For the 25th anniversary of Economic and Business Studies at the UOC, professors Pacheco-Bernal and Jiménez-Zarco reflect on the way in which technology has influenced the disciplines of marketing and market research, both in terms of their evolution and their scope. They also present challenges linked to these disciplines and faced by organizations at a key moment of digital transformation. For marketing, technology has provided a before and after. Basic concepts that currently determine the core of the discipline emerge and are consolidated as technology places new tools, devices, channels and even environments within our reach. Marketing is going from the field of short-term sales to building and maintaining, in real time, complex and lasting relationships with a strong emotional component between agents of various natures and with varying interests. In terms of market research, the potential offered by the development of new technologies in understanding consumers, while it has not eclipsed more traditional market research, has modified the panorama with regard to the quality and quantity of the information obtained and the breadth of methodological options for gathering data. In the midst of the digital era, the integration of data coming from various sources and the use of hybrid methodologies enable the sector to anticipate trends and better understand market behaviour.

Just as the mobile revolution has had a profound impact on society, has created new economic activities and modified existing ones, the marketing research industry has not remained at the margin of all these transformations. As we will see below, mobile technologies have represented new challenges and opportunities for the professionals in the sector, creating new ways to collect data from consumers who participate in market research studies. However, in spite of the advantages that the use of mobile methodologies involve for industry, their adoption and diffusion as a technique to collect information still remains fairly limited. This article includes the data on research methodologies used by the sector and identify the main factors that have influenced the adoption of mobile market research, whether to incentivise or limit their use.

The loss of influence of conventional media, due to the emergence of the Internet, has increased the concerns of brands in terms of ascertaining how to influence different segments that exist in Spain. However, there is a factor that continues to influence people: the opinions of third parties (formerly offline and now also online). Therefore, it is interesting for brands to analyse new opinions transmitted online by third parties, that may also be influencers and who are the focus of this study.

With this in mind, this research focuses on the perception of women between 25 and 45 years old, (a segment of Spanish society – the target group) of the Sense Girls (as key influencers in the fashion, beauty and Fitness/Life & Style sectors, important for the target group) on YouTube and Instagram, focusing on how they communicate and how they could be taken into account in the field of marketing/communication.

Since this information could not be obtained from secondary sources, an ad hoc quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (focus group, in-depth interviews, channel analysis) investigation has been carried out.

As a result of this research, it can be concluded that the Sense Girls should be used in the marketing strategies of brands, differentiating communication types for each of the clusters into which women between 25 and 45 are divided.

How many companies strategically plan their future based on mere perceptions about their customers? How many think they know their customers’ values but do not know to what extent? We may know our customer satisfaction, but do we know what factors contribute most to that satisfaction?

To establish action plans based on reliable data (rather than mere perceptions) in a global strategic approach for the sporting event Triathlon Vitoria-Gasteiz, its promoter – Asociación Maratlón – needed indicators and objective results about participant satisfaction, as well as knowledge about its brand positioning.

To this end, a study was carried out on the satisfaction and positioning of Triathlon Vitoria-Gasteiz, and was presented as the final project for a Marketing and Market Research Degree¹. Its synthesis was set out in the following three phases: a desk study to determine the primary and secondary information sources, a second exploratory phase based on a qualitative analysis to identify the key variables, which provided the subsequent design for the third phase, a purpose-built online survey sent to the participating triathletes.

This final qualitative phase, in which the results were obtained via bivariable and multivariable analyses, made up the concluding stage of the study. The statistical interpretation of these results provides objective data both to establish strategic lines of action for brands and to improve the satisfaction of all interested groups, sponsors, triathletes and their escorts, and citizens.

How many companies strategically plan their future based on mere perceptions about their customers? How many think they know their customers’ values but do not know to what extent? We may know our customer satisfaction, but do we know what factors contribute most to that satisfaction?

To establish action plans based on reliable data (rather than mere perceptions) in a global strategic approach for the sporting event Triathlon Vitoria-Gasteiz, its promoter – Asociación Maratlón – needed indicators and objective results about participant satisfaction, as well as knowledge about its brand positioning.

To this end, a study was carried out on the satisfaction and positioning of Triathlon Vitoria-Gasteiz, and was presented as the final project for a Marketing and Market Research Degree¹. Its synthesis was set out in the following three phases: a desk study to determine the primary and secondary information sources, a second exploratory phase based on a qualitative analysis to identify the key variables, which provided the subsequent design for the third phase, a purpose-built online survey sent to the participating triathletes.

This final qualitative phase, in which the results were obtained via bivariable and multivariable analyses, made up the concluding stage of the study. The statistical interpretation of these results provides objective data both to establish strategic lines of action for brands and to improve the satisfaction of all interested groups, sponsors, triathletes and their escorts, and citizens.