Clarteza

Case Study #1

CLARITY REPORT

Background & Objective:

Despite significant investment, a client’s business in a consumer packaged goods category had declined in South Africa over the past several years, causing share and subsequent profitability to plummet. An informed perspective on the situation was commissioned to provide key recommendations for sustaining the business or deciding to exit the market.

Our Approach:

Clarteza employed a 'perspectives approach', gathering information from multiple sources to fully understand the business issue.
This was accomplished by reviewing all existing research, conducting in-depth interviews with all US and South Africa teams to get their multi-disciplinary perspectives; reviewing syndicated sales results for South Africa; and curating trends information in the local market.
The team used all the research to understand any underlying causes of our client’s market-share decline. This collection and utilization of research data allowed the team to understand the situation from a variety of perspectives, radically changing the way traditional market studies are performed.

Our Method:

Upfront consultation with key stakeholders to...
1. frame project scope
2. define success goals
Comprehensive review of over 40+ existing research reports to...
1. cover all facets of that market and secondary data
2. uncover insights and opportunities
3. recommend key actions
In-depth interviews with key stakeholders including a country manager, the sales team, and the marketing team to understand their diverse perspectives.
Workshop to discuss the competitive situation and consumer landscape, and decide on next steps.
Consulting on design and analysis for...
1. follow-up research
2. addressing critical-need gaps

Outcomes:

The threat to the client’s two brand players was coming almost entirely from one local powerhouse brand. It held close to 50% of the value share alone, and commanded strong loyalty from entrenched consumer base driven by heritage. That brand also had a much broader distribution through traditional trade outlets (and smaller mom & pop shops).

Recommendations:

Our clients had 2 different brands for the same type of product, which caused some confusion and dilution of brand loyalty. Specific recommendations for sustaining business, based on sound information and strategic insight:

Two-tiered pricing strategy (to justify dual brand existence in market)
Opportunistic targeting (to capture new market entrants)
New product ideas (to fit consumers' need)
Concentrated efforts (to address traditional trade distribution)
Relevant messaging (to utilize consumer insights and category triggers)
Emerging media opportunities (to flank leading competitor)

Timeline:

Four weeks

CASE STUDY #6

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN EVALUATION

CASE STUDY #2

OPPORTUNITY MAPPING - WHITE SPACE IDENTIFICATION

Case Study #1

CLARITY REPORT

Background & Objective:

Our Approach:

Clarteza employed a 'perspectives approach', gathering information from multiple sources to fully understand the business issue.
This was accomplished by reviewing all existing research, conducting in-depth interviews with all US and South Africa teams to get their multi-disciplinary perspectives; reviewing syndicated sales results for South Africa; and curating trends information in the local market.
The team used all the research to understand any underlying causes of our client’s market-share decline. This collection and utilization of research data allowed the team to understand the situation from a variety of perspectives, radically changing the way traditional market studies are performed.

Our Method:

Upfront consultation with key stakeholders to...
1. frame project scope
2. define success goals
Comprehensive review of over 40+ existing research reports to...
1. cover all facets of that market and secondary data
2. uncover insights and opportunities
3. recommend key actions
In-depth interviews with key stakeholders including a country manager, the sales team, and the marketing team to understand their diverse perspectives.
Workshop to discuss the competitive situation and consumer landscape, and decide on next steps.
Consulting on design and analysis for...
1. follow-up research
2. addressing critical-need gaps

Outcomes:

Recommendations:

Two-tiered pricing strategy (to justify dual brand existence in market)
Opportunistic targeting (to capture new market entrants)
New product ideas (to fit consumers' need)
Concentrated efforts (to address traditional trade distribution)
Relevant messaging (to utilize consumer insights and category triggers)
Emerging media opportunities (to flank leading competitor)

Timeline:

Four weeks

CASE STUDY #6

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN EVALUATION

CASE STUDY #2

OPPORTUNITY MAPPING - WHITE SPACE IDENTIFICATION

Case Study #2

Opportunity Mapping - white space identification

Overview & Objective

Our client completed a comprehensive market analysis to better understand its consumers and overall competitive landscape.

