The document discusses consumer insights and whether they are overrated or underdefined. It begins by looking at how consumer research companies emphasize insights in their branding. It then questions whether successes truly require insights by examining examples like the iPad, Yakult probiotics, and Emirates airline. Insights are defined rigorously as needing to be revelatory, directive, about consumers not the business, and addressing an unmet need. An example insight from P&G about parents craving sleep is provided. Alternative approaches like developing a "web of understanding" of consumers and combining this with "outsights" from categories, culture, and academia are suggested.
An introduction to advertising planning / strategyverityw
When I started planning I had little idea what my job was. Like, I knew the theory that I'm curious, a problem solver etc. etc. but what do I actually DO every day. Plus, most planning happens in people's heads, so unlike account management, it's hard to watch and learn. I've put this together in the hope that it explains what a planner does. At least, after showing this to my husband he said he finally understands what my job is...
I've included photos I found online. I don't claim to own these, I've borrowed them. If one's yours and you don't want me to use it, please let me know and I won't.
The original presentation has gifs. If you can tell me how to keep this alive while sharing please let me know.
We’ve been drawing on Byron Sharp’s work at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute to help explain how brands can grow to become market leaders. Let's break down the difference between differentiation and distinctiveness, and which of the two unlocks the potential for true brand innovation.
The slides from my inaugural creative brief writing workshop. Theory and practice. Attendees had to complete a brief prior to the session, and their work was used to illustrate best brief writing practice. More sessions to follow.
An introduction to advertising planning / strategyverityw
When I started planning I had little idea what my job was. Like, I knew the theory that I'm curious, a problem solver etc. etc. but what do I actually DO every day. Plus, most planning happens in people's heads, so unlike account management, it's hard to watch and learn. I've put this together in the hope that it explains what a planner does. At least, after showing this to my husband he said he finally understands what my job is...
I've included photos I found online. I don't claim to own these, I've borrowed them. If one's yours and you don't want me to use it, please let me know and I won't.
The original presentation has gifs. If you can tell me how to keep this alive while sharing please let me know.
We’ve been drawing on Byron Sharp’s work at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute to help explain how brands can grow to become market leaders. Let's break down the difference between differentiation and distinctiveness, and which of the two unlocks the potential for true brand innovation.
The slides from my inaugural creative brief writing workshop. Theory and practice. Attendees had to complete a brief prior to the session, and their work was used to illustrate best brief writing practice. More sessions to follow.
A go-to-market strategy (GTM strategy) is an action plan that specifies how a company will reach customers and achieve competitive advantage. The purpose of a GTM strategy is to provide a blueprint for delivering a product or service to the end customer, taking into account such factors as pricing and distribution. A GTM strategy is somewhat similar to a business plan, although the latter is broader in scope and considers such factors as funding.
Useful Thoughts From Advertising MentorsVishal Ostwal
I read Praveen Vaidyanathan's tweets a while ago in which he had shared some of the most useful thoughts from his mentors.
All of them inspired me and I felt like the words should reach more people. So I put them together in the following deck.
You'll love them.
They're pure gold.
#Advertising
We make brands stronger and brand leaders smarter. Here's how we can help:
1. We lead workshops to define your brand, helping you uncover a unique, own-able Brand Positioning Statement and an organizing Big Idea that transforms your brand’s DNA into a consumer-centric and winning brand reputation.
2. We lead workshops to build a strategic Brand Plan that will optimize your resources and motivates everyone that touches the brand to follow the plan.
3. We coach on Marketing execution, helping build programs that create a bond with your consumers, to ensure your investment drives growth on your brand.
4. We will build a Brand Management Training Program, so you can unleash the full potential of your Marketing team, enabling them to contribute smart and exceptional Marketing work that drives brand growth.
5. Our Executive Coaching program is designed to help Marketing Leaders get smarter, and then drive stronger performance on their brands. Executives can use their increased knowledge to help their own teams get smarter.
What kind of name will work hardest for you? Should the name literally describe the offering, or should it suggest a benefit? Is it better to imply an idea, or to invoke a brand’s history? Getting the answer to these questions will help you choose the right name. But before you can do that, you have to know your options.
