WHAT WE’VE DONE.
Caution: Horn tooting ahead.
We’re proud of the game-changing work we’ve done for our clients. We could talk about it all day long (and given the opportunity we just might).
But since the proof is in the pudding and actions speak louder than words, here’s a handful of examples of how our custom-designed research and spot-on direction have given clients the confidence to move.
HELPING THE BIGGEST COFFEE MAKER BRAND BECOME A BIG MAKER OF SOMETHING ELSE.
KEURIG makes more coffee makers than anybody. But as they looked to expand share of beverage consumption, they needed to understand total beverage behavior.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
Keurig sought to examine daily alcohol consumption, not only what people drink—but where, when, how, and with whom. This would help them identify not only who to target, but for what occasions and with what products.
TOOLS USED.
We built custom, daily beverage consumption diary research that was completed via mobile phones to accurately capture both at home and away from beverage consumption. Over 1000 people recorded everything they drank for 30 days straight — pictures included.
MOVES MADE.
The diary findings led to the identification of a completely new target and new communication strategy for the innovation in advance of launch — now live and on the market as Drinkworks. From what we understand, the Home Bar Sampler is a hit.
IDENTIFYING THE TARGET AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW WAY TO LET SOMEONE IN.
August pioneered the Smart Lock, including leading edge features like Remote Unlocking and Guest Key Codes. After launch, August sought to identify the primary growth target for the Smart Lock—and how to communicate to, and innovate with that target.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
Every innovation has early adopters, but determining who to target beyond the bleeding edge is tricky. August wanted to identify what consumer segments exist within the market, where to find them, and how to trigger them to purchase.
TOOLS USED.
We uniquely designed and utilized a Latent Class Segmentation Study to not only identify who is statistically most likely to purchase an August Smart Lock, but also how to predictably find them in the market. That way August knows where to reach them, and how.
MOVES MADE.
In addition to identifying the brand target, our work also led to a new retail strategy for August, not to mention a portfolio strategy for Assa Abloy, the parent of August and the legacy lock powerhouse, Yale. august.com
TRANSFORMING A DIE CUTTER INTO THE ULTIMATE DESKTOP CREATION MACHINE.
An initial hit, Cricut sales began to rapidly decline after each new version of the cutter failed to improve on the last one. Cricut sought to understand why cutter owners engage in crafting, what pain points they encountered, and what innovations should follow as a result.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
Cricut knew that in order to reinvent the brand and the products offered by it, they needed a deep understanding of what makes crafters do what they do, including their motivations and unmet needs—both functional and emotional.
TOOLS USED.
We developed and executed custom ethnographic, qualitative research among over 60 crafters. We went in-home to watch and record how they designed, cut, glued, quilted, nailed, assembled, embossed, failed, and won. That’s what we liked most.
MOVES MADE.
We identified creative freedom as the key Crafter need, recommending four innovation platforms to deliver it — a design app, online content, and expansion in materials cut, and a portfolio of progressively adaptable machines — all of which now exist. cricut.com
IDENTIFYING HOW TO STRETCH THE SOCK.
Through never-before-tried design and style, Stance successfully reinvented the sock category from the staid to the sick. In order to extend the brand’s success beyond socks, they sought to deeply understand the Stance buyer and what drives them to stick to Stance.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
As a near-overnight success, Stance became Stance without much understanding of who buys the brand, or why. They not only wanted to deeply understand who buys the brand, but what motivates those buyers to do so, and what Stance stands for, versus everyone else.
TOOLS USED.
We conducted custom-designed ethnographic interviews with over 24 Stance brand buyers, including the competition. While watching them shuffle through their sock drawers, we uncovered what attracts them to Stance — as well as how to apply and extend the equity attributes of the Stance brand into new categories.
MOVES MADE.
We recommended how to enter new categories, such as underwear and t-shirts, both of which now exist — and in our opinion, are just as sick as the socks. stance.com
DRIVING THE LOYALTY OF THE WELL SUITED.
Fashionistas are fickle, and Banana Republic understands this as well as anyone. By developing a new loyalty program, they sought to understand what features and fixes would drive long-term engagement with the brand.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
In order to understand how to impact loyalty, Banana Republic was looking to track shopping and purchasing on an ongoing basis. That way they could identify what offers and options would actually drive shoppers to buy more from the BR.
TOOLS USED.
We first built a custom panel of Banana Republic shoppers to explore their shopping experiences on an ongoing basis. Then we tailored monthly Attitude & Usage studies to identify how the shopper loyalty program was or wasn’t impacting behavior — and what to do about it.
MOVES MADE.
We identified which features of the program were most likely to drive purchase and long-term loyalty, such as: free alterations and Choose Your Own Sale Day. We recommended they be launched as part of a new loyalty platform within the Banana Republic Card umbrella — now known as the BR Luxe Card. bananarepublic.com
EXPANDING WHERE SWEATS CAN BE WORN.
