I N N O VAT I N G I N S I G H T S :

Can 21st Century Marketers Count on Research

for Insight and Intelligence?

Jennifer Hanson
Sequoia Partners
Inventors of the realsightⓇ insights method
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Partners

Consumer Understanding = Success

• Measurable/Projectable Insights
• Expectations/Motivations
• Business Application
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Partners

Cycle of Failure

INSIGHTS & IDEAS

IN MARKET
FAILURES

REDUCED
BUDGETS
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Partners

The Research Industry: Aiding and Abetting

• Consolidation
Economies of Scale vs. Useful Information

• Reliance on Historical Databases

Benchmarking against old ideas

• Underutilizing Technology
Same information, just faster and cheaper
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Lack of Innovation for 21st Century Marketers

Same methods, same data, same results:

Standard questions
Standard industry data

Qualitative tunnel vision

Professional respondents
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The Groundhog in the Room

20th century insights methods simply DO NOT WORK.

• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• Short-term observations

DAY ONE DAY TWO DAY THREE

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Partners

? HOW DO WE INVEST
IN OUR BUSINESS?
Lack of understanding about consumers
Brands losing competitive edge
Inefficient spending

REDUCED ROI AND SHAREHOLDER VALUE

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Partners

Partner with the Consumer

• We’ve pushed them away

• We’ve ignored them
• We lose their loyalty
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Understand Satisfaction

Consumers are satisfied 75-85% of the time with any product or service

being satisfied means consumers have found a solution to meet their

expectations, even if it requires a system of many inefficient steps to
get to the end goal …

this is why satisfaction is proven to explain only 8% of repeat usage.

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Partners

The System

IPOD Tivo Wii

The Innovation
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Consumers Have Changed The Rules

Blurring of snacks and meals

snacks are now meals

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Partners

Consumers Have Changed The Rules

Blurring of medicine and nutrition

nutrition is now medicine

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Partners

Consumers Have Changed The Rules

Blurring of media and entertainment

media is now entertainment

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Partners

Understanding Consumers Starts in their Heads

“ninety-five percent of thinking takes place in the unconscious mind …”

Jerome Kagan, Surprise, Uncertainty and Mental Structures

“rather than guiding or controlling behavior, consciousness seems

mainly to make sense of behavior after it is executed.”
George Lowenstein, The Creative Destruction of Decision Research
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What Needs to Change

Focus on the broader context of decisions, NOT on the product

Focus on the reasons behind repeat usage vs. initial purchase

Accept the consumer’s perspective, even if it differs from our own

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The Research Challenge

Provide Quantitative Insights - Measurable/Projectable

Provide Qualitative Insights - Expectations/Motivations

Provide Strategic Guidance - Business Applications

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Partners

The 21st Century Solution: realsightⓇ insights method

An observational technology system that delivers more accurate,

complete and actionable ways to grow brands:

1. more complete information about consumer decisions

2. deeper understanding of expectations and motivations
3. new ways to deliver competitive advantages

Video Cameras, Statistical

Audio Recordings, Analysis
Written Diaries, of Text and Videos
Forums, Surveys

Successful
Brand
Growth

Qualitative
Extended
Analysis
Engagement
of Behavior Using
via Community
Academic Theories
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Partners

How it works

• Video cameras capture incidents of use

in daily life for 3-4 weeks

• Quantify behavior
• Comparisons with online diary
• Proprietary analysis using unique application
of statistical, sociological, psychological and
anthropological tools.
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Partners

What it uncovers

Archetypal Consumer Experiences

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Partners

How it is applied

What is convenience in the morning?

Most companies focus on the rational “grab ‘n go” definition of convenience.

We discovered 3 common behavioral patterns that represented different aspects of

convenience in the morning.

One of the three, “multi-tasking” is a larger and more emotionally rich consumer opportunity.
 © Sequoia Partners 2010 Confidential
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Partners

How it is applied

What is the best entry point into snacking with my new product idea?

Restructured the category of the new product idea to a consumer defined marketplace,
transformed a $2B fragmented category with a single product format and no clear point of
entry into a $41B consumer defined market.

The consumer-defined market resulted in discovering a $2B market for the existing product
idea and an emerging $3B snack market previously ignored for the long-term pipeline.
 © Sequoia Partners 2010 Confidential
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Partners

WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT

• Focus on what people DO, not what they SAY

• Quantifiable data with qualitative understanding
• Demonstrates and validates opportunities and ideas

CONSUMERS SHOW YOU WHERE TO GO AND HOW TO GET THERE

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A positive shift in the marketplace: Improved Quality & Accuracy

from to

SAY SAY & DO CHANGES

SPEED fast average Extended data collection:

1. Observations as they occur, 3+ days
2. In person interviews

COST low to average average Multiple work streams:

1. Interview + observation
2. Real-time analysis
3. Multimedia reporting

QUALITY low high

Superior results:
1. More complete view of consumers
ACCURACY low high
2. Deeper understanding of motivations
3. Better ideas and investment decisions
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Partners

Plus an added benefit... spending efficiencies!

IDEAS DEVELOPMENT MARKETPLACE

SUCCESS

$ $$$$ $$$$$

$$ $$$ $$$$$
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Partners

Cycle of Success

BETTER
INSIGHTS & IDEAS

IN MARKET
SUCCESS

INCREASED
BUDGETS
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Partners

There is always risk

GARBAGE IN GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT!

GARBAGE OUT!
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Partners

The realsightⓇ insights method has uncovered validated consumer defined ways to...

• Create emotional messages tied to product experiences

• Strengthen brand equity at purchase and usage
• Source volume from brands outside traditional category definitions
• Target the multiple dimensions of common need states
• Grow through redefining channels of purchase
• Tap into habitual and “auto pilot” choices often unreported
• Identify ideas from consumer work-arounds and trade-offs
• Maximize portfolio growth
 © Sequoia Partners 2010 Confidential
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Partners

Anyone can use it

 © Sequoia Partners 2010 Confidential
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Partners

21st Century Insights for 21st Century Marketing: Opening New Ways to Grow

OR ?
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Partners

Marketing success can only come from 21st Century research practices

Bridge the knowledge gap between consumers and corporations

Focus on the broader context of decisions, NOT on the product

Focus on what people DO, not what they SAY

 Brand Growth Through
Consumer Experiences

We help our clients focus on the right opportunities that work for
consumers’ everyday lives from the start, saving precious time, money
and becoming more profitable in the end.

Sequoia Partners
P.O. Box 235, Pequabuck, CT 06781
(888) 316-1723, hello@sequoiamp.com