New Ways of Conducting Market Research: Using YouTube Insights

The IDEA :

YouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload and share videos. More than 80 Million people visit Youtube every month . A large part of this traffic comes from India with more than 5 Million unique users in 2008 . However the power of this new social media has not been properly harnessed for the purpose of market research. Especially in India, YouTube Marketing and Research remains an almost unexplored terrain.

Now we find that market research is usually done to find a market segment or to find if the market would be responsive to a new product offering. In such a scenario YouTube offers a convenient and powerful tool to find consumer insights. My idea is that before a product is about to be launched make viral videos of the prototypes of the product being used. Then we can use the Insights tool provided by YouTube to find all the demographics that we want to unearth.

The source of this idea was IDEO. When they were asked to come up with a concept for a line of spas, instead of industry research and delivering a bound report to the client they went ahead and used ethnography and video prototyping. They created a rough video prototype of how the spa will look and burned them onto dozens of CDs and presented them to the clients. The video spread through the company and IDEO ended up getting the contract. Video prototyping turned out to be a quick and extremely visual way of expressing a new product or process offering.

Taking this idea forward, I figured that such video prototypes can also be used to gauge the response of the market to a new product. Video prototyping is not a costly affair and can quickly be done. By looking at the number and demographics of viewers we can then decide what our marketing strategy should be. In addition a successful viral video will also create a buzz about the product.


The EXECUTION:

The first thing to be done is create rapid video prototypes. It helps to have an interesting storyboard and to keep the video short, with a maximum time of 6 minutes with 3 minutes being the optimum time. The video could depict the USP of the offering or a fun way to use it. The clips can then be uploaded on the company’s channel on YouTube.

After a few days or when the number of viewers reaches over a thousand, we can use the Insights tool to figure out the demographics.

What is the Insights Tool?

It is a free tool that enables anyone with a YouTube account to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload to the site. For example, uploaders can see how often their videos are viewed in different geographic regions, as well as how popular they are relative to all videos in that market over a given period of time. You can also delve deeper into the lifecycle of your videos, like how long it takes for a video to become popular, and what happens to video views as popularity peaks.

Here is what YouTube Insights gives us:


This is the summary of the results:
(1) Tells how many views the videos are getting. This will tell you if you're getting any attention at all.
(2) Shows you which video is getting the most attention. Now you know what your prospects like - and the margin between what's getting attention and what's not.
(3) Expose your real demographics. Not too fancy, but you get to see the age range your product resonates with.
(4) Identifies the regions where you are getting traction. Again, results do vary by geographic location, so you can decide if you want to spend some money to gain exposure in a particular country or state, for that matter, or if you want to focus on your natural geography - the places in which you're getting organic attention.

The Insights tool further provides the following information:
(1)Traffic over time - days, months, a year.
(2) Video popularity by region - a handy guide to what the reaction is to the offering.
(3) Details on which videos are winners and which are not. Based on this we can decide which product merits backing, and which ones need more work.

Details of INSIGHT TOOL :

YouTube Insight definition
YouTube Insight is YouTube's external facing analytics and reporting product that enables anyone with a YouTube account to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload to the site. This first version charts video views on an interactive time line and map, allowing users to drill down into different geographic regions and see the viewing activity in those regions over selected time periods. It also allows users to compare the relative popularity of their videos in a given region to all other videos in that region.


Views map
The Views map captures the distribution of views in a geographic market over a certain period of time. The aggregate data includes views from YouTube.com as well as from embeds (if applicable). Users can click on a particular country or select a specific map to see how viewing for a particular video has trended over a period of time for that country.


Relating maps and graphs
The map shows geographic data for the time period defined by the slider on the graph. The graph shows data over time for the geographic region defined by the map. By changing various settings on the graph (e.g., pulling the sider bar to a different time frame), the colors on the map will change to reflect the new time period, selected on the graph. Conversely, by selecting a country (e.g., Russia) or a new map (e.g., USA, Europe, etc.), the graph will update to reflect the viewing trends in that geographic market.


