DISCOVERING INSIGHT
FOR GROWTH & INNOVATION
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Definition of insight
An insight is:
a very deep
understanding of the
motivation, attitudes,
beliefs, feelings and
frictions
seen in new light,
that when activated,
cause a reaction and
behavioral change
which will ultimately
benefit the business.
Deep knowledge
in the subject
Fresh new light
(provide a new point of view)
Actionable
for results
INTRODUCTION
Process for insight generation
D - U - I Process
D
U
I
Data & Information
Review important pieces of data, information on
consumers’ behaviors
Understanding
Pick up cues, look for common threads, form
hypotheses to find out the underlying patterns
Insight
Arrive at a high-potency insight, which the brand’s
role to resolve is strong and relevant
INTRODUCTION
The importance of insight
Can businesses operate
without insight?
!
Yes, in some cases (i.e. internet
service providers, basic commodities,…)
Yet, growth in these cases is:
- Diminishing over time
- Low value adding
It’s much better to have good
insight.
Good insight = GPS to point out
the direction
"
INTRODUCTION
The ultimate owner of insight
Who owns insight, and who is
responsible for the use of it?
!
Brand Managers (BM).
Because it is one of a few key
things BM uniquely owns alone
in the entire brand building
process.
Can brand agencies
challenge our insight?
!
"
Yes, they could and they should.
It’s a good check, and may lead
to new interpretation or
improvement in work.
"
AGENDA
DISCOVERING
INSIGHT
ARTICULATING
INSIGHT
TRANSLATING INSIGHT
INTO EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGNS
“
Best time to plant a
tree is 20 years ago.
The second best time
is now.
Chiness proverb
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
STUDYING HABITS
Spot the patterns and its triggers
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Studying Habits
The habit loop
The sign, the trigger
that sets off a habit
What you do, your
reaction to the cue
1 CUE
BEHAVIOR 2
REWARD
3
The benefit you get
from the habit
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Studying Habits
The habit loop: Why we use so much toothpaste
Putting paste over
full length of the
brush and brushing
Brush & Paste
1 CUE
BEHAVIOR 2
REWARD
3
Exceptional health benefits
after brushing
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Studying Habits
+
&
,
Freedom Well-being
Attractiveness
Security
*
-
Tradition
Respect
15 UNIVERSAL
MOTIVATIONS
)
Control
%
Individuality
#
$
Harmony
Knowledge
'
Leadership
♥
!
Fun
(
#
Belonging
Self-indulgence
Love
STUDYING
ANOMALIES
What’s odd? Why it happened?
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Studying Anomalies
SITUATION
Study of American students’
academic performance
ANOMALY
Poorer students outperformed rich
ones by large margin.
Why it happened?
DISCOVERY
INSIGHT
Poorer students had to continuously
do homework and practice exercises,
while rich kids could go on trips,
join other recreational activities,…
▸
Sometimes a bless is a curse
▸
Material investment doesn’t
dictate success, but perseverance
and continuous practice.
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Studying Anomalies
SITUATION
Betty Crocker new cake mix
included all ingredients for a cake,
and was expected to be a hit.
ANOMALY
The sales was bad.
What happened?
DISCOVERY
Housewives felt “guilty”, like
cheating, when using the cake mix.
INSIGHT
By spending time and effort to bake
cake, housewives felt more like they
own it.
SOLUTION
The company removed egg powder
from the cake mix.
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Q&A
Is it a must for business and
brands to have insight before
they can be successful?
!
Not always; but it’s better to
begin with having one or a few
insights to improve chance of
winning in market place.
Why do we need so many
techniques and tools to solve
the problem?
!
"
Multiple tools allow better
understanding of problems,
enable development of more
effective solutions.
"
CONFLUENCE
When some noticeable behaviors
are results of multiple influences
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Confluence
How combined trends influence each other’s and
people all at once:
Increase in
interracial marriages
in Vietnam
Easier transportation
International integration
E.g. trade cooperation, regional
integration like ASEAN
E.g. more flights and cheaper
airline providers
Foreign language education
Positive perceived images
E.g. language schools or online
language courses at low cost
through entertainment content,
e.g. Hollywood, Korean movies
are available in local language
Communication means
E.g. Facebook, Whatsapp, Viber,
Gmail… allow people to connect
despite global distance
A
B
A
B
UNDERSTANDING
FRUSTRATION
“As if” vs. “Should be”
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Understanding Frustration
The birth of USB
?
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Q&A
"
Should we focus on heavy
users or non-users when we
look for insight?
- Non-users could tell us insight
about adoption barriers
- Heavy users could tell us insight
about how to drive consumptions
"
!
Could it be that different
insight finding techniques
yield different insights?
Yes, it’s possible.
Still, better use more than one
technique as it allow us to later
choose which insight is more
impactful.
!
QUESTIONING
ORTHODOXIES
Asking “What if?”
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Questioning Orthodoxies
“What if shopping cart can…”
1937
1946
…be
stacked?
1982
…carry
children?
…be returned to
the right place?
…scan
products?
…replace
cashiers?
…give
suggestion?
COMPREHENSION
OF THE EXTREMES
What made people do the extreme
behaviors?
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Comprehension of the Extremes
Why studying the extremes may give you
better insight than talking to average consumers?
▸
Average consumers don’t know how to
express really what’s on their mind.
▸
Average consumers tend to give average
answers. Studying the extremes shows the
magnification of the insight’s impacts.
