Qualitative research

What we know about qualitative theories & methods

Article • WARC Best Practice, January 2018

This paper collects the most current thinking and writing on qualitative theories and methods, the broad approach of seeking to understand the attitudes, motivations, and behaviours of consumers: the why and how of decision making.

What we know about ethnography and observation

Article • WARC Best Practice, September 2017

This paper summarises knowledge and offers guidance and reading on ethnography, a research method where the researcher observes from the point of view of the subject of the study.

Choosing imagery in advertising healthy food to children: Are cartoons the most effective visual strategy?

Research Paper • Maria Lagomarsino and L. Suzanne Suggs, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 58, No. 4, 2018, pp. 487-498

Food advertising is widely believed to influence children’s food preferences, although the evidence is not conclusive.

Why companies risk losing customers by not reciprocating on shared data: Rebuilding the data-sharing economy in a consumer-driven world

Research Paper • Natasha Hritzuk, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 58, No. 4, 2018, pp. 394-398

This article looks at how companies can rebuild trust with consumers over the use of their data with the advent of increasing regulation, such as GDPR.

L'Oréal offers a new regimen for next-generation strategists

Article • Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, 4A's Strategy Festival, October 2018

L'Oréal, the beauty company, has built out market insights and foresight capabilities as it seeks to prepare for an increasingly complex future.

Wayfair gets “scrappy” about research

Article • Reed Karaim, Event Reports, TMRE, October 2018

Wayfair, the online retailer focused on home goods, is using a “scrappy” approach to research as it seeks to understand consumers and generate valuable insights.

What we know about bricolage and semiotics

Article • WARC Best Practice, December 2018

Summarises the insights from key papers on the topic of bricolage (how different materials are used in the creative process of understanding) and semiotics (the study of signs and symbols) – techniques used by qualitative researchers to deliver cultural insight.

My Black is Beautiful: The Talk

Case Study • Jason Jahn, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Procter & Gamble's My Black is Beautiful brand targeted black audiences in the US using TV, radio, social and search, to connect with them in a more meaningful way.

Suzuki Ignis: An Ignis Adventure

Case Study • Chris Herbert, Rachel Lorenzon, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Suzuki, the car brand, co-created a TV show with a broadcaster to engage young women and increase sales of its Ignis model in the UK.

Christmas LIVE – Aldi shoppers’ journey to Christmas

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Winner, MRS Award for Applications of Research

Aldi, the value supermarket chain, changed how UK consumers viewed the store and Christmas shopping behaviours to contribute to a record-breaking Christmas 2017.

Auto Trader Group: The Car Buyers Report – not new, not used but next

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Finalist, MRS Award for Applications of Research

Auto Trader, a digital automotive marketplace, was able to shed its reputation among UK consumer as a place for ‘cheap second hand cars’ and delivered a twelvefold ROI.

‘Our House’: Using TV & Excitement to Bring the Customer Closer to ASDA

Article • MRS Awards, Winner, MRS/AURA Award for Insight Management

ASDA, a supermarket chain, got closer to their customers with its first longitudinal TV show ‘Our House’ in the UK.

Centra: Redeveloping Convenience Retailing

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Finalist, MRS Award for Applications of Research

Centra, a convenience retailer, redesigned its format and offering in stores to maximise targeted footfall and revenues in Ireland.

The Financial Conduct Authority: How Arnold Schwarzenegger became the ‘head’ of the FCA

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Finalist, Jeremy Bullmore Award for Creative Development Research

The Financial Conduct Authority, a conduct regulator for financial services and financial markets in the UK, increased awareness of the 2019 PPI complaints deadline through a creative campaign based on consumer research in the UK.

Vocalink: Beyond the data – a customised cultural immersion into payment technology

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Winner, MRS Award for Financial Services Research

Vocalink, a payment systems company, combined cultural, ethnographic and user experience research to develop insights that helped Thailand’s PromptPay real-time payment system increase user adoption by 48%.

Network Rail: A new approach to understanding suicide prevention on the Great Britain’s railways

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Winner, Virginia Valentine Award for Cultural Insights

Network Rail, the owner of most of the railway network in Great Britain, used anthropological and ethnographic research methods to explore railway suicide.

CPNI: “All aboard – “See it. Say it. Sorted”, a public vigilance campaign to support the transport network”

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Finalist, MRS Award for Public Policy/Social Research

The Centre for the Protection for the National Infrastructure (CPNI), the lead government authority for protective security advice, embarked on a four-year research programme to support the government’s counter-terrorism (CT) strategy in protecting the transport network from terrorism in the UK.

Vivo Ads: The Vivo Ads Challenge

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Gold, LATAM, 2018

Vivo Ads, a mobile media platform, attracted advertisers to its platform by launching ‘The Vivo Ads Challenge’ in Brazil.

Multiple Sclerosis Society: Measuring the socio-economic impact of changes to PIP eligibly criteria for people living with MS: a participatory approach

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Winner, MRS Award for Public Policy/Social Research

The MS Society commissioned research to inform a media campaign aimed at convincing the UK government to change various aspects of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Oxfam: Using Cultural Insight to Act Against Global Poverty

Case Study • MRS Awards, Finalist, Virginia Valentine Award for Cultural Insights

Oxfam, a confederation of 20 independent charitable organisations, uncovered insights into how people viewed the issues it campaigns on globally to promote its Even It Up campaign against poverty worldwide.

Outback Steakhouse: Outback and the power of SmartData

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Finalist, LATAM, 2018

Outback Steakhouse, a restaurant chain, launched a targeting campaign in Brazil to encourage restaurant visits in the city of São Paulo.

PizzaExpress: Menu engineering - a predictive, insight-led solution to effective menu design

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Finalist, MRS Award for Applications of Research

PizzaExpress, a restaurant group, brought to light new insight into how customers navigate menus in restaurants and how this affects their purchasing decisions.

Nationwide and Generation M: A meeting of hearts and minds

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Finalist, Virginia Valentine Award for Cultural Insights

Nationwide, a British mutual financial institution and building society, uncovered insights around British Muslims by launching a lifelogging study to generate product ideas for the target.

ITV: Factual Labs

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Finalist, Jeremy Bullmore Award for Creative Development Research

ITV, a British TV broadcaster, set out to explore how viewers in the UK perceive the Factual TV landscape and identify where viewer interest and excitement lay for future factual programming, for ITV and other broadcasters.

IKEA Life at Home Report 2017 International research by C Space

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Winner, MRS Award for International Research

IKEA, a furniture retailer, broke three norms when conducting global research to create its Life at Home Report.