Online research communities aren’t one-size-fits-all. They come in all shapes and sizes, but what they all share is the power to connect you with the right people at the right time. And who the “right people” are can vary depending on your specific business challenge. This is where our tailored community approach comes in. At the heart of our online research communities, we have ‘Illuminators’ – interesting and engaged individuals who provide a window into their lives. Next, we have everyday people, the critical mass offering broader perspectives. Last but not least, we have our changemakers – innovative thinkers who push the boundaries of what’s possible. The success formula to communities is ensuring you have the right voices for the right task at the right moment.

Illuminators – a window into your consumers’ lives

At the heart of our online research community approach is an intimate group of interesting and interested consumers. From people that are eager to share their experiences around a topic or category, to heavy users or even leading-edge consumers that are very passionate about the topic and can articulate what’s new and next. They’re your go-to audience when you want to immerse in their world, identify hidden truths and optimize solutions.

Take Nike Hong Kong, for example. To tap into the pulse of the local sneaker culture, we spent three weeks engaging with a mix of fashionistas and sneakerheads. Through a range of activities – from sharing their outfit of the day and showcasing their shoe collections to discussing their favourite influencers – we gained a rich understanding of who they are and what drives them. This fuelled Nike with relevant insights to reignite the local sneaker culture.

Everyday people – a representative take

To truly understand a topic, it’s essential to involve the critical mass. That’s where everyday consumers come in, as visitors in an online research community. These people offer valuable insights into the full spectrum of your brand or category’s appeal, drawing on both past and present experiences.  While they may not always know exactly how to articulate the solutions they need, they can clearly voice what works for them – and, just as importantly, what doesn’t. Their feedback uncovers pain points, aspirations, and unmet needs, offering fresh opportunities for brands to connect and grow.

For example, when Nedbank, a South African bank, sought to refine its customer segmentation, we engaged everyday consumers in an online insight community for one week. This gave the Nedbank team a deeper understanding of their customers’ broader lifestyle needs and wants. The results? A needs-based segmentation that identified three distinct consumer groups: The Herders, The Caregivers, and The Hunters. This model has since become Nedbank’s go-to model for customer categorization, guiding everything from product ideation to marketing strategies.

Changemakers – inspiration from the edges

Sometimes you just need that extra spark to push boundaries and drive real change. That’s where cultural and creative changemakers come in. Cultural changemakers are people living at the edge of culture, and actively steering brands toward fresh, relevant directions. Creatives, then, can think beyond the expected, crafting out-of-the-box solutions and visualizing ideas in unexpected ways.

For Mars Wrigley, we brought these dynamic thinkers together to fuel new concepts in ‘experiential snacking’. The confectionary brand had identified nine innovation territories, but it was with the help of cultural changemakers that we unlocked the cultural shifts and emerging trends shaping three key areas. Using semiotics – the study of signs and symbols – we created visual inspiration boards that distilled these shifts into actionable insights. Then, we turned to creatives to translate this inspiration into bold, unconventional solutions for each territory. The result? A pipeline of innovative snacking ideas that will shape Mars Wrigley’s product offerings for the next three to five years.