(In a previous life) Director Richard Walker was MD of a film business specialising in consumer insight-led productions, and he has developed these propositions further whilst at Ci Research to improve the effectiveness of both insight capture and dissemination for clients. Below are his latest musings on how to most effectively use film and video within market research and customer insights.
10. Think channel not method
Film and video should at least be considered for every single research project commissioned. “Easy for you to say” I hear you all cry. My retort is thus: Every year, millions of pounds of research budget, if not entirely wasted, is at least partially frittered away because consumer insights do not compete effectively with other ‘noise’ within the client’s organisation. Fantastic research is useless unless it’s properly communicated and shared, and this does not mean simply circulating PowerPoint attachments alongside Excel data tables!
Researchers should start by simply thinking of film and video as an alternative, higher impact, more engaging channel with which to share consumer knowledge. Film is much more than capturing behaviour or glorified vox pops – it is potentially a stand-alone communications solution.
9. High quality production is worth the investment
“Easy for you to say” I hear you all cry. My retort is thus: It is the new media age and expectations of video outputs have changed. If an internal client sees shaky camcorder footage and poor quality shot framing, or hears distorted audio, then this potentially detracts from the message and jeopardises the communication.
Unless specified otherwise, we suggest aiming for broadcast quality outputs that you should be proud to share –not just for the content, but for the style!
8. But don’t let the medium overtake the message
A client in the telecoms sector once gave me this important piece of advice whilst I was having a particularly creative moment. This excellent advice sits well with another piece of advice absorbed along the way – that an audience will only memorise around 5 facts or key actions from any given presentation. In planning a film based output ensure everything is centred around communicating the message (sounds obvious, but worth re-iterating). Which 5 messages do you want people to remember and what do you want them to do as a result?