Popularity graph
This graph provides insight into how popular a particular video has been over time. This graph uses a popularity index, which measures how much more or less popular a particular video is compared to overall videos in that geographic market. For example, if my video is indexed at 96 on the graph, this means that only 4% of all videos in the selected region and timeframe have been viewed more than my video.


Popularity map
This map shows the relative popularity of a particular video within the different countries of a region. The scale is again relative, so that the country within which the video is most popular will be dark green, and the one in which it is least popular will be light green.


CRITICISM:
Few criticisms against this idea could be
• That in India internet is not available to everyone.
• YouTube is viewed only by young people and hence the demographics could be skewed.
• No information is provided by the Insight tool regarding particular regions within the country.

Although the proportion of the population having access to internet is very small, the data provided by YouTube would have a larger user sample than possible by any ordinary method of consumer survey. As mentioned, 5 Million users logged in from India in 2008, a number sure to have increased by now.

There’s a myth about YouTube that it’s only used by young people. In fact, more than two thirds of men and women in the US population over the age of 25 year have watched a YouTube video. Around 50 percent of avid users are over the age of 25 and half of those are over 35. There are a lot of adults over the age of 35 watching videos on YouTube and adults over the age of 45 are increasingly using the site to find things to buy .

Although currently no information is available about views from particular cities and regions within a country, the technology already exists to mine such data. Hence this facility could soon be available.

CONCLUSION:
By combining the power of rapid video prototyping and the immense information provided by YouTube we can achieve a unique and cheap method to take insights from the market.

Paradigm Shift

Industry: Circus Industry

Myth: The end-users of circus are children, and circuses can be run only according to fixed norms.


16th June, 2009 marked the 25th anniversary of a company that managed to reinvent an entire industry. With one time accordion player, stilt-walker and fire-eater, Guy Laliberte as the CEO, Cirque du Soleil managed to bring about a paradigm shift in the circus industry. From a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque du Soleil is now a major Quebec-based organization providing high-quality artistic entertainment. The company has more than 4,000 employees from over 40 different countries, including 1,000 artists.

However, when Cirque first made its debut in 1984, the circus industry was already in a decline. Most circuses focused solely on children and followed the model set by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1919. But with other forms of entertainment being readily available, children were no longer interested in visiting the circus, which had the same old acts. There was also an increasing sentiment against the use of animals in circuses by animal rights groups. With decreasing audiences and poor revenue and profits circus industry appeared unattractive.

Laliberte and Guy Caron, the artistic director of cirque, had a different vision for their circus. Their idea was to create a circus with neither a ring nor animals. The rationale was that the lack of both of these things draws the audience more into the performance. They shifted the spotlight from the traditional end-user to an adult buyer group who were prepared to pay a price that is several times as expensive as traditional circuses for their unprecedented entertainment experience. Their competition was no longer the shrinking circus market. Using the concept of "circus for adults", Cirque du Soleil managed to reinvent circus.

The reason for Cirque du Soleil’s success is that they managed to change their frame of thinking. After identifying that the three core elements of any circus were the tent, the clowns and the acrobatic acts, they did away with the expensive animal acts and launched shows based on unique themes, soundtracks, costumes and sets. Cirque's 'one of a kind' shows resembled theatric and ballet performances rather than the traditional circus shows. With their shows ‘Reinvent the Circus’ and ‘Nouvelle Expérience’, Cirque shattered all previous records for ticket sales. It took the concept of circus from the big top tent to the theater. Cirque du Soleil forced other circuses to shift from carrying out acts to delivering performances and bringing about changes in their mental attitude.

Till date Cirque du Soleil has not stopped breaking mental models. Currently Cirque has 19 different shows running across the world and each one offers something that has never been seen before. For example its show ‘O’, which broke the myth that circus performances take place only on solid ground. ‘O’ is centered around a 1.5 million-gallon tank of water built inside the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. World-class acrobats, synchronized swimmers, divers and characters perform in, on, and above water to create a breathtaking experience.

