(Digital) High Five to Our New Research Superstar!

The Blackstone Group is pleased (okay, downright thrilled!) to announce that yet another research expert has joined our team.

Drum roll please......

Roger A. Straus, PhD 
Vice President/Account Manager

Here's a little bit about Dr. Straus' experience:

Dr. Straus has over 20 years experience as a marketing researcher, consultant and strategist during which he has designed, conducted, managed, analyzed and reported qualitative and quantitative programs in the United States and globally.

Equally comfortable with qualitative and quantitative research, he has conducted hundreds of quantitative studies using advanced analytics and moderated over 1,000 focus groups and in-depth interviews.

He has published articles on marketing research and social science, an eBook on focus groups, two textbooks on sociological practice and books for clinicians and the general public, one of which has been a best seller.

Dr. Straus co-founded the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology and has been instrumental in bringing sociological insights and methods to marketing research.  He has also taught at universities, such as: the University of California, Alfred University and Marylhurst University.

Dr. Straus has a PhD and MA in sociology from the University of California, Davis.

Please contact Dr. Straus at roger.straus@bgglobal.com.


For the love of research...

Cornerstone: A Is for Auction, B Is for Book

You can tell a lot about a person by what they read.

That's what our Exec VP Kathi Rose was thinking when she proposed holding BG's first annual book sale.

This is a great example of how to engage your coworkers in your new (or old... I mean, er, seasoned) CSR program.  Here's how we attacked it:

• Ask your coworkers to bring in used books that they:

1. have read
2. were going to toss (into a recycling can, of course!) but just never got around to it and/or
3. can no longer fit on their burgeoning bookshelves

• Take a pointer from the ballparks!
• There's something to be said for having a captive audience... hence bathroom advertising!
• Yeah, we know, a lot of times we really hate that advertising, but when it is for a good cause then you can't help feel good about reading it (summoning those heart-wrenching, donate-to-this-or-that commercials on TV... who can get mad at puppies... I mean, really...)

• Arrange the books in the breakroom (or some other social place)
• The more books that they see, the more likely they are to bring in some of their own

• Don't forget the name cards
• Arguably the best part of this event is looking at what people brought, so arrange the books in piles by former owner
• Curious people will spend more time looking over the available titles
• Be careful what you ask for... I am certainly rethinking a few of my donated texts that received some, er, company "acclaim"...

• A dollar for a dollar
• Double the collection by selling the used books for a dollar and have the company to match the total sale
• Your coworkers will think they got a great deal on some paper treasures and you'll help build your internal brand

•  Give the leftover books to a good cause
• Rather than recycling the books that didn't sell, give them to a worthy non-profit
• We chose The Reading Tree because:
1. Their main focus is on literacy issues in America and worldwide
2. The books go to school libraries in low-income communities, after school programs or, if they can't be used, are properly recycled
3. They have convenient receptacles all over town because those books can get really heavy, really fast (we can't all have superhuman strength!)

Insider's secret: I picked up...

Cover of Night, by Elie Wiesel

I couldn't believe that I had not read this before, so I blazed through this soul-ripping book in a day.  (Okay, okay, it's only 100 pages or so, but the content is very heavy.)  I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more of Elie Wiesel.


For the love of research...

Cornerstone: To Give Or Not To Give (That's Not Even a Question)

We love a good not-for-profit, and we love to get together and do some good old fashioned fundraising for worthy causes.  Socially focused projects are good for company morale and, let's be honest, a nice external-facing, er, face lift because good citizenship really is good for business.

In our "Cornerstone" blogs, we will be talking about how small to medium-sized business can start their own corporate social responsibility (CSR) program and how ours is going.  

CSR programs don't have to be a big production.  All it takes is executive sponsorship (HR is usually a great starting place) and a general understanding on what pulls on your fellow employees' heartstrings.  For us, it ranges from local animal organizations to international charities helping children in need.  For you, it could be inner-city art programs and community gardens.  Honestly, it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you love doing it.


Seven Steps to CSR Success: (think of it as our little road map)

1) Talk to HR and your boss about starting the program
2) Get a group of three or four like-minded do-gooders together to start a committee
3) Think of one simple way to get your fellow employees involved

• Food drives are a great starting point!

4) Make them drink the kool-aid (or at least post the flyer on the ubiquitous water cooler)

• It is important to promote your event through e-mails and via flyers in hot spots throughout the office.  The more people know about and reminded about the program, the more successful your first event will be!
• Oh, and hey, don't forget the company logo.  This is a great opportunity to reinforce your brand.  We're not talking about selling it.  We're talking about making people feel good and do good things... and making that feel good feeling connect with the company's brand image.

5) Make that first event FUN!

• People are more likely to stay involved if they have a fun time doing it.  You could make it a challenge... like who brings in the most canned goods?

6) Rinse.

• Get feedback from your coworkers about the event, and don't forget to ask them how they think it could be better.

7) Repeat.

• Try to have at least one event a month.  You want to keep the program top of mind.
• Here is a good list of potential fund-raising events: http://www.fundraiserinsight.org/ideas/

Have you started a CSR program at your place of work?  Share your tips for socially conscious success! 


For the love of research...

For All the Marbles: Vote In Our Hand Game Poll

Vote for what you would throw down in our rock-paper-scissors poll!  And, no, glue is definitely not an option.  Glue... ha, never!

Insider's secret:
Okay, yeah, we're a little partial to throwing down "rock" here at the Blackstone Group.  (I'll give you one guess why!)  Whenever it comes down to the next quarterly meeting, it's always a battle to the end as to who gets to plan the next number-crunching party.

For the love of research...

How Our Little (Hand) Game Is Played

You might call us nerds or geeks or the occasional obsessive number-lover.  We've heard it all before.  It's probably because we love what we do.  Our friends (aka our clients) get it.  We're passionate about marketing research, and we think you might like to know what we have to say about the latest marketing, advertising and research trends.

Soon enough, you'll see.  We're "Geek Chic" and, while our humor may fall a bit short at times, we usually have a unique perspective to expand your (research) horizons.

We'd love to hear what you have to say.  Here is the playbook for giving us your thoughts:

• Rock: Totally solid post!  I think it adds value to the e-conversation.
• Paper: Worth it's weight, but kinda flimsy at times.
• Scissors: If I could, I would cut little digital snowflakes out of this post because that's all it is worth.

For the love of research...
(Oh, and we like parentheses too.)