The Market Research Event (TMRE) has been a great experience this year. I had an opportunity to connect with colleagues and stay current with the latest trends and technologies in our industry. Some personal highlights for me included the WIRExec dinner hosted on Tuesday night by Canvs and Kristin Luck. It was wonderful to see old friends and make new connections. WIRe does such an amazing job supporting women and facilitating networking.

We were honored to see Gene Cho @BuzzFeed present our collaborative work with them on Adulthood vs. Adulting. There was even an encore performance of the talk, giving the project additional visibility. BuzzFeed has taken the research and elevated it by talking about how Millennials have brought new dimensions to the age-old issues of transitioning to adulthood. Gene’s presentation gave marketers thoughtful insights into how to leverage the evergreen topic of adulting when speaking to their consumers.

I also really enjoyed the talk given by Jen Handley of Fizziology and Ruth Ingram of Insight Strategy Group. Their presentation on Harnessing the Power of Fandom was an insightful use of mixed methodologies and technologies to deliver insights into the power of fans and also how fandom can apply to nearly all categories. It was a great talk and I was snapping up pictures of slides along with the rest of the audience.

Arizona gifted us with beautiful weather and clear skies. The resort was lovely and accommodated a large crowd without feeling overwhelming. Many thanks to the TMRE team and support staff who made the event a joy to attend!