“We don’t think like the dinosaur-like ad agency, but rather as anthropologists; culturists.” That’s what CEO of ad agency Strawberry Frog Steve Hardwick had to say about separating a trend from an insight at the New York PSFK trend conference back in March. “The agency world has grown less-then curious, blindly following trends and [forgetting] their cultural meaning.”
Hardwick went on to say that he’s never been to a focus group that he’s learned anything from on account of it being too artificial. He noted how research initially indicated that ATMs would never work. “Sometimes, you need to take a leap.”
Frog instead relies on “more meaningful dialogues,” such as ethnographies, talking to people online and asking them questions. “We try to learn. Not TEST.”
Go, Strawberry Frog.
Watch the panel here.
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