QRCA Views

38 QRCA VIEWS WINTER 2 014 www.qrca.org By Judy Langer President n Langer Qualitative n New York City, NY n judy@langerqual.com n LUMINARIES n I recently had the opportunity to talk with Scott McDonald, Senior Vice President for Research & Insights at Condé Nast, about how Condé Nast uses qualitative research for its magazines, websites, and other properties. Here are some excerpts from our conversation. Judy: Let's start our interview by talking about how you started in market research. Scott: I came into media research direct- ly from academia. I had done some applied research as a Berkeley undergrad – mostly educational program evaluation projects – so I knew that I enjoyed doing research in the "real world." But my graduate training at Harvard had pre- pared me for a more traditional academic career. Just as I was finishing my Ph.D. and getting ready to accept a tenure-track job at the University of Arizona, I got a somewhat random query about my inter- est in a job doing media research as assis- tant to the publisher of Time Magazine. It intrigued me enough to go to New York for the interview, and I decided to give it a try. That was more than 30 years ago, so I guess you could say that I liked it well enough to stick with the field. I have been lucky to stay plugged into uni- versity life, first by teaching sociology at NYU, and then since 1998, by teaching a graduate course in media measurement and economics at the Columbia Business School. Judy: How long have you been senior vice president for Research & Insights at Condé Nast? How would you describe your cur- rent role there? Scott: I've been here for 13 years, doing marketing, publishing, ad sales research, editorial and consumer market research. We have about 20 brands – Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, GQ, Wired, Glamour, Self, Architectural Digest, Bon Appetit, a few digital-only products like Epicurious, Ars Technica and Style. And now we have an entertainment division that is just video and movies. Judy: How has the role of the Research & Insights department changed within the company since you've been its head? Scott: When I started at Condé Nast, the research function focused more on adver- tising sales support and on the individual brands. There also were a lot of routine reporting functions. Over time, the reporting functions migrated to operating units and the corporate research function became more strategic, less engaged with the daily needs of the individual brands. Though we still do some of that, I per- sonally tend to get involved in the abstract and technical media industry level issues and their translation to the business needs of the company, focusing INSIDER PERSPECTIVES ON QUALITATIVE FROM ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST MEDIA COMPANIES An Interview with Scott McDonald, Senior Vice President for Research & Insights, Conde´ Nast

• Cover