press releases
Ethnography Without Borders™
In today's economic climate sending teams of ethnographers around the world can be cost prohibitive, time consuming and resource intensive. Up until today if clients wanted to live the life of their customer it meant dispatching a team of researchers to undertake a series of expensive and time consuming ethnographic studies. The other option was to use one of the many online qualitative tools such as virtual chat rooms or focus groups, but these were limited in their ability to capture real-time insights, as participants were self reporting and relying on their powers of recall while researchers were interpreting reported behaviors in a virtual environment after the fact.
Welcome to the new generation of ethnographic research, Ethnography Without Borders™ is Moving Target Research International's remote ethnography package that will enable clients to overcome geographic borders, reduce travel costs, maximize savings and lower project turnaround time while gathering real time insights. Ethnography Without Borders™ maintains the integrity of ethnographic research, just like traditional ethnographic studies but without the travel or expense.
Earth Day 2008; Can China Go Green?
China is looking to urbanize 400 million people in the next twelve to twenty years and the World Bank estimates that between now and 2015 roughly half of the world's new building construction will take place in China. After twenty years of unchecked development and mass-scale construction, can China go "Green"?
Witness first-hand how the concept of "green" is unfolding in modern China! Join global consulting firm, Moving Target Research Group and an International team of researchers, futurists, cultural interpreters and local market experts at Rethinking China!
Rethinking China is a deep dive market immersion into the changes taking place in the New China in real time! It is an in-depth investigation that goes beyond the myths about China and it's consumers, to reveal emerging cultural trends and market opportunities, including the challenges and opportunities for China to go "Green". Learn more...
Understanding the New China and 1.3 billion Consumers; Rethinking China!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Today's Chinese consumers are fueled by rising affluence, product choices, brand selection and new aspirations for the future. As China dives into Capitalism, how are the everyday lives of the Chinese people changing in the world’s fastest growing economy?
Join Moving Target Research International and witness first-hand the changes taking place in modern China in real-time. Moving Target Research Group and an International team of researchers, futurists, cultural interpreters and local market experts will be leading Rethinking China! in Beijing, to experience first-hand how the future is unfolding in the New China.
"Rethinking China is an intensive deep-dive market immersion into the evolving lifestyles, attitudes, behaviors and needs of today's Chinese consumers", explains Valerie Romley, director of the "Rethinking Today's Emerging Markets" series.
Through a series of on-site, experiential and ethnographic visits, business leaders will get an intimate and in-depth look into China's emerging consumer culture. The small group format allows for unparalleled access into the lives of today's Chinese consumers via in-home visits, retail shop-alongs and man-on-the-street interviews to reveal real-time consumer-centric insights. "The visits to local homes are an incredible opportunity to peek into the private life of consumers as they go about their daily life; going to school or work, shopping, cooking and even going out on the town." says Romley.
On-site visits with local industry experts from Beijing's leading innovation labs, design studios and advertising agencies, will deliver fresh insights into the emerging cultural trends, market opportunities and cross-cultural challenges of doing business in China.
Who should attend? Rethinking China! is particularly valuable for those in charge of strategy, marketing, research and development, product design and user experience for their organization.
The Team: Moving Target Research International is a global research consultancy that explores, translates and synthesizes consumer behavior into actionable intelligence relevant in today's global marketplace. The Rethinking Today's Emerging Markets series delivers unparalleled culture-driven insights into today's emerging market consumers. Upcoming excursions open to the public include, Rethinking China and Rethinking India. Corporate market excursions are customized and designed to meet the specific goals of the organization or industry.
Moving Target Research Group Launches “Going Beyond Translation” Workshop Series
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Moving Target Research International announces the launch of its new series of workshops designed to help marketers better connect with today’s transcultural consumers.
“The more than 100 million multicultural consumers in the US, are not just multi-colored or multi-lingual but cross-cultural and transcultural as well. They are rapidly evolving and challenging the definition of “ethnic” or “multicultural” marketing,” says Valerie Romley, author of "Beyond Translation; The Marketer's Field Guide to Understanding Today's Transcultural Consumer".