In the past few years Cirque du Soleil has been developing new business models. Cirque now creates original and innovative content for television and DVDs. It also organizes private gatherings and is making forays into the hospitality sector. Thus Cirque du Soleil is trying to expand its boundaries to span across the entire entertainment spectrum.

Cirque du Soleil succeeded because it realized that to win in the future, companies must stop competing with each other. It decided to rework the rules of the industry and focus on a new segment of users. And most importantly it catered to exactly what that group of customers needed.

Reference:
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim , Renée Mauborgne

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com

Art Deco Tours in Mumbai

Concept

Bombay has the second largest number of art deco buildings after Miami. However, unlike Miami where an entire precinct was restored making it an international tourist attraction, here we do little to preserve our heritage. But there is a lot of interest amongst tourists to visit and learn more about these beautiful buildings. This is an existing need gap that is not currently being tapped. There is a scope for tour operators to start dedicated art deco tours.


What is Art Deco.

The style we now call Art Deco originated in Europe in the early years of the 20th Century, and its heyday was from 1920 to 1940. It became widely known following the great Exposition des Arts Modernes Decoratifs et Industriels, held in Paris in 1925 and from which its name was ultimately derived. By the late 1930s it was in its streamlined phase and after World War 2, the International Style, devoid of all decoration, held sway. Not until the late 1960s did people begin to rediscover it and take it seriously.

Art Deco expressed all the vigor and optimism of the roaring twenties, and the idealism and escapism of the grim thirties.

Its decorative themes are:
• Sunbursts and fountains - representing the dawn of a new modern age.
• The Skyscraper shape - symbolic of the 20th century.
• Symbols of speed, power and flight - the exiting new developments in transport and communications.
• Geometric shapes - representing the machine and technology which it was thought would solve all our problems.
• The new woman - reveling in her recently won social freedoms.
• Breaking the rules - cacophonous jazz, short skirts and hair, shocking dances.
• Ancient cultures - for oddly enough, there was a fascination with the civilizations of Egypt and Central America.
All of these themes are represented on the buildings of Mumbai.


Art Deco & Mumbai

During the Art Deco era, Bombay grew into an existing and vibrant commercial hub, not unlike New York. Posed between past and future, the city emerged internationally while still the crown of the British Raj.

Art Deco appeared in India when Indian royal families and entrepreneurs and merchants of the widely travelled educated upper middle class, eager to adopt contemporary trends in western culture, began to assume its sophistication in dress, furnishings, and architectural design.
When the new land was created under the Backbay Land Reclamation scheme, the modern style of architecture precisely expressed the requisite optimism.

The city’s first Art Deco districts of Churchgate and Marine Drive have the densest concentrations of Art Deco architecture in the city. The architectural design borrowed imagery from the new age, incorporating nautical details of steamship lines, aerodynamic designs of the car, train, and airplane, influences from Egyptian and Classical art, Cubism, industrialism and Hollywood films.


Primary Survey

A qualitative primary survey of 50 foreign tourists showed that 70% were interested in the history of the city. Most of them were interested in the city’s architecture, but knew of only the major architectural structures like Gateway, CST Terminus and Eros Cinema.
The survey also revealed that foreign tourists especially the backpackers were averse to the run off the mill packaged tour but were really interested in tours that could be customized. Also 30 respondents said that they liked walking around the city, however many said that the crowd on the roads was a problem.


Art Deco tours in other parts of the World

Miami
Miami Beach's Art Deco District is the first 20th-century neighborhood to be recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, with 800 structures of historical significance, most built between 1923 and 1943. Over the last twenty five years, Miami Beach has regenerated itself into an economically thriving cultural urban nexus through its historic preservation of Art Deco architecture.
The Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL) offer a wide variety of tours, including guided walking tours, guided bike tours, self-guided tours on an iPod or cell phone, and private tours as well.

