Category: Member Blog

The term “insights” is an oft-bandied-about term in marketing circles. As often as the term is used, it is clear that not everyone understands the difference between an insight, a research finding, a data point, and an opinion.

In the world of market research, an insight is something that was not previously articulated or understood by the brand. A rich insight is something that pushes the brand forward in a unique way. An insight is typically a discovered fact about the market that when leveraged will ultimately generate additional or increased profits. Most of the time insights are ancillary to the answers clients desire but are always well received.

Insights come about in a few ways. Qualitatively, they are borne of listening, really listening to customers. Alternatively, it is that ah ha moment that occurs after pushing for greater and greater depth of understanding. Quantitatively, insights might be the result of multivariate statistical modeling that allows the researcher to view patterns of data in different ways. It is often the case that insights occur when we consider data (qualitative and / or quantitative) holistically rather than looking at individual variables.

Regardless of how insights come about, they are often (but not always) unique to brand need states, customer motivations, or unspoken brand truths. Insights must be believable, actionable, and have practical applications. Rich insights are critical to the development of value propositions, brand positioning, and brand strategies and they often form the basis marketing communications.

An insight is not a data point, a personal opinion, or an answer to a research objective.

Not so long ago we conducted an advertising pre-test of a series of television commercials that were designed to curb drunk driving among young males. We tested advertisements that were generally very successful in their shock value but did not seem to have the desired outcome of causing the viewer to consider changing their attitude and behavior. During the course of this evaluation we discovered that what the target audience really cared about was how much of a hassle it is to get a DUI, which involves traffic court, fines, and community service. Ah ha! We reported a series of insights around this finding along with the general study findings about the advertisements tested, and conclusions and recommendations. The following year the anti-DUI campaign focused on the sentiments these young men had about DUIs, thus becoming more relatable and therefore more likely to cause the target audience to consider changing their attitudes and behaviors.

Data-based findings, whether from qualitative or quantitative data, answer clients’ questions. The value add comes from gleaning those little gold nuggets we call insights from the research and is why it is important to dig deep for rich insights. Identifying insights as opposed to a finding or data point or personal opinion is tough. But those who do become masters.

Kirsty Nunez is founder and President of Q2 Insights, Inc., a market research consulting firm with offices in San Diego and New Orleans

Data are constantly generated by multitudes of systems and processes around us. Every digital process and social media exchange contributes to Big Data. Systems, sensors, and mobile devices transmit data that are compiled as Big Data. These data are used by some to describe and predict human behavior and interactions. Big Data is also used for tracking and extraction of meaning.

Researchers often strive to answer five basic questions. Some refer to these as the “Five W’s:” Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Traditionally, market researchers employ methodologies to answer all five questions.

Four components of the Five W’s are provided by structured Big Data and other data sources.

• The who question identifies the various players in a problem or solution.
• The what question tries to ascertain what consumers are buying, trends, and services used.
• The when question considers various time based events and activities such as when customers are buying products or services, e.g. day part, date range, or life stage, etc.
• The where question addresses geographic and/or logistical aspects of a solution.

Big Data allows market researchers to answer some questions without interviewing or surveying existing and potential customers. However, with the advent of Big Data and sophisticated data mining techniques there is no need to create data if the data already exists. Of course, traditional methodologies such as surveys still need to be employed when there isn’t a data set for every question or set of questions. Also, market research methodologies are still required to tackle the most important question of the Five W’s – the Why. Knowing why our customers and clients choose to behave the way they do is highly critical to being able to tailor our products and services to them.

Why is the why question the most important and hardest to discern? Simply put, humans are inconsistent, impulsive, dynamic, and subtle. Emotional, rational, and irrational drivers of behavior cannot be explained by Big Data and analytics. Additionally, as Big Data becomes more and more prevalent and accessible, the number of questions pertaining to customers’ emotional, psychological, and irrational motivations will increase. Answering the why question is most effectively achieved by the integration of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies with qualitative being used to answer the why question and quantitative being used to verify and quantify the findings.

Qualitative methods used to answer the why may include focus groups, in-depth interviews, observation (ethnography), social networks, and guided online chats. Applied appropriately, these methods will result in a collection of textual, visual and oral data that will need to be analyzed through textual analysis. This qualitative analysis provides insight into customers’ attitudes, behaviors, and their thought processes.

While Big Data is sometimes touted as the magic bullet to address all market research questions, it is not the answer to all questions and insights to be obtained. Big Data has its place in the array of market research methodologies and is an ever growing presence. Before Big Data, primary research conducted by market researchers focused on what was happening. Now with that requirement increasingly solved by Big Data, market researchers can focus on why there are deviations from trends. Nothing beats knowing why people make the choices they do. Big Data finds the patterns, market researchers test the hypotheses.

Xavier Alvarez is a Project Analyst at Q2 Insights, a market research consulting firm with offices in New Orleans and San Diego. He can be reached at (985) 867-9494 or xavier.alvarez@q2insights.com.

Determining the next move in your career path is a tough decision especially when changing from agency to in-house communications. While yes it is all PR and based on the same principles, strategies and tactics the daily work style, skill set and environment can be drastically different.

Often times the attraction to an agency is the multiple clients, the variety of industries, the camaraderie of other communications professionals and even the swank office. Agency PR pros are talking to media daily and don’t typically have politics to deal with since they don’t directly work for the companies they represent.

If you are considering leaving time sheets in the past, for stability, security and routine make sure the switch it is a fit for you and an answer to what you are trying to leave behind. The pros of working in-house does typically include better health benefits, more opportunity for advancement and fewer barriers to implement new PR programs.

“In-house, you are constantly building off of the previous work you have done, have a far deeper level of exposure, a greater variety of tasks and a more vested personal interested in the success of the organization,” says to Tim Whitman, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications, Application Security, Inc.

But also think of the negatives of in-house communications such as a supervisor who is not really sure what it is that you do, fewer tools to help do your job and the lack of working in a communications team for idea exchanges.

PR pros that come from agency background are sometimes better prepared to make the transition to an in-house practitioner. “I gained experience/exposure by working on multiple accounts, on multiple account teams, reporting to multiple managers, all with tight deadlines,” says Mark LoCastro, Public Relations Manager. “The skills I’ve acquired at an agency are invaluable for my in-house role.”

When considering making the switch from agency to in-house communications contemplate the following:

• Have an understanding if the company you are considering joining a good fit, not only from a business prospective and what you want to be doing, but organizationally as well.
• Analyze if the company personality matches yours.
• Interview your potential colleagues as much as they are interviewing you.
• At an agency you do not get to choose the clients you work on so switching in-house offers that unique opportunity. Be sure the company mission and subject matter interest you.
• Know what your upward mobility opportunities look like.

“I encourage people to move in-house, provided the environment is one they have reason to believe will engage their energy and their intellect,” says Joshua M. Peck, Senior Manager, Duane Morris LLP. “I believe that working with one company deepens one’s relationship with the work and makes one more effective to develop and shape messaging.”

This article originally appeared on PRBreakfastClub.com.
Read more: Considering Making the Switch from Agency to In-House? | PRBreakfastClub http://prbreakfastclub.com/2012/02/03/agency-to-in-house/#ixzz1mHMdRUcY