Harmoni gives mobile-first research agency MDI competitive advantage

Digital technology, particularly mobile, is having a transformative effect on many industries, market research included. According to Statista.com, the proportion of internet traffic via mobiles tipped over the 50% mark in 2017 and continues to grow, reflecting the central part that mobile technology has on our lives.

As MDI Global puts it on its website, "MDI focuses on mobile. So to you. Virtually everyone is on their phone." The company, which works across more than 40 countries, was formed to harness the power of mobile to deliver consumer insights to international brands.

Built on the premise that the way consumers interact with brands has fundamentally changed with mobile, MDI realized the market research industry wasn't responding quickly enough and moved to fill that gap. It has built a service to meet the need of consumer brands to leverage the power of mobile and its ability to gather insights faster, with greater flexibility and at a competitive cost.

Using mobile technology in the market research process has both advantages and challenges, given the ubiquity and accessibility of consumers using mobiles. A consumer might carry a powerful data collection and processing device in their pocket, but they are also bombarded daily with competing messages, offers, and apps through their device. Market researchers must be able to cut through this noise.

MDI has tried to do this by focusing on bringing the benefits of mobile to consumer research, an example of which is transforming the traditional food diary with a mobile app. This app-based approach is much more convenient for MDI's subjects, allowing the recording of their experience 'in the moment.' Consequently, it promotes better recall and enables a person to capture more detail, including contextual data like photos and video.

A brand gets more data, in richer forms, with a higher degree of accuracy. And it can be collected quickly and affordably. The challenge, of course, is being able to collect, process, and present all this data in a way that a brand can use to make high-quality marketing decisions.

MDI chose Harmoni to help them cope with this embarrassment of data riches. It needed technology that was powerful enough to crunch the information, but easy and flexible enough for an agile team to master quickly and deliver value to their clients effectively.

Harmoni provided the right mix of robust analytical tools with good usability, with the capability to combine disparate data sets quickly. Instead of spending time on data processing, MDI can apply its energies towards finding insights for the brands it services and then respond to these clients rapidly and with authority. Having the backup of a team of experts from Infotools helps MDI deliver.

As Fiona Buchanan, Director at MDI Australia, says of working with Harmoni, "It means we can deliver great results for our clients faster and a lower cost. It's a real source of competitive advantage."

Read the full story of how MDI has used Harmoni to help them harness the exciting potential of mobile to collect consumer insights for their clients.