Consumer insight
Is there a single marketing manager in the UK who wakes up in the morning excited about the prospect of a research debrief?*
Consumer insight has the stories but isn’t always good at telling them.
In recent years I’ve seen a lot more client briefs asking for variants of this: “Importantly the end report should be highly visual and capable of engaging a broad audience.”
Related Stories is my response to that brief; short stories that combine a rigorously edited depth interview with photography to provide engaging insight into the lives of your consumers (and when I say short, I mean a few minutes).
*To be fair, there is always one. But you’ll take my point, I’m sure.
The human story behind your business
Related Stories tells the human story behind your business. Recorded interviews and photography combine to create a personal, engaging and concise description of what you do and why you do it.
Many companies struggle with explaining what they do – the “about us” section of websites is often unenlightening and sometimes baffling. However, by explaining your ambitions and how you can help clients and customers, your very human story can help position your brand and sell your proposition.
I’m not often one for quoting marketing luminaries but here is Seth Godin with a very helpful quote: “Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the stories you tell.” Bingo.
About Barry Clark
I am mindful that many business pitches and debriefs are time-pressured, uncomfortable and sweaty occasions that take place in windowless meeting rooms. I know this because I have been delivering those pitches and debriefs for the last fifteen years.
The content created by Related Stories allows big themes to be understood at the individual level; it literally brings the voice of the consumer into the room and engages the emotions. These pithy stories bring your brief to life and appeal to those colleagues with the shortest of attention spans.
I have worked in consumer insight for 15 years and in marketing for 25. I have worked with companies like Lloyds, HSBC, Nissan, Allianz, Samsung and Aviva.
More recently, I’ve become very aware that consumer insight is changing. Not before time, there is a greater requirement for vivid and engaging research outputs. That change is the inspiration for Related Stories.