[insight = consumer insight/human truth/cultural tension]
Over a decade ago, when I was new to the job, every time I presented a creative brief, the Creative team would ask if I had any data for this insight. Then came the next hurdle: the client asking, "What data do you have to prove what you're saying?" Sometimes the Account Manager would casually warn, "This client is very data-driven, remember to include data in the report."
And guess what I did? You probably did the same: I'd go to Google, find some industry-related report, screenshot a few charts, and put them in the proposal to make it "data-driven." Nowadays, it's faster—you ask AI to do it and cite the sources (and you don't bother to check if the source is correct or even real).
To be honest, from a strategic & communication planning perspective, those readily available reports are rarely useful. They aren't designed to provide the specific insight we're looking for; they only offer generic insights that are hard to use (and that the client understands better than we do).
Think back to all the plans you've done—how many great insights came from that data source?
So, how do we find useful data that is convincing enough for the Creative team and the client? There are a few things you need to understand before choosing what data to present. (This will not perfectly align with the standards of research companies, so please offer feedback if I'm wrong).
#1 Data Sources
- Primary data: Original data collected by you specifically to solve the client's brief.
- Secondary data: Data collected by someone else for a different purpose, which we then borrow and screenshot a few pages of the report to put into our proposal.
#2 Main Data Types
- Qualitative data: Data from qualitative research, which is descriptive and not numerically measurable. The purpose is to understand in depth or explore.
- Quantitative data: Data from quantitative research, which is measurable and expressed in numbers. The main purpose is to measure and test a hypothesis.
#3 Some Common Data Collection Methods
Quantitative data:
- Survey
- Experiment
- Statistical Analysis
- Correlational Research
Qualitative data:
- In-depth interview
- Focus Group Discussion
- Observation
- Ethnography
Starting to get a headache? If a planner could do all this, they should just go work for a research company instead 😂
At this point, you need to understand the reality of the job and the 3 limitations of a planner to get the *right* kind of USEFUL data, rather than just faking it to complete the report.
#1 Time Constraint
In Vietnam, most clients are relatively kind and reasonable, giving about 10 working days to solve a brief (excluding a few briefs that require brand strategy from scratch, which might take longer depending on the scope). And a planner is often expected to produce the Creative Brief within 3–5 working days, not to mention that one planner usually juggles more than one job.
#2 Capability Constraint
Among the data collection methods above, how many can you perform? A planner is likely only capable of doing surveys, in-depth interviews, and observation at an 'acceptable' level (a few might be decent moderators in focus group discussions), but they cannot compare to market research specialists.
#3 Limitation of Secondary Data
I don't know about other countries, but in Vietnam, secondary data sources, as I mentioned, rarely provide actionable insights for us. For example, every Lunar New Year, there are many reports about Tet and how to 'win' during Tet, but has any brand actually used the insights from those reports to truly win?
From these 3 limitations, you can see that a planner doesn't have many options. So what's the most appropriate way to find the most optimal data-driven insight? I will definitely choose qualitative data (in-depth interviews) to dig and prove my insight. For many years now, when presenting my plan to clients, I am never asked the question I used to hear: "Where did you get that data?"
The steps I usually follow:
Step 1
I will form a few hypotheses about the insight from the target audience analysis. Example: (1) Parents buy toys for their children because they want them to keep up with their friends. (2) Parents buy toys for their children to buy time for themselves.
Step 2
I will conduct in-depth interviews with about 8–12 respondents from the target audience group to confirm whether my hypotheses are correct. I also leave room to see if any new insights are discovered outside of my existing hypotheses.
I'm not capable of guiding you in detail on how to ask questions to respondents; you can research this part yourself. However, one point I always avoid is NEVER interviewing respondents who work in marketing, media, or advertising. Frankly, I never interview industry colleagues or friends, because even if they are the target audience, their answers are likely to be biased due to occupational habits deeply ingrained in their subconscious.
Market research companies, on the other hand, avoid interviewing "professional respondents," which are people who regularly participate in surveys for money.
Step 3 (if time allows)
After the interviews, I have confirmed which insights are useful and usable. This step is about sealing the deal with a piece of quantitative data via a survey. Specifically, the survey only has one Yes/No question: "Do you agree with [insight]?" Example: "Do you agree that buying toys for your children is a way to buy time for yourself?"
If the insight is truly good, the results might yield a powerful statement like this to include in your proposal: "91% of parents admit that buying toys for their children is a way to buy time for themselves." At this point, the likelihood of persuading the client is very high.
However, running a survey still requires sending it to a few hundred people, and the difficulty is ensuring you send it to the *right* respondents for the most reliable results. The goal of the survey at this stage is to confirm the hypothesis, not to dig for insight.
Finally, in your proposal and during the presentation to the client, remember to clearly state the data source is from your own in-depth interviews (and survey, if applicable).
This is a practical sharing from my journey as a planner and is also part of my Strategic & IMC Planning course. This method might not be the absolute best, but I believe it is the most optimal way for a planner to find useful and actionable insights.
