Chasing The Next Big Idea – Prediction Market Volume Forecasting

By Brad Marsh, CEO, Consensus Point

Like a few other “seasoned” researchers that will be attending IIeX, I have now entered my third decade in an industry that I fell into while working in a phone room in the Summer during college.  To say I never saw myself building my destination career in market research would be an under-statement, yet here I am, and I remain very excited about the future of opportunity for the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.

So what kept me motivated and excited over the years?  I didn’t know it at the time, but reflecting back, it was my curiosity and chase for the next Big Idea. The new approach or new process that was going to help my end client get a promotion, my team beat its goals, or my company differentiate and win.  For better or worse, I didn’t limit my thinking to what was considered “the right way” or the “way we’ve always done it,” and in hind-sight, I can tie all the critical inflection points in my career to this innate need to push the envelope on what’s possible.  To be clear, I can also attribute a couple of “un-planned transitions” to this drive to re-invent and innovate, so you have to prepare yourself for the challengers of change in your organization.

All that said, I count myself very fortunate to have worked with some of the best firms and brightest people in the industry on many of the Big Ideas of their time.  Ideas like video ad testing, web-based discrete choice technology, online concept testing & forecasting, digital ad & brand tracking, and text based drivers modeling are a few I was involved with as they were introduced.  Yes, Millennial researchers, we had to mail VHS tapes out to panelists and wait 3-4 weeks for a response to be mailed back – that was cutting edge in 1999.

So based on my confessions above, you can imagine how excited I am to be again breaking the rules with two proven industry solutions that a year ago would not have been mentioned in the same sentence, Prediction Markets and Volumetric Forecasting.  In collaboration with Top Box Associates, Consensus Point recently launched the industry’s first prediction market-based volume forecasting capability.  Consider an “agile” yet predictive volumetric forecasting alternative, where you can go from finalizing your new ideas or concepts to a full volume forecast as accurate as industry leaders in two weeks and at a fraction of the cost.  Even cooler, it’s mobile, can work with panel samples or communities, and can be delivered globally!

Intrigued to learn more?  Well we hope you’ll stop by the Consensus Point Booth or our talk on Monday afternoon in Track 4.  Either way, we look forward to seeing you in Atlanta, and best of luck discovering the next Big Idea for your career and business at IIeX!