Title: What is an Insight Can We Agree Prepared by Insight Research Group USA
1What is an Insight? Can We Agree?Prepared by
Insight Research Group USA
Research Excellence Presentation PBIRG Annual
Meeting May 2008 Washington, DC
Presentation
2Why ask the question?
- The term Insight is used by pharmaceutical
companies and - MR agencies alike
3We felt it was time to explore the definitions
and meanings associated with INSIGHT . . .
- In order to
- Have a clear view and understanding of client
expectations - Know where to find insights
- Understand how to develop insights
- And to optimize the development of insights
- Determine how best to deliver insights
- AND to determine the role that agencies can and
do play in the insight identification process
4So what do we really mean by Insights?
- We have taken on the challenge by conducting
- 30 x 20 min telephone discussions
- With senior researchers within leading
Pharmaceutical / MR companies - 15 companies represented
- US and EU
- March and April 2008
C. Kalb Associates
5The word Insight is clearly used very broadly
and loosely
Thats not an insightits an observation!
6What is your definition of an Insight?
An Insight is a finding with a spin on it or
something that represents a different angle on
thinking about a product or an idea
Its an epiphany, a sudden moment, information
about the problem at a deeper level
The conversion of information to intelligence
Something that changes current thinking and has
a significant impact on the business implications
Reading between the lines to gather information
to generate forecasts, the synthesis of all the
information
The unearthing of something that we haven't
thought of before or bringing to the surface a
blunt Idea that is now sharper
An insight is something that the marketing and
brand teams can act on
7Everyone agrees that insights are fundamental
- Several common themes emerged
You need to be intimately involved in the brand
to be able to spot an insight
I just keep hearing the same old things and we
have to do better
Weve been in the therapeutic category for 10
years and theres not a blessed new idea
8More Themes
tend to evolve over time
an old idea that is well recognized, agreed
upon and now seen in a new context
to be an insight the brand team need to be
able to act on it
9Theres more...
You need to get the key stakeholders involved
throughout the research
I had to sell one of those great insights to 3
different franchise leaders and it really came
down to personal trust
Sometimes really great ideas are not acted
on because the risks are too highthe risk of a
mistake
10(No Transcript)
11Insights Can Be Generated Throughout the
Research Process
The client brief
The briefingmeeting
The agency proposal
The discussion guide
Fieldwork
Analysis
Writing ofdebriefor report
The debrief presentation
Dissemination/applicationof findings
12What are the challenges to optimizing the
generation of insights?
- Lack of agreement on what an Insight is
- Product Management, Brand Team, Agency does not
agree on what an insight is - Not able to sit back and reflect/share and build
on prior learnings - Lack of time for synthesis as faster/more
demanding timelines - Product may already be successful
- if its not broke, dont fix it
- New members to the team are often less
experienced and knowledgeable - Agency too familiar with the brand
- Difficult to challenge or provide independent
ideas - Challenging to get all stakeholders involved
13How can agencies and clients work together to
optimize insights?
- Include key stakeholders in the briefing meeting
- Write your assumptions down before you start
- Good research agencies ask good questions at the
briefing you can generate potential insights to
be tested at this stage - Build insight traps into research design this
is why bricolage and projective exercises are so
useful - doing everything the same way every time is not
the way to generate an insight - Put challenges into fieldwork conflict can be
very useful if carefully managed - Use related disciplines such as semiotics and
anthropology, discourse analysis and ethnography
to reframe areas which have become too familiar - sometimes agencies have a limited bag of tricks
and maybe what you need is to shake that up a bit
to get a fresh perspective
14In the field
- Beware of ambiguity clients, researchers and
respondents use the same words but dont always
mean the same things. You cant avoid it so
watch for it and detect it - Respondents identities and behaviors arent
fixed as they shift they can tell you something
new - Dont wait for the analysis to check hypotheses
layer thoughts and interpretation as you go
check if respondents mean what you think they
have said
15During analysis
- During the analysis be aware that most of the
learnings are unstated you need time and effort
to bring them to the surface build in time - Ask constantly Who? What? Where? Why? How?
