PHILIPPINES – The Market and Opinion Research Society of the Philippines (MORES) ended its 10th Congress, themed "In Search of the Elusive Insight" on July 9, 2010. The biennial congress brought together nearly 180 delegates from research agencies and clients at the Boracay Regency Beach Resort & Convention Center on Boracay Island.
This year was the first time the ESOMAR (European Society for Opinion and Market Research) system was adopted, mixing plenaries with workshops. Technology and personalization were among the themes that emerged from the talks given by Nonoy Niles of Boomerang Corporate Solutions, Vicky Ortega of BrandLab, Arlene Dayrit of BPI, Thomas Hall of Nielsen, Agnes Tayao of Coca-Cola Export, Goutam Mitra of Milward Brown and Lee Ryan of TNS. Workshops conducted by by TNS, BrandLab, Firestarter, GoodThinking Research and Added Value-Saffron-Hill Research over multiple sessions allowed delegates to explore techniques and approaches in greater depth.
Moving the congress to Boracay let MORES members enjoy what Programs Committee Chairperson Issa Baron calls a "call center schedule", giving them ample time to enjoy the island’s offering before and after sessions. Delegates were challenged to break the stereotypes of researchers by having their hair braided, getting henna tattoos and finishing sets of three shooters at Summer Place in exchange for raffle tickets.
It’s good to know that spontaneity is part of all the rigorous quantitative and qualitative research. Insights may be elusive, but fun doesn’t have to be.
