Liars, Cheaters and Repeaters

Moving Target Research Group

Leading edge, early adopters and opinion leaders every brand wants them.

Challenging and fluid, they are the very core of qualitative research. To gain

insights from these sub cultures today, whether they are the leading edge in

the youth or boomer segments, for soft drinks or luxury vehicles, correctly

identifying and recruiting these targets is the key to developing brand

strategies that will capture market share tomorrow.

This paper seeks to dispel the myths of traditional recruiting techniques,

explain its fallibilities and explore alternative strategies.

Wigs, Fake I.D.s and Restraining Orders

Liars, cheaters and repeaters, no one wants them in their group. Yet, with

the electronic revolution, like spam, the advent of online community bulletin

boards and self-posting database registries have generated an entire

underground subculture that infiltrates most if not all traditional databases.

Donning wigs, glasses and fake I.D’s, focus groups are just too lucrative for

some respondents to only be able to participate in once or twice a year.

Professional respondents thrive in most recruiting facilities databases, where

they are enjoying the bounty of the system. And tainting results.

Savvy respondents know not only how to get through screeners but have

even developed “relationships” with particular recruiters. These charlatans

are tenacious and if/when finally confronted, will simply surface at a different

facility (provided that there are no restraining orders currently in effect).

The practice of cheaters and deceivers sharing “well paying [focus group]

gigs” amongst themselves during actual group breaks is widespread, leading

some especially astute respondents to participate in multiple groups in one

day.

Recruiters pressured to meet quotas, who have no investment in the brand,

routinely sway and “coach “ respondents. Confirmation calls reiterate the

“importance” of consistent responses and “remind” respondents about key

points that must remain constant to qualify at the re-screening. Harried and

overworked Project managers look the other way on these less than sincere

recruiting practices. Sometimes, even encouraging the practice, by knowingly

inviting back “the usual suspects” in order to complete a difficult recruit.

Insider lexicon includes “we can count on her”, “he’ll say he’s Hispanic” and

the ever popular “at least we know she’ll show”.

Screener design seeks out and weeds out certain psychographic profiles,

however these questions posed in a vacuum, on the telephone by recruiters

that are underpaid and detached from their principles is a recipe for

disconnected, dispassionate respondents at best.

Extreme Recruiting™

With the proliferation of focus groups, especially those held in major

metropolitan markets, virgin respondents are increasingly becoming more

difficult to tap into. Leading edge and early adopters are even more elusive.

Cool hunters know that they must seek out these vanguards in the flesh.

Similarly, in order to gain insights from these moving targets, we must delve

deep into their ecosystem. Scouting the streets, the bars, the gyms, the

clubs, the coffee shops, the supermarkets. The indispensable vibe on the

street provides a valuable snapshot of unofficial and subliminal trends that

will percolate into the mainstream.

At the epicenter we can identify and tap into this elusive tribe. However,

trendy respondents do not equal leading edge insights. Trendsetters adopt

styles and brands that define them from the mainstream, quickly sniffing out

mass appeal and rejecting the very same movement(s) they unleashed. The

desire for admission into these tribes, results in downstreaming. Consumers

at different stages of the cool chain claim the very same brands adopting the

trend as their own, both diluting the experience for the originators and giving

mainstreamers the sense of acceptance and ownership that is universally

sought. For this reason, it is not sufficient to seek out the trendy looking

consumer; it is about identifying the correct sub culture, tapping into the

mindset and how it relates to the brand. Both enthusiasts and rejecters offer

vital clues into the collective mindset and the future of brands. Extreme

recruiting verifies and qualifies these ambassadors for further in depth

investigation.

See why we’re different and what Moving Target Research can do for you:

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recruiting@movingtargetresearch.com