Napier
Napier, New Zealand, was rebuilt in the early 1930s following a massive Richter 7.8 Earthquake. Subsequent fires destroyed most of its commercial heart. By the end of the decade, Napier was the newest city on the globe.
The city has a variety of buildings in the styles of the 1930s - Stripped Classical, Spanish Mission, and above all Art Deco, the style of the 20th Century. And Napier's Art Deco is unique, with Maori motifs and the buildings of Louis Hay, admirer of the great Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Art Deco trust operates Walking tours, Bus tours, Self guided tours and self drive tours.

New York
In New York, the Art Deco style evolved through a series of Manhattan skyscrapers into the city’s chief architectural language. Following a massive reawakening of interest in them during the 1970s, New York’s Deco buildings today survive as prized remnants of a distant yet modern past that still help define the city’s visual identity.
New York like Mumbai does not have a quality tour dedicated towards its Art Deco Architecture.

Mumbai
THE BOMBAY HERITAGE WALKS group has been organising walking tours around the city since April 1999. The heritage walks aim to raise the awareness of the people of Mumbai and visitors, about the city’s architecture and heritage monuments.

Business Plan
Based on the primary survey and after analyzing the tours offered by other cities, I propose that for Mumbai a self guided art deco tour would makes good business sense.

SELF-GUIDED AUDIO TOURS
The tourist can take a tour at their own pace with an iPod-based audio tour and map. They can choose from four languages: English, German, French and Spanish. The tour can be offered daily from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. The tour should not take more than about 90 minutes, but the tourists can go at their own pace.

Similar to the iPod-based audio tour, the tourist can call in and listen to the audio on their own cell phone, along with a map they can print from the operators’ web site. The price for the tour could be around Rs 200 to 300. The only cost of this tour would be the development cost of the software. Information regarding the Art Deco buildings is available from the Mumbai Heritage Council for free. Thus the tour is a profit generating one.

The tour could also target other segments like architecture students, architect’s associations, school students, photographers.
The tours while being profitable to the operator would continue in the efforts to raise the awareness about the architectural marvels of the city.

The tour would have to be marketed aggressively on the tour operator’s website, on the lonely planet guide book and websites referred by tourists. The tour could also be integrated into the Mumbai festival.

Swan Song

My Post from ByChance Blog:

This is my swan song. The story starts like this....

In a kingdom in a far off land a prince ruled. His was not the largest of kingdoms nor was he the most powerful ruler. But he ruled over his people in a just manner and was loved by his subjects. But like most stories that have a happy beginning, the storm started to gather on our prince’s kingdom too. His kingdom was attacked by an evil warlord!! The war that ensued lasted many a years. The kingdom was ravaged, but our prince fought on. And so the skies cleared and victory was achieved by the prince.

Happy days were back again. But the king heard that some of his neighbors were being attacked by other rough warlords. And so with his small battalion, the prince went to war again and helped many of his neighboring kingdoms He thought of his neighbors as his friends and allies. So a prosperous period followed where people from all the kingdoms flourished.

But just as the people of our prince’s kingdom started enjoying the good life, they were attacked again by the same dark warlord. This time around he attacked with a large army. The prince’s army crumbled in front of the enemy. The prince was forced to retreat to his fort, the only remaining stronghold. The dark warlord surrounded the fort from all sides and thus the long siege began. For many months the fort was attacked. The sound of cannons echoed through the countryside. Part of the fort caught fire and the flames leapt high in the sky. Our prince sent pleas of help to his neighbors but no one came to his rescue.

Finally the night arrived when the final assault was mounted by the dark war lord. In his agony of seeing his empire crumble the prince screamed out loud. So loud were his screeches that they reached the neighboring king. This was the very king the prince had rushed to help. But the king did not think of riding his horse to the princes’ help. All he thought was that the prince had disturbed him.” Oh damn the prince!” ,he said,” It was not enough that the sounds of cannons should pound my ears and the flames of his castle falling down sear my eyes. Now he has to scream and prick my ears too.” And he issued a command for his guards to kill the prince.

