Market researchers and the market research industry more generally have paid little attention to the history of market research. This inattention to the past has not only resulted in a significant gap in our knowledge of market research and history more generally, it has also obscured the benefits that can be derived from an understanding of history. Using letters, reports and survey contained in the Ashby Research Service archive at the State Library of New South Wales in Australia, this article seeks to illustrate the benefits to be derived from undertaking historical research on market research and those involved in the market research business. By examining some of the cultural factors informing market research business practices and the ways that the marketing and the media industries have interacted with market researchers, this article not only takes step in addressing the gap in our knowledge of market research history, it also demonstrates the relevance and importance of market research history for business and marketing historians and, indeed, market research scholars and practitioners.
ArnottW. (1952). ‘Letter to S Ashby’. Box 55, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
2.
Ashby Research Service (1960). ‘New biscuit test’, box 33, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
3.
Ashby Research Service (1971). ‘Survey of biscuit advertising’. Box 88, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
4.
Ashby Research Service (1972). ‘Re-call of Arnott’s advertising through December 1971’. Box 88, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
5.
AshbyS. R. (1953). ‘Letter to F Packer’. Box 57, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
6.
AshbyS. R. (1958). ‘Miss Ashby’s notes re visit to USA 1958’. Box 41, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
7.
AshbyS. R. (1968). ‘Letter to W Arnott’. Box 66, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
8.
AshbyS. R. (1979a). The twenties and thirties. In McNairW. A. (Ed.), Some reflections on the first fifty years of market research in Australia 1928–1978 (pp. 8–14). Market Research Society of Australia, NSW Division.
9.
AshbyS. R. (1979b). The forties. In McNairW. A. (Ed.), Some reflections on the first fifty years of market research in Australia 1928–1978 (pp. 26–34). Market Research Society of Australia, NSW Division.
10.
BerghoffH.ScrantonP.SpiekermannU. (2012). The origins of marketing and market research: information, institutions, and markets. In BerghoffH.ScrantonP.SpiekermannU. (Eds.), The rise of marketing and market research (pp. 1–26). Palgrave. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137071286_1
11.
BlytheI. (2005). The making of an industry. Market Research Society.
12.
BordenN. H. (1967). Daniel Starch. Journal of Marketing, 21(3), 265–267.
13.
CrawfordR. (2016). Opening for business: A comparison of the J. Walter Thompson and McCann Erickson agencies’ entries into the Australian market. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 8(3), 452–472. https://doi.org/10.1108/jhrm-12-2014-0035
14.
CrawfordR. (2019). Testing the market: The ashby research service and Australian consolidated press. Journal of Australian Studies, 43(2), 236–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2019.1585926
15.
CrawfordR. (2020). A matter of trust: The Ashby Research Service and the business of market research. Australian Economic History Review, 60(3), 346–371. https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.12183
16.
CrawfordR.BaileyM. (2018). Speaking of research: Oral history and marketing history. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 10(1), 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1108/jhrm-02-2017-0007
17.
CrawfordR.DickensonJ. (2016). Behind glass doors: The world of Australian advertising agencies, 1959–1989. University of Western Australia Publishing.
FarnsworthL. (1949). ‘Letter to S Ashby’. Box 55, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
20.
Foster DavisJ. (2013). Realizing marketplace opportunity: how research on the black consumer market influenced mainstream marketers, 1920-1970. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 5(4), 471–493. https://doi.org/10.1108/jhrm-02-2013-0006
21.
HutchingsK. (1996). The battle for consumer power: Post-war women and advertising. Journal of Australian Studies, 20(50–51), 66–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/14443059609387279
22.
JonesD. G. (2013). Pauline Arnold (1894–1974): Pioneer in market research. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 5(3), 291–307. https://doi.org/10.1108/jhrm-01-2013-0001
23.
JonesD. G. B. (2012). Pioneers in marketing: A collection of biographical essays. Routledge.
24.
KingstonB. (1994). Basket, bag & trolley: A history of shopping in Australia. Oxford University Press.
25.
McLeodA. (2003). ‘The lady means business’: Marketing to the electrical appliance consumer in the 1950s and 60s. Melbourne Historical Journal, 31, 54–73. https://doi.org/10.1383/medc.31.8.11.27680.
26.
McLeodA. (2007). Abundance: Buying and selling in postwar Australia. Australian Scholarly Publishing.
27.
McLeodA. (2009). ‘Pseudo-scientific hokus pokus’: Motivational research’s Australian application. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 1(2), 224–245. https://doi.org/10.1108/17557500910974596
28.
McNairW. A.LarbalestierM. (1979c). Preface. In McNairW. A. (Ed.), Some reflections on the first fifty years of market research in Australia 1928–1978 (p. 3). Market Research Society of Australia.
29.
‘Misc Publicity Materials’ (nd). Box 43, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
30.
NunanD.YallopA. C. (2019). Making the case for context: Creating value from market research history. International Journal of Market Research, 61(6), 585–587. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470785319847648
31.
ParameswaranR.ParameswaranK. (2018). Towards an early history (1955-1975) of marketing research in India. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 10(3), 331–354. https://doi.org/10.1108/jhrm-06-2017-0036
ReekieG. (1993). Temptations: Sex, selling, and the department store. Allen & Unwin.
34.
Rosa-SalasM. (2019). Making the mass white: How racial segregation shaped consumer segmentation. In JohnsonG.ThomasK.HarrisonA.GrierS. (Eds.), Race in the marketplace. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11711-5_2
35.
RossJ (1952). ‘Letter to S Ashby’. Box 55, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
36.
SchwarzkopfS. (2007). Transatlantic invasions or common culture? Modes of cultural and economic exchange between the American and the British Advertising Industries, 1945-2000. In WinerJ.HamptonM. (Eds.), Anglo-American media interactions, 1850-2000 (pp. 254–274). Palgrave.
37.
SchwarzkopfS. (2009). Discovering the consumer: Market research, product innovation, and the creation of brand loyalty in Britain and the United States in the interwar years. Journal of Macromarketing, 29(1), 8–20. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0276146708327615.
38.
SchwarzkopfS. (2016). In search of the consumer: The history of market research from 1890 to 1960. In JonesB.TadjewskiM. (Eds.), The routledge companion to marketing history (pp. 61–83). Routledge.
39.
SchwarzkopfS.GriesR. (2010). Ernest Dichter, motivation research and the ‘Century of the Consumer’. In SchwarzkopfS.GriesR. (Eds.), Ernest Dichter and motivation research (pp. 3–38). Palgrave Macmillan.
40.
StuartH. (n d). ‘Market research pioneer’ box 42, Ashby research service records (1937–1972) MLMSS 8907. State Library of New South Wales.
41.
Sydney Morning Herald (1938) Women will talk to women. Fairfax. 17 November, p.22
42.
TadajewskiM., & JonesD. G. B. (2014). Historical research in marketing theory and practice: A review essay. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(11–12), 1239–1291. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2014.929166.
43.
WardD. B. (2009). Capitalism, early market research, and the creation of the American consumer. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 1(2), 200–223. https://doi.org/10.1108/17557500910974587
44.
‘Women will talk to Women’ (1938) (p. 22). Sydney Morning Herald. 17 November.
