What we do

At Prism we have a history of developing innovative research products to create better consumer insight. These have included IAT tests, sequential mini depth interviewing, the application of neuroscience to research and pushing the boundaries of online research.

Implicit Research | Quantitative Research | Qualitative Research | Fusion Research

Our international reach

Prism has experience of working around the world; we have run surveys in multiple languages and multi-national qualitative projects, co-ordinating a network of local partner agencies. Recent projects include work in 26 countries for Diageo on the web and focus groups on four continents for Sony Ericsson.

Implicit testing on an international platfrom

Together with Cog Research, we have helped pioneer implicit research tests. We believe that these tests, with their focus on unconscious attitudes and feelings, have great potential for offering insights across markets. While the rational take-out from communications is often influenced by context, the emotional take-out will be be the real test of whether a strategy can work across markets.

We are a founder member of IQ Research, an international network of independent agencies that currently covers 30 countries. We frequently share our work and wisdom with our partners, learning more than we teach when we work internationally.

Implicit Research

Recent understanding of decision making shows that most decisions are made based on what people unconsciously feel rather than what they consciously reason. These feelings are held in the implicit mind.

Over the last 20 years psychologists have developed techniques designed to measure the implicit mind. We have adopted these techniques and used them to go beyond conventional research to discover what people really feel.
Through our sister company Cog Research we now offer 2 implicit tests: the IAT (Implicit Attitude Test) unearths deep rooted feelings, while the IEP (Implicit Explicit Persuasion Test) measures both the implicit and explicit communication of a message. For more details visit Cog Research.

	Working closely with Cog Research, we used IEP tests to determine the reasons why people attend real time events and the beliefs that they formed having visited brand exhibition stalls. Events included The Wine Fair 2010, Master Chef and The Boat Show.
	IEP tests were used to isolate and breakdown emotions and beliefs taken from television ads. We were also able to determine whether purchase intent shifted between users and non-users of Kellogg's.
	For Sky, we developed tests which allowed for four different ads to be compared and conclude as to which was most effective in communicating the desired message.

Quantitative Research

Web based research is the fastest growing area of consumer insight. Our experience is that respondents in web research give much more detailed answers than in conventional interviews. Furthermore, there is clear evidence that well-designed surveys have higher participation and completion rates, yielding better data and user satisfaction scores.

Our surveys are individually designed to be visually stimulating, keeping respondents engaged until the end. We know from our panel partners that Prism surveys benefit from the highest levels of completion (often twice the industry average); as a result we are able to get better value from panels than our competitors.

Have a look at our demo questions and decide if you would rather spend time completing them or a row of tick boxes.

	Our innovative online surveys meant that we could reach out to consumers in overseas markets where traditional research would have struggled to do so previously.
	Prism conducted international research during the MTV European Music Awards in 2009. The vibrant, visually stimulating surveys were completed in Turkish, Polish, Italian and German, generating highly insightful data and top completetion rates.

Qualitative Research

Our qualitative work includes conventional and unconventional focus groups, depth interviews and mini-depths. Our groups can be 1 to 4 hours long, using straightforward enabling techniques, semiotics, conflict and NLP tools depending on the objectives. We continue to pioneer new techniques in group moderation, and are passionate about keeping the group discussion a fresh approach.

In many cases we believe that sequential depth interviews are a better route to solving a problem (especially in communication tests). We have pioneered the short sequential depth interview and can offer a programme of mini-depths at comparable prices and in faster time than conventional groups.

Together with Solutions, Prism assisted COI in gaining deeper insight into opinions and attitudes towards sensitive health topics as well as conducting research into the impact of the Swine Flu pandemic on the nation.

Fusion Research

Fusion research bridges the traditional 'qualitative' and 'quantitative' divide, using a mixture of approaches to create better-rounded and detailed studies.

Recent research for Haymarket combined blogging with focus groups. Online diaries illustrated powerfully respondents' decision-making process when buying a new car. Old research techniques allowed only a snapshot of a respondent's thoughts; our fusion research opens up understanding of the complete picture: shifting views and conflicting influences.

We have conducted interviews in respondents' homes and in web cafes; we have seen through respondents' own eyes with lifestreaming from pocket video cameras. Successful projects have been created for clients as varied as BT, P&G and the COI.

	A combination of interviews, focus groups, online diary, texting and skype chats allowed us to be able to moniter the process of researching and buying a new car as it happens, in real-time.
	Online diary and home visitations were used to gain a thorough understanding of people's awareness of and attitudes towards regulation and responsibility when using the internet, television or radio.