Mythbuster: Killing the conversation

Les Binet and Sarah Carter

In their regular column, Les Binet and Sarah Carter of DDB expose the myth behind a commonly held tenet of marketing wisdom.

Mythbuster: Killing the conversation

Les Binet and Sarah Carter DDB

Les Binet and Sarah Carter of DDB get a little bit angry about some of the nonsense they hear around them... like the idea that focus groups have had their day

Nearly 20 years ago, we were working on repositioning a global whisky brand. This required us to attend some qualitative research in New York and Los Angeles. Intensively trained in the art of conducting what we still quaintly called ‘group discussions’ at BMP, we were stunned at what confronted us.

In the UK, groups were convened in intimate...

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