Traditional qualitative and quantitative research has had its day, according to David Davenport-Firth of Coley Porter and Bell, a UK based brand consultancy.
We agree. Over the years, weve worked with many clients who use research to
determine certain consumer perceptions. This type of research is costly but often
doesnt reveal what designers need to create effectively.
Unique and functional selling propositions are becoming harder and harder to
sustain. Today, true competitive advantage is driven by highly emotionally charged
selling propositions.
Think of Absolut, The Body Shop, Nike and Virgin.
These successful organisations have built their brands around striking visual imagery which engages their customers to feel a high level of excitement and passion.
The top five secrets to discovering how to generate the same excitement and
passion for your product or service:
1. Involve the design team from the beginning, especially in the research phase
2. Ask consumer focus groups to collect images and objects related to the product or service instead of asking predetermined questions
3. Work with the focus group and their collected imagery to gain a greater
understanding of their perceptions
4. Create visual mock-ups of agreed directions
5. Go with the idea that tests highest (the sexiest and most exciting part of all!)
Our Top Three Quotes of the Day:
The difference between identity and advertising is that identity is the fingerprint of an organisation and therefore has a much longer lifecycle than advertising
Jean-Leon Bouchenoire - Director of Brand Equity, Compaq Computer Corporation
The brands visual language becomes a unifying platform which, when developed synergistically with key advertising, promotions, and public relations partners, creates a strong, unifying brand message for consumers
Rob Wallace - Managing Partner, Wallace Church Associates, Inc
For companies seeking to unlock their capacity for innovation, I believe the difference between management consulting and design-led approaches is the difference between cleverly analysing the lock and actually possessing the key
Tom Kelly - General Manager, IDEO |
