- New England Marketing Research

Selfie-Ethnography™
Case Studies in Consumer-Generated Video Ethnography
May 28, 2015
Who Am I?
•  Research, strategy & innovation consultant
•  Professional meeting facilitator & focus group moderator
•  Provider of an innovative portfolio of qualitative research services
•  Champion of consumer-generated, video ethnography
•  30+ years international marketing experience, most of
that as an innovation consultant
•  Engineer & MBA, Holds three patents
Frank Hines
2"
Context: Bringing Insights To Life
Vidnography™
In-Session Artists
Consumers’ Sketches
Wordles
Photo Essays
Favorite Activities,
By Time Spent
0"
4"
8" 12" 16" 20"
Outdoors"
Movies"
Ea6ng"Out"
Live"Music"
Travel"
Charts & Graphs
3"
Selfie-Ethnography: One Qualitative Research Tool
Focus Groups – Traditional &
interactive labs with clients in the room
Market Immersion – Field trips &
customized in-market experiences
Online Research – Bulletin boards
& webcam-enabled focus groups
Selfie-Ethnography – Consultant-directed,
consumer-generated, video ethnography
4"
When to Choose Selfie-Ethnography?
Focus Groups
Market Immersion
Focused
Lower
Tell!
Higher
High
Research
Objective
Level of
Engagement
Exploratory*
Higher
Show!
Real-life involvement!
Higher
Authenticity
Interaction
Geographic
Limitations
Cost
“Legs”
Illustrative!
Lower
Lower
Low
Lower
Project
Duration
Online Research
Higher
Selfie-Ethnography
5"
Qualitative Research Value Matrix
High
Limited Application
High Scope & Value
Ethnography!
Market!
Immersion!
Cost Per Respondent-Hour!
Focus Groups!
Exploratory
Labs!
Neuromarketing MRI!
ShopAlongs!
Neuromarketing EEG!
IDIs!
Online FG!
Selfie-ethnography !
Facial Coding!
Online IDI!
Social Media!
Low
Eye Tracking!
Specialization
?!
Value Sweet Spot
Low
High
Level of Engagement!
• 
• 
• 
• 
Depth of Insight
Breadth of Scope
Real-Life Involvement
Direct Interaction
6"
A Little History: Consumer-Generated Video Ethnography
•  In 2008, we began mailing Flip video cameras directly to consumers.
•  We handled logistics & managed recruiting through FG recruiters.
•  Cameras were shipped back to us & we edited video offline.
•  Our first clients were General Mills & Walmart.
7"
Today: Consumer-Generated Video Ethnography
•  We use partners who provide the technology backbone for
collecting, editing, and viewing video online; they can also recruit
(through FG recruiters) and manage respondents (directly).
•  The tide has shifted to collecting more video from the Smart Phone,
but we continue to send out cameras for most projects.
–  Consistency of video format
–  Specialized camera needs (like motion activation)
–  The need for representative population sampling
8"
“Typical” Application
Application: Understanding Shopping, Cooking and Eating Habits!
Capture actual consumer behavior in the home or at the grocery store, at the
consumer’s convenience, when it is actually happening (anytime, day or night).
Personal Interviews!
Fridge, Freezer &!
Cabinet Exploration!
Shopalongs!
Meal Preparation !
9"
Planning to Shop!
Eating – Anytime! !
Selfie-ethnography: How It Works
•  Consultant prepares a recording guide (like a discussion guide),
used to direct respondents to record real-life situations.
•  Research partner recruits respondents (a la focus group) and
generally manages direct contact throughout the project.
•  Provide cameras or collect video from smart phones. Cameras
ensure consistency and enable features like motion-activation.
•  Participants create daily “video diaries” according to a specific set of
assignments custom-designed to meet research objectives.
•  Consulting team distills hours of video into insight reels – concise
compilations of bits of video that illustrate a particular insight theme.
•  The client team views these compilations online, on a secure blog,
and has a facilitated, asynchronous* “discussion” about the video.
•  This collaborative analysis is incorporated into the final report.
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Vidnography™ Client Case Studies
•  The case studies in this presentation include consumer-generated
video from actual client engagements. All video is used by permission
and should not be copied or distributed beyond this presentation.
11"
Understanding the Customer Experience
•  To gain deep insights about how Medifast customers interact with
Medifast products from purchase to consumption
– 
– 
– 
– 
– 
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Why weight loss?
Buying, receiving, opening, storing food
Following the program; support & coaching
Preparing meals & snacks
Eating; food likes & dislikes
Weight loss results (! Passion for the Brand!)
See#next#slide#to#view#actual#video#from#this#project#
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Medifast: Pure Insight Tracks™
•  These thematic compilations of insights include examples of “selfie”
interviews as well as consumers cooking and eating Medifast foods.
Customers Love Medifast
•  Selfie interviews showing just how
deeply these customers love the brand
Consumers in Action
•  Consumers living the experience as they
buy, prepare, and eat Medifast products
You#can#view#these#Pure#Insight#Tracks™#by#clicking#on#the#
thumbnails#or#following#the#link#below#to#visit#our#web#site.##
MediFast"Diet"Food"Customer"Experience"Study"
http://www.hinesandlee.com/node/95
"
Used#by#permission.#Medifast#results#vary.#Typical#weight#loss#is#2D5#pounds#
per#week#for#the#first#two#weeks,#then#1D2#pounds#per#week#thereaIer."
