Sponsor Impact report In general, he sees the client side increasingly picking up on the need to be more human-centric, and feeling a lot more empowered to do that by being closer to the analytics and making some of the data aspects their own, so that they can tell those stories. Success, he asserts, will depend on empathy. Ways of achieving that will vary. Lets not get hung up on the methodology per se; lets get hung up on making sure we can get to those stories for those datapoints and helping the client socialise that, says Lawrence. As an industry, we can be a bit academic and talk about the methods quite a lot yes, they are relevant; yes, its down to the client-agency dynamic to try to choose the best ones. We must make sure we have recruited participation in the right way. Do we need to do some social listening and other cultural cues first? Getting to the stories The desire for a better understanding of peoples lived experiences has led some to question the effectiveness of tools such as brand trackers, asking whether they are capturing enough of the right information. It has also resulted in some brands taking a fresh approach to audience segmentation. That was certainly the case for Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) which wanted to go beyond segmenting on the basis of factors such as how much data people wanted, as segments such as this could be equally well served by any of the other providers in the mobile/ broadband category. Segmentations often fail because stakeholders dont believe in them or know how to use them, says David Watts, consumer insight lead in VMO2s insight, strategy and planning team. If we were to succeed, we would need a framework that could help us target audiences effectively, innovate meaningfully and, ultimately, be something that the business would look to for inspiration, direction and confidence. Human-centric design was paramount, and VMO2 worked with Incite (not to be confused with InSites Consulting) to create psychological safety for stakeholders. As Watts explains, this gave them licence to speak candidly and express their needs, hopes and fears, allowing us to determine how the segmentation could be plugged into the practices, processes and culture of the teams. The team looked at how people make decisions, using qualitative research underpinned by behavioural economics. This included looking at individuals relationship with technology and the home, the context in which a device and data connection becomes an important part of their lives. On top of this personal dimension, the team explored a social dimension, delving into how tech-savvy people consider themselves to be and the extent to which they are seen as an authority in the area by friends, family and 26 Impact ISSUE 40 2022_pp22-29_Report.indd 26 13/12/2022 11:34