Projects

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Projects

About

Contact

FORD MOTOR COMPANY

Ethnography + CX Concepts for New Segment

We conducted an ethnography across two U.S. markets to explore a new segment and develop targeted CX solutions.

This project is still under NDA, so I’m unable to share research findings, concepts, and original visuals.

New segment, who dis?

Ford Global Consumer Insights had discovered a new segment through quantitative research, and their CX team wanted a more qualitative understanding of the segment, and CX concepts tailored to this segment.

I was a researcher on the Pull Creative (agency) team of four contracted to conduct the ethnography and concepting.

Project timeline

May

Jul

Aug

Planning

Kick-off and alignment
Stakeholder interviews
Recruitment

Interviews

Four-hour-long, in-situ interviews with 12 participants including in-home visits and driving excursions

Stakeholder co-creation

2-hour, post-fieldwork workshop with CX team

Insights report

Final synthesis of interviews, plus key themes video

Customer co-creation

Two rounds of remote paired sessions with segment particpants exploring CX concepts

CX concepts

Refined CX opportunities based on research findings and customer co-creation sessions

Setting up for ethno success

We used a recruiter to find participants, so most of the planning went into the interview framework and information logistics.

Teamwork

Interview framework

A set of topics and their order (based on project brief and stakeholder interviews).

Made 4-hour interviews more manageable
Helped maintain conversational feel

Interview framework

A set of topics and their order (based on project brief and stakeholder interviews).

Made 4-hour interviews more manageable
Helped maintain conversational feel

Interview framework

A set of topics and their order (based on project brief and stakeholder interviews).

Made 4-hour interviews more manageable
Helped maintain conversational feel

Interview framework

A set of topics and their order (based on project brief and stakeholder interviews).

Made 4-hour interviews more manageable
Helped maintain conversational feel

Participant "Homework"

Tasks served 3 purposes:

Weed out unreliable participants
Get a feel for participants
Collect visual assets for participant snapshots

Participant "Homework"

Tasks served 3 purposes:

Weed out unreliable participants
Get a feel for participants
Collect visual assets for participant snapshots

Participant "Homework"

Tasks served 3 purposes:

Weed out unreliable participants
Get a feel for participants
Collect visual assets for participant snapshots

Participant "Homework"

Tasks served 3 purposes:

Weed out unreliable participants
Get a feel for participants
Collect visual assets for participant snapshots

Solo responsibility

Recruitment tracker

Set up a spreadsheet to:

Track recruitment progress
Organize participant details
Quickly familiarize with participants (to prep for interviews)

Recruitment tracker

Set up a spreadsheet to:

Track recruitment progress
Organize participant details
Quickly familiarize with participants (to prep for interviews)

Recruitment tracker

Set up a spreadsheet to:

Track recruitment progress
Organize participant details
Quickly familiarize with participants (to prep for interviews)

Recruitment tracker

Set up a spreadsheet to:

Track recruitment progress
Organize participant details
Quickly familiarize with participants (to prep for interviews)

Drive organization

Organized Google Drive for easier team upload and search of research assets and artifacts.

(Also easier to share final research artifacts with Ford)

Drive organization

Organized Google Drive for easier team upload and search of research assets and artifacts.

(Also easier to share final research artifacts with Ford)

Drive organization

Organized Google Drive for easier team upload and search of research assets and artifacts.

(Also easier to share final research artifacts with Ford)

Drive organization

Organized Google Drive for easier team upload and search of research assets and artifacts.

(Also easier to share final research artifacts with Ford)

Interviewing 12 participants in 2 markets

We split into two teams to interview 6 participants in each market (Atlanta + LA).

Interviews had two sections:

In-home: deeper sense of daily lives and role of mobility in them
Excursions: visit a favorite place, get driving footage, and an example of a routine outside of home

Remote coordination

I did 2 interviews, and offered remote support for field teams for the other 10.

Uploaded interview recordings for transcription and editing
Tagged and summarized interviews

Remote coordination

I did 2 interviews, and offered remote support for field teams for the other 10.

Uploaded interview recordings for transcription and editing
Tagged and summarized interviews

Remote coordination

I did 2 interviews, and offered remote support for field teams for the other 10.

Uploaded interview recordings for transcription and editing
Tagged and summarized interviews

Remote coordination

I did 2 interviews, and offered remote support for field teams for the other 10.

Uploaded interview recordings for transcription and editing
Tagged and summarized interviews

What I’d do differently

Quick, summary doc

A field, note-taking doc for quick summary would increase accuracy and efficiency.

