Lisa is a multi-lingual Blue chip marketing professional, with strong expertise in FMCG, particularly Food & Drink and Home & Personal Care. Lisa worked extensively in Europe and Asia, and has more than ten years experience leading cross-functional and multi-cultural teams. She lived in The Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, South Africa, Greece and The UK, and speaks Dutch, English, Swedish, German, French and some Greek.
Lisa spent eight years at Unilever, in brand management and innovation roles. Before leaving Unilever, Lisa was European Innovation Strategy Manager managing cross-functional teams across 16 countries. Lisa then spent two years leading the successful China market entry for a Greek beverage company. Before starting her own consultancy in 2009, Lisa was Global Head of Insight at Cadbury. She trained marketers in The UK, Brazil, Russia, India and Australia, generating robust insights and winning concepts for key strategic projects. Lisa is passionate about consumers and insight, and is an expert speaker on the subject of consumer trends.
Sean began his career as a designer, which took him to Asia for a number of years working at leading agencies on a range of projects and clients across many design disciplines. Sean returned to the UK in 1996 to switch to a role in a client organisation, Orange. This gave him a deeper understanding to the inner workings of large multi-national companies. Here he developed a range of techniques to help drive the brand successfully through the company, leaving as Worldwide Brand Strategy Director. In the past 2 years Sean has facilitated Face NPD workshops for Aquafresh, Axe, Boots, Britvic, Coca Cola, Comfort, Rexona, Ribena & Surf.
Sean began his career as a designer, which took him to Asia for a number of years working at leading agencies on a range of projects and clients across many design disciplines. Sean returned to the UK in 1996 to switch to a role in a client organisation, Orange. This gave him a deeper understanding to the inner workings of large multi-national companies. Here he developed a range of techniques to help drive the brand successfully through the company, leaving as Worldwide Brand Strategy Director. In the past 2 years Sean has facilitated Face NPD workshops for Aquafresh, Axe, Boots, Britvic, Coca Cola, Comfort, Rexona, Ribena & Surf.Sean began his career as a designer, which took him to Asia for a number of years working at leading agencies on a range of projects and clients across many design disciplines. Sean returned to the UK in 1996 to switch to a role in a client organisation, Orange. This gave him a deeper understanding to the inner workings of large multi-national companies. Here he developed a range of techniques to help drive the brand successfully through the company, leaving as Worldwide Brand Strategy Director. In the past 2 years Sean has facilitated Face NPD workshops for Aquafresh, Axe, Boots, Britvic, Coca Cola, Comfort, Rexona, Ribena & Surf.
Next stop on WOM UK thought leadership meetups is 8.30amWednesday 7th October when Emmanuel Rosen will talk about ‘The Anatomy of Buzz (Revisited)‘, the newly updated version of his WOM guide which topped the bestseller lists in 2001 and became an instant international classic.
Drawing on his own experiences in high tech as well as hundreds of interviews with consumers, researchers and marketing executives, Emmanuel will discuss proven techniques for stimulating buzz.
By Hugh Jordan. Wise mob. Barely a day goes by without a website, campaign or competition cropping up, promising to harness the collective wisdom of crowds – the likes of you and me – for the benefit of brands. brand-e spoke to Francesco D’Orazio, md of crowdsourcing and co-creation specialists Face Wired to get the skinny.
Firstly, for those who have been living under a rock this summer, what exactly do we mean by crowdsourcing?
Well, there are a number of definitions and, depending on your speciality, it may vary slightly. Essentially, it’s when a company broadcasts a problem to a crowd instead of getting one or two experts to work on solutions. It’s outsourcing to the masses – the key elements for most forms of crowdsourcing are bottom-up idea generation and peer-2-peer validation.
What are the benefits to brands in going down this route?
It’s a very productive way of using crowds. Crowdsourcing, in one form or another, has been around for about 15 years, but with social media, brands have found a way of harnessing crowd creativity on a much larger scale. And there is huge value for brands in this method. They get a global, diversified crowd, a wider range of talent, rich spontaneous insights – plus it’s cost effective, and it provides great word-of-mouth for the brand.
