A segmentation is a powerful tool for understanding the consumers in your market but it can be challenging to put into practice. In this case study for a major entertainment company, we demonstrate how to use digital qual and ethnography to bring segments to life, semiotics to create a visual language to guide marketing strategy and packaging/TV/social creative and workshops and playbooks to teach internal teams how to put the findings into practice.
Quirks: Using A Segmentation to Craft Marketing Campaigns
1. USING A SEGMENTATION TO
Craft Marketing Campaigns
Jason Kramer
Managing Director
PRESENTED BY
2018
1
Yan Sharon Cheng
Manager,
Consumer Insights
Eleni Bennett
Manager,
Consumer Insights
2. THE CHALLENGE
of Activating a
Segmentation
“Numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Segmentations can sometimes be
lifeless and have us wonder,
‘What’s next?’ What’s typically
missing is the human element, and
the bridge to actionability.”
2
7. THE CHALLENGE
Home Entertainment
Currently Markets the
Movie Not the
Experience
SOLUTION:
To use the unique needs
states and values of a
segmentation to
communicate the home
entertainment experience
7
8. THE CHALLENGE
of Helping Marketing
Understand How To
Use Segmentation
BEHAVIO
RNEEDS
DATA
IDENTIT
Y
MOTIVATION
SCOMMUNICATIO
N
UGG
8
9. Executive Director,
Consumer Insights
SVP Media,
Digital Marketing &
Consumer Insights
SVP
Marketing
Manager,
Consumer
Insights
Manager,
Consumer
Insights
EVP
Consumer
Strategy Group
EVP
WW
Marketing
Convincing skeptics that
the way to get to concrete
tactics was through abstract
and creative methods
Selling an Abstract
Methodology to High
Profile Stakeholders
President
of Home
Entertainment
VP
Marketing
Manager,
Consumer
Insights
Manager,
Consumer
Insights
9
15. VISUALIZE:
Semiotics Approach to Generate Visual Language
Critical to unlock new thinking in messaging
15
“We watched Arrival with Amy
Adams… It's cool because it
prompted a conversation with
my husband and I as well, and
then we're talking to friends
about it, and getting really
excited about a movie that can
affect your approach to how
you view the world.” –
Stephanie
“
16. VISUALIZE:
Semiotics Approach to Generate Visual Language
16
“The movie Lion, I was crying my
eyes out. I think it was relatable
when he was lost. That it hit a soft
spot in my heart 'cause I didn't live
with my mom for a really long time.
So that separation from him being
away from his family and his mom, it
was just heart wrenching.” -
Alexandra
“
Jason: Using a segmentation to craft marketing campaigns (5 minutes)
Establishes the methodological challenge, VF’s background, and Sony’s objectives
Segmentation is a powerful tool; it helps you understand different types of people in market, size them, prioritize them, and understand what drives them, but has two key challenges:
Difficult for non-researchers to internalize who the segments are and humanize them
Difficult for internal teams to apply the segmentation and activate against it
Through the power of ethnography and design, VF has made great strides in helping internal teams humanize their segments
Jason to talk through examples
We’ve also pioneered methods for activating and socializing segments beyond the internal research team
We’ve also pioneered methods for activating and socializing segments beyond the internal research team
We’ve also pioneered methods for activating and socializing segments beyond the internal research team
With Sony, we had the amazing opportunity to develop a new approach to HE marketing through:
Humanizing their segments
Understanding how they want to be communicated to, and the visual language that would trigger visceral reactions
Understanding what motivates them in the category
Using a workshop to develop actual marketing campaign and creative tactics for an upcoming movie
Eleni/Yan (Irvine) or Kasey (Brooklyn): Selling in an abstract methodology to high profile stakeholders (5 minutes)
Establishes the business questions and challenges, and how the insights team overcame them
Why did Sony do the project? Why reach out to VF?
Discuss the business issue Sony had of helping marketing with the challenge of understanding segments on a deeper level and activating messaging in a more nuanced, layered way
Discuss how the insights team won over internal stakeholders through regular communication and walking them through how a more abstract, emotional, expressive methodology would prove to be tangible and actionable
Discuss how the insights team won over internal stakeholders through regular communication and walking them through how a more abstract, emotional, expressive methodology would prove to be tangible and actionable
Jason: Making the intangible actionable (10 minutes)
Overview of the methodology and techniques to show how we did it
Brief overview of methodology (revive quant, online diary, intensive ethnographies, activation workshop)
Brief overview of how we did it (humanize, visualize, activate), setting up following slides
deep dives into values, motivations, and what made the segments tick in diary & ethno
for example:
underneath the values of “travel” and “learning” for one segment lie a desire to connect with others in meaningful ways and help them feel a sense of belonging to something bigger
hobbies like quilting meaning more than a creative outlet, serving as a way to work through and memorialize major life moments
For stakeholders, homework to embody these kinds of insights for their particular segment and imagine elements like theme song or motto, which was powerful in helping them target the segment in a more personal, values-driven way
Highlight key techniques from the community and ethnographies:
Semiotics and word association exercises (both digitally and in-person) to capture a visual language and trigger words for abstract need states, and laddering techniques to dig deeply into the history, context, and core root of where the associations came from. For example:
Imagery of foreign cultures and locations to evoke a sense of curiosity, adventure, and exploration for a segment to live vicariously through movies, based on stories of their unfulfilled desires to travel to places they may not be able to go
Highlight key techniques from the community and ethnographies:
Semiotics and word association exercises (both digitally and in-person) to capture a visual language and trigger words for abstract need states, and laddering techniques to dig deeply into the history, context, and core root of where the associations came from. For example:
Imagery of foreign cultures and locations to evoke a sense of curiosity, adventure, and exploration for a segment to live vicariously through movies, based on stories of their unfulfilled desires to travel to places they may not be able to go
Highlight key exercises and outputs of the workshop (VF/Sony will mock these up based on the fake segment noted above)
Example deliverable of concept board (curating imagery and trigger words specific to the segment, title, and key need states)
Example activation element or tactic (strategic plan inspired by understanding segment and semiotics in concept board)
Each segment approached in different way, all of which were actionable, fresh, and personalized to the segment, while holding potential to apply to other segments as well
Highlight key exercises and outputs of the workshop (VF/Sony will mock these up based on the fake segment noted above)
Example deliverable of concept board (curating imagery and trigger words specific to the segment, title, and key need states)
Example activation element or tactic (strategic plan inspired by understanding segment and semiotics in concept board)
Each segment approached in different way, all of which were actionable, fresh, and personalized to the segment, while holding potential to apply to other segments as well
Highlight key exercises and outputs of the workshop (VF/Sony will mock these up based on the fake segment noted above)
Example deliverable of concept board (curating imagery and trigger words specific to the segment, title, and key need states)
Example activation element or tactic (strategic plan inspired by understanding segment and semiotics in concept board)
Each segment approached in different way, all of which were actionable, fresh, and personalized to the segment, while holding potential to apply to other segments as well
Eleni/Yan (Irvine) or Kasey (Brooklyn): Action beyond the workshop (5 minutes)
Outcome of the workshop and ongoing implications at Sony
Discuss what elements made the workshop successful from Sony’s perspective
Ex.: Cross-departmental teams sharing fresh perspectives with freedom to create without limitations
Discuss reactions and feedback from stakeholders and attendees
Share examples of outcomes and next steps: concept boards shared with agencies, activating partners right away, some ideas making it to market, etc.