Credentials for Unboxed consulting, a boutique market research firm with reach in Middle East and Africa

2. • Ever felt the lack of good quality boutique agencies in the region?
• Ever wished for “hands-on” senior management to work on ALL the stages
of your project – not just show up at the presentation…
• The MENA region has a tremendous dearth of high quality research
boutiques
• Unboxed was created with this simple need gap in mind
• Our motto? ‘Great heads, minus the overheads’.
• Our consultants have a minimum of 5 years experience – mandatory for
managing any project.
The Genesis
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3. • A fresh, street-smart, practical approach to research with the basics
rooted in marketing reality
• Providing market and cultural context to insights
• Project Consultants with Minimum of 5 years experience
• Small core team – knows the client’s business
• Senior researcher on the ground for every project
• Challenging in our outlook, not taking anything at face value
• Extensive experience in large multi-nationals
– so we know what to avoid 
Why UnBoxed?
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4. Some examples
of our work
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5. Some examples of our work
Trade Channel Analysis
• Analysis of trade channel performance for a blue chip
FMCG manufacturer
• Qualitative in-depth and semi-structured interviews
with retailers of various sizes to assess their
understanding of the distribution network and identify
key areas of dissatisfaction.
• Creative solutions for an operationally difficult project:
– Small retailers/ space constraint  use of cordless
headphones for client and translator to listen in
from a car outside the retailer
– Hypotheses generation and validation on the go 
Discussion topics modified across interviews to use
incremental learning and hone in on insights
– Multiple languages among the Asian retailers 
interviews conducted by multilingual researcher to
maintain continuity and add value to upcoming
interviews
B2B Customer Satisfaction
• Large scale research for an
international biotech equipment
and supplies manufacturer in
Saudi Arabia to assess
awareness, perceptions, overall
satisfaction and diagnostics on
key issues
• B2B CATI & web survey with
profiles such as Heads of
Departments, purchase decision
makers in research
institutes, large
hospitals, universities.
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6. Some examples of our work
Packaging Revamp
• Qual-Quant research for a dairy major for
packaging revamp across 9 categories
• Exploratory qual and ideation and to
understand packaging trends & preferences
• Followed by large scale CLT quantitative
matched panel evaluation of packaging
options.
Need-based Segmentation of Employees
• Understanding needs of employees of a
global FMCG manufacturer & a leading
global bank  including role of generation
gaps, culture, proximity to power centres.
• Study done with employees across ME (and
NA offices) to help develop HR policies and
to enhance employee engagement.
Large Scale Qual Consumer Labs
• Research to aid product development for a
global FMCG giant
• Two kinds of groups – half for product
development and half for testing fit with
concept
• On-site preparation of 29 beverage blends
by the client product team and creation of
on-the-spot variants based on feedback
from consumers on taste preferences
• Semi quantitative validation of preferences
through 1280 SCQs
Technology usability evaluation
• Study for a leading mobile phone
manufacturer to understand the impact of
high-end technology among low-end, entry
level consumers
• Multi-pronged methodology in-home
analysis of existing
technology, ethnography, in-depth
interviews followed by product placement
and a revisit after 2 months
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7. Some examples of our work
New category development
• Multi-stage research for the launch of a new
weight loss product in the region
– Expert interviews to provide holistic
understanding of the category and related
trends on health and beauty
– Consumer research to gain insights into
needs – a variety of projectives used to
understand a subject that is deeply
emotional
– Quantitative segmentation exercise based
on attitudes and needs using factor and
cluster analysis to identify marketable
segments
– Evaluating activation platforms at a
conceptual stage with evolved, creative
consumers
Brand Portfolio Restructuring
• Research for a global mobile major with a
vast portfolio of products at various price
points aimed at low-end, mid-range and
premium consumers
• Brand taking a beating at various levels with
other image brands eroding the top end and
feature rich brands stealing away low end
consumers
• Confusion in consumers’ minds about
portfolio structure leading to cannibalisation
and loss of share  hence research
conducted to delineate portfolio
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8. Some examples of our work
Deep-dive research on canned cheese
• Large scale exploratory research to
understand attitudes and develop positioning
• Understanding how cultural boundaries can
be pushed in communication
• Quick turnaround communication tests
Consumer labs in Africa
• Consumer kitchen ethnographies in Sudan
and Libya to understand storage and actual
usage of a dairy product
• Combination of pantry/ fridge
checks, observation of usage
methods, discussions with consumers
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Skin care research in KSA
• Interaction with Saudi women through blogs
to understand beauty and skin care – tasks
given to consumers
• Week long homework tasks followed by
extended qual interviews with consumers in
their home

