Colin McDonald runs his own consultancy, McDonald Research, with a special interest in the design, conduct and interpretation of research in media, advertising and social contexts. After graduating from Oxford in classical languages, history and philosophy he worked in market research, first at Reckitt & Sons, then at BRMB, and finally as chairman of the research agency Communication Research Ltd, which specialized in the development, pre-testing and evaluation of advertisements and campaigns. During 30 years in the research world he has published extensively in business magazines and in the advertising trade press and writes mostly on matters to do with advertising effectiveness.