Projective method - the depth excavator of qualitative research (1)

In an era where users are king, how to understand the true motivations or potential desires of users/consumers? It’s something every company/brand desperately wants to know.

Psychological analysis believes that people suppress their unsatisfied impulses and desires, or unresolved conflicts and anxieties, and become part of their subconscious. This leads to direct inquiry-style surveys, in which subjects often misunderstand, misinterpret or mislead the researcher, intentionally or unintentionally. Projective testing technology is used to provide subjects with vague and ambiguous materials to arouse the subject's associations, so that his inner motivations, emotions and values, as well as inner anxieties and conflicts are unknowingly projected out.

There are many projective tests that are commonly used in market research: free association/word association, brand personification, user image/buyer image, brand party, puzzle technology, brand planet/brand travel/brand The world, visiting factories/companies/offices, shopping baskets, analogies, brand classification, role play/image transfer of brands and human organs, bubble diagrams, epitaphs, brand families, brand managers, brand image houses...

From a commercial application level, the projection method can help understand: consumer purchasing motivations, brand image, brand naming, awareness surveys, advertising effect research, advertising copy development or evaluation, product/service evaluation...

Concept: Present a series of unrelated words, pictures, samples, and scenes to the interviewee, and ask the interviewee to tell the association triggered by each stimulus. and explain.

Category:

①Complete free association: without setting any conditions, ask and follow up on the respondent’s relevant reactions.

②Limited free association: It can be divided into limited expressions, such as "a sentence", "a word", "a paragraph of text", "a novel"; it can also limit the quantity or time, such as "The first thing that comes to mind", "Who are the first three people that come to mind?"; you can also limit the field of association, such as "What product brand comes to mind?", "Who is the person who best represents this company that comes to mind?" .

Applicable: The association method is often used to compare, evaluate and test brands: popularity, brand image and advertising terms, etc. Discover core vocabulary that is relevant and of special value.

Evaluation: The word association method is relatively simple and easy to implement, can quickly collect a large amount of information, and is relatively easy to analyze. It is a relatively effective projection technology in research.

Example 1: Brand Image Research

When you mention "Coca-Cola", what are the first three words that come to your mind? (Follow-up question: What reminds you of words a, b, c)

Example 2: Brand awareness survey

When it comes to laptops, what are the three brands that come to your mind first? ?

Example 3: Brand Naming

Give three alternative names for a purified water brand: Desire, Hydrosol, and Qingqing. Ask the interviewee to tell you what you think of each of them. The content associated with the name is used to understand the impression each name brings to consumers

Example 4: Advertising creativity-interest chain technology

Let users list List the benefits that a certain product/brand can provide, and then list the benefits that these benefits can provide, and continue until consumers can’t list any benefits.

For example, for a certain brand of vitamins, consumers may list "reducing colds" as one of its benefits, and then the consumer will list "work efficiency" and "energetic", and another one will be listed. They both believe that vitamins can reduce colds, but their ultimate goals are different. Assuming that the above two consumers represent two typical types of consumers, then advertising targeting the two types of consumers should There is a difference.

(1) Sentence completion method

Concept: The sentence completion method is similar to the word association method. It provides users with some incomplete sentences and asks them to complete the sentences. After completing the form, you need to explain the reason for filling in the content, so as to understand the consumer's inner thoughts (needs, motivations).

In market research, if a questionnaire or interview method is used to investigate the reasons why consumers buy Cadillac, quite a few consumers will say that the car runs fast or is noble.

Using the sentence completion method, you can design the following sentence: "People who buy Cadillacs_______". If you fill in affluence, it can be interpreted that the person who bought the car is motivated to show off; if you fill in charm, it can be interpreted as a sexy motivation.

Evaluation: Compared with the word association method, the sentence completion method provides more direct stimulation to the subjects, and it is possible to obtain more information about the subjects' emotions from the story completion method. However, the sentence completion method is not as subtle as the word association method, and many participants may have guessed the purpose of the study.