Sounds like a marketing director’s dream. Are there no drawbacks?
Crowdsourcing by itself is a bit limited, you need a top-down approach to counteract it – there has to be some way to funnel the data and ideas generated. Plus, crowdsourcing tends to be more of a vertical process, there is essentially a lack of collaboration – the best solutions come when people are allowed and encouraged to build on each other’s ideas. Also, because crowdsourcing is not targeted, brands cannot afford to give too much away about company strategy, meaning briefs can be somewhat limited in detail.
Are there workarounds?
When we work with brands we use a process called co-creation. It’s phase two, after crowdsourcing. It’s a way of brands collaborating directly with selected people from the crowdsourcing phase, to respond to a brief. Rather than conversing with 5,000 people as they would in crowdsourcing, they are talking to 20 to 25 highly targeted individuals through on- and offline activity. Co-creation provides the strong, strategic thinking that is missing from crowdsourcing.
Our Andrew Needham, Founding Partner and CEO of Face , has just been appointed to the Board of Tangible, a core division of Cello Group Plc., to lead the new London Co-Creation Hub.
This new role gives Andrew overall responsibility for driving the growth of Tangible’s core businesses from its London hub based out of Midford Place, our office! This will involve developing a more integrated proposition around Face’s successful new agency model based on co-creation and crowdsourcing.
“Andrew is the epitome of an inspired and inspiring personality who has established Face as the leading co-creation planning agency in the UK. There is a great opportunity to build on Face’s core offering so that we are able to offer our clients a better, faster, more cost effective and differentiated proposition in the future. I believe that Andrew is the right man to lead our London hub and will make it a success”.
Andrew Needham said:
“This is a fantastic and exciting opportunity to build on what we have achieved at Face. It will enable us to continue the development of a new breed of agency to help our combined UK and global clients win in the new media, consumer and economic landscape we now find ourselves in”.
There’s a lot of buzz around word of mouth marketing, but many businesses and agencies are crying out to be educated on what this industry is really about, what it can do for them, and how they can get involved. That’s why we at WOM UK are delighted to announce our next Espresso Briefing in London which will give a very interesting perspective on the WOM landscape as it stands.
On 8.30amWednesday 30th September, The Guardian present their newword of mouth research study and communications planning tool that provides a practical framework for identifying influential people. Kicking off with breakfast and lasting until 10am at Guardian News & Media, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, it’s an easy chance to squeeze in some learning, as well as some networking with top WOM practitioners, at the start of your day. Free to all; email julian.ferguson@womuk.org to sign up.
The WOMUK Council will be attending, blogging and fuelling discussions, so come along and say hi.
Q. What happens when you employ awful 30-something year old actors to dress, act and speak like teenagers whilst simultaneously patronising and confusing their supposed audience with ridiculous jargon?
A. Teen Biz!
Even though Teen Biz is very dated it is still hilarious and a good example of how not to engage youth. Seriously where do these people come from and who commissions this stuff?
There is a backlash against co-creation from some parts of the industry because it requires researchers to take a different role. Co-creation means taking a step back ourselves, acting more as facilitators and enablers of direct contact between brands and consumers. We need to be provokers of debate, conduits for information, encouraging consumers and brands to think for themselves and to think and act together. This does not mean that the day of the debrief is dead, or that there is no place for insightful, objective, inspirational guidance from researchers. Instead it means that we need to see ourselves more as part of a triangular relationship between brands, people and researchers rather than a linear one where we stand between clients and consumers.
Of course, this all requires time and space to allow people to talk to each other and for brands to get involved in the conversation. We need time to build trust between people, and we need time to respond to and build on what people are saying. Crucially we need to accept that if consumers are going to become more equal partners in our approach to generating insight and innovation we need to build more continuous relationships with the people we are working with. This might mean spending two days working with consumers face to face or it can mean spending months or years working with particular communities of people. This is not about gathering a snapshot of opinion in a focus group or a hurriedly captured set of answers through a survey (as valuable as those methods remain), this is about working with people who are giving you the best of themselves, who move along the learning curve with you, who come to establish a relationship based on trust.
