Summary
This article describes how the principles of behavioural economics were successfully put into practice by Barack Obama's team in the November 2012 US presidential election. The article describes the interventions that were used and how these interventions worked with the general principles that can be applied to other areas of marketing. Such principles include: mapping the behavioural journey of potential voters, encouraging people to make a plan to vote, requesting people sign a 'commit to vote' card, reminding people of their identity as voters, comparing voting behaviour to neighbourhood average turnout rates and countering myths, lies and slander.

Summary
This article looks at the state of the advertising industry, based on the findings of a survey of US consumers and advertising executives conducted by the 4A's and McCann Erickson. While over three-quarters of shoppers feel largely positive about advertising, some 70% of the industry panel believe the industry's best days are over.

Summary
Conducting market research in emerging economies can be difficult for many reasons, such as social inequality, violence, inefficient transportation or poor communications infrastructure. Helga Mora Santamaria and Catalina Mejía report on the work Colombian market research firm YanHaas carried out for the military forces there on perceptions of security. Researchers had to cope with travel restrictions imposed by unnamed individuals, intimidation and kidnap, all of which forced a re-appraisal of their methodology, in terms of sampling, questionnaire design, fieldwork and quality control.

Summary
Rafiq Ullah Kakar, of Opinion Research Center of Afghanistan, outlines the myriad challenges faced in conducting good quality research in Afghanistan - a vast and insecure country. Researchers have to contend with violence, intimidation, corruption, ethnic, linguistic and gender differences, extensive illiteracy, hostility to research and strict cultural restrictions on access to households. His paper addresses what can be done to overcome these difficulties, including securing the help of village elders, implementing small development programs and operating a team of independent quality monitors. Three case studies highlight the dangers faced by interviewers.

Summary
This paper discusses the results of an opinion poll conducted after the first democratic Constituent Assembly election in Tunisia which followed the Arab Spring political revolution. The paper covers the opinions of citizens on the outcome of the elections, specifically outlining the research model conducted and the results of the poll as well as identifying the factors that were likely to influence voters' choices.

Summary
This paper outlines the political opinion poll conducted in Fiji by Australian international policy think-tank, the Lowy Institute. Specifically it provides an overview of Fiji-Australian relations before the poll, the Institute's role in the two country's relations, how the poll was conducted and the final results. The poll covered a wide range of topics including attitudes towards the current political regime, foreign policy and democracy. The paper also outlines the reactions of the findings of the poll from the governments of Australia and Fiji, academics and the media and lessons the case study provided for the Institute, governments and the market research industry.

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The Philippines lags behind its South East Asian neighbours in terms of tourism numbers and tourism campaigns had been in abeyance for some time after the previous one had to be withdrawn after being heavily criticised. The ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ campaign aimed to attract tourists through engaging the Filipino population on social media to share their experiences of fun in the Philippines. Three Powerpoint slides were released online which set the visual tone and theme of the communication. Several hours later these slides were adapted and shared on social media which built an almost immediate global awareness for the campaign. Within three months, overseas visitors to the Philippines had increased by 16%.

Summary
Opinion polls are the currency of politics. They are used by media organisations to evaluate the performance of governments, and by governments and political parties to test the policies that shape manifestos and reform agendas. But opinion polls all rely on one thing – asking people how they themselves intend to vote – and, too often, classical opinion research techniques fail to confront the issues that underpin inaccuracy. In the UK and in many other countries around the world, their performance over the past 20 years has ranged from excellent to disastrous. The ‘Wisdom of Crowds’ concept turns conventional predictions on their head. It assumes that any crowd that conforms to a core set of principles is capable of delivering a more accurate prediction than the smartest people within it. This paper tests this proposition within the context of actual elections in the UK, showing that the Wisdom of Crowds approach used by ICM Research at the 2010 general election would have produced the most accurate final pre-election prediction. It also shows that a Wisdom approach to regular vote intention tracking produces an interesting complement to classically conducted vote intention polls. Or, if one were to be bold, a competitor to them.

Summary
A paper discussing the role of opinion research, arguing that the discipline could become the hub of inspiration for corporate communications. At its best, the author goes on to claim, opinion research can enable companies to be reflexive, to act and respond to both marked changes and nuanced shifts in opinion and to inform strategy. But in the UK at least, the relationship between corporate communications and opinion research has been limited. To overcome this, the author advocates that researchers take what currently works best in the area of reputation research and synthesise it with new areas of innovation in neuroscience and behavioural economics.

Summary
One of the fastest-changing consumer sectors in China is the mobile handset market, where several brands, both international and domestic, battle it out to win the hearts and minds of the Chinese consumer. Online research carried out by Holaba looks at some of the drivers in this sector as well as how different demographic groups and regions respond to brands.