Best Marketing Research Blogs

No list of the top research blogs would be complete without a mention of Greenbook — for sheer volume and diversity of opinion alone. In addition to a regular stock of industry leading authors, the Greenbook blog is also a fantastic place to discover new voices in the insight industry who often shed light on niche topics not currently within the mainstream discourse of the market research community.

The quality and carefully crafted nature of every article on the C_Space blog lend it the feel of a publisher rather than a blog — something that certainly keeps us reading. Posts are interesting, relevant and — perhaps most importantly — not concerned with what’s in vogue in the wider insight industry. Recent articles discuss the beauty of imperfection, sprinting fast & slow and hunting for black swans. There’s even a piece on what insight can learn from the famous Italian nurse Florence Nightingale.

The System1 Research blog is definitely on the quirky side, with titles such as “Why we sent clients roast crickets for Christmas” and “Purpose Marketing — Meet the Brand That’s Quacked It.” These slightly offbeat topics should give you a good idea of what to expect; posts packed full of personality, but also fascinating dissections of case studies at the intersection of marketing and research. Expect to read about behavioural science, brand building, innovation and lots of advertising. And we mean lots of advertising. If that’s your thing, this is definitely the place for you.

Not quite a blog as such, but as podcasts become a more widely consumed format — why not try one dedicated to market research? Jamin Brazil posts interview style podcasts on a weekly basis with leaders and experts from all corners of the insight industries. A blend of client and agency side commentators provide advice, opinions and stories in engaging 40 minute episodes. Previous guests have included Fiona Blades of MESH, Rudy Nadilo of Dapressy and Bob Lederer of RFL Communications.

It would be an understatement to say that the scope of the Vision Critical blog is vast. However, the main focus of posts over the past year has been around a topic that receives less attention than it deserves in the research industry — customer experience. From whitepapers and webinars to event summaries and opinions from client-side marketers, the Vision Critical blog is a goldmine of advice on how to improve customer experience through insight. 

The Zappi blog is difficult to sum up in a single word, but if there is one that is close it’s trendy. The posts shared on the Zappi blog cover a wide range of topics, from automation to advertising, customer experience to new product development. One thing is for certain though, each of these carefully crafted posts feels like a deep dive into a new world.

Interested in video market research? The Voxpopme blog is the place for you. The articles on this blog contain a wealth of information on how to make the most of video based methods and ways it can make a real difference to brands. This is blended with discussions on customer experience, storytelling and industry commentaries. In short, it’s your one-stop-shop for all things video.

LoveStats is a special kind of blog — not concerned with what the latest and greatest trends in the research industry are, instead focussing on the topics most important to its author, Dr Annie Pettit. There are a lot of great reasons to follow LoveStats, including, regular conference summaries, debates on privacy, even comparisons between questionnaire writing and Star Wars. It’s clear that LoveStats isn’t written to sell or promote, instead it’s a place of enthusiasm, optimism and passion for research.

The NewMR blog, curated by Ray Poynter and Sue York, has been a long time staple of the research industry. Posts cover a range of topics, but often include an aspect of innovation or future thinking. Analogies, observations and personal experience make up a good portion of the posts on NewMR, providing a fresh perspective; one that is not always favourable to the latest trends, but always provides a great starting point for discussions.

Similar to Greenbook, we simply had to include Qualrics on this list because of the sheer volume of content the team are producing. Churning out between four to five articles per week (sometimes more), there’s too much to keep up with. However, within the reams of articles, there are sure to be a couple of interest. Most pieces are centred around practical tips and advice for various projects, company news and event summaries.