The work that surrounds us
We've tried to provide a flavour of the kind of projects we attract via case studies although confidentiality means we can't reveal too much detail.
It's worth stressing that these projects are more or less current. We're trying to give a sense of the work that surrounds us every day rather than dredging up only the interesting work we've done since inception.
How does it feel to be a young woman living your life in a major international city and how does that affect your personal care attitudes and priorities?
We coordinated a global study across the UK, US, South and Central America, Thailand, India and Russia. We asked young women to prepare collages in advance of the groups and, by integrating a semiotic analysis of them into our qualitative findings, we were able to add a cultural backdrop to enrich our understanding. This led to the discovery of a common global insight that helped shape the theme for our client’s product range.
How does a rainforest charity make its cause seem relevant again when it seems to have been overtaken by more recent ‘causes celebres’?
Saving the rainforests doesn’t seem as pressing anymore, when there are so many other environmental and humanitarian charities fighting for people’s share of charity spend. How can people be re-engaged effectively in terms of content and tone of voice? We conducted a staged, iterative project - starting in the UK and expanding overseas. We used an audition-style approach to assess a large number of communications concepts and a collage exercise to facilitate thorough mindset expression, so that a subsequent two-country quantitative stage could be best directed and refined.
If you let them loose on designing their own DIY equipment, is there much common ground between English blokes and French mecs?
What are their priorities and what are they prepared to trade off. A two country project covering the UK and France. We asked people to design their ideal device as well as contemplate their decision drivers prior to the groups, which meant that we had a wealth of data for analysis and some colourful material for the debrief presentation, to help everyone clearly see that consumers are no fools when it comes to tools.
Needs based segmentation is all very well, but who are the real live people represented within the segments?
We were tasked with exploring and validating a series of typologies in the world of laundry to help our client feel more in tune with their target consumer. We wanted to really get under their skin – finding out everything from ‘how they see themselves’, to ‘where do they keep their socks’ to ‘how do they feel in a new scarf’. We worked closely with an ethnographer and integrated his findings in our qualitative analysis. At the end of this fascinating 6 month project, we all felt so close to our target consumer it was almost unreal.
How do you stay ahead of the game, in the increasingly crowded sports drink market?
What’s going to energise and enthuse active people and serious sportsmen and women more than what’s already available? Especially when they are becoming increasingly savvy and health conscious. They now demand a solution that’s both effective in terms of specific ingredients yet holistically more than a chemical formula. In a three country study, we didn’t limit the sample to target consumers, consulting elite performers, trainers and sports nutritionists as well. This resulted in some surprising conclusions on who drives this market – consumers or experts? Not to mention an opportunity to pick up some top tips and even an autograph or two.