As a moderator, the dream scenario for any focus group or group discussion is when the participants pick up and begin having the conversation without you needing to push, prod or probe. It’s like gold. And gold is what I felt like we struck when we asked 3 of the brightest client-side insights leaders we […]

Today’s marketer can’t just target a segment based on superficial data. In this Greenbook article, Roben Allong explains why micro culturalism is the secret weapon you need to understand changing consumer behaviors and achieve business objectives.   Read the article: https://www.greenbook.org/mr/market-research-methodology/understanding-cultural-insights-the-new-next-consumer-battleground/

While it may seem counter-intuitive, sometimes conducting research in different countries in an identical manner is NOT the most effective approach! This article draws on the experience of our ThinkGlobal Qualitative associates and provides examples of smart ways in which they modified market research for their countries in order to obtain more accurate results. Read […]

The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on marginalized populations in the United States. This article by Roben Allong, Patricia Lopez and Iris Yim, the cover story of the July 2020 issue of Quirk’s magazine, explores possible contextual and cultural factors behind the pandemic’s impacts specifically on Hispanic, African American and […]

Covid-19 has changed the rules of human engagement. Behaviors such as hugging, kissing, laughing out loud, that we use to show connection and engagement, are no longer acceptable without wearing a face covering or social distancing.  As the frequency of online qual research accelerates, this crisis presents a unique opportunity to adapt and create new […]

Situation A German start-up assigned IKM with a user analysis of their potential target group. The difficulty: as a start-up the client’s budget was tight, and they could not afford to pay any incentive to participants. Therefore, an alternative to the traditional incentive-based recruiting had to be applied to find respondents willing to participate for […]

  Discussions about what constitutes useful research and insights will probably focus on the role of the research provider’s team, and what they should and should not do. I would, however, like to contend that producing useful research results should be a shared responsibility and requires collaboration between the research and client teams. “Distributed by […]

Much is heard about Design Thinking and much is discussed of how we, Qualitative Researchers, can use it in our practises as a problem solution methodology to help our clients maximise the potential of their innovation processes and deliver outstanding results.  But what is Design Thinking? How it works A method for practical, creative resolution […]

Buy-ology:Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, by Martin Lindstrom talks about Neuromarketing using examples that are wonderful and very illustrative. Marketers need to understand that brain science is changing our understanding of marketing messages. Anti-smoking messages, for example, actually stimulate the craving centres of the brain in smokers, rather than suppressing urges.

One of the most consistent findings of behavioral science: people all think their decision-making is completely rational, yet in reality, emotions play a major role in their final decisions.  In research situations, when asked a question about decision-making, participants tend to look for the rational answer.  How do we get beyond that thinking, to access […]