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When less is more

® comms + brands + planning + research

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When less is more: how invisible stimulus delivers more powerful concept development research

® comms + brands + planning + research

®

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There are fundamental issues with physical concept stimulus that limit its effectiveness as a tool for positioning development research

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Using ‘concept boards’ to convey positioning ideas distorts the research response

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Dismissal of ideas as ‘marketing’

Rationalised response

Encourages ‘respondent

as critic’

De-personalised reactions

Research response

Using ‘concept boards’ to convey positioning ideas distorts the research response

6 NB: ® ‘Invisible Stimulus’ is a Registered Trademark

Dismissal of ideas as ‘marketing’

Rationalised response

Encourages ‘respondent

as critic’

De-personalised reactions

Research response

Using ‘concept boards’ to convey positioning ideas distorts the research response

Responses lack the intuitive, emotional and personal dimensions that characterise the processing of ideas in the ‘real world’

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Dismissal of ideas as ‘marketing’

Rationalised response

Encourages ‘respondent

as critic’

De-personalised reactions

Research response

Using ‘concept boards’ to convey positioning ideas distorts the research response

This is because of the stimulus itself, which appears to be ‘considered’ and ‘fixed’. The

apparent effort that has gone into the stimulus encourages an effortful response

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Conventional stimulus also constrains development

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Problem elements in concepts cannot be

removed, continuing to distract and obstruct

No flexibility to reconfigure

concepts ‘on the hoof’

Conventional stimulus also constrains development

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Problem elements in concepts cannot be

removed, continuing to distract and obstruct

No flexibility to reconfigure

concepts ‘on the hoof’

Conventional stimulus also constrains development

Careful moderation and analysis can only partly mitigate these issues, since they are

intrinsic to the use of physical stimulus per se

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® How does invisible stimulus overcome these issues?

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invisible stimulus - introducing positioning ideas without using any stimulus material

• Ideas introduced verbally and informally by moderator as seamless part of conversation, rather than via concept boards

• Ideas are not highlighted as specific concepts –  instead, moderator mentions them as their own thoughts and

observations or things they have learnt from talking to other people, from factory visits, etc

And – commonly not as new ideas, but as things that already exist

®

®

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invisible stimulus - introducing positioning ideas without using any stimulus material

• Ideas introduced verbally and informally by moderator as seamless part of conversation, rather than via concept boards

• Ideas are not highlighted as specific concepts –  instead, moderator mentions them as their own thoughts and

observations or things they have learnt from talking to other people, from factory visits, etc

And – commonly not as new ideas, but as things that already exist

®

®

This takes the ‘heat’ off the ideas and gives us more flexibility in exploring the concepts

14 NB: ® ‘Invisible Stimulus’ is a Registered Trademark

invisible stimulus - introducing positioning ideas without using any stimulus material

• Ideas introduced verbally and informally by moderator as seamless part of conversation, rather than via concept boards

• Ideas are not highlighted as specific concepts –  instead, moderator mentions them as their own thoughts and

observations or things they have learnt from talking to other people, from factory visits, etc

And – commonly not as new ideas, but as things that already exist

®

®

Consumers have no idea they are responding to a concept as such - it’s like chatting to someone down the pub about something you have found

out, and seeing how they react

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The distance between respondents and ideas is closed

From:

IDEA

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The distance between respondents and ideas is closed

From:

IDEA

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IDEA

The distance between respondents and ideas is closed

To:

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The distance between respondents and ideas is closed

To:

IDEA

IDEA

IDEA IDEA

IDEA

IDEA

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The distance between respondents and ideas is closed

To:

IDEA

IDEA

IDEA IDEA

IDEA

IDEA

Concepts go from being something respondents look at ‘over there’ to something they experience

inside their own minds

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Prejudices overcome

Improved group dynamics

Fluid exploration and development

Intuitive, personal response

The result is a more natural engagement with ideas

invisible stimulus®

®

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Prejudices overcome

Improved group dynamics

Fluid exploration and development

Intuitive, personal response

The result is a more natural engagement with ideas

invisible stimulus®

®

invisible stimulus enables us to obtain responses that more closely reflect the ‘real world’, and thus make greater progress in developing motivating

and distinctive positionings

®

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If the stimulus is ‘invisible’, what do the concepts ‘look’ like?

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Not a visible concept board like this…

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Proposition: ‘Elevis’ gives you immediate energy Support: •  ‘Elevis’ gives you energy so it’s right there when you need it

•  Its active ingredient is immediately processed by your body •  Absorbed rapidly by your muscles and your mind •  You can feel the mental and physical lift straight away - when

you need it Insight: You use energy drinks to give you a lift for a specific task: to get through a meeting, stay alert on a long drive, to play sport. But by the time they’re working, your need has passed.

… but, instead, a rigorous verbal concept that respondents never see, such as this:

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Proposition: ‘Elevis’ gives you immediate energy Support: •  ‘Elevis’ gives you energy so it’s right there when you need it

•  Its active ingredient is immediately processed by your body •  Absorbed rapidly by your muscles and your mind •  You can feel the mental and physical lift straight away - when

you need it Insight: You use energy drinks to give you a lift for a specific task: to get through a meeting, stay alert on a long drive, to play sport. But by the time they’re working, your need has passed.