Writing summaries took too long, and opinions varied on what was noteworthy, so we relied more heavily on memory. I later had to scrub through videos looking for info.

Quick, summary doc

A field, note-taking doc for quick summary would increase accuracy and efficiency.

Writing summaries took too long, and opinions varied on what was noteworthy, so we relied more heavily on memory. I later had to scrub through videos looking for info.

Quick, summary doc

A field, note-taking doc for quick summary would increase accuracy and efficiency.

Writing summaries took too long, and opinions varied on what was noteworthy, so we relied more heavily on memory. I later had to scrub through videos looking for info.

Quick, summary doc

A field, note-taking doc for quick summary would increase accuracy and efficiency.

Writing summaries took too long, and opinions varied on what was noteworthy, so we relied more heavily on memory. I later had to scrub through videos looking for info.

Continuous video

A single, continuous video is easier to upload, and makes the interviews more understandable when viewed by anyone who wasn’t there.

Teams shot videos differently. Many separate clips took a lot of time to put in chronological order.

Continuous video

A single, continuous video is easier to upload, and makes the interviews more understandable when viewed by anyone who wasn’t there.

Teams shot videos differently. Many separate clips took a lot of time to put in chronological order.

Continuous video

A single, continuous video is easier to upload, and makes the interviews more understandable when viewed by anyone who wasn’t there.

Teams shot videos differently. Many separate clips took a lot of time to put in chronological order.

Continuous video

A single, continuous video is easier to upload, and makes the interviews more understandable when viewed by anyone who wasn’t there.

Teams shot videos differently. Many separate clips took a lot of time to put in chronological order.

Better tag setup

Better definition would've enabled more efficient and consistent tagging.

Though we'd set up tags beforehand, some tags blended together or took on more meanings, adding avoidable noise during synthesis.

Better tag setup

Better definition would've enabled more efficient and consistent tagging.

Though we'd set up tags beforehand, some tags blended together or took on more meanings, adding avoidable noise during synthesis.

Better tag setup

Better definition would've enabled more efficient and consistent tagging.

Though we'd set up tags beforehand, some tags blended together or took on more meanings, adding avoidable noise during synthesis.

Better tag setup

Better definition would've enabled more efficient and consistent tagging.

Though we'd set up tags beforehand, some tags blended together or took on more meanings, adding avoidable noise during synthesis.

Stakeholder Workshop: Quick Synthesis + Engagement via Brainstorming

Quick synthesis to prep for stakeholder workshop

To prepare for the co-creation workshop, we had to get a quick sense of major themes and participant personalities.

Unfortunately that meant I was the only team member who had time to watch all of the interviews, so I had to fill in the gaps.

Solving for team info gaps

When I noticed the bias coming from not watching all the interviews, I suggested we create a chart with participants in the x-axis and potential themes on the y-axis.

But the rest of the team thought that would slow us down too much, so I ended up acting as a human version of that bias checker.

In the future, I would set up the chart before interviews so researchers could begin noting potential themes while still in the field.

Solving for team info gaps

When I noticed the bias coming from not watching all the interviews, I suggested we create a chart with participants in the x-axis and potential themes on the y-axis.

But the rest of the team thought that would slow us down too much, so I ended up acting as a human version of that bias checker.

In the future, I would set up the chart before interviews so researchers could begin noting potential themes while still in the field.

Solving for team info gaps

When I noticed the bias coming from not watching all the interviews, I suggested we create a chart with participants in the x-axis and potential themes on the y-axis.

But the rest of the team thought that would slow us down too much, so I ended up acting as a human version of that bias checker.

In the future, I would set up the chart before interviews so researchers could begin noting potential themes while still in the field.

Solving for team info gaps

When I noticed the bias coming from not watching all the interviews, I suggested we create a chart with participants in the x-axis and potential themes on the y-axis.

But the rest of the team thought that would slow us down too much, so I ended up acting as a human version of that bias checker.

In the future, I would set up the chart before interviews so researchers could begin noting potential themes while still in the field.

We presented profiles of 4 of the 12 ethnography participants, opportunities relating to each of the major themes we had uncovered, and how those themes related to the segment and the vehicle ownership cycle.

Then we brainstormed CX solutions (with the stakeholders) for each theme.