▸
Understanding extreme leads to more
impactful moves to convince of the market: if
the extremes are satisfied, so would others.
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Q&A
"
How do I know my insights
are right ones?
Final answer is if you see positive
impacts on your business once you
make good use of those insights.
"
!
Any other way to check the
validity of the insight?
Right insight allow creative and
communication planner to move
forward with clarity of thoughts.
!
IMMERSION
Putting oneself through
consumers’ experience
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Immersion
BRIEF
TYPICAL
THINKING
REASON
Oral B asked IDEO to design
children’s toothbrush
‣ Make smaller size version of
normal toothbrushes
‣ Use bright colors
‣ Add cartoon characters…
Those ideas were not working
Kids are not “smaller adults”, they
have their unique challenges and
interest.
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Immersion
IDEO
REQUEST
Watch kids brushing teeth, to walk
through kids’ brushing experience
IMMERSION
Really be there and observe with
undivided attention, experience
what kids go through.
INSIGHT
Kids’ hand muscle, nerve, and motor
skills are underdeveloped compared
to adults. Hence, they lack the ability
to grab and making fine movements
of the brush like adults.
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Q&A
What are the signals that you
have discovered a valid insight?
!
“AHA” experience:
a combination of surprise and
something familiar.
The feeling of “It’s me”,
“I thought I was the only one”:
relevance and familiarity
Tension: a need to improve an
existing situation
"
DISCOVERING INSIGHT
Q&A
"
How long should I spend
identifying insights?
Spend as much time as you can.
Seeking to understand consumers
should be an ongoing effort.
"
!
What if I’m not sure that my
discovered insight is a good one?
Articulation techniques help
makes insight clearer: revisit
your thoughts and rewrite
them in clearer fashions.
!
ARTICULATING
INSIGHT
ARTICULATING INSIGHT
The importance of insight articulation
High-potency insight
expresses the truth in inspirational
language which captures the imagination
of the audience
Low-potency insight
smothers the truth in complex, boring jargon
ARTICULATING INSIGHT
What is NOT insight?
DATA
Numbers, facts
‣ Doesn’t explain WHY things happen
What anyone sees
OBSERVATION ‣
CONSUMER
NEED
BRAND WISH
Doesn’t show how to reapply to other cases
What consumers say they need
‣ Doesn’t show why they need so
What brands wants to happen in
its favor
‣ Disregard consumers’ insights
ARTICULATING INSIGHT
Reintepreting universal truth
Giving “new point of view” towards what is already
generally known.
Example:
‣ Known: People are getting married later and tend to enjoy
life more than previous generation
‣ Articulation: 30 is the new 20
‣ Known: It’s hard to keep up with beauty standard brands
are showing me
‣ Articulation: Most beauty care brands are lying to me
ARTICULATING INSIGHT
Q&A
"
Should I do the articulation
alone or should I do it in group?
It’s up to you.
Group articulation can bring more
perspectives; or you can rely on
your own intuition and knowledge.
"
!
What if my boss or boss’s boss
want to rewrite what I proposed?
Listen to them, while seeking to
understand their thinking and
feelings too.
At the same time, you can press for
important aspects of your insight.
!
ARTICULATING INSIGHT
Dramatizing the obvious truth
Telling or delivering story like a play or movie”
Example:
‣ Known: Being mother is an unpaid duty, no break, loads of
pressures from every direction, life-time commitment that
you can never change (you can’t fire your kids). One of the
heaviest thing a woman can go through.
‣ Articulation: Motherhood is the best job in the world.
‣ Known: Having kids is tiring, it’s especially frustrating to
clean dirty cloth, restore dirty wall filled with colors and
doodles, clear up messy dining table caused by kids’ food.
‣ Articulation: It’s good children make a mess.
‣ Known: In any big party, usually, any of us is nobody.
‣ Articulation: You are (actually, want to be) a star in your
own right.
ARTICULATING INSIGHT
Evaluating insight articulation
A good insight:
‣ Explains why consumers think or do as what
they are doing
‣ Connects behaviors with emotions of consumers
‣ Pinpoints new aspects that bring greater value
consumers care about
‣ Give new perspectives, different point of views
to the fact
ARTICULATING INSIGHT
Q&A
"
How far should I dramatize it?
Keep it in a sentence or two.
Keep the same elements from
input, do not add in too many
new ones.
"
!
Isn’t dramatizing the insight job
of creative agency?
Not yet.
Creative job is to dramatize the
message created based on insight.
!
TRANSLATING INSIGHT
INTO
EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGNS
TRANSLATING INSIGHT INTO
EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGNS
What to do when presenting insight
‣ Give enough and easy to follow background
‣ Share information, assumption, methodology
‣ Prepare comparative examples/related
examples
‣ Have ultra-clear end in mind: “What is the
single desired behavior?”
‣ Be prepared for resistant, stay open, and
encourage Q&A
TRANSLATING INSIGHT INTO
EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGNS
Why being open minded helps earning
better results
‣ All of us have a change of being wrong
‣ It sets the mood for better collaboration
‣ If you fail, you have mental support to try again
TRANSLATING INSIGHT INTO
EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGNS
Q&A
"
What are general mistake you
have seen the work regarding
work on insight?
Too much ego &lack of humility
= sure failure
"
!
How do we know our agency
friends makes good use of
our insights?
Good agency helps rearticulate
the shared insights.
Also, a good campaign will lead
to desired response.
!
THANK YOU!