Example: Lipton tea (Lipton) is interested in expanding its market to teenagers aged 13 to 19. It calls high school students and guides them to complete the following sentences.

①People who drink hot tea are _______;?

②Tea is a good drink when _______;?

③My friends Think tea is ________.

④When I am thirsty, I want to drink ________.

(2) Story completion method

Concept: Another type of sentence completion method is paragraph completion, that is, story completion method: provide the user with an unfinished story, please It tells the story to the end so that it can understand the true thoughts of the consumer (give the subject a part of the story that is enough to draw the user's attention to a specific topic, but do not prompt the end of the story)

Evaluation: Like the word association method, the completion method is relatively simple and easy to implement, and can quickly collect a large amount of information; and the form is more lively and lively, which can easily arouse the interviewee's interest in participation. But analysis is relatively more difficult.

Example:

In a survey of department store customers, subjects were asked to complete the following story: A man bought a suit in his favorite department store. After spending 45 minutes and trying out several sets, he finally settled on one. As he walked to the counter, a clerk came over and said: "Sir, we have suits on sale now, the same price but higher quality. Would you like to take a look?" The question is: What is this consumer's reaction? Why? From the stories completed by the subject, we can see his (her) attitude towards the relative value of spending time selecting goods, as well as his (her) emotional investment behavior in shopping.

(3) Situational dialogue method

Concept: also known as bubble chart method, cartoon test method, etc. Display cartoon characters within a specific context relevant to the problem. Participants were asked to indicate how one cartoon character would respond to a question or comment made by another character. The subject's answers can indicate his or her feelings, beliefs, and attitudes about the environment or situation.

(4) Stranger Conversation Method→Alien Method

Concept: Suppose you now need to introduce a product to a person who does not know the target product at all. This scenario makes the conversation Both parties unified themselves to "introduce as much detail as possible because he is a complete layman." Under such a psychological condition, the interview results are more in line with the researcher's expectations. You can even assume that the person you are talking to is an alien, in which case the introduction may be more informative. Generally speaking, the thoroughness of the content provided by the information provider is inversely proportional to the extent to which the person he identifies has relevant knowledge. This role assumption method can also be used in other aspects. For example, assume that the person you are communicating with is:

① A friend of yours who also wants to buy similar products;

② A A staff member of the Consumer Association, you commented on this product;

③The person who bought the same product as you, the topic of your communication with him

Example: < /p>

Concept: also called personification method. Let users imagine the brand or product as a person and describe their gender, age, occupation, dress, hobbies, personality traits, economic class, interpersonal relationships (what kind of friends, what kind of family), what kind of friends you like and what kind of family you like. Are they together? What kind of person would like him? What kind of person wouldn't like him? ; Under what circumstances would you most like to be with him or her?

Applicable: Can be used to understand the image and tone of the brand/product. Consistency with the company's strategy, differentiation analysis with similar brands, etc. During operation, you can inquire about the image of a certain brand individually or compare it with other similar brands.

Example 1:

Example 2:

We just learned about the brands of many recruitment websites. Usually we have different impressions of different brands. Suppose Think of a product brand as a person who looks a certain way, behaves a certain way, and has certain values ??and characteristics.

For example, when we think of the Agricultural Bank of China, we think of it as a hard-working, simple but lack of innovative middle-aged man who follows the rules and lacks a sense of wealth but is very safe and stable; while China Merchants Bank has an image of a young man who is flexible, flexible and stable. Avant-garde, sensitive to changes in the outside world, easy to grasp the pulse of the market, always appearing in some young, fashionable, and wealthy dramas.

Now if you imagine each recruitment website brand as a person, what kind of person do you think he/she is? Please describe a brand you are most familiar with or prefer.

