Case studies
What the client needed. What Russell did.
Each case starts with the client's question, then describes the study and its outcome. Some client names are withheld.
- 26 case studies
- 14 industries
- Qual, quant & mixed methods
- Consumer & B2B
Featured cases
Retail · Brand Tracking & Growth Diagnostics
Why sellers were not joining an online marketplace
A large-scale B2B tracker measured the barriers facing several seller audiences and monitored whether the retailer's response was working.
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Health & wellness · Concept & Product Testing
Testing a remote senior-care service before launch
More than 2,000 caregivers and older adults evaluated a remote senior-care service before a national electronics retailer launched it.
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Home improvement · Purchase Journey Research
Nine barriers to buying cabinet hardware
A four-day online forum, including store and online shopping exercises, identified nine barriers and three possible shopper types.
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Technology · Message & Creative Development
Prioritizing feature and offer combinations for a cable provider
Index scores and TURF analysis identified the advertising combinations most likely to prompt action among subscribers and non-subscribers.
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Showing 10 of 26 case studies. Client names are omitted where requested; the summaries are drawn from the engagements.
Travel & tourism · Consumer Tracking tourism through changing conditions A multi-year brand tracker and KPI dashboard put survey findings, hotel occupancy, and website traffic in one view. Brand Tracking & Growth Diagnostics Quantitative Retail · B2B Why sellers were not joining an online marketplace A large-scale B2B tracker measured the barriers facing several seller audiences and monitored whether the retailer's response was working. Brand Tracking & Growth Diagnostics Quantitative Health & wellness · Consumer A new positioning for a recently merged health network Monadic testing and text highlighting showed which parts of three positioning statements were strongest. Concept & Product Testing Quantitative Food & beverage · Consumer Choosing a new BBQ sauce flavor A two-cell in-home usage test compared a new BBQ sauce with the original. The client launched the preferred flavor and later reported higher sales and share. Concept & Product Testing Quantitative Consumer products · Consumer Improving an electric trimmer before full production A one-week in-home trial and follow-up interviews found usability problems while the product could still be changed. Concept & Product Testing Qual + quant Electronics · Consumer Matching three hearing technologies with their audiences A large monadic study compared interest in three hearing technologies across age and hearing-loss groups. Concept & Product Testing Quantitative Manufacturing · B2B Pricing and presenting a new commercial floor cleaner Pricing research identified the strongest price point, while qualitative follow-up explained why the proposed product bundle fell short. Concept & Product Testing Qual + quant Health & wellness · Consumer Testing a remote senior-care service before launch More than 2,000 caregivers and older adults evaluated a remote senior-care service before a national electronics retailer launched it. Concept & Product Testing Quantitative Food & beverage · Consumer Testing a self-serve coffee bar without losing specialty orders An online monadic study compared four virtual coffee-bar setups on likely orders, store appeal, and the expected effect on barista-made coffee. Concept & Product Testing Quantitative Retail · Consumer How beauty shoppers navigated the store and salon Shopalongs in several markets examined navigation, barriers, and the role of the salon in the overall store experience. Purchase Journey Research Qualitative Energy & utilities · B2B + consumer How homeowners and professionals viewed gas heat pumps Interviews with industry professionals and homeowners identified adoption barriers, the purchase journey, and three professional groups whose support mattered. Purchase Journey Research Qualitative Home improvement · Consumer Nine barriers to buying cabinet hardware A four-day online forum, including store and online shopping exercises, identified nine barriers and three possible shopper types. Purchase Journey Research Qual + quant Automotive · Consumer The role of digital tools in the auto shopping journey Qualitative journey work and a quantitative evaluation guided digital features later used on brand websites, apps, and dealer sites. Purchase Journey Research Qual + quant Electronics · Consumer What matters when people shop for headphones A three-day online forum, including a documented store visit, examined headphone needs, touchpoints, and brand choice. Purchase Journey Research Qualitative Consumer products · Consumer A needs-based view of the dairy milk category Qualitative work informed a quantitative segmentation of dairy milk users and a typing tool for later research. Segmentation & Personas Qual + quant Automotive · Consumer Four early segments in the automotive aftermarket A four-day online forum with 27 car owners identified four possible segments and supplied the language and attributes for a quantitative study. Segmentation & Personas Qualitative Media · Consumer Which news readers were most likely to subscribe A national segmentation identified two near-term subscriber audiences, followed by interviews with three priority segments. Segmentation & Personas Qual + quant Media · Consumer Catching a tonal problem before a film promo was finished A monadic survey of three rough cuts identified a tonal problem and an element from another spot that was worth using more widely. Message & Creative Development Quantitative Health & wellness · B2B Choosing a brand story for a healthcare data company A sequential monadic test compared three brand-story directions and measured how each affected perceptions of the company. Message & Creative Development Quantitative Pharma · B2B + consumer Choosing a launch message for patients and professionals Consumer forums and professional interviews narrowed four launch approaches to one, followed by quantitative validation. Message & Creative Development Qual + quant Technology · B2B + consumer How shoppers made sense of a telecom store section Focus groups and store visits tested possible signage and names for a section serving business and consumer shoppers. Message & Creative Development Qualitative Technology · Consumer Prioritizing feature and offer combinations for a cable provider Index scores and TURF analysis identified the advertising combinations most likely to prompt action among subscribers and non-subscribers. Message & Creative Development Quantitative Pharma · B2B Selecting an oncology message across five countries Three stages of qualitative and quantitative research compared concepts with oncology professionals and advocates in five countries. Message & Creative Development Qual + quant Public sector · Consumer The transit proposal with the broadest community appeal Focus groups in four languages compared proposed transit solutions and explained why one had the broadest appeal. Message & Creative Development Qualitative Pharma · Consumer What chronic-pain patients thought of two campaigns A four-day patient forum helped refine one campaign idea and identified two needs that were absent from the original brief. Message & Creative Development Qualitative Consumer products · Consumer Which skin-care ad was worth producing Twenty-five skin-care users spent three days reviewing campaign executions and identified one clear candidate for production. Message & Creative Development Qualitative