I’ve been reading a whole load of stuff about virtual reality this morning which no doubt most of you have come across – it’s just fascinating!

More and more brands are trying out virtual reality as part of their marketing strategy. Studies have shown that consumers have a greater affinity towards brands using VR, and the explosion of Pokemon Go simply validates this!

VR solves a huge problems marketers have around engagement and awareness for the following reasons:

• Immersive – users wearing a headset are completely immersed in the content meaning fewer distractions and more attention on the message.
• Impactful – the intensity of a VR experience is greater than traditional media generating strong emotions in its users which are linked to real behaviour change.
• Memorable – our brains are built to remember events linked to locations, this means that VR experiences have a longer trace in the audience’s memory.
• Novel – with high media and public interest in VR early adopters can benefit from favourable media exposure.

Here are a few examples of brands using VR in marketing…

North Face – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSfkE4emoBE

Volvo – https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=24&v=Wuln2bJkp1k

The Marriott hotel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf1aC6aebq8

It will be interesting to see how this rise in technology is shaping the future of qualitative research. Does this mean moving away from traditional focus groups towards much more immersive and engaging online social communication? I know this requires technology and expertise but can we challenge ourselves to think more creatively about (feasible!) methodologies we could adopt, like we’ve done with our WhatsApp chats…now that we’ve killed several Drowzee’s – what’s next?

Participating in qualitative research can turn out to be surprisingly emotional for some of our respondents. Most of us in the office have had experiences of respondents ending up rather shaken up after a focus group or an in home session. Some people might never be given the time or space to speak about their lives and doing so with a stranger can be more disturbing than one would expect.

The AQR’s Spark session on how to borrow from the world of psychotherapy in qualitative research appeared to be the perfect opportunity to try and learn from these situations.

Nicky Forsythe, psychotherapist and ex-quallie, argues that everyone has the ability to listen to someone in an ‘empathetic’, therapeutic way. In fact, there are even studies showing how an ‘untrained’ individual listening (but really listening) to someone else can have the same, if not better, cathartic effect than going to a professional therapist. It is not to undermine the value of the latter, but simply to recognize that as human beings we can connect with each other in significant ways through sharing pieces of our stories. Nicky is also the founder of Talk for Health, an organisation promoting accessible and everyday therapeutic talk to increase wellbeing.

Empathetic listening is not new for most experienced qualitative researchers – it is premised on concepts such as having no judgements, open mindedness, not thinking about our next line too much, and staying focused on the other person. Techniques such as mirroring or paraphrasing our respondents’ stories for instance are often used to connect with the respondents and put them at ease.

Of course, providing some sort of cathartic therapy to our respondents is not usually our main objective. However, demonstrating empathy can also enable us to gain valuable insights into what people think. I was delighted to see anthropologist Margaret Mead quoted: ‘There is a big difference between what people say, what people do and what people say they do.’ This is where empathetic listening can be a way for us to gain precision and nuance in our interpretation. It can allow us to more carefully look out for body language cues or paradoxical statements that we can incorporate into a sharper analysis

In every job, people have to negotiate between their professional self and their private self. However, in qualitative research this boundary can seem particularly fuzzy as human connection is such a big part of it. We have to stay focused on our research objectives whilst creating a relationship with our respondents to make them comfortable. During the talk, we spoke about how to remain professional while giving bits of our ‘real’ self, which can be tougher than it seems.

Nicky unexpectedly demonstrated herself how to potentially settle this issue. She had been struggling with some family issues in the few days preceding and was even thinking of cancelling the talk. She approached it by telling us her story as an exercise for us to do empathetic listening. It was very professional on the one hand (because used for the exercise), as well as authentically personal and raw on the other.

I hesitated to include this here because it felt somewhat ‘unprofessional’ to mention, but I realised that was what made the talk so tangible for me.