The prince was watching his last guard fall down when he noticed the neighbors guard riding towards him. He was overjoyed. At last there is someone to fight on my side. But his joy was short lived when he saw these very guards fighting against him. The final gate came crashing down and the enemy streamed into the fort. The prince looked down at his hands. They were red. His heart had been pierced. He sat down at his table and started writing.

“This is my swan song. The story starts like this…..

Looking Mirror

It is said that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. But in this day and age how true is this adage? In my opinion it still holds true. Everyone has their own take on what is beautiful and this is why terms like good looks are very hard to generalize.Are skeletal, size zero models beautiful? Kareena thinks so, but the organizers of fashion show in Paris would disagree.

That is the reason that if asked to comment on how I look, I am bound to get a variety of answers. But how do I perceive my own looks? What do I see looking back at me from the mirror?

I see a tall, shy guy, with smiling mischievous eyes. Not the most handsome lad in town perhaps, but with looks to kill! And not because people are frightened to death by looking at me!!!

One of the most important things to notice is that description of ones looks sometimes goes beyond what lies just on the surface. Your personality usually counts and plays a significant role.

So in the time of six pack abs and bulging biceps where do I stand? Well thankfully far away from SRK. I feel that it is more important to be healthy than to have a six pack.In fact going through extreme diets and surgery can be detrimental to a healthy good looking body.According to me the modern fad of plastic surgery will lead only to people who are plastic, without and within.

So in conclusion, How Do I describe my looks?? Well considering I have been called both "tall, dark and handsome" and ugly from "ugly and pagli", I think its fair to state that I lie comfortably between the two extremes. A regular joe. But that is not my answer to the question. I think there is no need to describe my looks for to me it makes more sense to try & describe who I am!

The Business of Ethnography

Ethnography has suddenly become a buzzword in the business world. But there is not much clarity on how to use this tool effectively in business. Many businesses confuse ethnography with anthropology and think that it is not suitable for the fast paced business world.

Over a half-century ago, an anthropologist conducting ethnography for a clothing manufacturer observed children and mothers at home and at play. His gaze fixed on overalls, the anthropologist recommended that the manufacturer double-stitch the seams of that garment, previously single stitched, in order that it withstand frequent launderings, and he also suggested the company replace buttons on the straps with metal grippers in order to extend the life of the overalls as the child wearing it grew. This case study appears in a 1961 article titled "Anthropology's Contributions to Marketing" that also lists several other ethnographic encounters with the business of research, from the design of products like chairs and knobs to the development of cosmetics ads that incorporated the culture's symbolic understanding of a woman's eye and mouth.

This article shows that ethnography had been in existence for some time and that it can be effectively applied to businesses. We also realize that it is often rapid ethnography that provides insights that can be turned into profitable business ideas.

Rapid Ethnography

This is an observational technique for going to the prospective users of a product or service and observing the activities they perform, their interactions, and the subculture in which they live, work, learn, and play. Rapid ethnography is critical to the invention of new product classes.

Rapid ethnography shares many of the characteristics of ethnography, but differs in two main ways:

1) More than one researcher is always involved in data collection and the teamwork is essential for data triangulation;

2) More than one researcher is involved in an iterative approach to data analysis and additional data collection.

Ethnography in Business

Case of Revolution Showerheads

In 1996 Moen Inc. was determined to figure out what people really wanted in a showerhead. It engaged QualiData Research to conduct an ethnographic study.

This case provided a challenge, since it would be difficult to actually observe anyone using a shower. QualiData Inc decided to meet this challenge by installing a small moisture-proof camera next to the showerhead of volunteers.

So in 1996 and again in 2001, QualiData taped several dozen people of all shapes and sizes while a camera crew monitored the event from just outside the bathroom.

On tape, the subjects used the water to relax or energize themselves. They lost track of time. One man prayed. The team realized that for many people having a shower was more than a cleaning experience. Based on Moen's research, its "Revolution" showerhead was born.

Priced at the upper end of showerheads, the "Revolution" offers users a dial that can can be easily adjusted with one hand. The showerhead spins the droplets, which hit all points of the body with more force.