Probably the most significant principle that underpins our view of new ways of working with consumers is that interaction between people – whether consumers or brand owners – is absolutely vital. Fostering and participating in conversations between people is fundamental to the idea of co-creating insights and innovation. This is important in a number of different ways. Firstly it mirrors the way that we generally live as human beings – we are, after all, social animals. Secondly, it reflects the way we increasingly consume media and make decisions about what we buy, read, watch, and do. Thirdly it allows for a different kind of research landscape, one which subverts the traditional question and answer format – a relatively unfamiliar form of human communication and interaction – and replaces it with something far more natural and intuitive.
In this world consumers are encouraged to talk to each other rather than to researchers, opinions are offered, agreed with, disputed, challenged and developed. By working in a more natural communication mode we hear views expressed in real voices, and more importantly we end up discussing things and asking questions we didn’t even know existed or that we wanted to ask. This can lead to some “fortunate accidents” – insights that you have stumbled upon almost by chance. It is a reasonably good principle – though not always true – that if you know what question to ask you probably have a pretty good idea of what the answer is or might be. The mantra is simple: stop asking questions and start listening to conversations.
Last week some of the Face team drew the short straw of getting involved in a project that meant I’d have to travel to Sao Paulo for a co-creation, God we hate our jobs sometimes!! This project involves 3 global brands within Unilever and 5 different countries, all to be delivered in 5 weeks, so it’s quite hectic but we love a challenge at Face.
So last Monday Face headed to Heathrow, took a couple of Valium, and boarded a flight to Sao Paulo… 14 hours later Face arrived in the lovely sunshine and went straight to bed to prepare for 3 busy days of co-creation. So Face woke up raring to go on Tuesday to find a huge thunder storm, power had cut out; streets were flooded, never seen rain like it. Never mind Face didn’t let this dampen our spirits (sorry!!)
This co-creation is one of many international projects that Face has completed but for Lucy (who was one member of the team representing Face in Brazil) it was only her second. Face really enjoys these experiences as the consumers you get to meet are so different. The women that attended the co-creation in Sao Paulo were so passionate and enthusiastic, that even though we were running a bit late they were happy to stay to work on their final ideas. It was a great day with some brilliant outputs to take to the next stage.
The next stage has just begun and it involves uploading concepts onto online communities in Argentina, Philippines and Thailand looking further into local market insights. Anyway we are currently in full flow with this so we better get back to work!
Face have been building a new breed of research and planning team that can help clients co-create with their consumers. Here are some tips on how to spot and recruit the best talent:
Use a Mix of Channels
We have been successfully using a mix of recruitment channels to attract talent, the mix will depend on the roles you have to fill. If you are looking to recruit market research positions going through a select number of recruitment agencies is still your best bet . However if you are looking to fill digital or planning roles on-line job boards such as Chinwag and Brand Republic and social media sites such as Linkedin generate high quality candidates for a fraction of the price of using a recruitment agency. Of course the best way to recruit and attract talent is to harness your own networks. In fact some of our best candidates have come from simply letting people in our company ,our clients and our fans on Twitter & Facebook know we are looking to fill a vacancy.
Social Media Footprint
Once you have started to get C.V’s which lets face it are on the whole pretty dry and uninspiring why not try to bring candidates to life a bit more by asking them to include links to their social media profiles such as Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. You can tell a huge amount about a candidate by their social media footprint e.g thought leadership skills, networking ability, understanding of technology. This tool has been great to give us a real sense of who really understands and lives social media from those who claim too and enabled us to be more selective about who we interview.
Try Before You Buy
When it comes to interview stage we all know that the process can been hit and miss. Decisions on hiring staff are based largely on personality and chemistry which of course are important but are no means an indicator of future performance. Even references have been watered down by legislation and are increasingly an ineffective tool to help make an informed decision about a candidate. However the economic down turn has meant that a huge number of talented and experienced people you will be interviewing will have been let go by companies. This is a market where talented people will be open to working more flexibly – so why not hire a candidate you like on a freelance basis and see them in action before offering a full time role. In fact why not hire a few across projects you are running and compare, this is what we are doing and i can assure you there is no better test.