Презентация о том, как правильно писать креативный бриф и зачем это нужно.
Написана специально для выступления перед бренд менеджерами компании Unilever.
Создана на основе аналогичной презентации Мити Воскресенского http://duckofdoom.ru/
Jonathan Lee, Managing Director, Brand Strategy, and Ken Allard, Managing Director, Business Strategy at HUGE, gave this presentation at "Ambidexterity 2," the VCU Brandcenter's Executive Education program for account planning on June 24th at the VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, VA.
Lovemarks Presentation - Brand Pioneers April 9 2013Panelteam
Lovemarks
Arjan Kapteijns – CEO Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is the Lovemarks company. Arjan looked closely at the question: What makes some brands inspirational, while others struggle? With inspiring case studies he will explain what Lovemarks are and how they deliver beyond their expectations of great performance.
Back to basics: Creative brief workshop
Becky McOwen-Banks
Before great creative work can be done it's key to create the environment in which creative work can be produced.
In this pres we look at the processes and provide a few tips for those with a hankering for effective creative work. Skewed for the in-house relationships but applicable for anyone involved in the creative process.
Covers: structure, department relationships, Briefs, idea generation, evaluating creative work and feedback
Branding and communications workshop 2012Anna Quintero
These are the materials I used to lead a workshop with my friends at Androidzoom (now known as Appszoom). Here you'll find the quickest vision on what Marketing is, and then a deeper detail on branding and communications to foster business growth.
The planning, creative and broader marketing community uses insights or an insight to get to ideas that will solve their marketing or business problems. This is a brief exploration into the definition of the insight.
First things first, I want to make a statement here and some of you may
agree some of you may disagree.
I want to say that standard “text only”sales letters still work. They still work
today but because people are just seeing them over and over and over
again. A lot of people have got used to it. Yes, they still converse. The only
real way of knowing whether or not they're going to convert for you is by
testing it.
A go-to-market strategy (GTM strategy) is an action plan that specifies how a company will reach customers and achieve competitive advantage. The purpose of a GTM strategy is to provide a blueprint for delivering a product or service to the end customer, taking into account such factors as pricing and distribution. A GTM strategy is somewhat similar to a business plan, although the latter is broader in scope and considers such factors as funding.
Useful Thoughts From Advertising MentorsVishal Ostwal
I read Praveen Vaidyanathan's tweets a while ago in which he had shared some of the most useful thoughts from his mentors.
All of them inspired me and I felt like the words should reach more people. So I put them together in the following deck.
You'll love them.
They're pure gold.
#Advertising
We make brands stronger and brand leaders smarter. Here's how we can help:
1. We lead workshops to define your brand, helping you uncover a unique, own-able Brand Positioning Statement and an organizing Big Idea that transforms your brand’s DNA into a consumer-centric and winning brand reputation.
2. We lead workshops to build a strategic Brand Plan that will optimize your resources and motivates everyone that touches the brand to follow the plan.
3. We coach on Marketing execution, helping build programs that create a bond with your consumers, to ensure your investment drives growth on your brand.
4. We will build a Brand Management Training Program, so you can unleash the full potential of your Marketing team, enabling them to contribute smart and exceptional Marketing work that drives brand growth.
5. Our Executive Coaching program is designed to help Marketing Leaders get smarter, and then drive stronger performance on their brands. Executives can use their increased knowledge to help their own teams get smarter.
What kind of name will work hardest for you? Should the name literally describe the offering, or should it suggest a benefit? Is it better to imply an idea, or to invoke a brand’s history? Getting the answer to these questions will help you choose the right name. But before you can do that, you have to know your options.
Презентация о том, как правильно писать креативный бриф и зачем это нужно.
Написана специально для выступления перед бренд менеджерами компании Unilever.
Создана на основе аналогичной презентации Мити Воскресенского http://duckofdoom.ru/
Jonathan Lee, Managing Director, Brand Strategy, and Ken Allard, Managing Director, Business Strategy at HUGE, gave this presentation at "Ambidexterity 2," the VCU Brandcenter's Executive Education program for account planning on June 24th at the VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, VA.
