Revealing Your Sixth Sense
One of our favorite kinds of interview activities is a ‘This or That’ series of questions. Packaging Options: This or That (i.e. Bottled or Boxed Water), Product Value Descriptors: This or That (Convenience or Customization). Our ‘This or That’ replies often include ‘Reveals’, or hidden content that we pull back the digital whiteboard curtain on. Reveals spark responses. Charlei Hebron, PinPoint’s Research Voices Manager, applies a five-second rule to ‘This or That’ reveals: no overthinking allowed. (We’re looking at you, the 73% of 25 to 35 year-olds and 52% of 45 to 55 year-olds who are prone to overthink.) Ashley Mendelsohn, PinPoint’s Strategist says, “More than a surprise & delight moment, ‘reveals’ often solve the common issue of research participants overthinking responses. Time and time again, dramatic reveals prompt gut reactions that are more genuine (and enjoyable!).”
How people pick what’s top-of-mind supports how we approach strategic insights. Their responses pinpoint the essence of what drives their decision-making. That essence may not be something they can easily name. But, somewhere in the nuance of ‘This or That’, people’s five senses come to life. Their choices uncover their WHOLE lifestyles, where psychographics triumph over demographics.
In our work, we admire companies and founders who position (and sometimes reposition) the essence of their brands’ identities. When brands differentiate their essence, they give people a reason to believe. People know what’s in it for them. We need more brands to do THIS. THAT’s what people actually want.
How might we identify essence, what some call the soul of a brand? What might have been called the ‘‘It Factors” and “Secret Sauces” now show up as “vibes” and “aesthetic cores”. So whether it is about cozy vibes and cluttercore, or back to the It Factor and Secret Sauces, essence can become elusive, like access to a public secret. We believe IYKYK can feel more inviting, open, and human. Less cottage core and more core values. Like something you can truly sense.
As PinPoint enters 2024 – our sixth year in business! – we’re leaning into essence as a sense, a sixth sense. There’s the hard-wired five senses. (You know the ones, the drivers behind sensory marketing in the nostalgia economy.) And then there’s that deep-wired sixth sense of what makes you stand out in a uniquely positive way.
A sense of authenticity
A sense of time
A sense of direction
A sense of perspective-taking (or PinPoint value) curiosity
A sense of savvy
A sense of justice
A sense of culture
A sense of magic
What’s your sixth sense? How will it show up in 2024? In essence, will this support your branding strategy? Or, in a sense, will that widen your lens across the year ahead? Let’s reveal the possibilities over an e-coffee.