“No great marketing decisions have ever been made on quantitative data.”

John Scully
Former PepsiCo president, former Apple CEO<img src="http://blog.brainstormbrand.com/wp-content/themes/think/images/hr6_center.gif" alt="" class="hr-caption"/></p>

The Tree of Knowledge

Marketers commonly use decision trees to assess features and benefits to determine what is most important to consumers. Quantitative results can be obtained by asking respondents a sequence of very specific questions that branch out using if/then methodology.

Unreasoned Response

In a focus group years ago, an outspoken man was asserting himself by speaking out of turn, disparaging the process, and scoffing at the premise that brand had any bearing on his buying decision, ultimately proclaiming, “I’m just here for the money.”

"Control" Group

Experienced focus group moderators realize if unaddressed, dominant individuals can establish control, affect the group and ultimately hinder true and useful input. The deft moderator began to ask a series of if/then comparative questions that challenged the man to reconsider his inherent assumptions. In essence, the moderator drove him through a decision-making process to help him formulate reasoned positions.

Once back on topic the naysayer became the moderator’s most vigilant and attentive advocate - offering considered and definitive feedback. The rest of the group followed suit.

“The only relevant test of the validity of a hypothesis is comparison of prediction with experience.”

Milton Friedman
Nobel Prize-winning economist<img src="http://blog.brainstormbrand.com/wp-content/themes/think/images/hr6_center.gif" alt="" class="hr-caption"/></p>

Overrated Ratings

Similar principles apply to common online qualitative tools such as the five-star, numerical value, or Likert scales used to value or measure a respondent’s level of agreement with a given statement. Although quick and simple for respondents to complete, unlike decision trees, these methods ask subjects to value an attribute or preference without any measure of comparison, which lacks objectivity and is prone to positive or negative bias when respondents rank nearly everything of high (or low) importance.

Minimize Error

In What Do Customers Really Want on the Harvard Business Review site, Eric Almquist and Jason Lee explore Maximum Difference scaling. An extension of the Method of Paired Comparisons where subjects select a preference from two choices, MaxDiff asks respondents to identify their highest and lowest preference from a subset of attributes or statements. Multiple subsets are tested as part of a series. Almquist, a partner at Bain & Company, talks through one MaxDiff study on the relative importance of restaurant attributes in this presentation.

Asking respondents to rate selections is helpful and informative, but requiring them to decide between selections forces them to weigh answers. It inspires considered input, and generates more defined, useful and valuable feedback while eliminating undecided responses and mitigating positive and negative bias.

Maximize Outcome

Qualitative research adds relevance and validity to quantitative findings. In brand marketing research, consider your premise and process carefully from the outset to limit risk and maximize return. Remember, research often drives strategy, strategy drives spending, and spending drives outcomes – both good and bad.

Let well-considered decision trees help you branch out in the right direction.

image: pkeyn

About the Project

Packaging is a part of modern life. This article, an insight into the design of a consumer package for satellite radio provider XM, includes many aspects of a typical package development process. In the interest of time, we’ll skip research, diagnostic and technical methodology phases and concentrate on the basic iterative process steps in this article.

Contracted as a co-branded piece with equipment manufacturer, Delphi, the XM package is designed to contain a variety of product configurations while meeting the requirements of multiple retailers.

Thumbnails
(above: click for larger view)

The first stage of the package design process is broad idea generation with an eye toward reasonable possibility through the use of quick sketches called thumbnails—essentially a Brainstorm session on paper.

Even in this early ideation phase, function and manufacturing objectives established in earlier logistic explorations are at the forefront of the design rationale.

A plump and friendly ovate design—suitable for both pegged and stand-alone shelf display—captured the team’s attention. It features an interchangeable outer shroud designed to accommodate variable messaging and XM product differentiation.

Rough Refinements
(above: click for larger view)

Of the 32 initial thumbnails, five are selected for tighter “rough”? conceptual sketches. The rough design stage serves several purposes. Roughs allow the customer to collaborate in a conceptual dialog with both Brainstorm and their own internal team.

In addition, roughs allow the design team to further reconcile a host of issues—from substrate selection to detail and aesthetic considerations. Increasingly the form is discussed with a heightened sensitivity to relative manufacturing requirements and capabilities.

Although computer-generated designs are great for visualization, introducing them too early in the development process can consume allotted resources and generate fewer options. Furthermore, their finished look can ignite concerns about exhausting budgets without the benefit of conceptual buy-in.

Design Control Drawings (DCD)
(above: click for larger view)

DCD drawings are to final fit and finish what roughs are to concepts. In this case, the forms are expressed as orthographic projections, i.e., front, right side and plan (top) views.

The primary intent of this phase is to convey relative proportions and relationships between forms within the package, i.e., to “control”? the design. A rough and wispy hand drawn line could mean anything to a packaging engineer. Conversely, detailed and dimensioned schematics begin to define a working reality.

