BBH - Stop Digging for Insights

Image courtesy of backseatblogger.com

Here's a very interesting article on the excavation of consumer insights by Emma Cookson, Chairman of BBH New York. In it she argues that we need to stop digging for insights, presuming that insights are something that can be uncovered. Instead insights are in her opinion:

"...not – in my experience – discovered. They are thought of. Conceived in the mind of some smart, informed person. They are not found, they are intuited. They are not mined, they are identified and hypothesized"

She continues:


"In reality, identifying an insight is less about finding some new piece of information (who doesn’t already know that moms are proud of their sons’ and daughters’ achievements? Who needs a piece of research to point this out? ) and much more about realizing how information or knowledge can be freshly used and applied. We all already know that some people aren’t athletic, we all know we get grumpy and distracted when we’re hungry, we all know kids learn by experimental play – but we don’t all spot what to do with that knowledge. We don’t all have the INSIGHT to see how to apply it."

The rest of the article and comments below are well worth a read.

A Temporary Restaurant

What Happens Next is the name of quite a special restaurant opening soon in New York. Described as a "Temporary Restaurant" the entire look and feel of the space will be transformed every month for nine months based on feedback from patrons and the surrounding community. In an article on PSFK, the team behind the restaurant describe the kind of sensory experience patrons can expect:

"Your inspiration can be anything–from a short story you wrote to a song you sang last week–but it should be based off of a meaningful personal food memory.
For example, your favorite meal could have taken place in your grandmothers kitchen. It might have been in Fall, with meatloaf and mashed potatoes. With the sound of leaves crackling outside. And a teapot boiling. It might have been the only time she told you about her dream of being a piano player."

The idea of what could be described as a reactive space based on community input is very interesting, and part of a trend that's beginning to emerge worldwide, especially in retail. As more of our experiences move online and become virtual, the physical experience of shopping and eating need to change and adapt to keep us interested.

A great idea and they're taking bookings now.