If I have to be authentic myself, I must admit I felt quite emotionally drained afterwards. It was a very powerful exercise to illustrate how these situations can be simultaneously disconcerting and empowering. Disconcerting because seeing someone open up in a professional context is slightly unsettling, but empowering because it reminds you that everyone is human, including yourself – and that’s ok!

Analysis is the quest for answers and as researchers our job is to relay those as insight, not reportage. Practise makes perfect they say and so I recently got the chance to join the AQR for a 2-day training course on insight and debrief writing. Having only written a handful of debriefs myself I was excited by the opportunity to tighten my storytelling style.

Day 1 looked at the journey of research and the strategic thinking throughout analysis to draw out the core insight. Pushing yourself to think of the wider themes that relate to the business in question is certainly trickier than quoting respondents as gospel – but that’s what we are commissioned for! Some great models that visually explain relationships within the research work well as takeaways that can be passed on as part of the debrief, rather than internally (client side) circulating the entire deck.

Day 2 arrived and we were joined by two professional writers who took us through the world of punctuation, grammar and concise writing. Having looked at an array of introductions from our favourite novels/poems we used that inspiration to draft our own on ‘mini-deck’ using what we had learnt. For me, one of the key things is being able to keep your copy succinct. Remove any irrelevant information to keep the reader engaged – “if in doubt, cut it out”. I am certainly looking forward to writing my next debrief.

Last week I was lucky enough to grab a ticket to the Grazia Google Food for Thought event, in which a number of influential women who have recently taken the food industry by storm shared their thoughts and experiences on how digital has transformed the way we cook, eat and create food brands and businesses in 2016. Food, technology, awesome speakers, bubbles AND a chance to hang out at Google? What’s not to love about that!

The panel line up was impressive, and Google’s Head of Marketing Nishma Robb clearly took delight in sharing the stage with Grazia’s Deputy Editor Caroline Barrett before introducing our fabulous foodies Madeline Shaw, Uyeen Luu and Romina Chiappa who were being put through their paces by Sky TV’s Sarah-Jane Mee. A stage full of inspirational women who are each running successful businesses built around their genuine passion for making great food, and who have used the ever-evolving technological landscape to their advantage to grow and nourish a loyal fanbase which most brands would sell their grannies for.

There’s no denying it, they all agreed, that today’s dinner table has changed- from the food and drink we place on it, to the way in which we behave when we’re sat there. We seek recipe inspiration online not only in the form of typical lists and instructions, but photos, vlogs and video tutorials guide us through the process like a digital sous chef. We take photos of the food we eat, and swiftly upload to a multiple of online channels (after a heavy dose of cropping, filtering and hashtagging). We even painstakingly input every crumb we consume into our meal tracker apps and record our calorie consumption on our fitbits.

From TV, to apps, to blogs, to social media to YouTube Channels, these ladies have truly harnessed the power of all things digital. They’re helping to lead the way and define the forefront of what’s ‘in’ when it comes to what and how we eat, educating and inspiring the masses with their accessible and personal approaches to delicious food. Technology has propelled them into the limelight, and given them the opportunity to share their recipes, techniques and of course photos of their daily offering of #whatIatetoday with the world.

It’s easy to question whether, in the age of all things digital, something more traditional like a paperback cookbook even has a place anymore? It was a firm YES from our panel, “I’m buying more cookbooks than I’ve ever bought before” exclaimed Sarah-Jane; and she’s right. There’s something very satisfying about a physical curation of beautiful and exciting cookbooks organised elegantly on a shelf, showcasing the breadth of your knowledge and discernment when it comes to food- because let’s face it, even if it’s not digital, it’s still all about social currency right?

