PROJECTS
Click on any of the projects below to read more about the problem, approach and outcome.
WHO CARES? Finding the Right Audience. Understanding what’s relevant to them.
Methodology: Cultural Audit, Category Audit, Social Media Audit
WHAT NOT TO DO Developing a strategic platform and brand guardrails.
Methodology: Quantitative, In-home Qualitative, Observation, Persona Development
LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE Uncovering purchase behavior (and exposing the gap between what people say and what they do).
Methodology: Quantitative, Qualitative and Observational Research
STOP COMPETING FOR THE “LEAST CRAPPY” AWARD Untapped opportunities for an airline to take part in the fun parts of travel.
Methodology: Social Media Audit
MAKING A CRYSTAL BALL Mapping the future of travel for a C-Suite creative workshop.
Methodology: Trends, Case Studies, Category Audit, Primary and Secondary Research
DESPERATELY SEEKING WHITE SPACE Positioning new products in a crowded category.
Methodology: Case Studies, Competitive Audit, Brand Exercises
KITCHEN TABLE TALKS Honest, fast opinions from a custom “Mom Panel.”
Methodology: In-Home Interviews, Diaries, Inundation / Deprivation and Pantry Tours
Finding the Right Audience and Relevant Cultural Tension: Cultural, Category and Fan Audit
Problem: The1stMovement, a digital agency, was helping WOW - Women of Wrestling relaunch after 14 years off the air. They had assumptions about their target but needed to understand the current landscape and validate their audience.
Approach: I used stakeholder interviews as my starting point to understand the brand's DNA, ambitions and their audience assumptions. I did three audits: Category, Culture and Fan.
Outcome: I used the Stakeholder Interviews to identify the brand's DNA and ambition. I used the cultural audit to find a relevant cultural tension. By looking at the brand's DNA and a relevant cultural tension I could identify its purpose: what it means in the world. I used the category audit to identify the business challenge, and also to check that WOW's purpose made it unique from the rest of the competition. I used the fan audit to reject inefficient targets and identify a key target which I used to recruit for the next phase of research (quantitative and qualitative).
Developing a Strategic Platform and Brand Guidelines: Custom Quantitative and Qualitative Audience Research
Problem: The1stMovement, a digital agency, was helping WOW - Women of Wrestling relaunch after 14 years off the air. We had identified their target through an audit phase, but needed to understand the target's behaviors, beliefs and barriers.
Approach: I designed a quantitative survey of 100 current fans of this sport's category (screened for both attitude and behavior). For the qualitative portion, I did in-home interviews and co-viewing. I attended a local pro wrestling event to observe and recruit (the most exciting portion of the research, especially when a wrestler was tossed out of the ring... into my lap).
Outcome: I was able to validate the target but discovered some striking attitudes that contradicted the client's assumptions. I developed audience personas, brand guidelines and an overall strategic approach to guide everything from website development to PR talking points.
Uncovering True Purchase Behavior: Quantitative Survey and Observational Research to Find Drivers and Barriers to Buying an Airline Ticket
Problem: My airline client was working on developing messaging priorities, and a key input was what customers say they want in an airline. I wasn't convinced that their responses matched their actual booking behavior.
Approach: I designed and fielded a quantitative survey of 50 high-value travelers, and included a question asking about upcoming travel purchases. If the respondent had a trip they were booking in the next two weeks, I re-contacted them to observe their booking behavior. To keep costs to a minimum, the observation and interviews were done remotely. On one monitor I video-chatted to be able to see them; on the other monitor I was able to watch their booking window through screen share. I watched their faces and heard them narrate as they went through the actual process of searching a booking a ticket.
Outcome: It was immediately clear that some of the "high priority" things that traveler say they want are not a factor in purchase, and that our airline had some very basic information to convey to attract a wiling but uninformed audience. The research also revealed the emotional ups and downs of the booking process, leading to another study on a traveler's emotional journey (next).
Finding Untapped Opportunities: Social Media Audit to Identify Gaps and Needs in the Travel Journey [Click photo below to enlarge]
Problem: "I love to travel. I hate to fly." This quote came from the research I did into people's behavior when buying an airline ticket. And several participants described the emotional roller coaster of happy dreaming to abysmal searching, booking, and ultimately flying. I wanted to understand the entire travel journey, not just the parts the airline is involved in.
Approach: I searched social media for posts related to the different moments in the travel journey. The excitement of planning a trip, the anxiety of booking the "right" ticket. The anticipation just before the journey, the irritation at TSA and waiting. The joy of the actual trip, and the even greater joy of instant nostalgia, when all the little travel snafus make great stories and better pictures.
Outcome: People love travel but airlines are only participating in the worst parts of the journey. The most they can hope to do is make the crappy part less crappy. This journey mapping showed us opportunities to participate in the fun parts of travel and create a positive association through every stage of a person's trip.
Mapping the Future: Creative Opportunities Workshop based on Trends and Case Studies
I designed and helped facilitate a future-looking workshop for Southwest’s CEO, CCO and CMO. I curated relevant trends, case studies, an audit of the competition and adjacent categories, and my own research to spark conversation around how to modernize the brand.
Locating White Space in a Crowded Category: New Product Positioning Workshop based on Brand Exercises, Case Studies and Competitive Audit
Problem: Jimmy Dean was preparing to launch new non-breakfast items, but needed to decide how to position the new offering.
Approach: My team and I developed materials by looking at other master and sub-brand structures and the strengths and weaknesses of the competition. During the workshop, I facilitated the group in several brand exercises that revealed Jimmy Dean's higher ambition and the position of the new products. After the workshop I summarized the group's decisions in a report which I presented to the CEO of Hillshire Farms.
Outcome: The Jimmy Dean clients were able to create a confident action plan to bring the new products to market.
Honest Opinions from Mom: In-home Interviews, Diaries and Pantry Tours
Problem: My Kellogg's and Hallmark assignments often called for insights from the field, but we didn't have the time (or budget) for formal research.
Approach: When time was short, I didn't want to just rely on secondary research or social media scrapes to understand the target's point of view. And man-on-the-street interviews were hard to rely on, especially in Chicago winter. I put together a local "Mom Panel" - a group of suburban moms willing to keep diaries, do inundation or deprivation studies, show us around their refrigerator or pantry and do in-home interviews, all on short notice. In groups, pairs or individually, they gave us real opinions and the gut check we needed to move forward with our creative briefs.
Outcome: My briefs were stronger for having genuine target perspective, experiences and quotes. Clients were more confident in the work knowing the source of our insights.
In addition to my work as a brand strategist and human insights researcher, I'm the founder of candle brand WANDERNESS. WANDERNESS was born from missing travel during the 2020 global pandemic, and wanting to give back to those affected by the loss of tourism. And making my home smell amazing (especially since I was there100% of the time) was a bonus. https://wanderness.co