As my colleague Tamara Barber mentioned, we are in full countdown mode to our Marketing Forum 2011, to be held April 5 and 6 in San Francisco — only four weeks to go! For me, the weather isn’t quite the draw it is for Tamara (I’m based in Denver, and we’ve had some very nice spring weather as of late). But I’m very excited about two things. First, the ocean views (this is what I miss most about the East Coast, and I need to soak up the sight of the ocean any chance I get). Second, the content we’ll be unveiling over the course of the two days, three if you count the Market Insights Council sessions on Monday. These days are going to be jam-packed with fabulous speakers , so many that I’m glad I still have four weeks to figure out how I’m going to fit them all in!

Of course, I’m partial to the sessions that we’ve created just for Market Insight professionals. And even more partial to my session: “What Can Youth Research Teach Us About 21st-Century Market Insights?”Throughout our sessions, we’re exploring the future of market insights, and what better way to dive into the topic than to examine researching the very consumers who are companies’ futures?

 I have a fantastic group of panelists joining me, including research professionals from brainjuicer, Spych Research, and MTV Networks. We are going to have a dynamic discussion on the various methodologies these companies (and their clients) are using to garner insights from this hard-to-reach (and understand) target market. Each member will share a case study with us about a particular project they’ve undertaken, highlighting what worked and what didn’t work. We’ll also talk about how these methodologies translate (or don’t) to other target groups and what these methodologies mean for the future of the research industry. Then, of course, we’ll open the discussion up to all of you.

I hope to see you in the audience so we can get your questions answered. If you can’t attend but would still like to ask some questions, just reach out to me, and I’ll be happy to field them on your behalf!

See you in a few weeks!