they're the fastest way to get good cash while watching commercials" [Jenny, Matt, Albert, Sarah, John, Evelyn, Catherine, Mike, Andrew, Annie, Robert,............]
Focus groups have been seen by the advertising industry as a qualitatitve research to test products, and find consumers' motivations, needs, and aspirations.
It makes sense, you gather a bunch of people that fit your target, you ask/show/tell them why they are here, and you ask for their "honest", "spontaneous", "thoughtful" opinions.
The result: in 2 hours you have opinions and ideas from your target audience.
They are basically a fast, cheap way to get data. Even more, these data can be chosen to support ideas already in progress during meetings with the client. It seems like agencies tend to focus group ideas already discussed, and report to the client the one which scored best.
And here lies the problem. The cause that led the advertising industry to its almost-if-not-pitiful situation. It has tried to sell rather than serve.
Focus groups should be meant to find psychological needs of consumers, rather than please psychological needs of the client.
This is reflected in the advertising, with brands telling what they need and want from their customers instead of talking about what the individual might need.
Thus, the intention from the beginning is counterproductive. The whole sphere concerning focus groups cannot be considered valid, for two main reasons:
- A group of individuals put in an awkward situation among people they don't know, in locations they don't know, with too few time to build trust, "which is a precondition for eliciting the true feelings of participants" [Herbert and Irene Rubin].
- People don't know what they want. [M. Gladwell]
"Most of the thoughts and feelings that influence consumers' and managers' behavior occur in the unconscious mind. Not irrational, but unconscious. Unconscious thoughts are the most accurate predictors of what people will actually do. In the space of 5 or 10 minutes in a focus group, which is the average airtime per person, you can't possibly get at one person's unconscious thinking." [Gerald Zaltman]
In order to support this I took a concept from Kant's philosphy about the 2 ways of thinking he elaborated. Kant believed in "a priori" and "a posteriori" thinking. The first being a thought that happens before [a priori] the experience, something you know it is true, even if you don't see it; the ladder being a thought that happens after [a posteriori] the experience of the 5 senses, something you learn after you tried it.
Seth Godin writes:
"What focus groups can do for you is give you a visceral, personal, unscientific reaction to little brainstorms. They can help you push something farther and farther to see what grabs people. But the goal isn't to do a vote or a census. Any time your focus group results include percentages, you've wasted an afternoon."
I always disliked focus groups, and it seems like I am not the only one; yet, during my school projects we are suggested to use them for our research. In my last week's Ad Research class, we watched two funny focus group's experiments, one done by Shreddies and one by Apple. There, is where my will of writing my point of view on focus groups grew from.
Amuse yourself and share some thoughts, I am open to change my mind and fall in love with them.
Focus groups have been seen by the advertising industry as a qualitatitve research to test products, and find consumers' motivations, needs, and aspirations.
It makes sense, you gather a bunch of people that fit your target, you ask/show/tell them why they are here, and you ask for their "honest", "spontaneous", "thoughtful" opinions.
The result: in 2 hours you have opinions and ideas from your target audience.
They are basically a fast, cheap way to get data. Even more, these data can be chosen to support ideas already in progress during meetings with the client. It seems like agencies tend to focus group ideas already discussed, and report to the client the one which scored best.
And here lies the problem. The cause that led the advertising industry to its almost-if-not-pitiful situation. It has tried to sell rather than serve.
Focus groups should be meant to find psychological needs of consumers, rather than please psychological needs of the client.
This is reflected in the advertising, with brands telling what they need and want from their customers instead of talking about what the individual might need.
Thus, the intention from the beginning is counterproductive. The whole sphere concerning focus groups cannot be considered valid, for two main reasons:
- A group of individuals put in an awkward situation among people they don't know, in locations they don't know, with too few time to build trust, "which is a precondition for eliciting the true feelings of participants" [Herbert and Irene Rubin].
"The outcome is richer if they feel included in our process, not just observed,"
- Cammie Dunaway [CMO Yahoo!]
- People don't know what they want. [M. Gladwell]
"Most of the thoughts and feelings that influence consumers' and managers' behavior occur in the unconscious mind. Not irrational, but unconscious. Unconscious thoughts are the most accurate predictors of what people will actually do. In the space of 5 or 10 minutes in a focus group, which is the average airtime per person, you can't possibly get at one person's unconscious thinking." [Gerald Zaltman]
In order to support this I took a concept from Kant's philosphy about the 2 ways of thinking he elaborated. Kant believed in "a priori" and "a posteriori" thinking. The first being a thought that happens before [a priori] the experience, something you know it is true, even if you don't see it; the ladder being a thought that happens after [a posteriori] the experience of the 5 senses, something you learn after you tried it.
"A priori knowledge expresses a statement that one can derive by reason alone"
[via Wikipedia]
The problem, again, is that people behaviors are driven by feelings, emotions, not reason, but unconscious, through experience.
"What focus groups can do for you is give you a visceral, personal, unscientific reaction to little brainstorms. They can help you push something farther and farther to see what grabs people. But the goal isn't to do a vote or a census. Any time your focus group results include percentages, you've wasted an afternoon."
I always disliked focus groups, and it seems like I am not the only one; yet, during my school projects we are suggested to use them for our research. In my last week's Ad Research class, we watched two funny focus group's experiments, one done by Shreddies and one by Apple. There, is where my will of writing my point of view on focus groups grew from.
Amuse yourself and share some thoughts, I am open to change my mind and fall in love with them.
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