Insights from the BBC on researching ‘challenging’ markets

The BBC World Service has learned to make a small research budget go a long way in challenging markets.

The BBC is perhaps the best-known British brand in the world, thanks in part to its news gathering operation which is one of the largest anywhere.  The BBC World Service, in particular, reaches 390 million people on average every week in 42 languages across TV, radio and, increasingly, digital channels like YouTube and Facebook, in its role to educate and inform. So when it comes to audience research, its small team of 15 people faces a daunting task to cover 70 markets, some of which are “challenging”.

At Qual360 (Berlin, February 2020), a qualitative research conference organised by Merlien Institute,...

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