“What was effective yesterday is no longer relevant and what is effective today may not resonate with tomorrow’s moving targets. It’s time for marketers to go beyond relying on translation and color and language based segmentation and understand the roles that culture and context have in influencing beliefs and attitudes and driving consumer behavior.”
The Going Beyond Translation Workshop Series equip marketers with the tools needed to gain an in-depth understanding of today's multi-dimensional transcultural consumer. Using a hands-on approach, the interactive workshops illustrate and provide actionable insights into overcoming the challenges that marketers face when targeting today’s transcultural consumer.
Using real-life examples and case studies, each workshop goes beyond the myths and preconceived notions of “multicultural” marketing and delivers proven techniques and out-of-the box strategies that marketers can use immediately.
The workshops are held on-site and require a minimum of 8 participants.
Series discounts are available.
Make Ready for the 'Transcultural' Consumer
Source: Strumpette.com
By Amanda Chapel
Friday, October 5, 2007
Si te crees inteligente, trabajas en marketing y quieres que tu negocio exista en cinco anos, !Apúrate y compra este libro!
Translation: "If you're smart and a marketer and want to have a business in five years... buy this book. Hurry!"
Did you know that today's multicultural consumer represents more than 100 million or one out of three people living in the US? THAT'S HUGE! The projections have most marketers waking up and smelling dinero. BUT, THERE'S A CATCH. While marketers from all backgrounds are delving into multicultural marketing, brand marketing does little to connect with the ever-evolving faces of the 'transcultural' consumer. Ellos no son mi familia.
This'll help: There's a new book out by Valerie Romley, Principal of Moving Target Research Group. Aptly titled "BEYOND TRANSLATION, The Marketer's Field Guide to Understanding Today's Transcultural Consumer," it delivers insight and strategy for marketers looking to connect with consumers of the top three emerging majorities in the US, i.e. Hispanic/Latino, Pacific-Asian and Asian-Indian. It's a quick guide designed to answer the "who, what, how and why" when considering multicultural strategies.
But Romley doesn't stop there. She then takes it a major step further. In her words: "Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Indian Americans are blurring the traditional symbols of ethnicity based on race, language, country-of-origin and culture. They are rapidly evolving and challenging the definition of 'ethnic' or 'multicultural' marketing. We need to go beyond the language of debate, beyond 'in-culture marketing,' beyond the re-purposed marketing cliches. We need to give marketers the tools necessary to understand the drivers behind behavior so they can develop relevant and effective connections that resonate with today's transcultural consumer."
Romley adds: "No tenemos que ser parte de una cultura distinta a la nuestra para comprender las diferencias entre nosotros. Pero si debemos manténar y estar orgullosos de nuestra identidad, y al mismo tiempo respetar la identidad de otros. Los que dejaran su marca en un futuro, son aquellos que ven mas aya de una raza o color de piel, y traen valores a si mismos y a los clientes con los cuales trabajan.”
The field guide is available October 29 for purchase on Amazon.com and retails for $24.95. But it's free to anyone who works in brand management. Go grab a copy!
Insights And Observations On The Transcultural Consumer
Source: Hispanic Market Weekly
October 01, 2007
Valerie Romley, of San Francisco-based, Moving Target Research Group, knows a little bit about the "transcultural" consumer - defined as a foreign-born U.S. resident who has selected bits and pieces of American culture while steadfastly maintaining traits of their home culture.
"I moved to the U.S. from Spain at age 8," says Romley. "I'm a transcultural consumer myself, and sensed the challenge of having brands not relating to me or having brands speak to me."
Today, Romley notes, "We live in an era of cultural diversity and pride, and no longer in a world where it was 'adapt or move on.' You had to leave all of your values behind and find the New American Identity in order to survive."
Now, in an effort to help brands cross what she calls a cultural divide by better understanding the dimensions of today's consumer, Romley has penned a "field guide" that includes insight and strategy for connecting to not only Latinos, but also Asian-Americans and immigrants from the subcontinent - including Indians and Pakistanis.
"There are many people who are stuck in the cultural middle - living in the U.S. but bringing values from their home country," Romley says. "But this is more readily accepted today. They are adopting, and adapting, to what they like. Thus, they are creating a new identity that crosses borders and language."
