The WCAI “Research Opportunity” process is a unique approach to bring together corporate partners and top academics around a data-oriented challenge. Because Research Opportunities often focus on new data sources and relatively un-researched areas, the scholars working on Research Opportunities often create completely new ways of analyzing the data and providing business insight. The process is designed to minimize the time requirements for the corporate partner, but still truly engage them in the research, giving them a chance to understand their own business issues more deeply and benefit from the insights of top faculty from marketing, computer science, information systems, statistics and other data-driven disciplines.

The Research Opportunity includes a comprehensive process of defining the opportunity, holding a live webinar to discuss the available data, selecting the most intriguing research proposals, distributing the data, supporting the research and, finally, the reporting and publication of research findings. Click here for more information about the Research Opportunity process. See below to view a sample of a Research Opportunity webinar.

Please note: The Research Opportunity webinars are posted here for a research-focused audience and should not be quoted, paraphrased or otherwise utilized without written permission of WCAI. Any media inquiries or requests for quotes about the projects should be directed to Rebecca Alig.

For more information on our Current Research Opportunities (in progress), please click the titles below:

• Organic: Display and Search Advertising 
• Expedia: Predicting & Optimizing Consumer Response to Product Search Results 
• StubHub: Relationship Marketing at StubHub
• Russ Reid/American Red Cross: Cultivating Disaster Donors
• Sirius XM Radio Inc.: Predicting Customer Acquisition and Retention Using Structured & Semi-Structured Data
• Global Consumer Goods brand: If you LIKE will you buy? New Data on Social Media Exposure and Purchase Behaior

For information about other Research Opportunities, contact Elea Feit, WCAI Research Director.