Lovemarks Presentation - Brand Pioneers April 9 2013Panelteam
Lovemarks
Arjan Kapteijns – CEO Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is the Lovemarks company. Arjan looked closely at the question: What makes some brands inspirational, while others struggle? With inspiring case studies he will explain what Lovemarks are and how they deliver beyond their expectations of great performance.
Back to basics: Creative brief workshop
Becky McOwen-Banks
Before great creative work can be done it's key to create the environment in which creative work can be produced.
In this pres we look at the processes and provide a few tips for those with a hankering for effective creative work. Skewed for the in-house relationships but applicable for anyone involved in the creative process.
Covers: structure, department relationships, Briefs, idea generation, evaluating creative work and feedback
Branding and communications workshop 2012Anna Quintero
These are the materials I used to lead a workshop with my friends at Androidzoom (now known as Appszoom). Here you'll find the quickest vision on what Marketing is, and then a deeper detail on branding and communications to foster business growth.
The planning, creative and broader marketing community uses insights or an insight to get to ideas that will solve their marketing or business problems. This is a brief exploration into the definition of the insight.
First things first, I want to make a statement here and some of you may
agree some of you may disagree.
I want to say that standard “text only”sales letters still work. They still work
today but because people are just seeing them over and over and over
again. A lot of people have got used to it. Yes, they still converse. The only
real way of knowing whether or not they're going to convert for you is by
testing it.
Agile marketing, or why and how to increase your pace of learningFranky Athill
An illustrated presentation on why and how to increase the pace of learning to meet the exponentially increasing rate of change in the advertising, marketing and PR industries.
7.5 Tips for Becoming a Brainstorming GeniusBrightEdge
Katie Fetting's sermon on why what you say is rapidly becoming less important than how you say it. Learn to brainstorm content that's clearer, wittier, and cooler than your competition.
Everyone sells, even you. Learn a simple, easy way to sell by thinking like a buyer, not a seller. Every sales cycle has four phases, but learn why the second one – educating your buyer – can make or break the deal. I’ll teach you the 5 step CM!(tm) process, set you up with a toolbox full of ideas, and get you started on how to become a convincing expert.
For audio and slides, go to http://theideamechanic.com/convince-me-indieconf-2010-soundslides
Dunkin Donuts
My name
Institution
Course
Instructor
Date
Introduction
Consumer Reference
Feasibility Test
Market Scope
Testing and Customer Acceptance
Staffing
Roll Out Plan
CUSTOMER PREFERENCE
Market research and analysis
Competitor strategies
There is need to do market analysis so as to understand further what the customers want. Without market research, products and services offered will be null and void. Market research will also help understand what kind of product the customer and it is not being offered by competitors. It helps the business understand the strategies of competitors. The business will find ways of outperforming competitors based on what the customers prefer.
3
FEASIBILITY TEST
Costs of starting the business
Profit projections
It is important to perform a feasibility test so to find out how much the business will cost. This the point that determines whether it is worth investing in the business. This where a forecast will be made to see projections. How long will it take the business to realize profits.
4
MARKET SCOPE
Customers explore new brands
Implement new technologies
Make informed decisions
Undertaking market scope is to find the rational consumers who are keen on trying to explore new brands in the market. This phase helps in implementing new techniques of how to to do business. It will assist the company in making informed decisions hence reducing customer loss. It enables the company to meet customer demands effectively. Satisfied customers will ensure that the business keep growing.
5
CUSTOMER ACCEPTANCE
The ultimate goal for every study is to answer key questions and provide up-to-date and reliable information to support the client’s strategic business planning.
Pricing strategies
The best way for a business to penetrate the market is if the customers accept the products and services that are being offered by the business. Here the business will set prices that are favorable to the customers. Not too high to push away consumers and not too low to avoid making losses.
6
DUNKIN’S STAFFING
Employ qualified employees
Employees who share the visions of the business
Clearly state roles of each employee
Services will not perform themselves. A business needs employees to attend to customers. A business needs qualified employees who relate easily to customers and work faster to meet the requests of customers. Good employees will the reason customers keep coming to buy from the business. If the area is full youths, the business needs youths who can easily understand the demands of customers.
