Insights driven communication : 1

There are times when I have sat down with my client team and had a passionate discussion on "what qualifies as an insight".

It is still an open topic, very much debated both in ad agency, MR agency as well as in marketing teams.

It is, in a way, like a great movie. You know it when you see one, but defining what makes a great movie is still open to debates and discussions.

Still, let me give it a shot and define what an insight is:

Insight refers to a deep understanding. It could be about your target audience, consumer behavior, or market trends. It is often described as a "eureka moment" or an "aha!" moment.

Insights help marketers create more effective and relevant messaging, tailor products or services to meet customer needs, identify opportunities for growth, and develop strategies to reach and engage their target audience more successfully.

For example, insight could be that a specific demographic of consumers prefers eco-friendly products. This insight could guide advertisers to create ads that highlight the environmental benefits of a product, thereby appealing to the target audience's values and preferences.

There can be various kinds of insights :

1. Demographic: With this, the messaging can be laser-focused, based on demographic information like age, gender, location, and language preference. Example: ad for a children's toy - being targeted towards parents of young children.
2. Behavioral: Ads can be tailored based on users' consumption behavior or shopping behavior, such as browsing history, search queries, or previous purchases. If someone frequently searches for hiking gear, they may be shown ads for outdoor equipment or adventure travel.
3. Interest-based: Ads can be personalized based on user's interests and preferences. This can be inferred from their social media activity, liked pages, or interactions with specific content. For instance, if someone follows several fashion blogs, they may receive ads for clothing brands or fashion retailers.
4. Cultural: These are much deeper insights - based on the culture of a given country/place or the target group. Example: showing Indian women with Bindhi.
5. Product: Many a time, if the product is innovative, that itself becomes the "insight" which the advt is based upon

Let us see examples of how ads have leveraged key insights in their communication:

Dove Real Beauty Sketches:

• This was based on the insight that women often have a negative self-image. It featured a series of videos in which women were asked to describe themselves to an artist, who then created a portrait of them based on their description. The portraits were then compared to portraits created by the artist after simply looking at the women.
• The results showed that the women's self-portraits were often much more critical than the artist's portraits.

Always #LikeAGirl:

• This was based on the insight that girls are often told that they don't do things "like a girl."
• The ads featured a series of videos in which girls were asked to do various activities, such as running, playing sports, and giving presentations. The videos showed that girls were just as capable of doing these things as boys, and they challenged the stereotype that girls can't do things "like a guy."

Nike "Dream Crazier" :

• The ad was based on the insight that women are often told that they are too aggressive, too ambitious, or too "crazy" to succeed.
• The campaign featured a series of videos in which famous athletes and other women shared stories about how they were told that they couldn't achieve their dreams.
• The videos showed that these women refused to let anyone tell them what they couldn't do, and they went on to achieve great things.

Adidas "Impossible is Nothing" :

• This was based on the insight that people often give up on their dreams too easily.
• The campaign featured a series of videos in which athletes and other everyday people shared stories about how they overcame challenges to achieve their goals.
• The ads showed that anything is possible if you set your mind to it and never give up.

Last week's question:

How do you decide the supplier, the consultant, the agency - the one whom you want to work with - is - good? How do you decide somebody is trustworthy? What makes you tell yourself "these guys are good" - even before they talk about their experience?

In my experience, I have found two things helping me make my mind up on the suppliers that I want to work with:

a) Are they asking relevant questions? Are they covering all the bases in the discussion? Are they able to ask questions that make you think about your business from different angles?

This is one very good way of assessing how good they are. If they are able to think thru your business along with you and in the process ask questions that make you re-assess things, then you are with the set of people who are very capable.

b) Are they comfortable calling out their limitations? Along with the limitations of their industry/profession/ trade? And, point out options to get things done? And point out the trade-offs which happen?

This tells me how truthful and honest they are and hence how much can I rely on them.

Beyond these two, obviously, there is "body language" - and understanding the body language helps you to assess people much better, much faster.

Here are a couple of books which help you understand the science and art of body language:

1. Mindreader: The New Science of Deciphering: What People Really Think, What They Really Want, and Who They Really Are by David J. Lieberman

2. What Every Body is Saying : An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People by : by Joe Navarro 

This week's question:

While this article talked about brand insights, what was the one insight into your personality which made your personal "aha!" moment?

This week's inspirational quote:

“He who says he can and he who says he can’t are both usually right.” — Confucius

Disclosure: My content may contain affiliate links for books and products I use and love. If you do take action (i.e, subscribe / make a purchase) after clicking any of these links, I’ll earn some coffee money - which I promise to drink while writing useful content like this. 

See you next week! Have Fun!