Started as a well-heeled women’s athleisure brand, Spiritual Gangster succeeded at making sweats and leggings standard fare among the high-income Insta crowd. However, they knew early on that they’d need to extend beyond the center in order achieve the full potential of the brand.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
Top on the Spiritual Gangster key question list was how and to whom to extend the brand. In order to do this the right way, they also wanted to identify what key equities the brand owned, and whether those could successfully be transferred to very different target groups. No small task, indeed.
TOOLS USED.
We conducted a quantitative Brand Health Evaluation in order to identify how Spiritual Gangster is differentiated as a brand, as well as what categories, and even targets, it should stretch into as a result. We also helped measure the upside potential for the brand, even before the world stopped wearing hard pants.
MOVES MADE.
First and foremost, mindsight recommended that the Gangster be for more than just women — and now men wear it too. In addition, instead of offering only 4 primary clothing categories, Spiritual Gangster now offers 14. Lastly, we identified the opportunity for custom collections, 6 of which now exist. Who knew stretchy pants could go so far. spiritualgangster.com
HELPING HORMEL GO NUTS.
When Kraft Heinz put Planters® on the block, Hormel Foods saw an opportunity to significantly expand the company’s presence in the growing snacking space. What Hormel didn’t know, was how Planters compared to other brands on a range of key metrics, and whether there were any watchouts to be aware of. Enter us.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
In order to help assess the value of the Planters® brand, Hormel asked us to examine key brand health measures and the like for both Planters® and a range of competitors. Hormel was also keen to understand what innovation potential existed for a brand founded in 1906 — even the oldest nut brand in the world.
TOOLS USED.
We set a custom, quantitative Brand Health Evaluation in motion. Through this we identified not only how the Awareness, Purchasing, Satisfaction and NPS of Planters® compared to other suspects, but also key points of Planters distinction and strength. We also profiled key nut purchasing and consumption behavior, identifying key opportunities for daypart innovation. Finally, we examined which new product ideas would be most likely to be purchased in the near term, giving Mr. Peanut a roadmap for future growth.
MOVES MADE.
Hormel Foods acquired the Planters®snack nut portfolio from the Kraft Heinz Company for $3.35 billion in 2021. Enough said. hormelfoods.com
USING SHOPPER UNDERSTANDING TO SPREAD NUT BUTTER ACROSS THE STORE.
Justin’s largely reinvented what ‘nut butter’ means — and they did so largely by way of a package format that was used once upon a time for shampoo. Not kidding. But while Justin’s sold a lot of squeeze packs, the brand team was unsure of the product’s role in the portfolio and how to leverage it in a retail environment.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
To determine the role of squeeze packs in the portfolio, Justin’s sought to identify how, when, where, why — and by whom, squeeze packs are used compared to traditional jars. In addition, Justin’s sought to understand what other products Justin’s squeeze pack buyers purchase, and identify opportunities for cross-promotion.
TOOLS USED.
Through a tailored Attitude & Usage study, we identified that Justin’s squeeze packs are a critical trial driver that create both significant purchase across the franchise and deep brand loyalty. We then conducted custom quantitative shopping research to identify key categories that target buyers shop — which Justin’s then used to sell in incremental squeeze-pack placement at key retailers.
MOVES MADE.
Justin’s brand penetration grew a full percentage point in less than a year, over 90% of which was a result of the incremental placement of Justin’s squeeze packs. Considering the brand only had 2% penetration at the time, some might say Justin is a fast mover. We would say so — we’ve seen him ride his mountain bike, and the dude moves. justins.com
SHOWING DEL MONTE® HOW TO HELP YOU DO WHAT YOUR MOM TOLD YOU TO DO.
Eat more vegetables. We know that’s what she said. So does Del Monte®. That’s why they charted a path to extend quality in a can into forms and formats that would help enable us all to have an extra serving or two. But to do so, the Del Monte® innovators sought to determine what brand, products, and forms would best do the job and please Moms most.
QUESTIONS ASKED.
The first order of business was to determine which of a range of categories Del Monte® should consider entering first. Next was to examine which brand would be best to do so — Del Monte®, a new brand, or a hybrid mix. Last, Del Monte® sought to develop a pipeline of new products, including the forms, benefits, packaging and pricing, that would ensure long-term veggie eating.
TOOLS USED.
We’ve been shoulder-to-shoulder with Del Monte in developing the Veggieful line of products since 2018. We first used Concept Screening to identify key categories to enter, and then used custom Concept Testing to determine which brand strategy to employ. We’ve also used a whole host of tools, including additional Concept Testing, Line Optimization Tests, and custom Pricing Evaluations to help build and extend the platform.
MOVES MADE.
Del Monte Veggieful™ was launched in 2019 and has since expanded into a range of categories, including riced veggies, snacks, and bowls. From what we understand, a whole bunch of people are now making Mom happy. delmonte.com
