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Rob Ramirez
Executive Vice President, Strategic Development, Schlesinger Associates
Supernova Award Category:
Future of Work - Productivity and Collaboration
The Company:
Schlesinger Associates, a market research firm with 29 offices in the United States and Europe, is a major provider of data collection and focus group services. The company supports studies in the consumer, healthcare, jury, finance, IT and business markets. Its services extend to both qualitative and quantitative research including methodologies such as in-person focus groups and ethnographic studies, as well as online surveys and hybrid solutions.
In addition to conducting quantitative research for clients, Schlesinger will find specific types of panelists to provide qualitative data for projects such as a company's product launch or new ad campaign.
The Problem:
The right data has the power to transform an organization or industry. However, for data to truly be impactful visualization is key – especially in a focus group setting.
For the past 50 years, focus group sessions have stayed stagnate – a moderator leads a group of panelists using not much more than a flip chart to capture reactions to stimulus, while observers sit behind a one-way mirror trying to stay attentive. This approach is neither very interactive nor visually engaging.
To provide more compelling results, Schlesinger knew this approach had to change; clients needed access to data that would drive better business insights. Schlesinger needed a new way to provide qualitative data.
Recently, Schlesinger was commissioned by Healogix, a marketing research consultant for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, to run a focus group on behalf of a large pharmaceutical company that needed rapid turnaround of research on creative content and compelling results for management buy-in.
The Solution:
Several years ago, Rob Ramirez saw a game changing solution – a Prysm powered video wall that was so engaging and collaborative, he knew it would enable Schlesinger to conduct better research.
Schlesinger deployed a 190’ video wall and new software platform from Prysm in its headquarters to enable clients and participants – at different locations across the globe – to partake in a research project at the same time. Branded “The Wall by Schlesinger,” the dynamic, multi-window, interactive display showcases a variety of study stimuli and acts as a central repository of information from which insights can be actioned.
The Wall played a key role in shaping the study and finalizing the results for Healogix. It was a breakthrough tool that offered high-level qualitative engagements and allowed the partner to avoid typical engagement challenges including:
- The moderator being under pressure
- Clients multi-tasking
- Respondents distracted
The Results:
Since deploying The Wall, the Schlesinger team has found an innovative way to create participant engagement though high impact visualization, annotation and manipulation - allowing researchers to gain deeper qualitative insights faster - in a way the industry never thought possible.
Specifically for the Healogix study, there was a very tight, three-week deadline where the pharmaceutical company that commissioned the work needed fast insights on their new HIV research. Using The Wall, Schlesinger was able to provide better insights by igniting innovative thinking and accelerate productivity by using high impact visualization and side-by-side comparisons for the creative concepts. Throughout the session, the moderator was very animated, and physicians spent 55 minutes of the hour on their feet engaged with The Wall evaluating concepts quickly and easily.
The Wall helped make the study not only a win for the Healogix researcher leading the groups and the participants, but the clients watching as well:
- The agency and the markets viewed the groups as the study was going on. There was full engagement on both sides of the mirror. This was a new experience for the client that led to ideas generation on-site.
- Being engaged at the time of the research and seeing the interaction allowed for decisions to be made more quickly
- Real-time feedback led to faster insights to action and faster management buy-in
Metrics:
Since its deployment, more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies and financial institutions have used The Wall. Customer satisfaction scores have been 100 percent, and every client – including Healogix - has come back to Schlesinger to run additional projects.
The Technology:
Schlesinger has deployed:
- A Prysm 190’ video wall in its NYC office
- Two Prysm 85’ dual displays in its Chicago and LA offices
The Walls are powered by the Prysm digital workplace platform, an end-to-end collaboration solution, driving a new era of digital transformation. By enabling individuals and teams to explore all their data on hyper-visual, always-on digital canvases, the Prysm platform ignites innovative thinking and transforms presentations into experiences.
Disruptive Factor:
Thanks to Prysm, Schlesinger is leading a new era of qualitative research, disrupting an industry that was stagnate for the past 50 years. Using the Prysm technology, the company has been able to attract and engage participants to immerse them in stimuli in a more collaborative way, which drives quicker insights with more color to the research.
Shining Moment:
Schlesinger was named one of the 50 most innovative companies in market research by the GreenBook Research Industry Trends (GRIT) Report.
The Wall continues to impress its users and delivers ongoing customer satisfaction. Tim Edbrooke, President of Healogix said, “We had never viewed a group that was so engaged. Our client was able to move quickly from the report, which included data straight from The Wall, to fast buy-in from their team and campaign launch.”
