Jon Steel: Truth Lies and Advertising
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During a recent re-read of Truth, Lies and Advertising I distilled Jon Steel’s ten rules for qualitative research. So, with a little creative license, I thought I’d share my notes in case others might find them useful.
01. Be out of it: You can’t do qual research from behind a desk. So get away from the office. If you’re working on a fashion brand visit a fashion store. Read fashion magazines. Meet shop assistants. Talk to models. Find photographers. Immerse.
02. Be subjective: The first job of advertising is to be noticed. So being interesting is more important than being right. To be interesting you have to find unexpected truths. Subjectivity is your secret weapon in the search for surprising. Interpret. Exaggerate. Manipulate.
03. Take the wide view: Don’t ask about consumers thoughts on deodorant straight away. They don’t have many thoughts about it. Start wide. Talk about their daily routine. When they get hot. When they exercise. What makes them stressed. When they sweat. Start wide, then focus.
04. Look through the eyes of a child: People find it easier to answer questions if they remove themselves from the question. So make it easy for them. Ask what their friends would think of the brand? Would their partner buy? What would they have thought about it 10 years ago?
05. Go to them: Focus group facilities are sterile environments. White walls, strangers, one-way glass. They are the antithesis of consumers’ natural habitats. So avoid them. Meet consumers in their houses. In their shops. In their bars. Talk to them in their world.
06. Watch the ball not the game: Often there is more to learn from the group than the speaker. Their reactions speak volumes. So keep looking around. Watch when something surprising is said. Look for nods frowns and raised eyebrows. Read the room.
07. Listen to what is not being said: What isn’t being said is as important as what is. If it’s not being said it’s either unimportant or sensitive. What are the topics that are being avoided? Recognise the gaps. Explore their limits. Probe their boundaries.
08. Listen with your eyes: Body language tells you more than verbal language. People can lie with their voice but not with their body. So pay attention to their gestures. Their expressions. Their posture. Believe their body. Question their voice.
09. Homework: You can’t always organise focus groups. So find other ways. Ask consumers to take pictures for you. Or video themselves every time they use a product. Or write journals. Or record voice memos. Whatever it takes. Find other ways.
10. Don’t worry if you can’t find the answer: Sometimes their isn’t a unique insight in a category. Sometimes there’s nothing interesting. Sometimes the interesting has already been used. But not all advertising needs an insight. No insight tells you to explore other methods.
I hope you find this as useful as I did. But it isn’t exhaustive. I’m sure you all have tips to add.
So… What’s missing?