… but, instead, a rigorous verbal concept that respondents never see, such as this:

Typically the first element delivered – verbally by the moderator

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Proposition: ‘Elevis’ gives you immediate energy Support: •  ‘Elevis’ gives you energy so it’s right there when you need it

•  Its active ingredient is immediately processed by your body •  Absorbed rapidly by your muscles and your mind •  You can feel the mental and physical lift straight away - when

you need it Insight: You use energy drinks to give you a lift for a specific task: to get through a meeting, stay alert on a long drive, to play sport. But by the time they’re working, your need has passed.

… but, instead, a rigorous verbal concept that respondents never see, such as this:

Dropped into the conversation as and when appropriate Supports can be mixed and matched with other propositions

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Proposition: ‘Elevis’ gives you immediate energy Support: •  ‘Elevis’ gives you energy so it’s right there when you need it

•  Its active ingredient is immediately processed by your body •  Absorbed rapidly by your muscles and your mind •  You can feel the mental and physical lift straight away - when

you need it Insight: You use energy drinks to give you a lift for a specific task: to get through a meeting, stay alert on a long drive, to play sport. But by the time they’re working, your need has passed.

… but, instead, a rigorous verbal concept that respondents never see, such as this:

Typically explored last – even if the proposition has failed, the insight may still be correct

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Proposition: ‘Elevis’ gives you immediate energy Support: •  ‘Elevis’ gives you energy so it’s right there when you need it

•  Its active ingredient is immediately processed by your body •  Absorbed rapidly by your muscles and your mind •  You can feel the mental and physical lift straight away - when

you need it Insight: You use energy drinks to give you a lift for a specific task: to get through a meeting, stay alert on a long drive, to play sport. But by the time they’re working, your need has passed.

… but, instead, a rigorous verbal concept that respondents never see, such as this:

All expressed in language that the moderator can deliver naturally, not in marketing speak…

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Proposition: ‘Elevis’ gives you immediate energy Support: •  ‘Elevis’ gives you energy so it’s right there when you need it

•  Its active ingredient is immediately processed by your body •  Absorbed rapidly by your muscles and your mind •  You can feel the mental and physical lift straight away - when

you need it Insight: You use energy drinks to give you a lift for a specific task: to get through a meeting, stay alert on a long drive, to play sport. But by the time they’re working, your need has passed.

… but, instead, a rigorous verbal concept that respondents never see, such as this:

… which calls for the very disciplined definition and articulation of every

element prior to research

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So, the concepts need to be as carefully crafted as ever

Single-minded proposition

Genuine supports

Valid & relevant insight

Distinct concepts

The stimulus may be ‘invisible’, but there is no hiding place for sloppy concepts!

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® Is invisible stimulus proven to work?

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Many of movement’s clients have used invisible stimulus for for positioning research ®

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• ‘Time Out City Guides are written by people who live in the city’

Some examples of propositions born out of invisible stimulus ®

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• ‘Reading The Telegraph is time well spent’

Some examples of propositions born out of invisible stimulus ®

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• ‘Gordon’s Sloe Gin is gin, but not as you know it’ – support: ‘The dry taste of juniper berries softened by the

fruitiness of sloe berries’

Some examples of propositions born out of invisible stimulus ®

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® Can invisible stimulus be used for other types of research?

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invisible stimulus offers a solution for researching media neutral campaign ideas

THE ISSUE: • How to research media neutral ideas when we need to be able

to show respondents the idea manifested in some form?

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The answer is to go back to the essence of each campaign idea

• Defining core campaign idea overcomes issues of presenting media-specific idea expressions

– allows exploration of ideas from very different sources on ‘level playing field’

• Ideas introduced to respondents with no stimulus –  researcher captures and explores the associations and

connections made in consumers’ minds by the distilled idea alone

• Opportunity to explore iterations and executions of campaign ideas thereafter

®

39 NB: ® ‘Invisible Stimulus’ is a Registered Trademark

The answer is to go back to the essence of each campaign idea

• Defining core campaign idea overcomes issues of presenting media-specific idea expressions

– allows exploration of ideas from very different sources on ‘level playing field’

• Ideas introduced to respondents with no stimulus –  researcher captures and explores the associations and

connections made in consumers’ minds by the distilled idea alone

• Opportunity to explore iterations and executions of campaign ideas thereafter

®

invisible stimulus has been used to develop media neutral campaign ideas for Actimel and Guinness

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invisible stimulus enabled Guinness to define the raison d’être behind its sponsorship of Rugby ‘Anticipate the moment’ • Parallels anticipation of first sip and of start of the match

– potential in players’ anticipation immediately prior to match

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® What do movement’s clients think of invisible stimulus ?

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“invisible stimulus was a breakthrough technique for us which helped find a way forward that traditional approaches had failed to do.”

The Telegraph Group

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“The flexibility that the approach gave us was a real help. Mixing and matching elements from different concepts and being able to follow the natural course of the discussion helped us get to a really tight idea.”

Time Out Group

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“I’ve sat through enough research groups to see the difference that using invisible stimulus made on Sloe Gin. It was refreshing to see consumers really engaging with positioning ideas in the context of a natural, flowing discussion. The outcome was a proposition that we have been able to take directly into consumer communication.”

Diageo

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“Developing the right stimulus material is a fundamental part of the research process and it’s great to see a research agency exploring innovative solutions to get to better answers for clients and their brands.”

CHI & Partners

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® To find out more about invisible stimulus and how movement uses qualitative research to develop strategic and creative ideas for brands, contact Graham Booth: grahamb@movementresearch.co.uk 07798 525013

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grahamb@movementresearch.co.uk +44 (0)1935 816036 +44 (0)7798 525013 movementresearch.co.uk movementmuse.wordpress.com @gthebash

comms strategy + research comms+brands+planning+research