Video, the key to insight activation

Insights are the way forward for a company to bring value to the consumer. But having strong consumer insights doesn’t automatically imply that you will create impact. First of all, you need the right stakeholders in your company to adopt them. How can you make sure they understand those insights, and at the same time feel enough empathy to want to make a change? Well, through video of course!
Last month I was invited by NewMR to share our thoughts on the way video is expanding and evolving in the context of market research and insights during the NewMR Future of Video webinar event. Re-watch the full presentation below or read on to discover how video is key to bringing insights into the heart of your organization.

Why video is becoming the dominant medium

Although video has existed for quite a long time, it’s only now that we see a big rise in the popularity of this medium. And that’s not such a strange thing. New technology (your mobile, social media platforms…) are making it very easy to watch, share and create videos on-the-go! And this is not only true for consumers; brands are also including more online video in their content strategy. And this is paying off! Research has shown that video generates 1200 % more shares than text and images combined, and their consumers can better recall what has been shared (even in the long term). So, with consumers and brands madly in love with video, why is market research lagging behind?

How is video being used in market research today?

When it comes to insight generation, an increasing number of market research agencies is starting to realize that video can bring plenty of added value (although it’s not standard practice). For example, consumers are given a task (e.g. do an interview, show us your morning prepping ritual…) and are invited to create a video while completing that task. But when looking for insight activation, video is missing almost entirely. And yet video is a crucial part. Why? Because in order to create impact, we need both memory & empathy! What most companies do today (think about presentations, workshops, quizzes…) is focus on memory/understanding. But empathy is a lot harder to trigger – and this is where your consumer videos come in ?.

How to use video in your insight activation

How do we get started with video? To answer that question, we first need to look back at what makes a great insight (as this is the core message we would like to activate). In the image below, you can see the formula we use at InSites Consulting to create insights.
Ingredients of a strong consumer insight
As you can see, a good insight consists of 3 elements: it’s me, aha and emotion. In short, it should be recognizable for consumers (it’s me), look at the friction from a fresh perspective – something you didn’t realize before but know is true (AHA!) – and contain a strong desire for change, almost like a wish (❤️)!
When activating your insight, we need to look for consumer videos that illustrate one or more of these elements, bringing that aspect of your insight truly to life. These will then be shared with your internal stakeholders, to watch and discuss. To activate them even further, you can also add the creative exercise to create their own video.

Here’s how it works:

1. It’s me – recognition (Who is my consumer? )
Imagine you’d like to activate a new segment, called ‘Working moms’. What we’d like to realize with video is that your internal stakeholders start to recognize the consumer as they resemble people in their own environment (hey, she’s like my mom/ my neighbor/ me!). This makes the consumer much more human (as it’s someone they know) and easier to connect with.

Example: a compilation video of the segment. In this example, we would share a video where 5 different working moms are introducing themselves and show fragments of their lives (the good & the bad).
Creative exercise: create a video to share with us as to who you recognize as a working mom in your own environment + why.
2. AHA – freshness (look at the friction from a different perspective)
Consider the female razor industry, a sector that focuses specifically on women but also employs a lot of men. This gender difference can make it harder to connect to the consumer’s needs. In this case, we would like to demonstrate the friction through the eyes of the consumer so that everyone can truly immerse. This can also help to look for solutions from a different point of view.
Example: through the eyes of the consumer. A friction for these consumers is that it’s hard to find a comfortable position to shave. One of the videos we can use is from a consumer who shows you how she shaves her legs (e.g. by putting a foot in the sink). That difficulty, accompanied by her explanation of what she does & why, truly indicates the friction and is food for thought about possible solutions.
Creative exercise: experience this friction yourself, by shaving your legs! Make a video to show us the position you were in & tell us about your experience.
3. Emotion (trigger a desire for change)
When doing qualitative research, we have the unique privilege to take a glimpse at the feelings of consumers concerning certain topics, brands, life events and other people. Through video, we can capture those feelings and share them with the relevant people. These videos will highlight how strong the need is for change, or how strong consumers feel about that topic and – equally important – why that is. By creating this emotional connection, stakeholders will be more triggered to do something about it.
Example: a consumer video with strong emotions. An example could be a consumer video where a person talks about how involved he is in topics like sustainability and environmental friendliness. This vlogging part alternates with fragments of how he shops at the supermarket, how he organizes his fridge and how he does volunteering work over the weekend (picking up garbage in the city).
Creative exercise: interview a consumer (online) on sustainability . What does it mean to them, why is that, what impact does it have on their life… Record & share the interview with your colleagues, so everyone can feel part of the experience.

Video, hype or here to stay?

Although some will claim that video is only a hype, the numbers don’t lie. Video is here to stay, and it’s time for us to pull our head out of the sand. Embrace video in market research and look for creative ways to create that empathy for your consumers. Before you know it, you will love it in no time, just like the consumers and the brands ?.
So start experimenting with your own video activation. Looking forward to reading some examples of how you are using consumer videos in your organization.

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