Bringing New Life to Qualitative Research with Real People in Real Life

There are disruptions and interruptions that can upset that balance. And that's the point where qualitative research begins to break the surface - understanding those funny little creatures we call `people'.

At Ipsos, our qualitative research team aims to distil the insights that help you connect more meaningfully with people to improve their lives. And we do that by putting real people at the center of everything we do.

Real People

At Ipsos UU we get as close as possible to Real People to help our clients connect their brands with Real Life.

We don't talk 'consumer', 'shopper' or 'lapsed users'. People don't wake up in the morning wondering which brand to buy today. Instead, we focus on Real People in all their flawed, perverse glory. Real People are complex. They're full of contradictions and inherent tensions. They continuously adapt to their environment and stimulus around them.

Real People don't always tell the truth. Sometimes they lie. They pretend. They imagine. But that's OK. There are `layers' of truth, and each layer tells a story. Even when people lie they tell us the truth. Or at least a truth about themselves or their real intentions. Real People aren't aware of everything they do. They don't do what they say. They can't always express what they think or feel. So to understand Real People we need to jolt them out of autopilot, take them out of their comfort zone and unearth their instinct.

Hot and Cold

Communication needs to entice and convince the projected self and products needs to fulfill the real self. And knowing this truth about real people, we do both HOT and COLD research.

What does this mean? Well, you needn't worry - it doesn't mean we are doing focus groups in a sauna or an igloo (unless, of course, that's what you need). But let's examine each.

HOT thinking is intuitive, instinctive and unconscious. It's dominated by emotions formed through associations. It's fast and uses little energy. It's about what we feel and how...not what we think.

COLD thinking is rational, logical, and reasoned. It is slow and energy intensive. And it is about carefully thought out responses, not instant feelings and emotions. It is a robust analytical framework that helps make sense of life.

The Right Temperature for Your Research

Equally, great qualitative research needs to reflect these two types of thinking and behavior - the HOT and the COLD. We always look for balance between feeling and thinking.

For us, HOT is the pulse of life - being close to people, researching in context, experiencing the insight, and what they feel, not what they think. It is qualitative research that is raw, instinctive, and intuitive.

But you need to take what you get from the HOT and evaluate it in the COLD light of day. Cold is cool - it's the smart strategic thinking that gives brands the edge.

When we think HOT we do things like Ethnography, Mobile, Social, Projectives and Implicit. When we think COLD we evaluate, develop, co-create - all analyzed through our unique analytical frameworks.

HOT is being there with real people when Life happens. But you can't always be there when it matters. Sometimes you need to recreate it, intensify it, and condense it for research. To do this we love playing with context - inserting conflict, competition, disruption, and fun. It means switching off the autopilot.

For Real Life you need to turn up the heat. Get out of your comfort zone. Enjoy the experience.

You have to like it HOT.

And Some Like it Hot

For HOT to work its magic, you need your entire team to feel part of the research experience. Everyone has to feel engaged, stimulated and immersed. And they have to be just a bit uncomfortable. Learning, discovery and experimentation can all be a bit scary. And when you uncover the insights, you need them to stick inside the organization at all levels.

HOT Methodologies

Inspired by the realities of life in the 21st century - hot debate, reality TV, non-stop social interaction and discussion, - we've devised a few new and exciting ways to disrupt your thinking about qual, about research, and about your brand. And we're excited to bring these to the table, adding to a wealth of qualitative methodologies that go beyond the focus group table. Most of these create an `artificial naturalness' where the situation is simulated but the disruption and the human reactions are real. So too are the insights!

Sometimes, we're afraid of the answers, distrustful of the truth. But we shouldn't be. Conflict, chaos, crisis - these are all part of human existence, and through them, we learn, grow and gain strength. We're using this mindset to rethink qualitative research.

By encouraging discussion, opinion and debate, and sometimes letting our facilitators get in on the action, we'll be able to provoke new thinking and uncover new insights and ideas. And by using techniques that include real life simulation, gamification, conflict and tension, we are looking to examine the raw intuitive and instinctual behaviors of real people with the aim of pinpointing exciting new opportunities and insights for your brand, for new categories, and for product improvement.

What's the result? Revelations, judgments and biases that are raw, honest, and instinctual - that scary little monster known as `reality'. And it is helpful for your brand to get a new perspective, a different point of view, and a fresh set of insights.

Bringing Life to Life

That's our goal here. While more established and traditional qualitative research methodologies have their place and their value, what we're looking to do is add to that value by challenging the convention. Sometimes, you need to shake things up to make things happen, turn over stones to see what's underneath, and crank up the heat to see what's hot. And that's exactly what we are aiming to do.