By Jim White Years ago, I met two guys who ran a successful retail design agency. They had written a book about their field and were using it, very effectively, to market their business. At the time, I wanted to write a book for RealityCheck, so I asked them the obvious question: “How did you […]
What a real human-versus-AI moderation comparison revealed about qualitative research, emotional depth and the value of a human interview. By Jim White I’ve spent most of my adult life asking people questions. I began as a newspaper reporter, interviewing sources every day. Then I became a market research moderator. Over the past 25 years, I’ve […]
Walk through almost any grocery store today and you’ll notice something interesting. Protein has found its way into cereal, chips, yogurt and coffee. Beverages promise hydration, gut health and cognitive support. Beauty brands increasingly talk about wellness from the inside out. Alcohol brands emphasize lower calories, active lifestyles and moderation. Personal care products promise healthier […]
Consumers say they want authentic brands. Marketers do, too. Few concepts appear more frequently in brand strategy discussions than authenticity. When a brand loses relevance, marketers often worry that it has drifted from its roots. When a company considers entering a new market, targeting a new audience or updating its positioning, someone inevitably asks whether […]
Brand equity is often measured through awareness, trust and differentiation—but something deeper is at work. Drawing on research in self-discrepancy, compensatory consumption and self-brand connection, this webinar explores Narrative Power: the role brands play in who people are and who they want to become—and why that matters more than ever in today’s marketplace.
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Starting Your Research the Right Way – With the Right Question In Brief Before starting any research project there is one deceptively simple question that makes all the difference: “What decision will this research help you make?” This foundational question brings clarity to your objectives, sharpens your methods, and ensures the results drive action rather than […]
In Brief Research briefs often focus on what a client wants to learn rather than the decisions they need to make. They often focus on validation — did people like it or not? But the most powerful insights come from questions that are rooted in the decisions clients need to make and the actions they […]
When I was in college at the University of Kentucky, I drank a lot of cheap beer. Like many undergrads, I didn’t think much about what I was drinking—only that it was cold and affordable. But one summer, that changed. I was twenty years old, working as a news intern at the Knoxville News-Sentinel—my first […]
In Brief In a world obsessed with speed and rapid “insights,” slowing down may feel counterintuitive. But thinking more intentionally—especially at the start—leads to smarter questions, better methods, and stronger stakeholder impact. This isn’t about ritual optimism; it’s about practical clarity. Purposeful pauses can be your research superpower. The Pressure to Move Fast “We need […]
For more than two decades, brand insights teams have turned to RealityCheck when they need fresh answers—when standard methods fail to provide fresh insights, the deeper drivers of consumer behavior remain elusive, or when teams are simply looking for new inspiration. These are the moments when brands start to feel disconnected. When consumers drift, the […]
