Precognitive Marketing

Uncovering Unique Audience Insights That Generate Game-Changing Marketing Results

Presented by Summit Marketing

Ric Lipman, Senior Researcher

Kathy Miller, Senior Vice President

What Can You Do With Precognitive?

• Ask the same questions you’ve been asking – but filter the responses in a new, more productive way

• Gain new key insights with remarkable speed to market

• Creatively challenge your existing research

• Inform a new data capture and overlay strategy

• Get a firm grasp of:– What & how different audience populations think and feel about

you, your competitors, and the Category?– What are the various Aspirational Self-Images of these different

populations?

Research Overview

• Cognitive Research– Quantitative and Qualitative – Surveys– Polls– Q&A

• Precognitive Research– Focus Groups (Workshops)– In-depth (one-on-one) Interviews (IDI)– Ethnographic

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The Mind of the Consumer

How the Human Mind Decides

• What product or service do I buy?

• Which organizations do I give to?– Which cause do I give to?

• What organization do I join?

• What do I choose to view?– Television

– Online

– Print

– Etc.

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Cognitive Research Limitations

• Respondents typically edit disclosure in cognitive research so studies typically reflect:

– What a study participant wants the researcher to know about him/her

– How the study participant prefers to view him or herself– What they think the researcher wants to know– This applies to both group and non-group approaches

• In addition, group-based cognitive techniques can be contaminated/skewed by “alpha” participants and “herd instincts”

• Don’t rely on your audience to give you the answers to the questions you have!

– It’s not what you audience says. It’s what is meant by what they say.

“This Is Not Just Another Focus Group”

• Precognitive research is a revolutionary approach to gathering and decoding consumer responses (i.e. verbal, physical & emotional)

• Cognitive data (including focus groups) simply reveals what is happening in a way the consumer want you to hear it– Precognitive reveals why it is happening and how consumer

choice can be impacted in the future

• Rather than focusing on the probability of past behavior dictating future behavior, precognitive research reveals the underlying motivational triggers that guide consumer choice– Oftentimes an intuitive assumption is correct. Equally as

often, it is dead wrong.

The Essence of Precognitive Research

What Is Precognitive Research?

• A methodology that uncovers unique insights to inform the development of persuasive messaging to motivate attitudes and influence behaviors

• By its very nature, is not “off the shelf” but uniquely designed for every client

• Identifies the visual and emotional associations that individuals bring to perceptions of a concept

• Identifies both conscious (evaluations) and subconscious (habits) decision-making dynamics

• Includes psychological, sociological and anthropological filters integrated with communications theory and best practices

– Uncovers the heuristics involved in everyday behavior

The Subconscious Decision-Making Process

The Importance of Aspirational Self Image

• Every consumer has an aspirational self image that in some way relates to a product

Who does your customer become when they choose/use your product?

The Impact of Messaging On Behavior

Successful Direct Marketing

• 40% - Target Audience

• 40% - Offer

• 20% - Creative (Message)

Precognitive research can provide critical insights on key elements of effective direct marketing

• What is not considered, but must be considered?– Who is the seller (delivering the message) how are they perceived?– What is the category and how is it perceived?

Precognitive at Work

The Advantages of Precognitive Research

• The importance of how the client is regarded among different populations in the market

• The application of determining the aspirational self image of the various populations

• Changed entire messaging strategy across a wide range of campaigns – generating strong results

• The handshake between research and creative

• The findings have a long shelf-life and can be repurposed to maximize the results of future campaigns

Precognitive at Work

The Salvation Army Direct Mail Messaging Themes

• Self Interest/Personal Payback – Donors want to know the benefits to them when they donate

• Motivated by social and emotional benefits

– Keeping the community healthy pays off for all

• Karmic Fortune– Donors motivated to give by relief from problems – “For years I have given. It’s OK to receive.”– Redemption through guilt giving

• Goodness/Building for Future – Speaks to desire to create a stronger community

• Invitation to community-wide involvement

– Donors want to be part of something bigger than themselves

The Salvation Army Direct Mail Messaging Themes

The Results

In head-to-head testing that included nine precognitive-

inspired creative test cells, all but one of the test cells won in at least one of the

key metrics.

Precognitive at Work

Precognitive at Work

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Effectively positioning an Army program to civilian hiring managers.

Which logo was selected?

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Precognitive at Work

Effectively positioning an Army program to civilian hiring managers.

The Winner!

The Results

A 10% increase in the Army database of employers who want to hire Veterans in the first 90 days of campaigning.

Key Insights

– “Guilt” is a strong motivating emotion for hiring managers as many haven’t served: i.e., “Vicarious Service”.

– This positioning permitted hiring managers to motivate the aspirational self image of being the “hero” by helping a Veteran start a career.

– Hiring managers “love” Veterans but felt strong “anger” toward the Army resulting in motivation to act as a “Savior”.

Precognitive Techniques

• Some of the proven precognitive data gathering techniques include:

– Personification

– Story development

– Drawings

– Collages

– Emotion and value matching

– Role playing

– Laddering exercises

Precognitive Screens

• If you know “what” your potential or current customers are doing, do you know “why” they do it?

• Do you develop messages and offers based on intuition or interpretation of data rather than a direct understanding of what your target audience really wants?

• Are insights derived from quantitative metrics/data still “moving the needle”?

• Do you know what really motivates your customers?

Thank You!

If you’d like to learn more, contact:

Doug Toomay913-562-3407 office

[email protected]