studies to aid the development of new media products and services – predominantly websites – and looks at whether the growing distinction of usability as a discipline in itself is counter productive to today’s requirement to provide more holistic and integrated marketing research services.  Specifically we will […]

When Apple first announced the iPhone in January 2007, it was widely expected to be an industry-changing phenomenon. Illuminas New York decided to test that theory by tracking public response in the period leading up to and immediately following launch. We learned that the Apple brand itself and its reputation for innovative, intuitive design were […]

How important is brand in financial markets? Consumer product marketers have long realized the value of branding—the brand is why consumers pay more for Nike trainers than they do for a generic product. In the consumer world millions of pounds are spent each year to define and reinforce various brands in the consumers’ minds. Branding […]

Measuring brand performance and communication effectiveness in B2B markets Building a B2B brand Branding has been defined as naming a product or service so that it is distinct from its competitors. However it is never that simple. In the real marketplace a brand is more than a name; it is the emotions and intangibles that […]

Following China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation earlier this year, foreign banks were finally allowed to offer some local currency products and services in China. A number of UK institutions have already entered the retail market, but how does the Chinese banking consumer behave like at present? And how does he or she view […]

Illuminas study highlights uniqueness of social networking and how Brands need to fit into ‘’the community’’ The remarkable success of social networking has attracted a great deal of attention in the marketing industry. But why has social networking been so uniquely successful? A recent study conducted by Illuminas traces its popularity to its ability to […]

In this paper the authors share their experience of developing Orange’s European mobile consumer segmentation and applying it to the UK market. The process started in 2003 with a major study in Orange’s 6 main European markets. In 2006 the segmentation was fully operationalised in the UK and formed the basis of Orange UK’s highly […]

The remarkable success of social networking has attracted a great deal of attention in our industry. But why has social networking been so uniquely successful? A recent study conducted by Illuminas traces its popularity to its ability to replicate group behaviour. The qualitative study amongst regular users of networking sites aged 15 – 55 uncovered a variety of […]