Pictures speak louder than words: Towards a new understanding of brand choice

Using metaphor elicitation to gain a truer consumer-centric measure of influence.

Pictures speak louder than words | IpsosBrand managers are faced with a wide array of business challenges: How can I better position my brand? How can I optimise my portfolio? Where can I find new growth opportunities?

Traditional quantitative research has relied heavily on stated responses, often using long lists of attributes. While there is still room for this kind of measurement, it does not adequately capture people’s less conscious needs. People’s decision making is often influenced by their intuition; therefore, it is important that we capture less conscious desires as well as the mental shortcuts people use when making brand decisions.

To evolve the traditional survey to capture non-conscious decision-making, we have developed a new metaphor elicitation technique to uncover implicit brand choice influencers. While metaphor elicitation has been used as a qualitative technique for many years, the approach we have developed uses a quantitative method – making metaphor elicitation efficient, scalable, and accessible.

We recommend leveraging metaphor elicitation to capture important implicit drivers of brand choice. Because metaphor elicitation uses a projective technique, it helps respondents avoid over-rationalization and provides more intuitive responses. Moreover, it generates a deeper, more granular understanding of emotional benefits and provides rich data that reflects how consumers (in their own language) really think and feel about products and brands. By getting a truer consumer-centric measure of influence, marketers can better position their brands, optimize their portfolios and uncover innovation opportunities.

To learn more read Pictures Speak Louder than Words.

This paper has been published by the GreeBook.

Find more about our solutions

Related news

  • Woman stepping onto a plane
    Luxury Event

    Launch of Ipsos Global Influentials

    We are delighted to invite you to an insightful breakfast to mark the official launch of the Ipsos Global Influentials study.
  • Woman doing yoga
    Media Webinar

    Wellness in the Age of AI

    Today’s wellness industry is dynamic, lucrative and growing. But, it's experiencing change, from consumers’ relationships with wellness, to brands’ competitive sets, and now Gen AI.
  • balloon being popped
    Brands Event

    Boom or Bust? A surprising way to look at backlash

    Could brands harness 'polarisation' to lead a category? Could brands be provocative on purpose and set off 'controlled' PR explosions? Join Ipsos & Creative Equals on the 6 November for an exclusive workshop tackling this issue.