7
ROLL OUT
Identify your niche and make sure the uniqueness of your product stands out.
Brand the product well in order to attract new customers as well.
Perform a SWOT analysis and monitor your products’ life cycle.
After all factors have been considered and observed, it is time to roll out the business. The best to win customers when the business becomes operational is to .
Presentation from October 4, 2015: Arts Midwest Orchestras 20/20: Context, Connection, Collaboration. An attempt to lay out the context of audience, competition, technology and strategy - then a set of practical steps to get things done.
Startups growths using LEAN principles and culture Efi Ben Artzy.Luke Turkus Solarski
Startups growths using LEAN principles and culture Efi Ben Artzy.
FULL summary here:
https://turkusowesniadania.pl/startups-growths-using-lean-principles-and-culture-efi-ben-artzy/
Digital marketing is the art and science of promoting products or services using digital channels to reach and engage with potential customers. It encompasses a wide range of online tactics and strategies aimed at increasing brand visibility, driving website traffic, generating leads, and ultimately, converting those leads into customers.
https://nidmindia.com/
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
Short video marketing has sweeped the nation and is the fastest way to build an online brand on social media in 2024. In this session you will learn:- What is short video marketing- Which platforms work best for your business- Content strategies that are on brand for your business- How to sell organically without paying for ads.
10 Video Ideas Any Business Can Make RIGHT NOW!
You'll never draw a blank again on what kind of video to make for your business. Go beyond the basic categories and truly reimagine a brand new advanced way to brainstorm video content creation. During this masterclass you'll be challenged to think creatively and outside of the box and view your videos through lenses you may have never thought of previously. It's guaranteed that you'll leave with more than 10 video ideas, but I like to under-promise and over-deliver. Don't miss this session.
Key Takeaways:
How to use the Video Matrix
How to use additional "Lenses"
Where to source original video ideas
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
5 big bets to drive growth in 2024 without one additional marketing dollar AND how to adapt to the biggest shifting eCommerce trend- AI.
1) Romance Your Customers - Retention
2) ‘Alternative’ Lead Gen - Advocacy
3) The Beautiful Basics - Conversion Rate Optimization
4) Land that Bottom Line - Profitability
5) Roll the Dice - New Business Models
Digital Money Maker Club – von Gunnar Kessler digital.focsh890
Title One is a comprehensive examination of the impact of digital technologies on
modern society. In a world where technology continues to advance rapidly, this article delves into the nuances and complexities of the digital age, exploring Its implications across various sectors and aspects of life.
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
The session includes a brief history of the evolution of search before diving into the roles technology, content, and links play in developing a powerful SEO strategy in a world of Generative AI and social search. Discover how to optimize for TikTok searches, Google's Gemini, and Search Generative Experience while developing a powerful arsenal of tools and templates to help maximize the effectiveness of your SEO initiatives.
Key Takeaways:
Understand how search engines work
Be able to find out where your users search
Know what is required for each discipline of SEO
Feel confident creating an SEO Plan
Confidently measure SEO performance
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
3. Well we certainly rate them – don’t we? Consumer research used to be called market research but now it’s called the ‘insight industry’: mighty Kantar call themselves a ‘data
and insight consultancy’, Flamingo are a ‘strategic insight consultancy’, Hall & Partners describe themselves, amongst other things, as ‘insight journalists’ and even the smaller
ones like Join The Dots call themselves a ‘full service insight agency’
And Synergy recently launched the first ‘Consumer, Insighting & Storytelling Conference’, deftly turning the noun into a verb.
Of course we are all familiar with this on the right – the typical creative brief with the inevitable ‘insight’ box – as though there will always be one.
All that implies that we simply can’t do wonderful work or build strong brands without them, and yet…
PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
Data and insight
consultancy
Full service consumer
insight agency
Strategic insight consultancy
1
What is the Brand’s Purpose?
What is the Benefit and RTB this brief is offering to its consumers?
Who is the consumer target audience?
What is the consumer Insight?