13"
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“I Lost My Dog on Medifast”
• 
Powerful & compelling delivery of insights drove product trial
• 
My experience was remarkably consistent with the research findings
Demonstrate Product Visibility & Interaction
•  To document who opens the refrigerator, how often, what they see,
and what they touch, we placed motion-sensitive cameras in
consumers’ kitchens, filming every interaction with the refrigerator.
•  We studied refrigerator interactions, tallied every product touch, and
produced a time-lapse video of families opening and closing their
refrigerators over a one-week period.
15"
Detailed Instructions for Tripod Setup
Please#try#to#aim#the#video#camera#about#
45°#towards#the#open#side#of#the#
refrigerator#(NOT#from#the#hinge#side),#so#
we#can#see#what#is#inside.##
#
Also,#if#you#aim#it#straight#in,#we#won’t#see#
what’s#inside#the#refrigerator,#we’ll#see#the#
back#of#whoever#is#opening#the#door.#
About"45°"
NO!!
FreshSpace: Pure Insight Tracks™
•  Consumers described how the milk container is a central fixture in the
home as well as the connection between milk and advertiser brands
Milk Spends Time on the Counter
•  Selfie interviews demonstrating just how
visible the milk container is in the home
Milk is Good
•  The “halo” affect associated with milk has
a positive impact on advertisers’ brands
You#can#view#these#Pure#Insight#Tracks™#by#clicking#on#the#
thumbnails#or#following#the#link#below#to#visit#our#web#site.##
FreshSpace"MilkMContainer"Adver6sing"Study"
http://www.hinesandlee.com/node/85
17"
From#an#actual#client#engagement,#used#by#permission"
"
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FreshSpace: Pure Insight Tracks™
•  FreshSpace (formerly Boxtop Media) provided this time-lapse video to
prospective buyers to demonstrate the effectiveness of its advertising
by showing how often consumers interact with the milk container
You#can#view#this#Pure#Insight#Track™#by#clicking#on#the#
thumbnail#or#following#the#link#below#to#visit#our#web#site.#
FreshSpace"MilkMContainer"Adver6sing"Study"
http://www.hinesandlee.com/node/85
18"
From#an#actual#client#engagement,#used#by#permission"
Understand Emotions & Illustrate Insights
•  To confirm hypotheses & illustrate insights related to consumers’ breadeating habits, we asked consumers from various behavioral segments
to film interviews, kitchen tours, reactions to photos of various types of
bread, and a five-day video diary.
•  Utilized special HD cameras to provide footage for facial coding
software to conduct deeper emotional analysis.
You#can#view#this#Pure#Insight#Track™#by#clicking#
on#the#thumbnail,#or#following##the#link#below#to#
see#a#higher#resoluSon#version#on#our#web#site.##
ConAgra"BreadMEa6ng"Habits"Study"
http://www.hinesandlee.com/node/86
"
ConAgra: Pure Insight Track™
From#an#actual#client#engagement,#used#by#permission"
19"
Selfie-Ethnography Recruiting Considerations
• 
Recruiting handled much the same as for focus groups
–  Research vendor will manage the entire process; generally handled by
nationally-recognized recruiting focus groups
–  Recruit fifteen to get twelve “completes”
–  Camera’s are included as part of the incentive (but they want cash, too)
–  About 10% of the cameras are lost to non-compliant respondents; cost
of doing business; we sometimes still get some video from these
“incompletes” which we use, although the cash is not paid out
• 
Confidentiality issues
–  Respondents expect and are accorded the same degree of
confidentiality as with other research methods, BUT…
–  Video is often compelling & clients want to use it for marketing
purposes. An appropriate waiver / release form (signed electronically, in
advance) is recommended. Recruiters need coaching through this!
Managing Selfie-Ethnography Participation
• 
Vigilant interaction from the get-go is needed to ensure participation
When to Choose Selfie-Ethnography?
Focus Groups
Focused
Market Immersion
Research
Objective
Exploratory*
•  Exploratory
-  Broad scope
-  Real-life involvement
-  Longer engagement
•  Highly Focused
-  Point a camera at a single
subject over time
-  Time-lapse
•  Illustrative
-  Use video to illuminate & amplify
the message of other studies
Online Research
Selfie-Ethnography
22"
Key Benefits Of Selfie-Ethnography
• 
Unveil insights you cannot find using any other methodology.
•  Delivers the voice of the customer DIRECTLY to your audience.
• 
Reach into the lives of your customers, anytime, anywhere.
• 
Less intrusive than traditional ethnography, so participants are more
comfortable and act more naturally.
•  Participants become deeply engaged and freely videotape personal
events, thoughts, and feelings.
•  Consumers record situations that are unlikely to occur during the
narrow window of a scheduled visit with a consulting team.
Consumer-Generated Footage Has Endless Application
•  Drive home insights in research presentations: From internal
discussions to industry-wide conferences
•  Illustrate insights gathered from other research methods: ConAgra used
Vidnography to illustrate insights from a major segmentation study
•  As a sales tool: FreshSpace provided the Time-Lapse Door-Openings
compilation on iPods to key customers
•  Fuel creative juices: Video “nuggets” are used to help spawn new ideas
in ideation (brainstorming) sessions and also as a conversation-starter in
exploratory labs with consumers (interactive focus groups)
Questions?
frank@hinesandlee.com
781.718.7444 (m)
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