Our tech savvy ladies had some advice for brands, and other entrepreneurs seeking to harness the power of technology to reach out to the world- regardless of whether your mission is food focused or not:

• “Each social media platform speaks a different language”, videos on Instagram SHOULD be different to videos on Youtube, as each serves a specific purpose and demographic so content needs to be developed with this in mind.
• “Be truthful to your original values”, people see straight through you, and will quickly discard you if it doesn’t seem genuine, staying true to a purpose/ message/ idea is vital and whilst growth is important, retaining authenticity is more so.
• “Plan carefully where and when to post”, who are you trying to speak to? What will they be doing right now? When are they most receptive, and in what arena? These are the questions you need to know the answers to.
• “Connect with your audience”, you exist at the mercy of those who read your posts. Be understanding and receptive of their comments, and interact on a personal level to
• “Never stop seeking inspiration yourself”, our panellists all had a plethora of other inspirational digital foodies who they aspire to be like themselves. They’re certainly not resting on their laurels, and they very clearly LOVE what they do, and continue to find ways to grow individually.

Technology has drastically changed the way in which people can (and do!) pursue success. It’s created a multitude of platforms for “the average joe” to communicate their thoughts and ideas far and wide, gaining traction with a captivated audience far quicker than in the past. Last year saw infamous YouTuber PewDiePie appear on the Forbes Rich List, and I’m sure the names of more riders of the digital wave will join him as time goes on.

We’re often under pressure from our clients to produce visually sophisticated, inspiring, outputs. We also internally push ourselves to produce work that is visually impressive, contemporary and will stand out against other agencies. So, attending a Breakfast Bites on the art of infographics was a no brainer.

The course was run by Rachel Cox, Senior Research Manager at Relish and infographic expert. The purpose of the session was to help us learn to think in a more visual way and ultimately discover the essence of a good infographic…I’m told this is information represented in a way that can be quickly and clearly understood without getting bogged down in all the detail! Rachel taught us three key elements to keep in mind when creating an infographic – design, data and story all of which must always be of equal measure.

We were shown some examples of creatively engaging infographics – whilst extremely inspired I did have doubts as to how I could feasible replicate something of this level design. We all know that time is a luxury when it comes to chart writing. After an analysis session we head straight to our default device, so Powerpoint in my case, where we mess around with the shapes in the hope of being inspired to create a slide that’s visually pleasing whilst clearly illustrating the insights.

According to Rachel, it’s unsurprising we struggle to come up with visual narratives that genuinely bring to life the points we are trying to make. Instead, we should be starting our creative journey with pencil to paper – it is the creative evolution through drawing that allows you to craft a powerful infographic. It is at this point you turn to Powerpoint to exemplify the idea …no wonder it’s felt like hard work up until now!

We put the idea to the test and I can tell you first hand it really works! In groups we were given a topic, in my case Wedding suits, along with several charts abstracted from a debrief deck. Using the slides we were tasked to condense the findings into one simple essence – a visual metaphor. Although harder than anticipated – coming up with ideas as a group is a productive method. It got me thinking, in our analysis sessions we should be challenging each other and working together as a team to sum up ideas visually more often. This way we can help train our minds to think in a more visual way.

But do we challenge ourselves enough – are we always crafting the most engaging and relevant work through incorporating a more visual narrative? We are already good at providing clients with fancy one-pager take aways but could we be doing more to condense our findings through the power of infographics. Not only will this push us to decipher what the most important insights are but will also help us tell a clear and coherent story. This way we can step out of the PowerPoint comfort zone and use stand alone infographic pieces to actively engage our clients.

I love it when Steve (my Razor co-founder) surprises me.  Over one of our Monday morning coffees last year he suggested it was time to launch a new website and alongside it, relaunch our positioning.  Jiminy.  8 months later, it’s happened.  Launched, bedded in and now we’re all on board with Sharper Thinking.

It sounds SO obvious right?  We’re called Razor, of course Sharper Thinking is what we stand for.  I look back now at the various punning stories we’ve woven into what we deliver – cutting through, cutting edge, cutting to the chase and wonder why it took us so long to narrow our philosophy down to two snappy words.

