Insights & Foresights
Chandradeep (CD) Mitra
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Understanding Insight
Insight is the most abused term in strategic thinking.
Used unwisely it often leads to banal understanding.
However, this is critical to the discipline of strategic thinking and
is worth spending time to understand.
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Marketing that fails to recognize the truth
of a consumer’s relationship with a product or category
does not connect at a visceral level and consequently does little or nothing to
shift consumer perceptions or behaviour.
The truth is there to be found, but may not be apparent or visible at first glance.
The emperor is naked and no one has noticed it.
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The Truth isn’t always easy to find!
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Interrogating an issue till the truth comes out.
Seeking truths that are beyond mere facts.
Truths that have an emotional component.
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Searching for Insights
“Curiosity has its own reason for existing”
Albert Einstein
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What is a “Consumer Insight”?
An understanding of the cause of a specific consumer belief or behaviour
that can be used to develop a more effective connection to that
consumer.
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“At the heart of an effective creative
philosophy is the belief
that nothing is so powerful as an insight
into human nature, what compulsions drive a
man, what instincts
dominate his actions, even though his language
so often camouflages what really motivates him. For if you know these things
about a man you can touch him
at the core of his being”Bill Bernbach
“In my factory I produce lipsticks. In the drugstore I sell hope”
Charles Revlon
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Should we know the cosmetic market? Or should we understand
the contours of hope & desire?
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Partially Hidden Human Truths that Resonate with Consumers
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“If you believe that there’s only one answer,
you’ll stop looking and thinking as soon as you come up with your first answer”
Von Oech
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“All there is to thinking is seeing something noticeable
which makes you see something you weren’t noticing
which makes you see something that isn’t even visible”
Norman Maclean
“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered,
the point is to discover them.”
Galileo
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Searching for Hidden Truths
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Truths can come from anywhere…
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Truth
History Produ
ct
Brand
ConsumerCateg
ory
Culture
Universal
Life
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The Truth can be Subjective
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In most fields of human endeavour, the chances of finding a solution
or uncovering the truth are increased as more perspectives
are taken into account
The Process of Triangulation
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The Client’s Business
Perspective
The Agency’s Creative
Perspective
The Opinions and Prejudices of the Target Audience
Truth
Insights should be involving
As people grow older cynicism replaces curiosity
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Insights should have depth
Indians place more importance on symbolic protection than real protection
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Insights should be true to human nature
Solitude is not loneliness, it’s often coveted.
Every human being wants to feel they have value.
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Insights should be widely shared
Tribalism affect even the most well-heeled.(American Express)
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Insights should identify with a Moment of Truth
The bill is the lowest point in mobile telephone usage.
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Insights should be Differentiating
A single picture can instantly change a moment.
(Polaroid)
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Stages of Ad Research
DEVELOPMENT
Before the ad is ready
EVALUATION
Once the ad in some form is ready
IMPACT
After the finished ad is ready and has been released in mass media
COMMUNICATION
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Some Personal Learnings
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Hamara Bajaj Part 1
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Hamara Bajaj Part 1
The Trusted Vehicle of the Aspirations of Middle India
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Hamara Bajaj Part 2
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Hamara Bajaj Part 2
Changing India, Unchanging Indianness
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Sarva Siksha Abhiyan
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Sarva Siksha Abhiyan
Children go to school to meet their friends
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Jet Airways
For every business traveller flying out,A family man flies back home
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“Ask an impertinent question, and you are on your way to the pertinent answer”
Jacob Brownowski
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What is not a Consumer Insight...
• An OBSERVERED behaviour or belief:
o Women care deeply for their children
o Men believe that they are primary provider
o Teens believe that they are immortal
o Children are good at manipulating parents
o Women have more control over their lives now than they used to
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What is not a Consumer Insight...
• A SITUATION, OCCASION or SETTING:
o Her son’s wedding is the biggest event in a woman’s life
o Teens like hanging out at shopping centres
o People can get aggressive or violent at their team’s football games
o Night is when cold seem worst
Beyond Insight…
Foresight
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"The secret of peering into the future
depends on the deepest possible understanding
of consumers as people"
R Sliver
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Insight Vs. Foresight
Insight
• Originated from the words ‘inner sight’
• Insights are understandings about human nature or culture that bring observations to life
Foresight
• Originated from ‘before sight’
• Foresights are wisdom to see what is virtuous, or what is possible or likely
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How to garner foresight…
How I think about life – joy, sorrow aspiration
What are the things I do subconsciously
How I engage in the society
What influences my choice
How I buy
Traditional consumer
insight
Possible source of foresight
Life / Human Psychology
Culture
Social Structure
Trends
Market
“We are so busy measuring public opinion that we forget we can mould it.
We are so busy listening to statistics we forget that we can create them.”
Bill Bernbach
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“If I had asked the public what they wanted
they would have askedfor a faster horse.”
Henry Ford
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“Our plan is to lead the public rather than ask them
what kind of product they want. The public does not know
what is possible, but we do.”
Akio Morita
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“In the new world of broadband, brands compete with life,
not with each other”
Nigel Bogle
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The Evolving Google Goggles Experiment
Text search, then voice search, now visual scan search
(mirroring human behaviour?)
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Foresights drive the world!
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Thank You
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