A new qualitative methodology “Alive Dream” helps people get back to key moments connected to the product or category while in a meditative state of mind, or deep relaxation. This enables them to “live through” the key emotions connected to the brand or category and helps create a map of  “emotional imprints” which can identify the brand’s emotional territory.

The Alive Dream technique uses elements of deep relaxation based on Milton H. Erickson’s hypnotherapy and was originally developed by Danone France. It has been rolled out across Europe over the past two years.

How it works

During the meditative state, a virtual “mentor“ helps respondents further develop the experience with brand or category, which serves as a source of inputs for further product/brand development.

For brand teams, the results of the research serve as a clear guide for which emotions to use to build the communication, as well as a strong source of ideas for new product development. Additionally, the research often uncovers incredibly strong insights, as people tend to be much more open in the meditative state of mind and even share their inner feelings and thoughts.

Considerations

The Alive Dream methodology is suitable for new product development, as well as communication testing, such as the recent testing of new coffee ad proposals from Sara Lee.

In this test, respondents in deep relaxation described their favorite coffee and later confronted this idea with several storyboards suggesting how to improve it both in terms of product demonstration as well as in terms of the story relevancy.

From the client’s perspective, the biggest benefit is that consumers spontaneously participated in the ad adjustments and came up with a number of specific ideas for execution, such as how to increase its relevance and motivation to purchase the advertised coffee.

Benefits

The main advantage is that real experience is taken right from “deep inside” in the state of deep relaxation so the respondents are able to work with the experience of the taste, fragrance, or design of the product with more prototypes or ads.

Other advantages of the methodology:

• Consistency of opinion during the evaluation of large number of stimuli (the idea originates during deep relaxation and remains engraved as a “benchmark” in the minds of the respondents during the evaluation of all stimuli)

• Negligible influence of other respondents (because of the strong experience of deep relaxation, respondents hold their own view of the studied stimuli very well)
• Ability to actively participate in co-creation and editing of the product or refining the storyboards

South Africa is emerging as a gateway to the rest of Africa’s markets; its market research industry is seen as highly developed and established and can be compared with the standards of other Western markets.

Despite this sophistication, there is an understanding of the needs of the grassroots level of the market and the challenges of doing research in a multicultural society. “We can speak the language of the ‘haves’ while understanding the world of the ‘have nots’,” says Matthew Angus of KLA.

Read the full article in the Fall 2013 edition of QRCA Views

We all have anecdotes concerning surprises in Asia, Africa or some other exotic locale, but in Western Europe we tend to believe that we are quite similar to our immediate neighbors.

But similar does not mean the same: There are differences.

Read the full article in the Summer 2013 edition of QRCA Views

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Online qualitative research is often questioned by clients since there seems to be no non-verbal communication for them to observe.

When they are sitting behind a mirror in another country and listening to a simultaneous interpreter they can watch the respondents’ gestures, which helps them better understand their customers. But those non-verbal cues are there – if you know how to “listen for them” online.

How it works

Over the past 10 years online platforms have improved and many new tools are available for qualitative researchers. Additionally, respondents are more savvy and experienced communicating online and have many different ways to express themselves beyond typed letters and text.

An experienced qualitative researcher can use the available tools and techniques to gain insights beyond written words. And the client can watch, without the hassle of challenges such as travelling and different time zones.

Considerations

While online communication is mainly by text, modern platforms offer options to express emotions and tonality that are familiar to respondents from their social network communications.

• Fonts: CAPITALs, Bold/Italic/Underlined, Colors for Fonts
• Emoticons
• Short cuts and online language forms (np, cu, 2go…)
• Sound and action words (LOL, arrgh…)
• Avatars can reveal things about the personality of the respondent
• Profile pages with detailed respondent description

Interactive platforms allow for finger pointing, bullseyes, picture sorts and even evaluating videos along the journey. Use of projective techniques also is possible in many ways.

The full qualitative toolbox can be used in an online setting as well as offline: analogies, metaphors, color association, collages, sentence completion, storytelling etc.

The life of respondents can unfold and E-ethnographic elements can be included in the research:

• Voice recordings
• Uploaded photos and videos
• Webcam

Webcam groups offer most the advantages of a focus group, as well as the ability to invite respondents who might not come to a central facility for a variety of reasons such as living in remote areas, inhibitions about participating, etc.

Benefits

Online qualitative research is not just plain text — it can also provide valuable, insight-revealing nonverbal cues. And it can be exciting, creative, diverse and individual  —if you know how to listen for it.

Use of smart phones and the internet among a literate, educated audience is a given. What is of interest is the harnessing of this technology among the vast base of the ‘below middle class’ households of emerging markets, as an acid test of innovation in our profession. Through a series of methodological  experimentation,  the advantages of using an ‘inverted’ approach to home ethnographies is suggested, and posits the significant advantages in tackling cultural issues, contradictions and social barriers at the methodological end.

How it works

By leveraging the potential of joint family structures of households; reaching our end consumer through family members’ ability to use available technology.

Considerations

The seven emerging markets – China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey are expected to contribute 45 per cent of the global GDP in the coming decade. As the corporate world of our clients seeks to seize growth opportunities, there is an understandable sense of urgency, which has led to an increasing tendency for a ‘one size fits all’ pattern of setting up the qualitative research study. Yet, even within these listed countries, there is a world of difference from one to the next, and often within the country as well.

Primarily to suggest the advantages of a methodological pluralism that helps researchers to become culturally complementary and enter into our consumers’ lives in hitherto unexplored and unexpected ways:

• To bend and blend traditional research methodologies with high tech solutions to get the best of both worlds – e.g. the intimacy of an unobtrusive observer of the teenager shooting footage of his mother/relatives doing household chores, and the single-canvas of analysis under one roof as information steadily streams in from various sources.
• To provide examples of bypassing the obstacles of incorporating technology when working in developing countries and non-tech savvy population segments.
• To revive the viability of doing in-depth ethnographical research across time – by offering up cost and time-efficient solutions convenient to both researcher and client – that goes beyond the usual  time-starved global client’s diktats to the market researcher to ‘do a two hour home ethno’ with client, simultaneous translator and cameraman in tow.
• To call awareness to the ‘tectonic plates’ of the research landscape; the critical meridians running between collectivist and individualistic societies – shifting the focus away from standardization and the current one-fit-all approach across markets to a broader recognition of the need for culture-complementing research approaches.

Benefits

Interviews conducted in the usual home ethno manner of market research yielded surface information. Using self-administered video recordings and cell phone pictures, taken by family members, on the other hand, yields amazing insights

It is no longer a debate about classic vs. new (online) methodologies, but rather an emphasis on our industry’s obligation to juggle, be creative, experiment and stretch our reach – both to hitherto unresearched consumers as well as a larger base of clients, even as ethnographies – already shortened drastically by marketers as compared to anthropologists – become both financially viable and even more authentic in their deliverables, in novel ways.