President’s Letter December 2023
Dear MRC Members,
I hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday because I feel it is a time where everyone in the United States can come together to be thankful. One thing I feel truly thankful for is the opportunities that being President of the MRC has brought to me – thank you for the enormous support and encouragement you all provide.
It was brilliant to meet so many of you at our hybrid event on November 16th. A big thank you to the Advertising Research Foundation for hosting us.
What is Truth in a Misinformation World?
This November 16th event was part of our Policy & Politics Series. For this event we had two special guests – Professor Paul Baines, a new MRC member and Professor of Political Marketing at University of Leicester School of Business, speaking to us virtually from the UK and Kabir Khanna, Deputy Director, Elections and Data Analytics, CBS News, with us in person in New York.
The data presented was eye opening! Paul posited that if Russia was spending $3Billion on misinformation around elections in the 1980’s how much must they be spending now? Kabir explained that CBS is exploring new ways to present election results. It is hard to communicate that, with only a percentage of the vote counted, the results may end up switching from one party to another by the final count. There was a particularly lively debate both in the room and virtually which meant that we extended the Q&A time by 30 minutes for those able to stay on.
Welcoming New Members
Please join me in welcoming the following new members!
· Steve Quirk – Owner and President of Quirks Media
· Snigdha Santra – Head, Market Insights and Access at Chugai Pharma USA
It was wonderful to see both of you recently on November 16th and we look forward to seeing you at our future events.
Voting for your new Vice President & Secretary/Treasurer
We are currently gathering nominations from those interested in being Vice President 2023/4, Vice President 2024/25 and Secretary/Treasurer, starting 2024/5 for two years.
If you are interested, please get in touch with Rose at info@mrcouncil.org.
Committee Vacancies
Thank you to all of those who have stepped forward to join a committee! We really appreciate your contribution.
Please consider getting involved. It’s a great way to meet other members and to give back. Simply contact Rose: info@mrcouncil.org
Upcoming Events
We have had our last event this calendar year but have a couple of fabulous events to kick off 2024!
Meet the Author, Diane Hessan, January 5th 12.30pm ET (Virtual)
For anyone who has heard Diane speak, you will know that we are in for a treat! Diane’s book, “Our Common Ground” is an excellent follow-up to our November 16th event about politics. In her book Diane explores voters’ reactions to current affairs. For four years Diane was in weekly conversation with 500 voters across the United States and was reporting what she discovered in The Boston Globe. On issue after issue, our “divided” nation isn’t nearly as polarized as we imagine.
This is a members-only event and we like to keep these sessions intimate.
Book now to reserve your place at https://mrcouncil.org/event/january-5-2024.
Howard Feinberg, January 18th 12.30pm ET (Virtual)
Join the MRC’s special guest Howard Fienberg, Insights Association lobbyist, to learn of efforts to regulate the market research industry. Learn about current trends, the latest pending legislation, and protections being implemented/considered.
Book now to reserve your place at: https://mrcouncil.org/event/january-18-2024
Let me take this opportunity to wish you a fabulous festive season with your family, friends and colleagues. And I look forward to seeing you in 2024!