- Apply different frameworks think of the
marketing and business objectives not just the
research - advantage of a research team (not just a
moderator) - Frequent brainstorms with different members
providing new perspectives - Keep it real use video and audio and full
transcripts dont be too quick to move to
summaries - Have an interim debrief involve the client in
the latter part of the analysis
16At the presentation
- Client and Agency play an active role
- Researchers love to show how hard they have
worked and how much they have learned neither
of these is a research objective - The purpose of the debrief is to get the
learnings and insight out of the researcher -
check constantly is this old news, confirmation
of the clients suspicions or something off the
radar? - Make provision for capturing new thoughts (and
insights) at the presentation and after it
workshops are good for this - Think about how to integrate insights with
current knowledge and other data sources which
already exist - Insights are likely to be killed very early on
unless they are nurtured and protected inside the
client organization so encourage an open mind
17Focus for the Future
18Focus for the Future
1
- Communication during project and at the
presentation - Briefings including strategy and historical data
sharing - Workshop style interactive presentations
19Focus for the Future
1
2
- Agencies should strive to think like the end
decision maker - What does he/she need to know to do his/her job?
- Communication during project and at the
presentation - Briefings including strategy and historical data
sharing - Workshop style interactive presentations
20Focus for the Future
1
2
- Agencies should strive to think like the end
decision maker - What does he/she need to know to do his/her job?
- Communication during project and at the
presentation - Briefings including strategy and historical data
sharing - Workshop style interactive presentations
- Team work
- Everyone working to the same end
3
21Focus for the Future
1
2
- Agencies should strive to think like the end
decision maker - What does he/she need to know to do his/her job?
- Communication during project and at the
presentation - Briefings including strategy and historical data
sharing - Workshop style interactive presentations
- Team work
- Everyone working to the same end
- Stand back and see the forest from the trees
- Ask so what?
- Insights are not obvious until you have
discovered them
4
3
22Focus for the Future
- Fresh eyes and perspectives
- Engage the opinion of people with different
business views - Dont be afraid to challenge and change the way
things are done
5
23Focus for the Future
- Add perspective through use of new techniques
- To re-energize the way we discover Insights
- Asking questions in a different way
- Fresh eyes and perspectives
- Engage the opinion of people with different
business views - Dont be afraid to challenge and change the way
things are done
5
6
24Focus for the Future
- Add perspective through use of new techniques
- To re-energize the way we discover Insights
- Asking questions in a different way
- Fresh eyes and perspectives
- Engage the opinion of people with different
business views - Dont be afraid to challenge and change the way
things are done
5
6
- Keep it concise
- Pull out the key points
- Dont allow good Insights to get lost in a sea
of findings - Executive summaries showing just the Insights
7
25Focus for the Future
- Add perspective through use of new techniques
- To re-energize the way we discover Insights
- Asking questions in a different way
- Fresh eyes and perspectives
- Engage the opinion of people with different
business views - Dont be afraid to challenge and change the way
things are done
5
6
- Bring the research to life
- For some clients seeing is believing use of
ethnography, video clips etc. where necessary to
add weight to your Insights
- Keep it concise
- Pull out the key points
- Dont allow good Insights to get lost in a sea
of findings - Executive summaries showing just the Insights
8
7
26A Final Perspective
- We can use the metaphor of a kaleidoscope to
summarize the agency/respondent/client dynamic - Insights can be generated using 3 simple
elements in a particular way - Insights can be gleaned by exploring differences
between the client and respondent perspectives by
comparing, rearranging, selecting and amplifying
any differences found
27In Conclusion
- Insights are critical to our role as
researchers. This encompasses more than
identification and is integral throughout the
process. - By working more effectively with agencies
and raising expectations, insights will continue
to be generated and acted upon.
28(No Transcript)
29Thank You!
Insight Research Group USA 7 Cedar
StreetSummit, NJ 07076908-273-2880
www.insightrg.com