Of course, many issues were addressed during the XM DCD phase: Drop test considerations, proper cavity allowance for nested accessories, marrying the outer shroud with the stand-alone clamshell, substrate selection and opacity levels, inherent multi-part clamshell tooling considerations, etc.

Rapid Prototyped 3D Model
(above)

Project participants hailed from several continents. So, to help bridge geographic and language-based barriers, we produced a quick 3D model based on data and dimensioning extrapolated from the vector-based DCD drawings. The model proved a useful discussion tool in describing general functions of the package.

Aesthetic and Messaging
(above: click for more initial design examples)

Although this article primarily explores the physical form development of a package, the aesthetic process is important enough to warrant an article of its own.

Some aspects of messaging development begin as early as the thumbnail stage. However, on many levels, full graphic exploration doesn’t begin until a form factor direction is set. At retail, messaging and brand continuity are crucial.

A Finished Package
(above: click for larger view)

Although concessions were made along the way, the completed two-part package is remarkably similar to the original concept design in form and function.

Click here for more about Brainstorm.

(The Articulated Antique Singer Insect—above)

We like Christopher Conte’s left brain leanings and right brain tendencies. His work fashioning prosthetic limbs coupled with his Pratt art degree, interest in biomechanics, and knack for sculpture combine for a singularly unique talent.

Opting to market his unique works publicly for the first time, Conte joined a select group of artists represented by agent Les Barany in 2007.

A Respite

Conte slows the maelstrom of crowd sourcing and social network concerns facing today’s brand agents to a painstaking, hand-crafted pace similar to that of Persephone Books, previously featured on .think.

Both demonstrate that despite all the measurement and marketing data available on customer wants and needs, inspired ideas, services and products always rule the day.

For more on Christopher Conte and his work, take a break and visit him here.

A Call to Quality

In late 2008, Motorola released the Aura, a $2,000 cell phone. What it lacks in modern-day feature-rich gadgets, it makes up for in austere styling, quality materials and precise engineering with a Swiss-made main bearing and 130 precision ball bearings; tungsten-carbon-carbide-coated main gears; chemically etched textures and patterns; a mirror finish; and a scratch-resistant 62-carat, grade 1 sapphire crystal display.

Reality Check

In the midst of a recession has Motorola gone mad, or will their release of a $2,000 phone prove to be a timely decision?

In an October Washington Post article, Bain & Company Partner and retail expert Darrell Rigby said, “Contrary to some popular predictions, high-end retail is not recession-proof. There’s not a retailer in the country that isn’t taking this downturn seriously.”

However, an alcohol distribution manager recently noted while his mid-range clients are buying slightly less prestigious brands and low-end consumers are opting for the lowest possible price point, his upper-end clientele’s purchase of top shelf brands has sharply increased and profits are up.

Likewise, a custom home builder reports sales increases so great they have more business than they can handle and said this has been their experience in past recessions as well. The high-end builder cites low material costs and attractive interest rates available to affluent, asset-rich customers, as driving forces.

My father once told me he believed that during bad economic times affluent people spend money as a means of escape—a self-administered reassurance, a distancing from the dark realities around them.

You Make the Call

Time will tell if Motorola can successfully circumvent the recession by developing a phone that transcends it. If branded properly, the Aura may have the proper cachet to attract wallets still overflowing with disposable income.

Visit the Aura Microsite or, if you’re already sold and have what it takes, buy it here.

The Arguments

Journalists, bloggers and public relation professionals sometimes view the future of information mediums, standards and distribution very differently. As the conventions of traditional journalism continue to clash with the unorthodox voice of the individual, everyone involved needs a place to explore answers and visions in a civil manner.

Sarah Evans founded #journchat, a live streaming conversation held each Monday night from 7 to 10 p.m. CST on Twitter, as a public forum between these diverse, and often at odds, professionals.

“The mission of #journchat is to keep an ongoing, open dialogue between journalists, bloggers and public relations professionals.”

Sarah Evans
Director of Communications, Elgin Community College

A Scheduled Debate

Evan’s idea thrives on the embrace of the community. In ever-increasing numbers people are flocking to #journchat each Monday evening to sort out the future of their collective professions in a spontaneous convergence of disparate—as well as like-thinking—individuals with myriad ideas about the state of information.

Every 30 minutes or so moderators introduce a new topic for the community to discuss and explore.

The published time frame for #journchat provides a reliable structure for the discussion—a notion counter to Twitter’s drop-in oriented format.

A Larger Vision

Evans told Brainstorm that she envisions #journchat evolving into a larger network—perhaps driven one day by a web application. It’s not difficult to imagine her concept as an extensible vehicle adopted to different topics and industries.

Join the Fray

Watch the discussions by going to Twitter’s search page and typing in #journchat. Or add your opinion to the discussion by getting a free Twitter account and including the #journchat tag in your posted “tweets.”

For discussion recaps, topics and more on #journchat visit the journchat.info website or follow the @journchat Twitter profile or @PRsarahevans herself.