9. Our Reach
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10. • All across the ME-NA region:
– All of the GCC
– The Levant – Lebanon, Syria, Jordan
– North Africa –
Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria
– Iran
– India
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Our Reach - Geography
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11. • Across a variety of categories –
FMCG, Finance, Services, Health/
Pharma, Government, Technology, Media
• We span the board
– Exploratory cultural understanding
– Needs research
– Segmentation
– Development and testing of Product/ Positioning/
Packaging/ Communication
– Usage and Attitude
– Product – Concept Tests
– Tracking Studies
– Satisfaction Studies
Our Expertise – Sectors / Types of work
Next >
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12. Want to Reach :
• Cutting Edge youth in Saudi Arabia?
• Middle Class housewives in Egypt?
• Small and Medium business or Corporates
in UAE?
• High Net-worth individuals in Qatar?
• Importers and distributers of industrial
products?
• Decision makers for corporate equipment
purchase?
Our Reach – Consumer Profile
• Social Class A / B / C1C2 / DE in Iran?
• Car buyers in India?
• Financial / FMCG / Advertising audiences?
• Online users / Bloggers / Chatters / Texters?
• Luxury brand users?
• IT retailers, wholesalers are distributors in
UAE?
• 4x4 Enthusiasts to budget car owners?
We can reach these and beyond…
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13. Our Toolbox
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14. Our experience and capabilities extend to a wide array of services and
methodologies
Our Toolbox
Quantitative
Research
Training and
Facilitation
Qualitative
Research
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15. FOCUS GROUPS
• Multicultural native language moderators (including different Arabic dialects)
• Trained moderators well versed with rapport building and adept at different projective
techniques for everything from regular groups to consumer labs and ideation sessions
• Mix of venues: hotels with CCTV, focus group facilities and coffee shops/restaurants
depending on the consumer profile and comfort
• Apart from viewing and simultaneous translation into English, the client can listen in -
via telephone or the web (select locations)
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Qualitative Research
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IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS
• Meeting and interviewing high-profile or hard to get respondents is what we thrive
on
• We can easily reach :
– Ultra High net worth individuals
– B2B type of customers
– Low penetration categories
– Opinion leaders, media personnel or cultural experts
– Socially Sensitive topics interviews are something we do regularly – even in
difficult markets like Saudi Arabia & Iran

16. ONLINE RESEARCH
• From basic desk research to trend spotting, blog trawling and Bulletin Board research
• We have met youth online and in virtual worlds to understand their habits and attitudes
• Online discussions – either with a set of respondents or one on one help break geographical
and access barriers
• We have moderators who are internet savvy and can interact with consumers online
ETHNOGRAPHY
• Nothing beats meeting the consumer in their own environment - we specialise in
Ethnography and have spent time ranging from a couple of hours to a couple of days
with consumers for a variety of clients
• Our 'near respondent' profile moderators blend in with the consumer as much as
possible.
• Applications include Accompanied Shopping, Slice of Life analysis, Product/ Brand Usage
Observation, Media Habits, General Cultural Understanding – to name a few
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Qualitative Research
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CONSUMER CONTACT PROGRAMMES
New Marketing Director? New Target market? Want to go into a Saudi home? Hang out
with teens? Have lunch with a business owner?
• We can set up a consumer contact program for you - from a one-off experience to an
ongoing journey to understand customers better
• We have organized yearly programs for brand teams of our MNC clients to stay in touch
with their customers
As they say, “If u want to see how lions behave – don’t go to the zoo!!! Go to the jungle…”

17. • A wide range of Quantitative Research options. Our robust field team is capable
of handling fieldwork and deliver to you cleaned data in the format you desire
• We undertake most kinds of quantitative research studies including Usage &
Attitudes, Communication Testing, Product Tests (including STM), Customer &
Employee Satisfaction, Brand Tracking , Pricing Research, but are happy
• Our field is locally based in-market and our supervisors have 4+ years of
experience in managing small and large scale regional projects
• Methodologies include Face to Face, CATI, CAPI, Web surveys
Ask us about our mystery shopping program
• We can conduct mystery shops for a variety of product & service categories
among both consumers and trade
• Reporting can be tailored to be online for ongoing and regular programs
• The ‘shopping’ can vary from basic observation to detailed interactions including
actual purchase
• Can be done physically, over the phone or even through website (e.g. customer
support evaluation)
• We have native language speakers from various SEC profiles –male and
female, young and old – from whom to choose the ones closest to the customer
profile
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Quantitative Research
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18. We are ILM approved (ILM is one of the leading training institutes from the UK
which conducts training and leadership courses worldwide)
Do you need someone to:
• Train researchers in Qualitative techniques including
Moderation, Body language, analysis, proposal writing,
Projective Techniques? (Junior to Mid-management)
• Help create cutting edge PowerPoint presentations?
• Help uncover the potential of technology in research and
presentations?
• Run a brainstorming workshop?
• Do a brand activation session?
We are here to help!
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Training and Facilitation

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Some of our clients…