Major themes explored

Motivation, hobbies, habits, and rituals
Family: definition + dynamics
Tech: usage + need(s) it fills
Brands: good vs. bad relationships
Milestones: definition + celebration
Mobility: how + why they get around

Major themes explored

Motivation, hobbies, habits, and rituals
Family: definition + dynamics
Tech: usage + need(s) it fills
Brands: good vs. bad relationships
Milestones: definition + celebration
Mobility: how + why they get around

Major themes explored

Motivation, hobbies, habits, and rituals
Family: definition + dynamics
Tech: usage + need(s) it fills
Brands: good vs. bad relationships
Milestones: definition + celebration
Mobility: how + why they get around

Major themes explored

Motivation, hobbies, habits, and rituals
Family: definition + dynamics
Tech: usage + need(s) it fills
Brands: good vs. bad relationships
Milestones: definition + celebration
Mobility: how + why they get around

Refining synthesis for final report

We carried out most of our synthesis work on Miro, as a team.

But when it came to transferring that work into a presentation, I did most of the information formatting work; modifying and expanding upon example slides.

Respondent snapshot design

Similar to the main report, I modified an existing template to accommodate the new information and improve content alignment.

I also wrote most of the content, deepening understanding of the segment by evoking the particular flavor each participant brought to segment characteristics.

Respondent snapshot design

Similar to the main report, I modified an existing template to accommodate the new information and improve content alignment.

I also wrote most of the content, deepening understanding of the segment by evoking the particular flavor each participant brought to segment characteristics.

Respondent snapshot design

Similar to the main report, I modified an existing template to accommodate the new information and improve content alignment.

I also wrote most of the content, deepening understanding of the segment by evoking the particular flavor each participant brought to segment characteristics.

Respondent snapshot design

Similar to the main report, I modified an existing template to accommodate the new information and improve content alignment.

I also wrote most of the content, deepening understanding of the segment by evoking the particular flavor each participant brought to segment characteristics.

Respondent snapshot sample (hover for side 2, blurred for NDA compliance and respondent privacy)

Creating a video of research themes

One of the things Pull Creative has a reputation for is bringing participants to life through video. For this project, I put together the rough cut of the video using Reduct.

Content goal

The goal was to have about 2 minutes per theme, with multiple participants represented in each theme.

Content goal

The goal was to have about 2 minutes per theme, with multiple participants represented in each theme.

Content goal

The goal was to have about 2 minutes per theme, with multiple participants represented in each theme.

Content goal

The goal was to have about 2 minutes per theme, with multiple participants represented in each theme.

Clip selection

I pulled out the best clips from each theme’s tags. To whittle them down, I was looking for theme relevance, length (15-45 seconds), charisma or emotion, and shot variety.

Clip selection

I pulled out the best clips from each theme’s tags. To whittle them down, I was looking for theme relevance, length (15-45 seconds), charisma or emotion, and shot variety.

Clip selection

I pulled out the best clips from each theme’s tags. To whittle them down, I was looking for theme relevance, length (15-45 seconds), charisma or emotion, and shot variety.

Clip selection

I pulled out the best clips from each theme’s tags. To whittle them down, I was looking for theme relevance, length (15-45 seconds), charisma or emotion, and shot variety.

Content check

I put an extra clip or two in some theme compilations, because I was on the fence, and wanted feedback from the team on which clips to keep.

Content check

I put an extra clip or two in some theme compilations, because I was on the fence, and wanted feedback from the team on which clips to keep.

Content check

I put an extra clip or two in some theme compilations, because I was on the fence, and wanted feedback from the team on which clips to keep.

Content check

I put an extra clip or two in some theme compilations, because I was on the fence, and wanted feedback from the team on which clips to keep.

Ready for post

Once I got sign-off from the rest of the team, I handed it off to our video editor to add titles, B-roll, transitions, sound sweetening, and color correction.

Ready for post

Once I got sign-off from the rest of the team, I handed it off to our video editor to add titles, B-roll, transitions, sound sweetening, and color correction.

Ready for post

Once I got sign-off from the rest of the team, I handed it off to our video editor to add titles, B-roll, transitions, sound sweetening, and color correction.

Ready for post

Once I got sign-off from the rest of the team, I handed it off to our video editor to add titles, B-roll, transitions, sound sweetening, and color correction.

Getting concept feedback from our target segment

From the the stakeholder workshop, we shortlisted 10 concepts, and met with 3 stakeholders who initiated the research, to make sure our selections were desirable and feasible.

For the segment sessions, we invited 6 ethno participants and 6 new participants. We paired participants to get feedback from more participants in less time, and to promote more discussion than in 1:1 sessions.

In preparation for co-creation, we created illustration stimuli and brief descriptions of each concept.

I had not created concept illustrations for research before, so my first few attempts were too realistic and detailed.

Stimuli need to be specific enough to communicate concepts quickly and accurately, but vague enough to allow room for interpretation and new ideas.