In Brief Ethnography is a powerful method for understanding consumers in context—by observing their real lives rather than relying solely on what they say. While surveys and analytics show you the what, ethnography reveals the why. It uncovers unspoken needs, cultural cues, and innovation opportunities that drive meaningful strategy. What is Ethnography? It starts with […]
The Importance of Theory in Research When I was a grad student working on my doctoral dissertation on news media coverage of electoral politics, one of my professors pressed me to clarify the theory of democracy underlying my analysis. My research examined how news organizations shaped public discourse about elections, but she wanted me to […]
What do a legendary ad man, a Grammy-winning music producer, and a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist have in common? They all know the keys to innovation in market research. Our clients describe us as an innovative market research company. They come to us for custom studies to answer complex questions. Recently, I was asked, “How exactly […]
There’s a lot of bad reporting in market research. This has serious implications for corporate research buyers. The best designed and executed market research studies will have little impact if the reports don’t communicate new insights clearly and simply. For corporate research buyers, bad reports mean: Wasted time: Corporate research buyers waste time rewriting supplier […]
(or What Football Can Teach Us About Consumer Insights) By Jim White and David Harris Though it may be a stretch, we wanted to share our thoughts on what football can teach us about successful integrated market research. (Just go with it. It turns out, there’s quite a bit!) And for those of you who […]
By Jim White PhD. and Esther Park, Insight Analyst Market research buyers have become increasingly interested in text analytics in recent years. According to the 2022 Greenbook Industry Trends Report survey, 75% of buyers list text analytics when asked “what new methods, or approaches are you considering.” That’s more than any other category. We think […]
Whether you need a deep understanding of your consumer to inspire innovation, get your strategy or positioning right, or test advertising or new product concepts, how do you uncover the 10% you need to know, explain why it matters and decide what to do about it? Using the 90/10 rule, Jim White, Co-founder and President […]
As a former journalist, I always try not to bury the lead. So here it is. Ninety percent of what is reported in most market research studies is already known. Real value comes from reporting the 10% your audience doesn’t know. Never is this more important than when you’re reporting to your senior leadership team. […]