Clarteza partnered with this client to use new knowledge and explore white space opportunities by identifying segments, drivers, and occasions for new product ideas.

Our Approach:

First, to ensure that new product ideas leverage rich segmentation data, Clarteza developed a summary profile of the specific segments/demand spaces, including:

Key choice drivers.
Consumer attitudes and motivations.
Product form and brand preferences.
The 5 W’s – who, what, where, when, why, and how.

This was our road map to co-create initial ideas with the client.

Then we looked at the competitive landscape by leveraging the Clarteza Product Portal which was created earlier for this client:

Our Method:

In a cross-functional workshop setting, Clarteza reviewed the segments supporting each initial concept and discussed recommendations to:

Determine if there were any glaring “misses” in all initial ideas
Recommend elements for optimizing each concept to represent the most important/most relevant attributes and benefits to more directly leverage the segmentation findings
Prioritize ideas to determine whether to move forward with all possible options or put any of the ideas on the backburner
Uncover any new concept platforms that may have been missed.

Outcomes:

Ensures that the client is leveraging the most important behavioral and motivational triggers in the relative segments/demand spaces
Connects them to the product positionings

This approach increases the relevance of the ideas with target consumers and therefore improves chances for success during launch.

Timeline:

One to Two weeks

CASE STUDY #1

CLARITY REPORT

CASE STUDY #3

FUSION METHODOLOGY INSIGHTS

Case Study #3

FUSION METHODOLOGY INSIGHTS

Background & Objective:

Our CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) client wished to understand current consumer perceptions and usage of one of their flagship products to uncover any hidden barriers. The objective was to create and evaluate a new product that meets consumer expectations and solves the right consumer problem. Ultimately, the company wanted to create a product that was used more frequently. The project was conducted in four countries: the U.S., France, Italy and Argentina.

Our Approach:

We first conducted a preliminary understanding of the current category usage by developing a Clarity Report.
1. This was a synthesis of all research to date, including where the competition is, how people use the products, and where they shop
2. We structured this research study to uncover the right consumer problem
3. We tested our initial hypothesis in qualitative, in-depth discussions
We employed design thinking methods to ensure we structure this research study to uncover the right consumer problem
We tested our initial hypothesis in qualitative in-depth discussions

Our Process

Utilize fusion research methodology to uncover insights
Leverage learnings from the Clarity Report to determine the depth and breadth of this research
Conduct in-depth stakeholder interviews with key decision-makers to formulate ongoing hypothesis
Request anthropologist assistance for employing the right type of consumer questions
Encourage in-depth qualitative discussion using behavioral science fundamentals and projective techniques to uncover often-hidden consumer insights

Our Method:

We evaluated the product’s shelf presence while leveraging predictive analysis of current product’s noticeability on shelf to establish a benchmark.
We evaluated voice intonation to determine the level of energy with potential new prototypes.
After the qualitative interview, we asked our respondents to provide feedback quantitatively to identify directional trends.

Outcomes:

Our client received a multi-dimensional analysis that also provided certainty of a direction for the new product prototypes. The insights that were uncovered in different countries identified different behaviors in consumer product application as well as in overall category perception. As a result, the client was able to identify which country was riper and readier for the new product, and which needed some education and preparation before the rollout.

Timeline:

Eight to Twelve weeks

CASE STUDY #2

OPPORTUNITY MAPPING - WHITE SPACE IDENTIFICATION

CASE STUDY #4

CONCEPT ASSESSMENT

Case Study #4

Concept assessment

Background & Objective:

Our CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) client wished to launch a baked-good product with a new brand. The current brand was perceived by its consumers as classic and traditional, and appealed to people over 50+. The purpose of launching the new brand was to create excitement in the category and appeal to millennials and therefore increase growth.

The new brand, however, if taken out of context, could have been polarizing. While the younger audience felt the brand was edgy, innovative, fun, and unique, our client wanted to make sure it did not alienate their current customer base.

Our Approach:

Our team conducted a predictive analysis to capture which elements of the two packages cut through the clutter better and which package stands out more in a competitive context
Then, we applied a quantitative research to evaluate both branding options
This was done through a micro-facial capture of consumers' reactions, as well as cognitive answers relating to preference and purchase interest
Integral to our approach was our fusion research methodology to uncover insights

What does your brain “see” in seconds?

the power of the pack
visual communication assesment

Our Method:

We evaluated the products’ elements of noticeability. We conducted comprehensive online research to understand respondents’ overall perception, brand preference, and likelihood of product purchase.

CURRENT BRAND

NEW BRAND

Techniques used were:

Micro-facial artificial intelligence (AI) to assess unconscious, automatic reactions to the brand through a webcam algorithm that measures key human emotions
1. When viewing the Edgy/Youthful/Polarizing logo, there was a spike in cognitive load for participants age 41-60 when first viewing the logo. There is no corresponding spike when first viewing the Current/Traditional/Classic logo.
2. These results were captured by exposing people for 15 seconds to 2 different logos and recording their micro-facial emotional reaction to the brand.
Analyzing and presenting responses to understand what the most mentioned words for each brand were
1. We identified what people liked most
Running a regression analysis to understand the relationship of the preferred brand with purchase behavior

Our process:

Brand and communication evaluation: we use fusion evaluation to capture data and emotions

Input: creation of the microfacial algorithm through labeled and unlabeled video and metadata
Output:
1. 20 facial expressions
2. 7 emotions (sadness, joy, anger, surprise, fear, disgust, contempt)
3. Valence, engagement, attention
4. Age, ethnicity, gender
Analyzing emotions in free-flowing text: Clarteza analyzed a significant amount of unstructured text using AI to find themes and underlying emotional factors in consumers’ language.

Age 18-40
Age 41-60

brand a

Edgy/Youthful/Polarizing

brand b

Current/Traditional/Classic

Microfacial expression - brow furrow

When viewing the Edgy/Youthful/Polarizing logo, there was a spike in cognitive load for participants age 41-60 when first viewing the logo. There is no corresponding spike when first viewing the Current/Traditional/Classic logo.

note

These results were captured by exposing people for 15 seconds to 2 different logos and we recording their micro-facial emotional reaction to the brand.

We identified what people liked most

…and analyzed emotions in a free flowing text

Clarteza analyzed a significant amount of unstructured text to find themes and underlying emotional factors in consumers’ language.

CASE STUDY #3

FUSION METHODOLOGY INSIGHTS

CASE STUDY #5

COMMUNICATION EVALUATION

Case Study #5

Communication evaluation

Background & Objective:

Our client wished to evaluate communication visuals to convert non-buyers through a three-week challenge in which a person would notice a difference after using a product during the specified time. The objective of this campaign was to convert non-buyers and solidify loyalty with current buyers.

Our Approach:

We applied fusion research methodology and leveraged disruptive technologies to evaluate consumers' overall preference for the most appealing visual communication campaign, which we then optimized. We followed the following process:

Our process:

1 Branding and communication evaluation: unconscious processing of the brain

As a first step, we wanted to evaluate the first visual unconsciously to determine what cuts through the clutter.
Then, we optimized the initial visual design to highlight the most important elements in the quantitative evaluation.

Getting noticed is the #1 job
What does your brain “see” in 3-5 seconds? (predictive thinking)
Will you be noticed, recognized, and chosen? (cognitive thinking)

get noticed

Happens in seconds and is
an unconscious process

get recognized

Occurs when the brain notices
and starts to process

get chosen

Once noticed and recognized,
will they want to buy it?

2 Microfacial expression: output example – expressiveness

Through a quantitative online study, we captured immediate, intuitive reactions of participants to evaluate the overall preference of one type of visual vs. the other.
The difference between the two options was significant. This measure was particularly important to minimize confusion about the visual.

output example – expressiveness

3 Areas people liked most – and why: cognitive noticeability, appeal & ability to connect

Following the microfacial analysis, respondents could answer why they liked certain things, which allowed us to optimize the visuals further.

We applied artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to quickly analyze open text data and help group the message.

Message	Total Exact & Contextual Matches
animals, cat and dog	73%
health, good health, healthy	51%
difference	35%

The average number of clicks was 3, and the total number of seconds on the page was 16:
1. First Click: How many seconds pass before the first click
2. Last Click: How many seconds pass before the last click (not including the Next button)
3. Page Submit: How many seconds pass before clicking the Next button (i.e., how long in total the respondent spends on the page)
4. Click Count: How many times the respondent clicks on the page

4 Areas people liked most – and why: cognitive noticeability, appeal & ability to connect

Following the microfacial analysis, respondents could answer why they liked certain things, which allowed us to optimize the visuals further.

5 How likely are you to recommend a brand?

One of the last steps was an assessment to learn which visual garners higher scores in brand recommendation and product trials. Specifically, we wanted to find out which visual was most convincing to potential new shoppers

Promoters (score 9-10) are loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others, fueling growth.

Passives (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings.

Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy customers who can damage your brand and impede growth through negative word of mouth.

Outcomes:

The results from the study were multi-dimensional, spanning predictive, unconscious, and conscious processing of the brain.

The outcomes allowed for optimization of the communication pieces to ensure that the campaign visuals were effective at communicating the most important elements in the campaign and had understandable, and convincing messages.

In the process, we clearly identified the visual that was most appealing to consumers. We also highlighted elements that could be enhanced by clarifying confusing infographic cues.

The ultimate learning allowed the client to roll out the campaign successfully and increase product sales.

CASE STUDY #4
CONCEPT ASSESSMENT

CASE STUDY #6
EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN EVALUATION

Case Study #6

Experiential marketing campaign evaluation

Background & Objective:

The Clarteza's team was asked to evaluate a product launch that included an experiential marketing campaign, where consumers interacted with the the product in a ”pop-up café” and were guided through the experience by brand ambassadors.

As this initiative was a key pillar in the marketing plan, the client team wished to evaluate the experiential marketing efforts prior to rolling it out to other markets.

Our Approach:

Clarteza employed diagnostic fusion research methodology, leveraging both System 1 and System 2 thinking, in order to fully capture the user experience and its impact, and to highlight opportunities for optimization.

Methodology & Design

To quickly and efficiently assess the effectiveness of this experience, customers were led through product introduction, and a combination of Predictive, Ethnographic, directionally Quantitative and in-depth Qualitative interviews was employed.

We applied the following methodology:

observed customer traffic

analyzed the flow of people

looked for clues as to what works vs. what may be an area of opportunity

Outcomes:

The predictive visual modeling solution allowed our clients to get a quick, preliminary noticeability assessment of the visual triggers prior to qualitative or quantitative evaluation.
The visual assessment allowed our client to optimize the layout of the road show to significantly improve the experience and consumer engagement.

Our evaluation of diverse perspectives of the experience allowed us to fully assess the overall effectiveness from all angles.

Clarteza presented learnings that were truly surprising to the client, based on:

3 days of observation
several in-depth interviews with people who visited the café
random quantitative interviews
discussions with brand ambassadors

Some of these observations were not even on the client’s radar. They included:

significant logistical issues that inhibited the product experience
visual representation of the road show was not highlighting brands’ distinctive assets
re-training and motivation of brand ambassadors
different incentives for shoppers and brand ambassadors
streamlined product offerings

The takeaways were so impactful that the following phase of the road show was significantly more successful. All daily Key Performance Indicators (KPIs, including daily sales), were surpassed after our diagnostic analysis was received and recommendations applied.

Timeline:

Two weeks

The entire project from commissioning to report took 2 weeks.
This allowed the client to quickly make essential adjustments to the campaign prior to further rollout.