The truth is, like many brands, you get stuck in your own initial ‘reason to believe’ and you don’t always take the time to introspect.  We had our 5 core values, our mission, our vision. We spend time each year discussing these with the team and making sure they are embedded in everything we do.  But in our 8 years of business and residual love for our first website we never quite got around to challenging the over-arching expression of ourselves.  

The agency we selected (Big Brand Ideas – they’re ace) not only designed our beautiful website and evolved our logo but they challenged us from the start.  They were briefed to evolve us, not just our look and feel.  They took the time to understand our business (even before we commissioned them), they immersed themselves in our world and they helped us craft the new expressions of ourselves.  I’m not convinced we would have worked so hard or so effectively, without them.

To the outsider, our new website is probably ‘just a website’.  Our evolved logo is ‘just a bit different’.  The response from our clients and friends has been positive and we look back at our old ‘us’ and think it all looks so old-fashioned – overnight.  We feel instantly more grown up, more professional and more in tune with what our clients really want.   The process and the results have provided us with a whack of oxygen, a reason to talk about ourselves more confidently and a new impetus to get out there and talk Razor.  We’ve always delivered it but now we really believe we look the part.  That’s Sharper Thinking.

A few weeks ago it was the Voxburner Youth Marketing Conference and unsurprisingly, a number of speakers referenced social media and the way in which Gen Y and Gen Z use different social platforms. After digesting everything that was spoken about, something that’s really stuck with me is an idea that brands should be following behaviours, not platforms.

Teens and young adults no longer use written words or text as a means of expressing themselves; instead it’s all about images. So it’s not that Facebook was disliked overnight, or that there was a sudden rebellion against it, it’s just that it doesn’t represent their current behaviour. This highlights the importance for brands to keep a watchful eye on how these age groups express themselves, and use platforms that reflect these means of communication.

Just as importantly, brands need to understand HOW teens are using different forms of social media in order to create tailored strategies for each platform. Simply placing the same piece of content across social platforms is seen by this age group as lazy and lacks any impact. If brands want to achieve success socially, then they need to mirror the way this audience communicate and ensure the content is relevant to the chosen platform.

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the ‘Engaging Youth – Hot Trends & Insights’ Conference at the Museum of London Docklands and it certainly lived up to it’s name.  A jam packed day full of largely client side speakers from the likes of Twitter, BBC, Cancer Research and News UK to name a few, sharing their experiences and work they have done with teens and young adults. Each and every paper was fascinating, with the stats and stories they shared reminding me how important it is that we recognise the differences between this group and those who have been before. Whilst debated amongst speakers whether we can really call Gen Z ‘digital natives’, (with some arguing only children today are true ‘digital natives’) it was most certainly agreed that this is an audience, that as challenging as they may be, brands need to win over.

At Razor, we’ve been doing lots of work with this age group, talking everything from soft drinks to Vlogging so it was great to hear directly from clients the challenges and struggles they’ve face and to be given examples of how they’ve found success. What was apparent across talks, and a real ‘PHEW!’ moment as a market researcher, was a consensus that for brands to successfully talk to teens and young adults, they haveto engage with them and spend time in their worlds. Dan Walsh, Head of Marketing at the BBC, addressed this issue head on when he said we must ‘quit making marketing for marketers and make campaigns that build and develop the real dreams and ambitions of your audience’ – he described how BBC 1Xtra listened to and spent time with young adults, understanding their worlds in order to make campaigns that inspire them and importantly, give something back to them.

