Corporate or Public Relations
- Research to Earn News Coverage
- Chairing Meetings and Hosting Events
- Judging and Assessment
- Research Testing Psychological/Marketing Effects
Custom research for corporate clients and PR firms. To:
Promote campaigns or
Justify in-house decision-making concerning marketing and sales (i.e. customer psychology).
The research can comprise literature reviews and simple statements, or custom experiments that attract the major national papers, or they are confidential (in-house reports). My previous list of clients include the organisations listed below. Please also see testimonials from previous clients here.
CASE STUDY 4:
Chairing a panel of experts : Rockwool UK is the leading manufacturer and supplier of smart and sustainable insulation products for the construction industry based on innovative stone wool technology, and it is a subsidiary of Rockwool International. In addition to its insulation and fireproof properties, it also has excellent acoustic insulation properties. As part of its long-term strategy, Rockwool contributes expert and government consideration in the rapidly advancing world of acoustic and noise improvements and regulation. As part of this ongoing contribution, Rockwool organised and funded a series of events including a National Noise Summit. In the run up to this, I was asked to chair a roundtable debate of experts, which went well, sparking discussion and highlighting the issues that experts agreed upon and those needing further research.
“I thought you did an excellent job of chairing the discussion and bringing together the various strands of thought so skilfully. Overall I thought the roundtable was a very thought-provoking discussion…. The discussion on the need to design noise protection into buildings at the outset, rather than retrofitting after construction, was very valuable, as was the suggestion that training for architects and developers should focus on the aural environment as much as the visual one.”
Thomas Heldgaard, Managing Director, Rockwool UK
CASE STUDY 5:
Research to earn news coverage for PR : confused.com is an online comparison site for insurance and financial services, as well as a provider of many other products. They have a strong branding, and they regularly appear in the national news. They are best known for auto insurance, and to reinforce their position in the home insurance market, they ran a national contest to find the clumsiest person in Britain. As part of that campaign, they commissioned me to run experiments to elucidate the causes of clumsiness in the home. The experiments were performed in Cardiff (their home city), and we were commissioned to run an experiment to test the performance of people who identified themselves as clumsy, during a task for making breakfast. The experiments were coupled to a national survey, and media coverage followed.
Vue Cinemas
Custom research comparing films, music and smells to determine what most strongly elicits the Christmas spirit – i.e. happiness, generosity and associations with Christmas memories.
HEAD Acoustics
Workshop leader for the future of soundscape and transportation. HEAD Acoustics is the international commercial leader in technical assessment of in-car noise and soundscape.
Hardy’s Wines
Custom research into historical changes in British dinner parties 1950-2000 compared with Come Dine with Me.
Nike
Design and implementation of custom research into lie detection and confidence levels of an Olympic heptathlete, using physiology and cameras.
DHL
Custom research into understanding the motivating of pro-environmental behaviours using filmed stimuli.
Honda
Custom research recording the customers’ experience while making assisted purchases in a showroom.
Nokia
Custom research in the physiology of the emotional effects of listening to popular songs, including sad songs.
Tesco
Custom research into the physiological effects of gossiping, measuring the heart rate and physiological responses of people during gossiping.
Dairy Crest (Cathedral City)
Custom research into the different sensory modalities of temptation that caused people to respond to comparing a savoury to a sweet snack for a successful Cathedral City TV advertisement.
Trident
Custom research into the unconscious activities and physiological effects during the chewing of gum. Focus group research and discussion.
Explore at Bristol Science Museum
Consultation on genetics and DNA for a ‘hands-on’ exhibition at the Bristol Science Museum.
Association for Science Education
I consulted on producing a Computer Lesson/Game “Flesh eaters”, a part of the “Science Year CD”.