A university extension program has made it a priority to expand its reach into Latino communities across Tennessee, focusing primarily on limited resource-Latino parents. To better understand the needs in this demographic, they sought out a research partner to conduct qualitative research centered on gathering information about: (1) personal values, (2) motivators and barriers to healthy eating and physical activity, and (3) sources of information about healthy eating. The study was also tasked with capturing consumer feedback on printed materials previously created for the Latino community by the university extension program. The study results would inform the development of future programs and related collateral materials targeted to the Latino community.
ThinkNow proposed and conducted 13 focus groups among limited-resource (SNAP recipients or SNAP eligible) Latino parents or guardians of children under age 18. The groups were conducted across several urban and rural locations that represented west, central, and east Tennessee. A total of seven locations were included in the study. The study’s success hinged on ThinkNow’s approach for a non-traditional participant recruitment process that relied on relationships and grassroots efforts with Latino-focused community organizations. These organizations helped bridge access to the target consumer in both urban and rural markets. Focus groups were conducted primarily at venues familiar to the target consumer, such as schools, churches, and community centers. We intentionally recruited from and conducted sessions at locations that provided a safe and trusting environment for participants. Doing so ensured their attendance and participation instead of using a standard focus group facility that reduced participation.
ThinkNow’s ability to discern the needs of both the university extension program and participants resulted in a successful study that met the project's goals and deliverables. The overarching theme of the data validated the importance of developing culturally attuned materials. The insights gleaned were used to revise and improve current printed materials available in Spanish and inform the development of new materials and programs targeted to Hispanic consumers. Moreover, the results of the study clearly demonstrated that targeting Latinos effectively requires more than simply translating collateral developed for the General Market into Spanish. Creating materials in-language significantly improves message pull through.
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne illness that causes fever, joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling and rash. One of the main entry points into the U.S. for the virus is the porous U.S./Mexico border region. Specifically Spanish-speaking border-region residents that frequently travel between the U.S. and Mexico. The CDC created Spanish language informational material but was concerned that awareness of the virus and its mode of transmission was still extremely low among Spanish speakers in the region. Distrust within the border region presented another challenge as prospects were highly suspicious of being interviewed due to widespread deportation rumors.
ThinkNow Research worked with local community organizations and within the CDC to enhance recruitment outreach. A series of in-person focus groups of bicultural and unacculturated Hispanic residents were successfully conducted along the U.S./Mexico border to determine how best to communicate the dangers of Chikungunya to this demographic. The focus groups took place in San Diego, CA, Las Cruces, NM, McCallen, TX, Nogales, AZ and El Paso TX, where attitudes and awareness were determined while simultaneously evaluating informational collateral within the groups.
Working collaboratively, ThinkNow and the CDC met weekly to compare findings. We uncovered messaging and imagery that communicated a clear message and resonated with focus group participants. As a result, the CDC was able to determine which collateral communications and overall language and visual constructions were most effective in communicating how to avoid contracting or spreading the virus. The CDC updated messaging and collateral based on ThinkNow’s research results and distributed the new materials to healthcare centers throughout the region. The collateral from this project is still in use today and has helped the CDC achieve its goal of slowing the virus’ spread into the U.S. mainland.
A leading cancer treatment network sought out a research partner to test the effectiveness of numerous television commercials over multiple years. They needed to determine if their ads successfully positioned their call to action for various markets and patient demographics. Because the core target audience included active cancer treatment patients, the network needed to work with a partner who had experience dealing with sensitive topics and patient confidentiality.
ThinkNow was selected to conduct these online copy tests among cancer patients. Because of the challenges in reaching this target audience, ThinkNow worked with various panel partners to recruit participants. Since several ads were tested over multiple years, ThinkNow created a custom database of norms to evaluate how each ad performed compared to other ads that ran during this period.
Through these copy tests, the cancer treatment network has been able to gain critical insight around their messaging for current and potential patients. Some of the key findings include how impactful the ads were for patient response to calls to action and pinpointing which ad spots were ineffective, allowing them to make informed decisions on which ads to include in future marketing efforts.
A leading luxury automotive brand sought to uncover a deeper understanding of the perception of luxury SUVs among U.S. Hispanic consumers and use those insights to inform creative and messaging. To achieve this goal, the brand and its agency needed a research solution that delivered quick insights that delivered quick, actionable insights and a platform to measure the success of their efforts.
ThinkNow created an integrated market research solution combining online discussion boards with a pre and post-quantitative study.
The ThinkNow study results gave the luxury automotive brand and its agency the perspective needed to create a culturally relevant marketing campaign that resonated with U.S. Hispanic consumers while highlighting the features and benefits of its vehicles.
Background: TV service provider Dish LATINO was looking for a partner to conduct an ongoing brand health and advertising tracking study. The research objective was to better understand the U.S. Latino consumer across four acculturation levels, including the difficult-to-reach unacculturated segment. The tracking study would monitor key metrics for the brand and its competitors, including brand awareness, familiarity, likelihood to use, and brand perception. DishLATINO also wanted a vehicle to test the recall, perception, and persuasion of many of its Spanish-language TV ads.
Solution: ThinkNow created a custom hybrid solution for DishLATINO to meet the needs of the study. Using our proprietary Hispanics panel (DigaYGane™) and intercept-to-online methods across several U.S. markets, ThinkNow has conducted ten waves and more than 10,000 interviews since 2016. The Hispanic sample includes quotas for four acculturation levels – Unacculturated, Spanish-Dominant Bicultural, English-Dominant Bicultural, and English-Dominant. ThinkNow provides a detailed report for each wave where the results of these four segments are analyzed in-depth and compared to previous waves.
Results: This research study's insights have helped the brand and its agency tailor its messaging and strategy for its target audience. DishLATINO can monitor its brand health among U.S. Latinos and stay on top of important trends impacting the TV service industry, including the adaptation of TV online streaming services. The study has also allowed DishLATINO to periodically test new messaging, TV ads, and product/service concepts.
Testimonial: “We consider ThinkNow Research a partner more than a vendor. At every level of interaction, they are fully engaged, and they embrace our business as if it was their own. We rely heavily on their expertise and understanding of the Hispanic audience, and are always impressed with the exceptional quality, responsive service, and on-time, accurate reporting delivered to us.”
Background: A leading national auto insurance company needed a partner to provide high quality data that would allow them to deeply understand their existing and potential customers to develop strategies for their marketing and media efforts.
Business Challenge: The national auto insurance company wanted
to ensure the consumer insights gained aligned closely with the segmentation they were accustomed to using across the organization. Having a partner with robust data and advanced capabilities to integrate their requirements within the tool was essential.
Solution: ThinkNow recommended an audience segmentation and planning tool ThinkNow ConneKt that provided the client with not only a nationally representative General Market sample, but also with an augment of their specific target of automotive insurance policy holders and decision
makers.
Results: ThinkNow ConneKt provided the national auto insurance company with valuable information about their consumers. This data allowed them to address specific personas with targeted strategies and inform their future media plans.