The Research Practice.

The design of all our projects is bespoke and involves a combination of qualitative research techniques from observational research through to extended groups in person or on zoom. Many of our projects involve a sample of both women and men.
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Our research practice is different in a number of ways. First, we design and conduct all the research ourselves bringing extensive experience to every project.

Second, we deliver richer insight gathered through pre-tasks, projective techniques and the careful recruitment of imaginative respondents.

Third, our experience in strategy, branding and communications mean our debriefs provide ideas and answers not just ‘findings’.

Retail

A successful research project in retail brings every facet of the experience into conversation with customers: what brand perceptions customers bring to the experience; the environment and the colleagues they encounter once in store; the interaction between digital and bricks and mortar stores; the relative strengths and weakness of product and pricing. Increasingly our projects also involve new consumer behaviours and concerns like sustainability, shopping pre-loved for better value, and shopping through newer channels like Instagram.

We work at the luxury and the more mainstream and everyday parts of retail sectors. Our experience covers clothing retail, food and grocery and homewares and gardening.

Travel & Leisure

When people choose a holiday experience they are seeking to occupy an idealised ‘bubble’ away from the day to day. This ‘bubble’ looks and feels very different for families compared with what appeals to retirees or for young adults going away solo or in groups. We have experience working on research projects across this sector, unearthing the needs and hopes that people have for their time away from the everyday, and identifying exactly how travel and holiday experiences can meet those hopes and needs.

FMCG

We are both accredited by Unilever as gold standard researchers.We have also worked with a number of FMCG brand owners including Gu Puds; Essity; and P and G.

Marketing Agencies

We regularly work with agencies to provide audience insight and creative development guidance. We have worked with DDB, Mother, Mullen Lowe, Ogilvy and Weiden and Kennedy. Our most recent work involved collaborating with Nick Bell and Walter Campbell on a new creative idea and identity for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.

Segmentations

We deliver segmentations that change the way a company prioritises different audiences, communicates with different groups, and develops products and experiences for its different audiences.

We uncover the qualitative insight and then work with clients’ preferred quantitative research partners in order to ratify, size up and ascribe value to the segments.

Most recently we jointly won a Market Research Society award for our segmentation work with Trinity McQueen

Brand and communications strategy development

Our backgrounds in brand and communications agencies mean we are well-equipped to use research in a way that enhances brand and communications strategy. Our study of brand and communications models that target women gives us extensive insight into the competitive context in which female brands operate, and therefore a better understanding of what it takes to create brand salience.

Many of our projects also look at developing brand campaign execution.

Sustainability

More often than not, projects now either focus on or comprise a sustainability dimension. The challenge for research is to understand when and where sustainability really makes a difference in terms of brand preference and customer purchase decision making. Our work with a number of brands on sustainability includes investigations around circular models and the impact on brands of preference for pre loved in Gen Z's.

Loyalty and membership

Many of our clients have been reassessing the role of their membership and loyalty programmes over the last five years. Through our research we have helped shape new loyalty and membership programmes. We have rejuvenated existing programmes that had become taken for granted by customers. And we have worked with clients on developing totemic rewards and mechanics which mean their programmes become an active reason to choose the brand, not just a reason to stay with it.

Research

Travel & Holidays

When people choose a holiday experience they are looking to occupy an idealised ‘bubble’ away from the day to day. This ‘bubble’ looks and feels very different for families, for retirees, for young adults going away in groups. We have deep experience in the sector unearthing the needs and hopes that people have for this time away from the everyday, and understand how the experience can match those hopes and needs.

In this sector we often use a technique we call ‘the three selves’. Etc. etc.