Tariq Slim (Head of Tech and Telco at Twitter) gave some good examples of how brands can give back by engaging in two way conversations, listening and responding to what young people want in real time. He confirmed what we hear from a lot of the young people we’ve spoken to, that brands need to be having these honest, ‘live’ conversations and talking to them on their platforms and at the times they are online, because if they aren’t, someone else will be. And when it comes to platforms, trends are changing faster than ever before, ‘social media’ can no longer just be bundled into one bucket so brands need to understand the different purposes different social media sites fill – Ben Whitelaw from News UK boldly claimed that “Facebook is now a graveyard, used to arrange events” and “video is no longer a 16:9 media format that you just ‘play’, it’s become something that’s experienced” – this is clearly apparent in the rise of platforms like SnapChat, Vines, YouTube and Periscope and I wonder whether brands could be doing more in their comms to reflect the tone and content that Gen Z are watching

I left the conference with my brain working overtime thinking of all the new facts, figures and ideas I’d learnt, Gen Z are certainly a savvy bunch who very much want to know what brands can do for them and I for one will be keeping a close eye on this important generation.

Clients pay us to ‘find’ them and we spend hours deciphering for them but remind me again… what exactly is an insight?

There are many competing definitions out there. This video from the APG gets close but is probably better on what an insight isn’t than what an insight is.

Like all things in life (or in my life, anyway), I think the answer lies in the philosophy of Werner Herzog.  For those that have never heard of him, Herzog is an incomparable German film director and documentary-maker. Incomparable because in the making of his film Fitzcarraldo, a film about a man who pulled a boat over a mountain to get to the river on the other side, he actually pulled a boat over a mountain. Incomparable because, while being interviewed by Mark Kermode outside his home in LA, he was shot by a sniper with an air rifle and barely flinched, declaring it an ‘insignificant bullet’. I could go on but suffice it to say, he is a director of incredibly powerful films.

So what does he have to do with insights? The guiding philosophy of his filmmaking – the thing that ties his documentaries to his works of fiction – is an idea he calls ‘ecstatic truth’ (stay with me now). He defines this in opposition to the ‘accountant’s truth’, which is concerned only with recounting facts; ecstatic truth, on the other hand, is the deeper, more illuminating truth beneath the facts. The only way you get there is through effort, style and craft. In documentary cinema, where debates about the ethics of representing ‘reality’ are ever-present, this idea has come in for criticism but I think it has parallels to what we do in qualitative research – another endeavour concerned with representing reality.

Bad research is the mere relaying of findings – ‘he said that’, ‘she said this’ (what Werner would call the ‘accountant’s truth’). Good research – research that generates insights – involves the interpretation of those findings to arrive at a truth that belies them. An insight, then, is a sort of ‘ecstatic truth’. It’s not the truth, rather a persuasive, powerful and illuminating reading of the facts. And, let’s not forget, something that will hopefully unlock the client’s problem.

So there’s my attempt at defining an insight, via Werner Herzog. Of course, if you buy into this definition it also means an insight (and qualitative research in general) is unfalsifiable but we’ll conveniently save that for another blog post. 

(PS. In a good example of his ‘ecstatic truth’, here’s a video of Herzog on the depressed penguins of the Antarctic. Just listen to that voice.)

The Premier League introduced their newly rebranded logo this week, in an attempt to appeal to both fans and sponsors. The UK’s top football league was created in 1992, and due to it’s global fan base, managed to sell the 2015 TV rights for a record £5.136 billion – yes billion! After working with the London based Design Studio and Robin Brand Consultants, the stripped back, simplistic and modern logo has now been revealed. Barclay’s have been the lead sponsor of the league since 2001, which is a partnership due to end in 2017. The league will now have seven partnered sponsors with Nike and EA already involved.

The rebrand has prompted mixed reactions; with some annoyed there is no longer a reference to the sport in the new logo. But what was the key reason for change? The idea is that this new identity will feel less corporate, going back to grass roots, the communities and supporters who play and watch the sport.

The managing director of the Premier League, Richard Masters says, “Our current visual identity is very corporate, very blue and white like lots of other sports brands are”. The focus is looking to move away from the numbers and the money, towards the work off the pitch and the people that play on them. The more the brand can relate to the fans, the more appealing it will be to the sponsors, soon to be Nike and EA. The logo will launch officially at the start of the 2016/2017 season, and will hopefully benefit the English league’s global image, competing against the likes of Spanish and German leagues.