Pictures Speak a Thousand Words – Also on Study Reporting and Insights

Pictures speak a thousand words – it’s impossible to live a lifetime without hearing this expression. Most likely because it is true; we human beings receive, adopt, and act based on visual information. In our past and as an integral part through our transformation into a modern human race, the ability to see and act has been the matter of life and death. So why visuals and picture-based data are largely ignored in the domain of research and insights? At Crowst, we have adopted imagery as a vital source of insights since day one.

Pictures as a valuable data source – Empowered by 40 000 photographers

Infographics, when compiled intuitively and smartly, help our brain to understand and remember data snippets on specific topics. They are often also a significantly faster method to internalize information when compared to reading written text. Commonly, visuals, imagery and pictures are good. Simplicity is good. Points of sale, for both products and services, are of paramount importance to any companies. Companies also invest significant sums to develop their retail and in-store excellence. Having this in mind, think about pictures captured at points of sale; pictures showing product placement, campaign execution, competitors’ promotion points. Pictures captured by real customers and consumers, enriched with their genuine and qualitative answers directly from the spot.

At Crowst, we have over 40 000 consumer respondents who can be tasked to answer from desired locations, asses the execution and consumer appeal on these locations, and capture pictures according to specific instructions. Think of them as an extension to your field force; a hit squad that reports and shows you the reality at the points of sale with brutal honesty. They are the most valuable source of insights, and in addition to their answer to substance questions, they provide you with a visual moodboard in the form of relevant pictures.

Actionable insights – Speed matters

At Crowst, our capability to source hundreds and thousands of pictures relies on real people. People who live their lives and buy -not trained, professional shoppers on the payroll. Furthermore, the responses may be targeted based on the respondents’ gender, age, regions and cities targeting. We are also able to scope and target picture-related tasks at people based on specific behavioural criteria. Food lovers, sports enthusiasts, fashionistas; broken down to further sub-segments from Innovators until Laggards. These are just an example of audiences you won’t find on common consumer panels.

Speed matters. A picture commonly enables to act quicker than reading a description of something. It’s all about how our brains function based on the data served. Would you rather see something and act based on that, than read a report, think what it means, call some people to make sure you have understood it correctly, and then think what should be done? Physical and geographical distance has also a major role to play, and tackling it requires an intuitive, agile and digital service platform.

“Crowsters, consumers who live throughout Finland and use the Crowst mobile app to respond to studies, delivered us the first 100 responses from Helsinki to Oulu within 24 hours.”

Tomi Kuittinen, Head of Insight & Foresight at HKScan

We are working with various companies who want to see what is the reality and execution at POS. The discoverability and placement of the products, the visibility of then campaigns, and many things more. When a picture, taken by the customer at the defined point of sale, shows that wrong campaign materials are on display, you are enabled to act immediately and make the necessary call to fix the situation. Saving time, effort and nerves. And most importantly, having the capability to do so.

The context – Way more than just a picture

It is a mistake to consider pictures as plain stand-alone assets. The metadata, including where and when the picture was captured, the location (e.g. store address), timestamp when the picture was taken, basic information of the person who took the picture (gender and age) are all automated and included by default in our service. Furthermore, the visual information is enriched when combined with our behavioural background data. 1+1=3.

What if you could also see what people have in their homes; in their shoe racks, wardrobes, and fridges?

Traditionally Shopper or mystery insights have referred to something happening at the points of sale. What if you could also see what people have in their homes; in their shoe racks, wardrobes, and fridges? With Crowst you can.

Ready to extend your insights sourcing approach beyond the “norm”? Pictures speak a thousand words: contact us and let’s talk more what type of pics along with other insights data would help you to perform better and win.

Written by

Jyrki Kallinen

Tired of outdated and expensive research methods? Call or send me an email, we have the cure at Crowst.

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