Meet Anthony O’Brien, Vice President ANZ. Today, Anthony discusses why PureSpectrum technology is integral to cutting-edge global research and how the platform has become an innovation leader.
Q: What brought you to PureSpectrum?
A: Whilst I have only been with PureSpectrum for 6 months, I have many years of experience working within ResTech for the leading household names in the industry. What attracted me to take my current role at PureSpectrum was great tech, great management, great people, and opportunity. So I jumped at the chance to join PureSpectrum and lead the ANZ office. It’s thrilling to lead the charge of building the PureSpectrum brand from the ground up in this region.
The talent destiny of the PureSpectrum team overall was a huge draw. I’m grateful to be able to work under incredible leaders like Michael McCrary, Mark Menig, David Butler, Todd Meyers, and Steven Hughes. Additionally, the opportunity to work alongside James Rogers for the third time was also quite appealing.
Q: Why do you believe that ANZ research needs PureSpectrum innovations?
A: Now is the time for brands, research insights, and data collection companies to embrace technology as it becomes further customized for cutting-edge research. It’s funny because, in other aspects of life, we don’t even register how much technology we rely on! I’ve thought a lot about what Michael said in his recent article. He drove home the point that real innovation makes life easier. It’s so true! Think about online banking, or even travel. Gone are the days of visiting a bank manager or travel agent. Now almost everything can be handled online by individuals and we no longer think twice about the automation it takes to achieve this.
The ANZ markets need to think about adopting the innovations offered by PureSpectrum as a toolkit to effectively enhance their business. Our Marketplace Platform can help improve their fieldwork and data collection needs and let them take advantage of all those great benefits of automation. Reduced time, increased efficiencies, reduction in spend, transparency, the list of perks goes on and on. Our platform does make life easier.
Q: What’s a common hurdle you have to address with potential customers?
A: Data and deliverables. Australia is very particular about this subject and I get asked about it a lot. There is always that question of why is your data better? In previous roles responses would be focused around the standard industry norms and tools (i.e. imperium, etc.) however that is not the case here at PureSpectrum. We have something special and unique to tackle the issue head-on, PureScore™. PureScore™ is our machine learning algorithm that rates respondents based on their behaviors in surveys. We have metrics that show we are keeping bad respondents from taking surveys and ensuring that the data received by a client is much stronger than that collected by our competitors.
Truly, I haven’t had any data quality issues with the clients and the projects I’ve run on the PureSpectrum Marketplace. I feel this is such a testament to the fact that PureScore™ is working. The methodology is unique, it’s like nothing else in the research landscape.
Q: What excites you about the future of market research?
A: I am excited about the industry’s growth potential. It has been flat in some areas for a while but it seems to me that the industry as a whole is growing globally. I think some of that growth is coming from non-traditional avenues that are now embracing technology to automate insights directly. Again, it’s exciting to be a part of an organization that is leading that charge.
To me, technology is only going to get better and better. Automation is only going to become more user-friendly. The benefit of having a toolkit at your disposal that can be used anytime, anywhere is only going to get stronger. The use case and the feature’s functionality are only going to get better. I think more people are going to be receptive to DIY-type self-serve solutions rather than a manual service specifically for market research as time progresses.
Q: What has been a highlight during your tenure at PureSpectrum?
A: I have immense pride in the brand we are building. In a short time, I’ve been able to show clients what our platforms are capable of. It’s always a highlight when you convert a previous customer and show them what an incredible offering PureSpectrum has. I love showing them firsthand how quickly they can field projects internationally, how amazing the data quality is and what kind of impressive support they get from our team. Every time a new client comes on board and trusts our offerings, it reinforces what an incredible job we are doing.
Simplicity by design, quality of data, great UI, great interface. More and more clients are becoming receptive to us. Not just off the back of the relationships that I’ve formed, but also from the new customers that I’ve had nothing to do with over the 12 or 15 years that I’ve worked in the industry. This sort of industry reception is always a highlight. The sky’s the limit to what we will achieve at PureSpectrum.
Interested in connecting with Anthony and learning more about how PureSpectrum innovations can help make your life easier? Connect with him below or reach out on LinkedIn.