It’s been a year since I started working at Level 7 and in Market Research, so it’s only right that I now pass on some advice to the next rookie out there. This is the recipe, the secret sauce if you will…

I was in a writing workshop with my friends at FrazierHeiby, a great communications firm in Columbus, Ohio. They asked us the question “What’s changed in your life in the last month?” I’ve often said that I like the zombie genre because…

Pets have frequently been a part of my life, and according to Level 7’s holiday survey, this is also the case for over 65% of US households. I’ve had dogs and cats mostly – sometimes just a dog sometimes just a cat and sometimes both.

With Superbowl LIII just around the corner, many are focused on predicting the outcome but what about viewership? In last year’s Superbowl, nearly 8 million fewer people watched the game, down 7% compared to…

Parents of young children have to decide at what age they want to give their child a smartphone. And is it a debate? Or does it just slowly creep up on you and it’s suddenly happened? It is easy to say you won’t or shouldn’t…

Level 7 Market Research is back this year with an update on our 2016 Holiday Survey. In 2016, we looked at holiday relevant topics through a current events lens. And what was in the news in 2016?

I recently spent an entire weekend hanging out with a bunch of people that I had just met. And as usually happens among people who’ve never met, the conversation quickly turned to what we do for a living…

In the technology-driven society we live in today, no one understands technology like Gen Z. They’ve had it from the beginning. They’re the kids that played with iPads as toddlers and watched TV for hours after school.

Reflecting over the past 2 years, it’s been a whirlwind of change and emotion. Today I’m running my own business with two amazing partners but a few years ago I was happily employed by a company I had been with for a long time and never planned to leave…

A friend of mine is an adjunct professor at a local university, and recently invited me to speak to her qualitative methods class as part of a career day panel. There were tons of great questions, but one question in particular really got me thinking…

It’s been hypothesized that migrating geese fly in a V because it helps them communicate and coordinate with each other. Not only are they conserving energy, they know what the goose next to them is doing and are able to anticipate changes.

Here’s a common issue we’ve come across in messaging studies – picking the true winner. So tell me if this seems familiar. You’re shown a series of messages about a brand and you’re asked to rate them on a 5 or 7 or 10-point scale as to which is the most…

Every focus group moderator has their own personal style. I’ve come to rely on four basic strategies that can work for anyone, regardless of your approach to moderating. These tips were first introduced during formal moderator training many years ago.

I read an interesting article (and a short YouTube video. Watch it.) about a term coined by Disney during the filming of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” The term is called bumping the lamp. It’s where the animators thought of all the little details…

I’m sure that your mom has uttered that phrase at some point in your life – usually coupled with your full name so you knew you were in big trouble then. Some things in life must be approached with a certain tone and temperament.

Many of you have heard about product launch disasters. New Coke. The Apple Newton. Heinz Purple Ketchup. At one time in some boardroom somewhere, these were all thought to be brilliant ideas. But in practice – flops. And no matter how hard…

Last Sunday I ran my seventh marathon in eight years. Although I’m a lifetime market researcher, I’m a late-bloomer when it comes to running. It was one of those things where you think “I want to run a marathon before I turn 40.”

So you’re one of the estimated 80+ million viewers of the first presidential debate and you’re wondering, “Did my horse come in first?” If you’re like me, you listen to the pundits pontificate on who performed better or what did the focus groups say (Can I say that as both a researcher AND a political junkie, this time of year is like my Superbowl).

Over the years Level 7 researchers have conducted many studies that called for us to talk to people in person – either by meeting them in their home, tagging along on a shopping trip, or shadowing them during some activity.

It seems simple enough. You want to know how your customer rates you on a particular metric; let’s say how likely they are to buy your latest innovation. So what do you have them rate you on? On a scale from 1 to 5? 1 to 7? 1 to 10?