Stop hiding behind research and go out and meet the public, says Y&R global planner
Agencies and brands need to step back from research and focus groups and go out to meet real consumers, face to face where they live, the global planning director of Y&R has warned.
Agencies need to “get naked” with consumers
Sandy Thompson told the audience at Mumbrella 360 that as much as brands believed they were being “authentic with consumers” their lack of understanding of people beyond the data researchers served up was creating a gap that could only be filled by getting out and meeting people face to face.
“All this knowledge is fantastic but it gives us a false sense that we know who our customers are,” Thompson said.
The go to the jungle not the zoo, get out there to understand the consumer has been the mantra for many years. Haven’t we since realised that there are far better ways to understand consumers than get out there and meet the people. I havent seen the founders of Google, or the executives of Nike, or the legendary founder of Apple go out there and meet the people – they just get on and do their job.
Yawn…if Ad Agency staff got up out of their crumbling Ivory Towers and actually looked around and paid attention to one thing that “consumers”, “targets”, “people” and “humans” are actually doing (rather than pretending to know them) . And that thing is not engaging with “traditional advertising” because they are too busy looking at their mobile device or laptop to bother with print or commercial TV. That is the “Naked” truth.
This was Saatchi and saatchis research point of view ‘x – ploring ‘ circa early 2000’s. I know, because I was there and sandy was too. Same message 12 years ago. At least she’s consistent
My favourite speaker at Mumbrella this week. This applies at media level too. Encourage people to step away from the computers and have them engage more in 2 way conversations – be it phone or in person.. I think some call it “the art of communication”…
We could always back our own instincts, like (I think) we once did.