Call for contributions:
MRS Annual Conference 2025

This theme delves into the big issues and societal shifts that will shape market research over the coming 2-5 years, both in terms of what we study and how we study it. We’re looking to explore how consumers are changing, new and preferred channels of engagement and how research can support the corresponding priorities and evolving insight needs of businesses.

Some themes we’re interested in exploring: 

• Some themes we’re interested in exploring:

  • Dynamic markets and tough economic environments: qual and quant approaches to keeping connected to consumers in fast moving markets
  • Advancement, change and complexity in society:  consumers are navigating increasing complexity in their daily lives. What impact does this trend have on brands’ insight needs and how are researchers reflecting complexity in methodologies and analysis?
  • Inclusion and representation in research: with an ever-growing number of consumer identities and micro consumer segments how can practitioners ensure research samples are inclusive and representative in the fullest sense?
  • Cross fertilisation of ideas and breaking down of silos: how to rethink insight delivery within the new paradigm of free flowing, multi-directional, multi-source information
  • Growing polarisation and division: How is this global phenomenon influencing branding and position strategies, behavioural change programmes, approaches to consumer segmentations and more? 
  • Climate change & sustainable futures: have research professionals cracked how to close the “say-do gap” and produce insights that genuinely move industries towards sustainable futures?

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

This category is for truly exceptional research that has pushed the limits of typical projects and delivered fascinating insights. We’re looking for scale, depth, complexity and impact. If you want to show off your best qual, quant or data-driven research from the past year, this is the category for you.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

Let’s interrogate the most innovative applications of generative AI and synthetic respondents over the past year to investigate the commercial impact these technologies are making today and to reveal the upsides and downsides of relying on them for future insight delivery.

Share your practical implementations with our audience. What you did, how you did it and what impact was achieved.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

A category designed for client-side, insight teams to showcase their in-house research excellence. We want to hear how consumer insights, customer and organisational data are being used to power incredible outputs. We also want to hear stellar examples of storytelling and stakeholder relationship management.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

The category for provocative, inspiring and experimental research. What methodological boundaries is your research pushing? How are your new ideas advancing insight?

We’re interested in pioneering research you’ve completed or experimental research you are planning where results can be shared at Annual Conference 2025.

Please outline your research challenge or hypothesis, your tools and methodologies, notable setbacks as well as successes and, of course, the end result.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

Calling all C-suite professionals. We want to hear directly from the C-suite. How do you use insight for decision making and what do you want from your insight partners? Tell us how market research stacks up against your other sources of data and insight and how insight suppliers can continue to support your commercial and strategic aims.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

How can we work better with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the greatest impact from our research? This theme looks at how to move towards a more consultative relationship with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the greatest impact from research. adding value between projects, supporting businesses in their quests for joined-up-thinking, embedding insight across organisations and optimising stakeholder management. If you have examples of working in partnership, please share them with us.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

Our category for panel discussions and debating topics. What are the divisive topics in market research where there is no agreement or unified approach? We want to bring together panelists to represent a point of view, take a stand on an issue and offer a unique perspective that will generate a thought-provoking discussion. Not for the faint hearted!

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

Shining a critical lens on the market research industry, this category will pool ideas and consider how we can change our sector for the better. Please share how you are tackling key issues like equality, diversity, talent management and retention, learning & skills development, remote working and wellbeing.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

What can we learn from adjacent industries and disciplines that can enhance our practice and make us better practitioners? We are calling futurologists, scientists, journalists, marketers, sociologists, psychologists and others to share a trade secret that will open our eyes to something new and impactful.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

Here, we’ll analyse the extending role and far-reaching value of insight-informed decision making that goes beyond the marcomms function. How is insight contributing to improving service and product design, delivering organisational change, building evidence and shaping policy, supporting investment and driving behaviour change?

We’d like to see contributions from social and consumer researchers, operating across public and private spheres.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA 

You are the data and insight leaders of tomorrow. If you are a young researcher and want to be involved, tell us what passions you have and what you’d like to talk about.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA