OUR METHODOLOGIES
PROSPECTIVE RESEARCH
Bergquist model: long-term prospection
After 11th September, an American general recruited some Hollywood scenario writers to project future terrorist attacks to be able to anticipate them. We have taken inspiration from this initiative while crossing it with the notion of economic self-fulfilling prophesies (if everyone believes in a stock-market crash, then the more likely it is to happen) to create this methodology. The more a future is imagined as possible by consumers, the more future scenarios are formed as a reaction to this possibility.
Trope model: for short and mid-term prospection
We think that there are signs before a trend occurs. This is what some people call “tropes”, i.e. the obsessive repetition of an image, a situation, or a character in works of fiction (films, literature, advertising…) and which are adopted as totems/fetishes by consumers. We think that these tropes are powerful insights for companies because they narrate a philosophy that has not yet been embodied in reality but which is already influencing aesthetic codes and expectations. Mastering them also means controlling a discourse that has no need for justification. Tropes are fascinating: there is no arguing about them, they are there like icons.
How do we proceed? That’s our secret, but you can ask us to tell you about it, or else ask our clients.
NOTIONAL AND CATEGORIAL
FRAMEWORKS AND SENSORIAL RESEARCH
We offer new forms of notional, categorial and sensorial research to look at a reality which is too often ignored: consumers make choices based on products’ sensorial and emotional realities, of which they are unaware. Traditional methodologies cannot capture such phenomena, while the neurosciences provide a glimpse of this reality in the form of observations, but they cannot build up an offer.
Evok (sensorial)
This methodology applies both to fragrances and tastes. Our principle (see the manifesto) is that consumers can be made to express their preferences by having them speak in a particular way about what they can smell, taste, touch or see. Thanks to our tried and tested techniques, improved over 10 years, their perceptions can then be refined, even for stimuli whose differences cannot be expressed rationally. How do we proceed? That’s our secret, but you can ask us to tell you about it … or else ask our clients.
G.Durand* method (notions and category)
This methodology applies more to concepts (ecology, feminism, luxury cars, technological realms of imagination, etc.) and its vocation is to reveal all available realms of imagination around a notion. By questioning consumers in a certain way, it becomes clear that these notions are associated with particular utopias and fears, with very different tensions that draw out distinct territories, where companies can position themselves according to their identity or strategy.
* In homage to Gilbert Durand, whose anthropological structures of the imaginary inspired this method.
How do we proceed? That’s our secret, but you can ask us to tell you about it, or else ask our clients.
TACTICAL AND
STRATEGIC RESEARCH
Tactical and brand research is our everyday (green) energy. This means that via the prism of our extremely concrete product and concept tests, we can read the major evolutions in consumer expectations. Thus, each test is the chance to focus on these evolutions in the world of consumption.
EPC² method
This methodology allows us to envisage the performance of your concepts based on four fundamentals.
(E) Emergence: is my concept original? Does it stand out from the competition?
(P) Preference: does it suggest an emotional connection? does it promise a positive change for the respondents?
(C²) Coherency and credibility: does it satisfy the consumers' rational and functional demands? Do consumers consider the discourse credible?
Our series of over 400 tests using the EPC² method provide a clear vision of the performance of the stimuli submitted.
Brand Monument method
This methodology’s vocation is to develop the attraction of your brand so that each element seems more appealing than your competitor’s. It is a way for brands to refresh and update their image, so as to renew their appeal. We will work with you on the four main steps to develop or maintain your aura:
1) Identify the wider realm of imagination in which your brand is situated (common to other brands) and what makes your brand unique OU and your brand’s unique identity that justifies its existence.
2) Identify its purpose and expertise
3) Identify the formal implications and practical consequences that strengthen the brand (graphic signs, phrasing, symbols, etc.): the brand book and its commandments.
4) Determine how to activate the full set of learnings among consumers (strategy).
How do we proceed? That’s our secret, but you can ask us to tell you about it, or else ask our clients.
THEY TRUSTED US
