Situation

One of the nation’s largest window and door manufacturers came to us and our partners asking for an in-depth study to help them better understand their key audiences.

The goal was to design research that would demystify a complex and monthslong purchase cycle among homeowners, contractors, and architects.

Shift

With a mix of digital ethnography and in person methods we conducted over 45 interviews among 20 home improvement projects over two years. The pandemic threw us a curve ball and we responded with remote video ethnographies and creative “text-a-task” exercises for respondents to submit remotely. Once we were in the clear to travel, we hit five cities and did ride-alongs with contractors, visited houses mid-renovation, and sat down with designers and builders on their turf.

Solution

All this work revealed some human truths that we would never have discovered through traditional research. Our documentary style videos and research artifacts showed the complex relationships between key players and gave much needed inspiration to decision makers in marketing, operations and product development.

The work has accelerated a consumer-centric focus across the organization, and sparked new product innovations based on how people were really shopping for and using windows in the field.

To learn more about this case study and how we help your organization build empathy and actionable ideas for your customer, contact us below.