Insights Marketing Group provides full-service marketing research including:

Qualitative Research
            Traditional and Online Focus Groups
            Exploratory Projective Techniques
            Hybrid Studies
            Longitudinal Qualitative Panels
            InnoTative® Research Track
            Creative Consumer Techniques

Quantitative Research
            Strategic and Evaluative Studies
            Copy Testing
            Quali-Quant Communications / Concept Testing
            New! HispanicINSIGHTS Telephone Omnibus

Qualitative Research… Beyond the Q&A Format

Having conducted thousands of focus groups and In-Depth Interviews, IMG is highly experienced at helping clients develop strategic research plans to disclose their consumers’ insights effectively.

We believe that in order to get at the emotional and rational, qualitative research must break away from a logic-driven, question and answer format that yields rationalized responses. Our moderators are experts at gaining deeper insights by tapping into your respondents’ creative, emotional side.

Consumer preference and motivation is far less influenced by the tangible attributes of product and service than the sub-conscious sensory and emotional elements derived by the total experience. - Dr. Gerald Zaltman, Harvard Business School

Exploratory & Projective Techniques
Within the construct of a qualitative interview, we use a number of techniques, exercises, and interventions to get at the emotional, unconscious needs. These help the consumer “experience” the product or service, yielding deeper insights:

• Collage building
• Forced association
• Anthropomorphization (personification)
• Product sorts
• Perceptual mapping
• Mind mapping
• Story telling
• Laddering
• Visual Explorer® - uses a deck of 224 high-quality color images that invite examination and stimulate conversation, as respondents create visual metaphors. The images are used to seek new perspectives, tap into personal experiences and passions and elicit stories and imagined alternatives. This approach is often the entire focus of a session.

In focus groups about travel, respondents created poster-sized collages using images and words to depict the ideal vacation. The imagery they used was indicative of the kinds of emotional experiences they were looking for, while the Q&A revealed the rational attributes (price, accommodations, location, etc.)

Hybrid Studies

Hybrid studies that involve multiple methodologies – such as in-home interviews combined with ethnography - are an excellent way to get at the “total experience” and uncover the emotional + rational experience.

We recently conducted research among low-income families that included pre-interview homework (two weeks worth of grocery shopping receipts and photographs of family meal times), an in-depth interview focused on shopping behavior and attitudes, and an accompanied shopping trip.

In the interviews, the respondents explained how they had to “shop on a budget” and “make do” – the rational. The shopping trips, however, revealed how many were terribly frustrated – the emotional – with their inability to buy what they and their families wanted, and how the products were not meeting their needs.

The photographs of the family meal times gave us rich insights into their desire – the emotional – to please their family. Had we only conducted the interview, we would have thought that the important issue was the rational “shopping on a budget.”

Longitudinal Qualitative Panels (LQPs)

Longitudinal Qualitative Panels (LQPs) provide deep insights into evolving consumer perceptions and behaviors. Insights Marketing Group conducts LQPs (6 to 12 months long) consisting of 20 or 30 households in a given market. Panels create deeper rapport between the researchers, clients and panelists and breakthrough insights are assured through a mix of research activities; ethnographic research – observe them cook, shop, do the bills, bank online, change diapers, throw a party, plan a vacation, etc. – homework and tasks, focus groups, dyads, triads, in-homes, peer groups, kid’s parties and more. LQPs can be a standing research resource for the client.

InnoTative® Research

InnoTative® Research is IMG’s innovation research track that combines consumer research with the power of an InsightsLab® to further your research investment. InnoTative® research is a three-stage, consumer-centric innovation process. More details…

Creative Consumer Techniques

Creative Consumer techniques help maximize the consumers’ involvement in the development process. We identify and recruit “trained brains” – highly articulate individuals from diverse backgrounds – who are trained by IMG and then lead through creativity techniques (such as ideation or brainstorming), in order to involve them in the co-creation of new products, services, and marketing. This provides you with “outside the box” marketing input. This works especially well with new product concepts, repositioning, unmet needs’ assessment, and new business opportunities.

Quantitative Research

IMG offers Quantitative Research, including both online and traditional methodologies (including CATI and intercept). We also offer Multicultural Diagnostic Research, our multicultural copy testing protocol.

Strategic and Evaluative Studies

IMG excels at quantitative studies for guide your marketing strategy, such as:

• Awareness and Usage Studies
• Brand Image Studies, and
• Segmentation Studies.

In addition, we conduct Evaluative Studies, which help you refine your marketing tactics.
These include:

• Communications and Concept Testing
• Copy Testing
• Product and Packaging Testing, and
• Advertising Tracking.

Copy Testing

From an advertising perspective, Copy Testing is often the main research vehicle to ensure on-target messaging. IMG is well equipped to meet all your Copy Testing needs, including TV, print, radio, newspaper, and billboard.

Advertisements. We evaluate performance and assess how to optimize and facilitate go/no go decisions. This evaluation includes a comprehensive review of execution and key elements, impact of brand registration, message comprehension, response and motivation, and cultural sensitivity.

Quali-Quant Communications/Concept Testing

Often, the best way to maximize your spend and reducing the time to market is to complete a hybrid study, Quali-Quant Communications/Concept Testing. This format requires a Maxi-Group (100-150 participants), in a theater-style testing environment using keypad technology to gauge real-time reactions. Generally, respondents are shown individual concepts (for communications, packaging or new products) and are asked to rate their likes and dislikes as the concepts unfold. This interactive process allows the client and research team to quickly evaluate overall effectiveness and identify key strengths and weaknesses. Because this is an adaptive process, the client has the ability to pose alternative variations in real-time, thus offering additional refinements.