The Five Stages of Travel

Heading into the annual holiday and travel season, I thought you may appreciate a study undertaken by Google on 'The Five Stages of Travel.' While the data itself is relatively bland, the use of infographics managed to engage me in the experience. Happy Holidays.

Stage One - Dreaming:

Stage Two - Planning:

Stage Three - Booking:

Stage Four - Experiencing:

Stage Five - Sharing:

The Community Trust Report

Over the last month, I’ve been involved in a study that explored the topic of community trust in public institutions and political leaders. The Concerto Marketing and Research Now study involved online surveys with 1500 people from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and used a proprietary model (HuTrust) to measure the psychological drivers of trust. Last week, The Community Trust Report was shared for the first time at TEDxSFU.

The Benefits of Community Trust

Trust is at the core of a community. Many of the social actions and interactions that embody the idea of ‘community’ are predicated on the need for trust. In fact, our research showed that when people trust their community, 80% will ‘help their neighbours,’ 80% will ‘report a crime to authorities,’ 73% will ‘vote in elections,’ and 54% will ‘volunteer more of their time.’

Political Trust in Montreal

From a political point-of-view, our research had some interesting findings on trust in Canadian politics. On average, only 19% of people surveyed in Montreal said they trusted Prime Minister Stephen Harper, versus 44% in Toronto and 46% in Vancouver.

Among those surveyed in Montreal, the psychological driver that most reduced trust in Stephen Harper was found to be Vision; meaning that people ‘felt his values were less appealing.' In contrast, among those surveyed in Toronto and Vancouver the psychological driver that most increased trust in Stephen Harper was found to be Stability; meaning that people ‘felt he had a strong foundation.’ 

Police Trust in Vancouver

From a social point-of-view, our research has some interesting findings on trust in Police. On average, only 65% of people surveyed in Vancouver said they trusted the Vancouver Police Department, versus 78% in Toronto who trusted the Toronto Police Service, and 80% in Montreal who trusted the Montreal Police Service.

Among those surveyed in Vancouver, the psychological drivers that most reduced trust in the Vancouver Police Department were Relationship and Competence; meaning that people ‘felt they were less great to deal with,’ and ‘felt they were less able to deliver what they promise.’

Community Trust at TEDxSFU

The theme for TEDxSFU was community engagement, and it attracted speakers including Jim Chu (Chief, Vancouver Police), John Furlong (CEO, Vancouver 2010 Olympics) and Ryan Holmes (CEO, Hootsuite). Below is a copy of the presentation I made at the event, which includes some of the findings from The Community Trust Report.

The Community Trust Report  

Digital Moms: The Drivers of Digital E-motion

Back in March 2011, I was involved in a proactive study that explored the online motivations of digital mothers. The Concerto Marketing study involved in-depth interviews and online surveys with 500 North American Moms, and was designed to coincide with a keynote presentation we made at the 2nd Annual Marketing to Digital Moms Conference.

While there’s no shortage of metrics and statistics on the digital environment, the data can often fail to capture the personal human experience of online activity. As our study found, the digital actions of mothers are often influenced and impacted by a range of deeper motivations and feelings. Posting a photo can be a form of self-expression. Online shopping can reflect a desire for change. A status update may be driven by the desire for connection.

“For me it’s about getting the box, opening the box, and looking at all the stuff I bought. But as soon as I open it and look at it, it doesn’t appeal to me anymore. I don’t really know why… There’s something about me that likes the process of ordering, and looking and clicking, and getting, and opening, and then it’s like, okay I’m done.” - Digital Mom (2011)

Digital e-motion is the term we used to describe this deeper combination of action and motivation, and below is a presentation that contains some of the results from our research on the digital e-motions of mothers.

Digital Moms: The Drivers of E-motion