Concept: Also known as analogy, or imitation of objects, the respondent is asked to think of the target object as something extremely familiar in life, and then ask him to explain the reason for his analogy and find out the analogy. similarities and differences between. It should be noted that the things that are analogous to the target thing should be something that the participants are very familiar with, such as colors, animals, plants, physical objects, gadgets, or furniture, etc. Also note that interviewees should also be invited to explain their analogies.

Application: Same as the personification method, understand whether the image and tone of the brand/product in the minds of consumers are consistent with strategic expectations.

Example 1: Employee Service Evaluation

If you encounter service staff in a newly opened theme park, if they were animals, what kind of animals do you think they would be? (Follow-up) Why did you choose these animals?

Example 2: Brand Image Assessment

If you think of "Alipay" as an animal, what animal do you think Alipay is most likely to be? (Follow-up) In what characteristics is this animal similar to Alipay, and in what characteristics is it completely different?

Concept: Also known as the situational method, the focus shifting method changes the focus of discussion from the interviewee himself to others. Providing subjects with a literal or visual scenario allows the subjects to avoid the direct connection between the relevant phenomena and themselves on the surface, reducing the self-moral devaluation effect. It also helps to express the questions more clearly and make the answers more clear. can easily give the answer.

When using this method specifically, you should further collect the life background information of the research subjects through prior research, so as to design a scene that creates a sense of familiarity and intimacy for the research subject group. The setting of others/third parties may be the subject's friends, neighbors, colleagues, or some kind of "typical" person.

Applicable: When it comes to discussions on sensitive topics such as sex, gray income, corruption, beliefs, work performance, evaluation of authority, etc., the focus shifting method can obtain more authentic information than direct questioning.

Example 1: Zhang Sanfa (the research purpose is easy to guess)

"Are you willing or happy to participate in the training organized by the company during your break from work?" →? "The company organized a The training to improve the on-site management skills of the hall manager was held on Saturday morning. Wang XX, the manager of the XX Road business hall, refused to participate on the grounds that Saturday was employee rest time and not working time. What do you think of this matter? "

Example 2: Shopping list method (the purpose of the research is more hidden)

At the beginning of the promotion of Nestlé instant coffee, the market was cold. Preliminary research found that the main reason why coffee consumers did not buy it was "Hand-brewed coffee tastes better," but taste tests overturn that reason. Under the guidance of psychologist Haier of the University of California, the United States used projection technology to re-investigate: randomly assigned consumers were shown two shopping receipts. One receipt showed instant coffee, the other showed coffee beans, and the remaining shopping items All remain consistent. Ask consumers to write down the characteristics of the owners who choose these two shopping receipts. The results showed that housewives with instant coffee receipts were described as "lazy, slovenly, unplanned, and wasteful", while housewives with hand-brewed coffee receipts were described as "thrifty, life-conscious, and experienced" ". After this, Nestlé suddenly realized: housewives did not think instant coffee tasted bad, but they did not want to be labeled as "lazy" and "bad at home". As a result, Nestlé no longer emphasizes saving time and effort, but instead promotes "using instant coffee gives you more time to do more things."

In order to change consumers' perceptions and thereby change consumption behavior

Extended reading: Nestlé instant coffee research

Concept: refers to allowing the interviewee to choose from many pictures or adjectives provided , pick out words/pictures that match what you want to describe.

Application: Investigate the consistency between brand image and target users

Example: The photo sorting method (Photosort) developed by Global BBDO, the largest advertising agency in the United States, is the classification method projection A great example of technology. Provide the respondent with a set of photos showing different types of people, such as white-collar workers, workers, college students, etc., and ask the respondent to put the photos together with the brands he thinks this person should use. A photo classification survey of General Electric Company found that respondents believed that the brand attracted older and conservative business people. In order to change this image, General Electric Company conducted a publicity and promotion campaign to "add luster to life"< /p>

Concept: Specify several brands or products (usually 3, the tested brand and its competitors). Respondents were asked to imagine three people in a supermarket, each pushing a shopping trolley. Each of them already has a product (one of 3 brands). Next, please imagine if these three people continue shopping, and then ask the subjects to imagine what other products they will have in their trolleys or shopping baskets when these people finish shopping and arrive at the checkout counter, that is to say, what other products they will buy. product, it is more suitable to put it together with this item in the trolley.

