foster:creativity

The most succesful training we've ever organised ...

The Creativity training that we've been running recently has been mentioned in the Media Guardian - Finger on the buzzer: When Radio 1 asked the questions, its head of programmes came up with some impressive answers. Now he's a step away from the ultimate prize, by John Plunkett  - Monday April 16 2007.
The Head of Programmes for Radio 1, Ben Cooper, described the training in a recent internal review as: "the most successful sort of training we've ever organised, we've never had such an overwhelmingly positive response to a set of training from the participants. It has created a demand for the training within the building with Producers and now APs asking to go on it.  We feel this is something we should be running regularly to drive the creative life of the network".
The article in the Guardian described it as follows: "Cooper has also overseen the station's biggest piece of research for years, sending his producers beyond the M25 to hear what young people and opinion formers think about the station.
"In the past, Radio 1 has been, 'here we are, come and knock on our door if you think you're good enough'. We have got rid of that arrogance, we are much more interested in listening to people with ideas. If you just stay in London, you would soon become irrelevant."
So what did they like? Listeners still love their "trusted guides", DJs such as Pete Tong, Steve Lamacq and Tim Westwood. "We have got our entertainers - Moyles, Mills - but the idea that we broadcast new music, champion British music, is still very relevant."
And what didn't they like? A big pause. "Nothing strikes me as being hideously wrong; one thing that we have to do is strike the balance. In the dance scene, for example, getting the superstars like the [Paul] Oakenfolds and Carl Coxes on air, but also the local heroes who do the local residences week in, week out."
Basically, radio producers were given the research techniques and tools to go out and meet the audience. They brought back insights and used them to shape live projects.

Matt

matt+foster creativity radio+1 radio+one BBC audience+insight immersion+research ethnographic ethnography insight consumer creative+consultancy

Ethnography - immersion reveals it's not what consumers say, but what they do

Looking for an example to demonstrate to radio producers the power of audience insights based on ethnographic techniques and immersion research I came across the example of Clarks shoes. They’re reported to have used ethnography in researching a new range of walking shoes. Now, asked what you look for in walking shoes you might come up with a number of different criteria for judging them – sturdy soles, comfort, ankle support etc.
However, the power of observation is that researchers can often spot behavior that tells us much more than a simple interview. In the case of Clarks they were able to add meaning to what ‘comfort’ and other factors really meant, by following walkers. They also discovered that people buying walking shoes often feel the tongue of the shoe when they pick it up to buy it. It appears that consumers are feeling for a thick comfortable tongue in the shoe. The insight ensured that a well-padded tongue was a feature the company included in their new product range.

Matt

tags technorati : matt foster ethnographic ethnography creative consultancy clarkes shoes insight consumer immersion research

Immersion research and the media ­- live with the listener

All programme makers and journalists like to think they know their listeners or readers. I know when I was a news editor I used to have an instinctive feeling for a story my audience would be interested in.
At Radio 4 we could draw a pen portrait of a rather stereotypical member of the audience ­ based on listening habits, media consumption and leisure activities. All very crude when it comes to making editorial decisions about programmes ­ but for years it worked.
I was interested to read about a recent magazine launch where, for two years before the launch, editors were sent out to live with potential readers.
Employing ethnographic techniques was an effort to "understand the DNA" of their readers as IPC, as the company behind the launch of the new women's weekly 'Look' described the initiative.
It's an idea we're using with producers at the BBC. Even the director general, Mark Thompson, recently spent a day with a family as part of the BBC's Audience Festival. At the moment we¹re taking radio producers through the process of meeting listeners to gain an insight into their lives.
In an article in the Independent the managing director of IPC Connect, Evelyn Webster, describes the power of the technique. She stayed with readers in Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester.
"We didn't start out with a special concept. I was just interested in this group, so I decided to immerse myself in their lives. What pees them off, what turns them on. In their own environment, women with open up and talk frankly. You¹re not just observing, you're experiencing their life. We went to nightclubs, the pub, or I¹d rummage through wardrobes, chatting."
By living with the listener you can spot things that would normally go unnoticed.
Watch this space.

Matt

ethnographic ethnography matt+foster immersion+research bbc creative creative+consultancy

Making sense of research - the Flower of Focus

The flower of focus is a really useful tool for distilling a mass of information down into common themes. I’ve used it recently in a project where radio producers go and meet members of the audience – and employ ethnographic techniques to develop insights, which feed into programmes.
You can imaging that having spent a day observing listeners, a couple of hours carrying out interviews, and then going on a night-out with their listeners – the producers come back with a wealth of information.
Once they’ve downloaded their thoughts, impressions, key quotes, etc. we cluster them into groups of subjects, which appear to be related. These are the petals around the flower. We then distil these ideas into a theme at the centre of all the petals – a word or phrase which summarises what all the thoughts were.
For one project we may build up a number of flowers of focus – which provide a summary of all the main issues to come out of the research. This can be the first stage in making sense of the mass of information that is be downloaded after field research.

Matt

flower+of+focus ethnographic ethnography creative creative+techniques consultancy matt+foster

Guinness Marmite - genius!

Who thought of this? Genius. Taking two products, both either loved or hated by consumers, and combining them. The Marmite is made from the yeast used in the production of Guinness, rather than that used in ordinary beer making. Is this a simple example of using related worlds in product development? Probably not, as related worlds is more about bringing the experience of another area to your own problem – it’s often illustrated with the example of the roller ball pen inspiring the development of the roll-on deodorant. Perhaps this case was just a blinding flash of inspiration and innovation. Genius. Whatever, I just bought a jar. Love it.

Matt

guinness marmite matt+foster creativity genius innovation

Don't settle for your first idea

The common perception is that creativity is a fluffy process, which involves sitting around and randomly having flashes of inspiration. The old adage that it’s actually ‘one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration’ is illustrated by Einstein. When asked about what made him a genius, Einstein said: ‘Most people would, if asked to look for a needle in a haystack, would stop once they found the needle. If I’m asked, I find the needle, and then continue until I have found all the needles.’ Just because you’ve found one solution to a problem, it doesn’t mean that it’s the best or most appropriate solution – don’t settle for your first idea – the chances are it won’t be the one you are looking for.

Matt

creativity matt+foster innovation consultancy einstein ideas genius

Welcome to foster:creativity

Welcome to foster:creativity. I’m Matt Foster, and this site is about exploring the use of ethnographic techniques to drive creativity and innovation. Through consultancy I’ve discovered the power of immersing staff in the world of consumers and customers, and the power of guiding them step by step through ethnography and field research techniques. A simple creative process and techniques can take insights and build them into creative solutions. Virtual ethnography can also be used to carry out qualitative research in the digital world, exploring connection, communication and social technologies.

Matt

ethnographic creativity matt+foster innovation consultancy ethnography