Why I Love MR: An Interview with Miriam Konz

Welcome to our "Why I Love MR" Q&A Series! We have talked with both internal AMC Staff and some of our clients, so keep an eye out for fun interviews coming up exploring all the reasons why those of us who work in market research are so passionate about what we do! Interested in being interviewed and sharing why YOU love MR? Reach out to us.

Here we get a chance to know Miriam Konz, Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Innovation at AMC Global, a little bit better...

A lot of little kids want to be astronauts, firefighters, or doctors when they grow up. Few five year olds would tell you, “When I get older, I want to be a market researcher!” How did you first get involved in market research, and what drew you to it? 

MIRIAM: Oh, boy, is this a long story! I’ll leave some details out. I took a MR course and Stats in college as part of my Marketing minor, so I knew a little about it. But it wasn’t until I left a role on Wall Street and was waitressing in NYC that Marketing Research was on my radar. Two of my customers were in the field and it all just happened from there. My first job at CLT Research was perfect at the time, with in-house coding, data processing, graphics, even printing and key punch (we did a lot of paper and pencil research in the 1800’s, after all). Such a well-rounded first experience and my mentors there were inspiring, strong, and creative.

What has surprised you most about working in market research and insights? 

MIRIAM: Almost every day I’m surprised that it’s already time to close up shop! Time flies! The diversity of what needs to get done keeps me interested and engaged all day long. And the mix of math, science and creativity, it works all those brain muscles!!

Surprise! You’ve been given unlimited resources to study anything in the world. What does this passion project look like? What would you discover? 

MIRIAM: With all the talk about AI, I’d love to research both consumers and professionals about a) how they feel about using AI in their daily lives/jobs and b) how they are using it now and/or plan to in the future. Bonus would be to split the samples and use traditional research methods for half and AI-based methods for the other half. Wow, I’m really geeking out over here!

Market research studies come in all shapes and sizes, from quick claims and message tests, to large and complex conjoint analysis, to getting your feet on the ground with in-depth qualitative interviews. What’s your favorite methodology or research approach?

MIRIAM: In thirty years, I’ve seen a lot of research, but my favorite is definitely segmentation – mainly because of the creativity needed. It’s one thing to deliver segments to a client, but truly successful segmentation becomes part of the DNA of your client’s marketing and innovation processes. Getting those teams on board requires creative working sessions where the segments are introduced in a way that everyone gets excited about implementing what they’ve learned. I once did a game show, with valuable prizes, to a multi-functional crowd of 100+ where we used popular TV moms and they had to guess the segment. The prizes were themed to the segment too! 

What do you feel are hot topics and cutting-edge innovations in the market research field today? How do you feel this will shape the future of insights careers?

MIRIAM: AI, of course, is all anyone is talking about. We’re using it a bit to gain efficiency in time-consuming tasks like combing through videos to create showreels for clients. There’s so much to explore here but I never want to lose the “human touch” aspect of what I do! 

What would you tell someone who is considering a career in market research? 

MIRIAM: It’s a fast-paced, action-packed career. Because it is deadline-oriented, it can mean long hours at times, but you know when they’re coming. It’s a career that often lets you see the results of your work on the shelf or in advertising. The industry is small, so paths cross often and everyone knows each other. And you can work in any industry in a client-side marketing research role, or you can choose the supplier path and work in all of them!

Thank you, Miriam!

Why do YOU love market research? Let us know, and maybe you can be our next guest in this series!