Application: Mainly used to understand the social attributes of brand image and explore consumers’ recognition of brand value from their consumption patterns.

Example: Shopping basket of three brands

Coca-Cola: household cleaning supplies, household plastic wrap, Tide laundry detergent, "Humor Master" magazine, Chinese football team uniforms, Twins MTV video tapes, Chinese knots, red tablecloths, footballs, refreshing shower gel, cartoon character toys (Snoopy, etc.), popsicles...

Pepsi-Cola: cartoon character toys (Slam Dunk, etc.) ), fashionable backpacks, Nicholas Tse's records, Adidas footballs, tennis rackets, scooters, Nike sneakers, Hershey's mints, Rinse shampoo...

Very coke: vegetables, Meat, Diao brand soap, bee flower shampoo, VCDs of domestic TV series, pirated CDs, black girl toothpaste, dumplings...

From the choices in the basket, we can analyze the ones with the clearest positioning It is Pepsi-Cola, which is basically reflected in the equipment owned by fashionable young people. The superposition of the attributes of each brand or product itself in the Pepsi shopping basket can fully express Pepsi-Cola's "young, dynamic and trendy" brand personality. Very Coke’s brand personality is also very clear. As a brand targeting the secondary and tertiary markets, Very Coke's brand personality of being "people-friendly, simple and even a little old-fashioned" is clearly revealed through the items in the shopping basket. Finally, it seems that it is not easy to find any pattern in Coca-Cola's shopping basket, but we cannot arbitrarily believe that the information reflected in this shopping basket is worthless. Through an in-depth analysis of the shopping basket, we can find that: Coca-Cola's brand image has been widely penetrated into the family and is accepted by family members; some Chinese localized personalities (such as Chinese knots) have been added to the brand personality; and it reveals a "celebration, "Joyful and atmospheric" brand personality.

Concept: Ask the interviewee to describe the image of a typical user of a certain brand, including: gender, age, appearance and clothing, personality traits, values ??and attitudes, hobbies, occupation, family status ;How does this buyer pay? How to get home? What kind of home are you going to? What kind of people does he live with? What kind of friends do you have? What about other lifestyles?

Application: Very suitable for fast moving consumer goods. Used to understand the profile of users of a particular brand and their characteristics in terms of personality, socio-demographic and consumer mindset. It is helpful for detecting target consumer groups and consumer acceptance.

Concept: Ask the interviewee to assume that a series of brands/products/services/companies... are members of the same family, and then answer the following questions:

The relationship between them What is it like? Who is older and more prestigious? Who is younger? Who is lively and active? Who prefers silence? Who is the hope of the family? Who is the prodigal? Are there any common interests and hobbies in the family? What are the occupations of family members? Who has a better relationship with whom? Who is at odds with whom? What topics do they usually like to talk about? ......

Application: Suitable for identifying the contribution of different products to the brand image and understanding the historical cycle of the brand. It can also be used to understand the performance of different brands in the same category.

Concept: Imagine that various brands hold parties, that is, various brands participate in the party as personified identities, allowing people to imagine: who is the host/initiator/organizer, and what kind of party is held by this brand , where the party is held, who chooses the music, what type of music, what kind of clothes are worn by various brands, who is talking to whom & what the conversation is about, who is the center of attention, who is more left out & hides alone In the corner, who gets bored & wants the dance to be over soon, how each brand behaves, what happens at the dance.

Evaluation: I couldn’t find much relevant information about the brand party on the Internet. I think it is very difficult to implement. It does not provide enough scenario substitution for users. It is difficult to imagine and difficult for analysts to analyze. Geometric growth.

