Sometimes the study is not the problem. The report is sound, the presentation goes well, and then the findings drift out of view as everyone returns to day-to-day work.
An activation workshop puts the people who will use the research in a room together to work with it. Once the group has to build an idea or choose a priority, differences in how people read the findings tend to surface.
Russell facilitates these workshops for clients, although teams can also run them internally. They can be used to:
- Build product ideas
- Socialize research insights
- Develop strategic action plans connected to research insights
- Develop empathy for your customers and target audience
- Develop new messaging or positioning ideas
- Analyze competition and competitive activity
Workshops can be conducted online or face-to-face. If the workshop is online, the workshop facilitator will need an assistant to do tech support and handle some of the logistics, like setting up and activating breakout teams.
Planning a workshop can take a significant amount of time, but it also doesn’t have to. Don’t dismiss the idea of doing a workshop just because you don’t have much time to plan it—just set expectations for yourself and others that the stimuli used during the workshop will come straight from the pages of the research report. In other words, you’re not going to spend extra time redesigning slides or curating case studies from the outside world to incorporate into the workshop activities.
One of the most important steps in planning your activation workshop is setting objectives. Tight, focused objectives will help you and the team stay focused. However, you must also be realistic. If you have three hours with your team, having an objective of, for example, “creating new product ideas based on the learnings from the research” is too broad. Instead, set a goal such as “create new product ideas for one particular need state or customer segment.” Or focus just on creating ideas to attract potential/new customers versus thinking about everybody.
Our downloadable guide, 9 Tips for Building an Activation Workshop, covers the following:
- Tip #1: Map Your Route
- Tip #2: Get the Wheels Turning
- Tip #3: Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
- Tip #4: Light the Spark
- Tip #5: Chunk It Up
- Tip #6: Share the Love
- Tip #7: Keep the Ball Rolling
- Tip #8: Pick the Cream of the Crop
- Tip #9: Build It So They Will Come
Talk with Russell about planning or facilitating an activation workshop.
You can also read the activation workshop guide online.