WE MAKE RESEARCH MEANINGFUL
We don’t just do research — we make it meaningful. For us, it’s not about ticking boxes or running the same process every time.
It’s about uncovering the real stories, motivations, and behaviours that drive people’s decisions.
Our edge comes from blending a wide mix of research methods — the tried-and-true techniques that clients know and trust, alongside niche and innovative
approaches that dig deeper and reveal what others might miss. And we deliver all of this with the kind of personalised, high-touch service
you’d expect from a boutique agency: attentive, flexible, and designed around you and your needs.
We draw on whatever tools will uncover the clearest insights — whether that’s traditional or virtual focus groups, one-on-one interviews,
accompanied shopping, digital ethnography, or user testing. We also run online qualitative studies, online and phone surveys, and even
apply semiotics to get beneath the surface of meaning.
Our work spans a wide range of industries, including aged care, the arts, financial services, food and drink, government services,
health and fitness, infrastructure, insurance, investment, personal care, retirement living, superannuation, and technology.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: DEEP HUMAN UNDERSTANDING AND SENSEMAKING
Qualitative research projects will give you a new understanding and empathy for how
your customers think and feel.
We are experts in qualitative research. Indeed, because of her innovative approach. Susan Bell has been called one of ‘four prominent voices’ in qualitative research worldwide.
LET YOUR CUSTOMERS EXPLAIN THEIR WORLD, IN THEIR WORDS
This philosophy is at the heart of all our qualitative research. It is based on years of practical experience, backed by our in-depth knowledge of behavioural and social psychology and lingustics.
“I want to understand the world from your point of view. I want to know what you know in the way you know it. I want to understand the meaning of your experience, to walk in your shoes, to feel things as you feel them, to explain things as you explain them.”
QUALITATIVE METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
The best qualitative researchers draw on a range of techniques and stmulus material, such as journey mapping, laddering, mood boards, pack sorts, sensemaking, and projective and enabling questions. We use
James P. Spradley, social scientist and professor of anthropology
SURVEY RESEARCH TO MEASURE
We have designed and conducted surveys for many of Australia’s largest organisations including government agencies, as well as a broad
range of smaller companies and not-for-profit organisations. The result: they have made smarter decisions, with confidence.
OUR SURVEY EXPERTISE
We conduct surveys online and by phone using online panels and customer lists
THE SURVEYS WE CONDUCT
Our clients will tell you that our approach to survey research is different because of the time we spend on question wording. Many researchers
overlook how important this is. Surveys must be both clear and engaging, written in the language of the people answering the survey. We also must work
hard to engage people to want to take our surveys. Surveys have to be interesting for the people we want to take part.
WE DESIGN YOUR SURVEY FOR YOU
We don’t believe in squeezing your research objectives into a rigid global model or drowning you in statistics you’re not comfortable with.
Instead, we build every survey from the ground up — designed specifically for you.
Before we launch, we ask ourselves the questions that matter most to ensure your research is both robust and relevant:
Do the questions truly reflect your objectives?
Will the survey be engaging enough that people want to complete it?
Are the questions written in a way that’s clear, simple, and easy to answer?
Is every word neutral, so responses are authentic and unbiased?
Have we tested thoroughly to ensure all possible answers are covered — without confusing jargon?
While most surveys are conducted online, we are committed to a mixed methods approach, using the method most suited to the target audience.
SEMIOTICS: CULTURE AND IMAGERY
SEMIOTICS HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND CULTURAL CHANGE & METHODS
Culture in Australia is constantly evolving — often in ways that are hard to spot while they’re happening. Think about the shift from the humble local
Chinese restaurant to Asian supermarkets in every suburb and queues at bubble tea stalls; changes like these ripple through to the meals we cook at
home and the products we look for on supermarket shelves. Semiotics is the lens that helps us decode these cultural shifts and understand
what they mean for businesses and brands.
Because semiotics looks at both the big picture and the fine detail, we use two complementary approaches: top-down analysis
(for example, exploring the current ‘codes of luxury’ in the Australian market) and bottom-up analysis (uncovering the symbols and design
elements that communicate freshness, relief, or trust in packaging and advertising). With decades of experience — we’ve been applying
semiotics since the 1980s — we are among the most established experts in this field worldwide, helping clients turn culture change into meaningful strategy.
SEMIOTICS ALSO HELPS YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT IMAGERY
Do you want to use imagery or symbolism on your packs, landing page or ads that convey meaning that your market understands
immediately and unequivocally? Then you need the unique nuanced insights that a semiotic image analysis brings. Semiotics is the study of
how signs and symbols convey meaning or ‘signify’ and how they cluster into patterns called ‘codes’.
SEMIOTICS AGENCIES WE HAVE WORKED WITH
Semiotics and cultural insights agencies that we have worked with include Creative Semiotics, FireFish, Space Doctors, Athena Brand Wisdom and Verve.
ADVANCED QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS FOR NEW PERSPECTIVES
Narrative analyis, Discourse Analysis. Sensemaking
We bring more to the table than traditional analysis. By using advanced qualitative tools — like Discourse Analysis, Narrative Analysis, Sensemaking,
and Archetypes — we uncover the deeper stories hidden in conversations. These proven, academically grounded methods help us move beyond
surface-level summaries to reveal what people truly mean, believe, and feel.
It’s this ability to look at language, behaviour, and context through multiple lenses that gives our clients richer insights and fresh perspectives.
One of them put it best:
“Working with you was made more insightful and rewarding by your natural curiosity and ability to look at customers and
stakeholders through so many different lenses and perspectives.”
When you partner with us, you don’t just get answers — you get meaning, clarity, and the confidence to act.