Concept: Ask the interviewee to imagine roaming in a corridor, and then came to a room. The name of this room is a certain brand (if there is more than one brand for comparison, it can be said that there are two (three or more rooms, each room is named after a specific brand), ask them to imagine walking into this room, and then carefully observe every detail of this room, and then ask the interviewee to describe The scene they saw in the house.

Application: Advertising and Marketing Decisions

Enter a long aisle with many doors on both sides, one of which has XX (a certain sporting goods brand) written on it. When you push the door and enter, you will see a lot of sports stars, a lot of sports equipment, and a lot of fans, but this is not the place you want to go. Close the door, and there is another door with XX (a certain cigarette brand) written on it. You will find endless mountains, cowboys, and horses, but this is not what you want to go to. Close the door. Now you find a door that says LIBO, this is where you want to go. Open the door, walk in, look carefully, take what you see to heart and tell us.

Concept: Show respondents several brands in a certain category. Ask them to group freely/or group these brands by some specific criteria that the brand takes very seriously. After grouping, for each category, ask: What criteria do you use to distinguish? Why differentiate in this way? What do you call these specific categories? What are the specific (advantages/disadvantages) of products in this category? What kind of people like this category? What are the similarities and differences between products in this category and other products?

Application: Help us understand the relative relationship between competing brands in the market and understand consumers' recognition of different brand attributes in order to segment the market from the consumer's perspective.

Example: Beer brand classification

Packed in glass bottles of about 640ml, with the price tag removed. Such as: Libo, Budweiser, Lake, Baker, Shihao, Suntory, Qingdao, Zhujiang, Heineken, Supole, Kirin, Yanjing, etc. According to the product grade: high-end, mid-range, low-end;? According to the taste: The taste is light, the taste is strong;? According to domestic/imported;

Concept of advertising: Ask the interviewee to imagine visiting a brand's factory or headquarters. Following the sequence of the entire visit, ask the interviewee to describe the factory/company

Application: Through the scenes of Lenovo factory/company/office, understand the promotion/inhibition effect of corporate image on brand image.

You received an invitation to visit Company A. Now you arrive at the company gate. What does the company gate look like? What was your first impression? What is the overall environment of this company like? You were greeted by an employee. How did the receptionist behave? Then you met more staff. What was the appearance and mental outlook of these staff?

Concept: Also known as the obituary method, the interviewee is asked to imagine that if a certain brand or product suddenly left this world, we would hold a funeral for it. Ask the interviewee to imagine and answer: How did this brand or product die? What will be written on its epitaph? At a memorial service, what will be included in the eulogy? (Life story) Who read the eulogy for it? Who will attend the brand’s funeral? Who won't participate? Who attends and doesn’t feel sad? What will people miss most about the brand? What will be said at his funeral? What secrets will be buried in the grave with it? What will happen to the world after its death? Is it what everyone wants to see?

Note: Sometimes it is not necessary to ask the entire set of questions, just ask the interviewee to imagine the content of the epitaph.

Application: Provide interviewees with a situation to fully review and describe the advantages, disadvantages, personality, and competitiveness of the brand or product in their minds. This technology can even be further used to understand the opportunities for new brands or new products, such as asking the interviewee to imagine what kind of brand or product will replace it after the brand or product ceases to exist; if new similar products What should you pay attention to if you want to replace or surpass it? Depending on the purpose, many new questions can be designed.

Book: Yuan Yue's "In-depth Interviews that Break the Ice"

Wang Yinyin: Don't Lie to Me—Talk about Detection Technology

Qualitative Research Projection Method

User interview skills: from "question and answer" to "listening to stories"

The application of the projection technology of "user research and face-to-face view" in user interviews

Application of projective test technology in business surveys

Application of projective method in automobile brand research

Application of image projection method in QQ member official website visual style survey

Projection technology and its application in the field of market research

Market research method - Projection method

Projection technology method

Projection technology (190 pages)