The rapid ethnography gave a much better understanding about what occurs in people's showers. And it reinforced one principle that many observational researchers agree on: They can delve into very private areas as long as the consumer has the choice up front not to participate.

Case of Mumbai Public Transport Security System

As part of our course work we had taken up a project on improving the transportation system of Mumbai. Our focus in this study was to bring about a change in the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. The system carries more than 6.9 million commuters on a daily basis and constitutes more than half of the total daily passenger capacity of the Indian Railways itself. It has one of the highest passenger densities of any urban railway system in the world.

To understand areas where improvement could take place, we decided to conduct an ethnographic study. In the first phase of the study, we decide to talk with the primary stakeholders. We identified different types of users of the system like daily commuters, travelers, one time visitors, students. We then observed the crowds and made notes. We went on to deal with a variety of data collection methods such as participant observation, on-site interviewing and documentation by photography and audio- and video-taping. The ethnography study for the primary stakeholders went on for a week

As we observed the crowds, we noticed few recurring patterns: Most people were keeping their luggage close to themselves. This was true especially true for first time visitors. We realized that most people were not just afraid of their baggage getting lost but were also apprehensive of it getting stuck in the crowd. We also observed many commuters whose bags got stuck as the boarded the trains.

Many visitors were unsure of the platform from which they could catch their train and appeared confused and flustered. There was no accessible information center that they could go to. One of the insights that we realized was that there was a need to have better signage which told the commuter the stations that the train would take them.

We also observed that in the minutes before the train arrived, people would stand on the platform and look at the food stalls but would not actually go there. We realized that passengers were torn between wanting to eat and not wanting to miss their train. Our interviews also led us to discover that the commuters were primarily concerned with the safety in the trains. Many people responded to our queries by saying that they would like for a security guard to be present in every coach. On talking to the disabled and the aged who regularly travelled in the trains, we realized that they felt that the health facilities were really poor.

We then started interviewing the secondary stakeholders. We spoke with the drivers, signal operators, the station masters, operators of the food stalls, and other vendors present at the railway stations. We asked them to describe a typical day in their lives. We also spoke with retired railway employees and asked them how the system had changed since the time they were employees. Through our conversations we realized that safety was a concern even for the drivers. They also worried about the actions that they would have to take in case of emergency in the train.

Using these insights, we developed a proposal of bringing high end security systems to the public transport system but at lower costs. The security system was designed keeping in mind the need for handling large crowds. The system integrated the security cameras already in operation to new systems like heat sensors. We also proposed setting up of a security center at each station with dedicated personnel.

Conclusion

These bits of ethnographic findings illustrate the kind of insight we can generate, useful knowledge to inform an array of business decisions: branding, marketing, programming, operations, public relations, and customer service and product development. By means of ethnography, we can find sites of tremendous growth and opportunity.

Why cant I get stoned?

When driving back to college from colaba the other day, we had to take a small stopover at ameyas' place. So there we were sitting in his car, when all of a sudden this song came on. Sheetal fell in love with this song, and so did I. An amazing tune and lyrics.
After all...why cant I get stoned!



Who says I can't get stoned?
Turn off the lights and the telephone
Me and my house alone
Who says I can't get stoned?

Who says I can't be free?
From all of the things that I used to be
Re-write my history
Who says I can't be free?

It's been a long night in New York City
It's been a long night in Baton Rouge
I don't remember you looking any better
But then again I don't remember you

Who says I can't get stoned?
Call up a girl that I used to know
Fake love for an hour or so
Who says I can't get stoned?

Who says I can't take time?
Meet all the girls on the county line
Then wait on fate to send a sign
Who says I can't take time?

It's been a long night in New York City
It's been a long night in Austin too
I don't remember you looking any better
But then again I don't remember you

Who says I can't get stoned?
Plan a trip to Japan alone
Doesn't matter if I even go
Who says I can't get stoned?

It's been a long night in New York City
It's been a long time since 20 too
I don't remember you looking any better
But then again I don't remember you