In this September’s issue of Admap Face’s very own Andrew Needham has written an article on how digital media allows deeper engagement with research respondents using techniques such as co-creation and crowd sourcing. We thought we would give you a little taster of the article and if you’d like to go for the full course then pick up a copy of this months Admap magazine!
Web2.0 and Social Media Create New Opportunities For Research
At the MRS Annual Conference earlier this year, there was a debate on ‘the opportunities, threats and ambitions for market research and innovation’. It became clear that empowered consumers and web 2.0 present the research industry with a challenge. Re- searchers are learning that the online world’s influence means that things need to change urgently in the face-to-face world of focus groups. This presents a threat and an opportunity. The threat is that the research industry will not embrace change fast enough. Research is rooted in thinking that pre-dates the web – find people, put them in a room with a two-way mirror and ask questions. Many forms of re- search are struggling because they are not engaging or interactive – the two things social media and web 2.0 have taught consumers to expect.
Case Studies
To help demonstrate the key points of the article Andrew gave examples of two of our case studies Unilver Surf where Face ran an online research community for 50 UK based women from different backgrounds. Another great example of co-creation is Face working with Britvic on their Tango brand. Click on the links to find out more.
Over the past fifteen years, the rise of the World Wide Web has resulted in remarkable new possibilities and business models reshaping our culture and our economy. Now the time has come to reshape government. With the proliferation of issues and a scarcity of resources to address them all, leaders inside and outside government are turning to the principles of participation, collaboration, transparency, and efficiency to address the challenges facing our country and the world. This is the agenda of the Gov 2.0 Summit happening today and tomorrow in Washington DC
It seems like every day more and more of the sci-fi technology from the movies is coming to life. Remember in Terminator when Arnie can recognise objects just by looking at them? Yeah well that sci-fi dream is now coming true. It seems like the sky is the limit, the digital world and the real world are colliding to create a new type of technology called augmented reality. This new “cyborg” technology allows users to see a live display whilst merging computer generated graphics over the top. Currently being put to the test in numerous different applications augmented reality is going to lead a huge wave of new technology and could potentially change the way we lead our day-to-day lives.
Confused? Scared? Excited? Arnie??? Fear not Headbox has done the research and we have put together a top 5 of the forthcoming augmented reality applications that will be flying your way soon…
5) TwittARound – An iPhone application that will show you where the nearest tweets to you have been made!
Beware of what you post, soon people around you can see who you are after you have tweeted. More Info.
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4) Stargazer – An application from Google that tells exactly what you are looking at when you are…well… star gazing!
This application builds upon Google Sky and identifies constellations and planets in the sky when your pointing your phone towards the heavens. So next time you are out star gazing you will be able to tell your Casseopeia from your Capricornus! More Info.
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3) Sekai Camera – As you would expect Japanese developers are getting involved with their creation… Air Tagging!
Tokyo-based smartphone app developers Tonchidot have come up with Sekai camera application. It allows users to “air tag”, basically tagging things in the real world. For example local restaurants can be tagged, and when pointing your camera at the restaurant, you can see menu’s and reviews. Didn’t enjoy a meal? Leave your comments floating in this augmented universe and warn potential customers to stay away. More Info.
2) Nearest Tube – This very clever application lets you see the world and the tube through your phones camera.
Unbelivably the Nearest Tube application shows you where the nearest tube station is and also when you point your camera at the ground it shows you what lines run underneath you. No more endlessly walking in circles looking for a tube station! More Info.
1) Layar – Pretty much the most forward thinking augmented reality application out there!
Currently only available in Holland but soon to be rolled out in several other European companies, this wonderful application rolls everything into 1. The world around you is merged with the digital and on your phone screen, you can see nearby ATMS, cafe’s, clubs, homes for sale (like the video above), job listings, etc, etc, etc!!
This is one of the few augmented reality applications actually available for use on mobiles phones at the moment and shows that what was once just in the head of the Terminator is now in circulation in the real world. More info.
On 8.30am Wednesday 30th September, The Guardian present their new word of mouth research study and communications planning tool that provides a practical framework for identifying influential people. Kicking off with breakfast and lasting until 10am at 
