Marketing researchers are not supposed to FUG or SUG. That's fundraising under the guise of research, and sales under the guise of research. It's all in our code of conduct and stuff. [Of course, now that any bunny can send out a survey, these codes get violated a lot.]
In the last few years, I've noticed an enormous amount of something I'm calling PUGGING. That would be politicking under the guise of research. I regularly get mailers from the government and political parties (even when an election isn't on), asking simplistic questions that all have positive answers. I bet you've seen a few of these yourself. Questions like this: Do you believe people should be able to find a doctors when they are sick? Do you want to support vital research that could save lives? Should children have enough food to eat? Would you like to save on taxes? Are you concerned about the environment? Is the Pope Catholic?
A fine example of this showed up in my e-mail today. They thought I might want to share this good new policy with a dozen or so friends of mine. If you know a dozen or so people you'd like to share this good news with, you can sign them up here. http://survey.conservative.ca/e/homebuyers/
These are fine examples of the art of direct marketing, but they aren't surveys.
I was looking carefully at the web address, and wondered just how many 'surveys' of this type they have going?
If you are ever tempted to engage in this kind of marketing, you need to understand one thing. People may confuse your brand for a political party. I'm just saying... something to consider.