How should agency be using media, devices and content?
What is the Creative Task?
What is the key challenge to be solved?
Insight journalists
4. ...it’s pretty obvious that successes both great and small have arrived without leveraging an ‘insight’ – the best known…
5. …is the iPad – no ‘insighting’ was done to discover a gap in opportunity between the laptop and the mobile; as with pretty much
everything they do it was more tech and ‘hunch’ that drove that.
And sales way outstripped analyst predictions.
Not just Apple – Yakult and probiotics – fastest growing areas in self-care didn’t come from an insight – came from science and what
we need to maintain a healthy gut
6. PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
Tim Clark, Emirates President.
We know what
customers want
“
”
SirTim Clark,EmiratesPresident.
This is Tim Clark – now Sir Tim Clark, president of airline Emirates and the force behind its spectacular growth – from the early 90s when it was a single
Airbus to its status as the world’s most valuable airline brand (worth $7.7B according to Brand Finance)
I don’t know if these days the team rely on insights, but I do know in early years they certainly didn’t – in fact, Sir Tim always said he wasn’t interested in
what research had to say – so he never commissioned any – he refused – why? Because he said he knew what their customers wanted…
7. It was clear – what they want is – ”a 4-poster bed and lobster at Economy prices”.
And he knew, as they knew, that they couldn’t have it, or anything like it – so the genius was to close the gap even for turn-right passengers – he got
them just a little closer to their fantasy within the realms of reality, with what was viable – and he did it in multiple small ways…
PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
8. Remember back in 90s Emirates were the first airline in the world to put personal video all 3 cabins, and they did other things too:
Choc ices with the movie
On board Polaroids
And the tiny thing of a pull-down footrest in Economy – not an ‘insight’, but didn’t come from nowhere either – Tim always said that the
closeness of cabin crew and customer was all that was needed to discover these small needs – so there’s a lot to be said for…
9. …proximity – a closeness that is an important help to weave an intimate web of understanding
10. That is exactly how the footrest addition came about – cabin crew noticed that people tended to put their feet on bags – a bit more comfortable, so the
airline added that small note of comfort
11. Apple and Emirates are substantive successes, at the level of the product itself – but the same approach can happen in communications too:
so GE have the challenge of recruiting the brightest and best – but GE itself is not that well understood
They didn’t go for a killer insight – but a ‘web of understanding’ that really resonates with their audience that led to a well observed
beautifully crafted campaign – and I will now show you 2 spots
PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
‘Web of understanding’
An understanding of target as
complex, rounded people
Not a single ‘killer insight’RECRUITMENT
12. This work is based on a ‘web of understanding’ and I think that is something we can do when there isn’t a single point of insight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcZHGonRF28
14. BUT if a box on brief demands one – as they often do – you’ve got to hope that you can do better than these… these are worse than nothing – just
platitudes really
And there will be times when we really do need an insight, not because it’s mandated, but because it’s the right thing to do, and when that’s the case…
16. Which brings me to my second question – do we under-define them?
17. We most literally do – look around at top insight agencies – no obvious definition, upfront in their comms – nothing at all – they talk about them as if we all
know what they are
PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
DEFINITION OF CONSUMER INSIGHTS FROM TOP INSIGHT AGENCIES
“ ”
“ ”
“ ”
“ ”
18. There are one or two interesting definitions out there – first two are from an APG event on the subject. The last one is interesting –
because it’s true – they are precious but hard to find – but what ‘little secrets’?
19. At Passionbrand we do have a definition, and it’s a high bar
There are quite a few points in this definition – so I’ll pick them off
PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
22. I’ve seen this as an insight on a brief – not revelatory
23. When they are revelatory – they do this, they make you think…
at the same time…
‘Of course!’ – because it works with your prior understanding of human nature… but it’s also surprising, seemingly non-obvious,
