June 2008
7 posts
Don't Tase Me, Bro
I love stats like the ones quoted in this article, which claims that one-third of people shot by Taser need medical attention.
First of all, 28% isn’t one-third in my book, but let’s allow that to pass for moment. One could very easily read this “probe” and decide that Tasers are, in fact, more dangerous than advertised. One could also read this probe and come to the...
Unfocus Groups
A light posting week, as I am in the Middle East for a while with spotty Internet access. While waiting in the Emirates Lounge at JFK to catch my fight to Dubai, I happened to catch Frank Luntz on Fox News with the results of a “Focus Group” on the presidential election. What I saw was horrifying, at least to me. You see, I love focus groups—love great qualitative research of all...
Interactive Graphic - How Different Groups Voted... →
This interactive graphic covering all the exit poll data we produced is unbelievably great. I just killed an hour here.
Too Many Variables
I see lots of press releases like this one citing third party research to prove the efficacy of marketing and advertising campaigns, and a lot of them are pretty good. This particular example, a study which demonstrates the effectiveness of “Peel n’ Taste,” is not particularly useful for a number of reasons. The campaign tested was for Welch’s Grape Juice, and it measured...
Podcast Usage Grows →
Nota Bene: When something grows from 13% to 18%, it doesn’t grow by 5 percent, but by 5 percentage points. In this case, that works out to 38%. Common mistake.
Edison Media Research: Edison Completes 'Historic'... →
Every once in a while, you have to toot your own horn. Good on you, Edison—thanks to my amazing co-workers.
