Qualitative Renaissance Rome 2012

Consumers as researchers: Can mobile get us closer to consumer truths?

Smartphones and Qualitative Research

Smartphone penetration in Australia has

reached 50%

Using smartphones to capture a slice of life is:

Familiar, Natural, Customary

Social networking and

recording capacities

have turned many consumers into amateur film makers/ ethnographers

And they are putting it on

YouTube!

New platforms offer

Photo and video function

Enhanced opportunities for

mobile qualitative research

The chance to get closer to

consumers using a tool

they’re already familiar with

This allows us to generate qualitative insightsin a timely and cost effective way…

reaching into the homes, lives and decisions of consumers

Cupboard audits, Product trials, Shopping trips, Personification and projective exploration, Market mappings

With no travel attendance and fieldwork delays

These tools give us the best chance to be with our consumers,

over time and economically.

Using video to explore painting projects of our

online community members

Observing the evolution of a painting project…

From procrastination…

to decision making…

to frustrations…

And finally the result!

Case Study One

Latitude insights teamed up with Kraft foods

to trial a mobile-only qualitative research

study with Australian mums and kids

Case Study Two

22 mums and their kids

shared their lives for 2 weeks

Generating rich insight, not

possible to gather cost-

effectively using traditional

qualitative research

The Benefits…

Insights from the ‘real world’

Mobile takes research to all

points of interaction with

brand and products in true

competitive context.

And more…

Videos of mum thinking and talking about chocolate and lollies in her own kitchen

Videos of kids arguing over chocolate

Rich detailed video footage

The benefits of in-home ‘ethnography’ with minimal time and financial investment

Clients feel like they’ve really got to know their customers from a five minute

edited DVD

“It was a challenge in unexpected ways. The end outputs looked

fantastic and really brought the issues to life, but getting to that point

took a lot of time and effort.

Watching all the videos I felt like I’d really got to know all the kids and

families, but I was itching to get in there and ask more questions.

There were lots of magical moments captured, but I sometimes thought

that for the management time it took I may as well have visited each

respondent. Id do it again but would reduce the tasks and the number

of participants”.

‘The Researcher’

“Thanks so much. It was a

lot of fun. We called it the

School Holiday Project.”

“I learnt things about my

kids I didn’t know before. I

might do that $5 challenge

again to see what they do!!!”

The ‘Respondent’ Perspective

But frustration felt when technology didn’t run smoothly…

“Please tell me how to get you this video!!!”

Technical challenges

Respondent as ‘researcher’

Challenges for qualitative mobile research

Despite ‘user friendly’ claims

from most providers, project

management can be a

challenge

Average consumersaren’t all techno savvy

Videos and photos arrived…

Not being there means its harder to explain how to capture the info

As Huge Files On email/ file sharing sizes instead of via the platform

Upside down Portrait instead of landscape

And there’s the info overload

1+ tasks a day

from 20+ mums =

350+ individual video clips and

100s of photos and SMSs

A lot a content to analyse

A lot of content to keep up to

date with

A lot of management

We give them the questions

and have to leave them to it

And we’re asking consumers to become the researchers AND the respondent

Kids feel at ease because they’re in their own home

And it’s mum who’s asking the questions

The benefits are ‘natural’ responses

We’re not there to ask for more details

We often have to take the ‘answer’ as

the only answer, missing out on the

ability to probe

But it moves closer to ethnography than qualitative research

And mum isn’t the best interviewer for kids She’s not unbiased

She doesn’t know our

objectives

She isn't a trained researcher

and can ask leading questions

“you like this one, don’t you?

It’s one of your favourites…”

Trial your platform and all potential response types

(photo, SMS and video) with multiple respondents

Get a clear understanding upfront about how platform

will function (any limitations / size issues / memory

etc)

Keep respondent numbers low (over 20 is a lot!)

Set tasks realistically (one per day was overwhelming

for us and respondents)

Fully brief all respondents on practical elements

(angle of filming, how to save files and upload)

Check and chase up for outputs daily

Allow lots of time for editing and analysis

at the back-end

Our tips based on experience…

To take you to multiple points of interaction with

brands and products

To capture behaviour as it occurs

To contrast what they say with what they actually do

Use mobile to go where ‘traditional’ quant can’t

LATITUDE INSIGHTSChanging the conversation

Melbourne office312 Waverley RoadMalvern East VIC 3145P: +61 3 9571 1199

Sydney officeSuite 8, 43-45 Burns Bay RoadLane Cove NSW 2066P: +61 2 9420 2337

E: conversations@latitudeinsights.com.auW: latitudeinsights.com.au

Contact us:Dianne GardinerCEOdianne@latitudeinsights.com.au0417 323 765