A Breakdown of IA Annual with Mary Draper

Welcome back to Intellicast! We have another great episode for you today. Brian Peterson is joined by Mary Draper, who has just returned from Atlanta and the Insights Association Annual Conference.

Kicking off the episode, Mary and Brian discuss how the spring conference season is closing out. This naturally sets up the conversation for the rest of the episode – an in-depth recap of the IA Annual Conference.

The conversation starts with Mary giving Brian her overall perceptions of the conference. Compared to other conferences she has been to, Mary talks about how IA Annual is much more focused on information sharing and networking than sales. This leads to Mary discussing one of the first sessions called “So You Want to Sell to Me” and how Karen Craft talked about what it was like for her to attend a conference. This included the hundreds of emails they get, many invites for coffee and/or dinners, and more. Mary said that while she couldn’t remember the exact number mentioned, if Karen accepted all the invites she got, she would be booked solid for a week and miss the entire conference. It was eye-opening.

Next, Brian and Mary discuss some of the core themes and topics from the conference. In addition to artificial intelligence (one of the main topics at conferences for nearly two years), data quality and inclusive research were also big topics.

Mary gives more details about how AI was discussed at the conference. She noted that while there was initial skepticism and concerns about the validity of AI-generated data, AI’s efficiency and time-saving aspects have led to its increased use and acceptance in the industry. She also talked about how it was talked about some of the drawbacks of self-reported data, which leads to a larger conversation around the difference between self-reported versus behaviorally verified data and what sometimes causes inconsistencies with self-reported data.

Mary also talks about how the conference focused on the importance of making market research more accessible, with a focus on people with disabilities. She shares her experience participating in breakout workshops; particularly one focused on developing a participant Bill of Rights.

Finally, Mary and Brian talk about Mary’s favorite non-conference activity she did. While she couldn’t make her normal Publix trip, she spoke about how she could watch the eclipse while in Atlanta. It was on her calendar for a while, so she was happy she didn’t miss it.

Thanks for tuning in!

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