Seth Godin wrote, “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” In other words, people don’t consume brands, they have relationships with them. Understanding a consumer-brand relationship can provide the insight to drive brand and product development. Here are five digital qualitative techniques that get to the heart of consumer-brand relationships.

1. 5 digital
qualitative
techniques
that
get to the
heart of
consumer-
brand
relationships

2. #1 Mobile Spotter Diaries
This captures people’s encounters with a brand out in the world to understand its
presence in a person’s life. An example of a spotter diary would be to have
participants post a picture and a description of where they encountered Apple on a
given day.

3. #2 Photo Metaphor
A simple metaphor activity asks participants to post an image that represents a
particular brand. Using images as vehicles for metaphors is a powerful way to help
people access their emotions, as Gerald Zaltman described in ‘How Customers Think’.

4. #3 Letter Writing
Having participants write a letter to a brand is one of the simplest and most powerful
activities to use in understanding how people truly feel about a brand. It takes them
into the realm of describing a relationship, where emotions surface more easily.

5. #4 Can it Go There?
This activity asks participants to discuss a new idea (brand extension, marketing
campaign etc.) for a brand. They post their opinion, and are invited to comment on
other participants’ answers. Setting a task to interact with others fuels discussion,
capturing expression and granting rich understanding.

6. #5 Eulogies
In a eulogy activity, participants are asked to imagine what the loss of a brand would
mean to them and how they might replace it. For example, how would you feel if you
could no longer buy your favorite brand of soup? This activity gets to the heart of a
consumer’s affinity to a product.

7. Want to
learn more?
Get in touch at:
info@revelationglobal.com
or call +1 503.808.1492.
www.revelationglobal.com
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