because it often cuts across your current category accepted knowledge
24. A good insight is directive – immediately know what to do
25. Across the business – it needs to support not just comms but product development or user experience
26. If you work in the beauty or personal care category you might well recognize this?
It’s not an insight because you can’t do anything about it – it’s a fact but not a very interesting one
27. About them not us – this seems really obvious, I know, but sometimes we sort of force an insight to make it convenient for us…
28. You see this sort of thing quite a lot – it’s the insight we would like
29. Finally an insight should be currently unaddressed and therefore a ‘new way’ to serve customers better – not something we just
play back – it’s a tough ask
One example that covers all this is P&G and what they did on Pampers
30. It was first presented at the ANA conference in Orlando 4-5 years ago….
PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
Marc Pritchard
32. And the category were all competing on same thing – leakage and movement – the generic benefit of the category.
So when P&G did focus-group research they got the same thing – this is what people look for in diaper
PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
Leakage and movement: the torture test of the category
33. So in Pampers case they tried a bit harder – this is what they did:
Diaries – so non-participant
Proper ethnography in homes with a new baby
And what was completely obvious…
34. …was this – everyone in a home with a baby craves sleep – including the baby. And wetness was often the reason they didn’t get it.
Revelatory? You wouldn’t think so if you’ve been a parent, but if you look at it through category eyes it is, it came at the category from a
completely new angle – it was revelatory in the category
But they didn’t just play it back – they did something substantive…
36. New diaper with extra dryness layers – designed for comfort at night
37. Obviously backed up in comms
Sales rose immediately by 54%. P&G estimate it has added $1B in revenue over 2 years
38. Ideally an insight would have all these characteristics
It’s a tough ask
39. And as with any strong definition, it means true insights are going to be rare – it reminds me of the brilliant Detectorists series
You rarely unearth treasure, and you are really lucky if you do. You often get ring-pulls – we collect a lot of those when we search for
real insights – they still tell you stuff, but you will have to do quite a bit more work to make them useable….
40. So: true insights are rare – we won’t always find one – but can we work around them?
I think we can
41. We can do it by working at the intersection of two forces – on the one hand the consumer (working with facts, observation, our web
of understanding) and then something interesting happens when that understanding collides with external forces such as the
category, wider culture or even an academic take on the subject – you could call these external forces ‘outsights’
Let’s take a look at some of those ‘outsights’ examples
42. Looking at the category for ‘outsights’, a good example is girls’ dolls in the1990s and the launch of American Girl
43. Founder was Pleasant Rowland – she was a teacher, so she already had a web of understanding of girls and mums.
She was apparently sitting on a park bench in historical Williamsburg thinking about the fact that she needed/wanted to buy a doll
for one of her nieces, and it struck her that…
44. There was an Imperfect choice – dominated by clichéd role models – baby dolls always rendering women as carers, or Barbie and
Bratz – with their impossible image of idealised femininity.
And she felt that this choice was doing nothing to help the young girls of today make their mark on the world.
45. So, she started American Girl with the view that: ‘if we can get girls excited about history, we can inspire them to create history’,
and therefore the first range was dolls of historical women and their stories of achievement
At the heart of this story is…
46. …this question – ‘How is our category currently letting people down?’ She didn’t ask it in those words, but she responded to it.
We should ask it – it can be revealing and powerful
47. The second route to ‘outsights’ was to examine the wider culture. I’ve always thought this and this is a quote from one of my columns
But I’m not alone
48. US academic Grant McCracken wrote a book about it – he deconstructed the famous Unilever Dove and Persil cases to show they
couldn’t have happened without the intersection of both consumer and cultural understanding
PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
Grant McCracken
49. A great example of marketing activity leveraging culture is something IKEA are doing in Canada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w58LmNZ0ACs
50. Finally we can use academia as a source – it never looks inviting, but it is an amazing treasure trove of inspiration if you dig into it –
start with Google Scholar, check citations, look for the 4-star journals in the area
We did this for Avon on their anti-aging skincare
PASSIONBRANDGOOGLE FIRESTARTERS
ACADEMIA
51. We found a study about Scandinavian twins, how they looked and how they lived and it gave us inspiration for the brand
52. So, to summarise…
Consumer insights are, by definition, rare.
But there are other ways through – especially working from a ‘web of understanding’ of your consumer and combining that with
the intersection of ‘outsights’, from the category, culture or academia.
Thank you.