For marketers and advertisers, this means conducting the right research and properly interpreting the results. The first task, says Romley, in getting the message out the right way is understanding who the target is.
"By that, we don't mean, 'Go into the Latino marketplace and talk to Latino consumers'," Romley explains. "This involves more than using macro segmentation models and acculturation levels. Asking a person what in-language programming they watch doesn't really say anything about their aspirations, or their social environment at home and at work."
On that subject, Romley adds of the transcultural Hispanic, "Identity changes according to context. Are they aware of your product? Do they understand the benefits? We take down the funnel and drill down to who they are looking for."
But micro segmenting the U.S. Latino marketplace may be too much, and targeting Hispanics differently in one metropolitan area compared to another is not what Romley is suggesting.
"There are commonalities in the non-Latino market as well as differences, and the same goes for the Hispanic market," she says. "It's also the same for Asians. What language are they using? How do we reach them?"
Romley points to Conill's "Camryality" television campaign from fall 2006 (HMW Archives 10/11/2006. Hot Spots <http://www.hispanicmarketweekly.com/featureArticle.cms?id=269> ) as a great case study in showing who Latinos are today and how to approach them with relevant creative.
"Part of its success was the whole hidden camera and reality TV concept," she notes. "But it really goes beyond that by showing Latinos in real situations and showing them in a car - making fun of some features while also saying what they think is cool. The spots gave the message to Latinos that 'Toyota understands me'."
The commercials real success? "It portrayed Latinos as themselves, not this vision of what Madison Avenue thinks Hispanics are today," Romley says.
In her book, "Beyond Translation: The Marketer's Field Guide to Understanding Today's Transcultural Consumer," Romley's aim is to enlighten brand marketers, CHMOs and CEOs and get them to understand that the U.S. Hispanic market "is a fluid and an evolving market."
A "first edition," the book will be available starting October 29th on Amazon.com. A second edition, due in 2008, will include results from an in-person research study of the multicultural consumer in the U.S.
September 21, 2007 (SAN FRANCISCO)
Source: PRNewswire
Valerie
Romley, Principal of Moving Target Research Group, a
global brand research consultancy, which helps brands cross the
cultural divide by better understanding the dimensions of today’s
consumer, is set to launch her new book, "Beyond Translation; The
Marketer's Field Guide to Understanding Today's Transcultural Consumer",
on October 29th.
BEYOND TRANSLATION delivers insight and
strategy into connecting with the consumers of the top three emerging
majorities in the US: the Hispanic/Latino, Pacific-Asian and
Asian-Indian markets; and, is designed as a guide for marketers to
quickly understand who, what, how and why consumers respond to
marketing strategies. Many of the insights focus on the key dimensions
of culture and context that simultaneously drive conflicting behavior
and prevent effective communication across cultures.
“Asian-Americans,
Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Indian Americans are blurring the traditional
symbols of ethnicity based on race, language, country-of-origin and
culture,” explains Romley, “They are rapidly evolving and challenging the
definition of ‘ethnic’ or ‘multicultural’ marketing.”
Today's
multicultural consumers represent more than 100 million or one out of
three people living in the US. The explosive growth of the
multicultural community in the US has marketers abuzz on how to connect
with this ever changing and increasingly powerful demographic.
“The
book goes beyond the language of debate, beyond ‘in-culture marketing,’
beyond the repurposed marketing clichés and gives marketers the tools
necessary to understand the drivers behind behavior, so that they can
develop relevant and effective connections that resonate with the core
of today’s transcultural consumer,” added Romley.
BEYOND
TRANSLATION illustrates some key failures that marketers most often
commit and the resulting communication breakdowns. The field guide
offers seven steps for cracking the multicultural code and connecting
with today’s transcultural consumer.
“When these steps are
taken into consideration and properly executed, these insights can help
marketers humanize and actually understand the consumer and the many
dimensions that drive what can at times seem to be perplexing
behavior,” notes Romley.
Research Without Borders; Understand Tomorrow’s Markets Today™