MARKET RESEARCH
SEE HOW WHATSAPP
UNCHAINED THE
FOCUS GROUP
By Ruth Ruigu
N
phone.
ext time you need do a focus
group study, drop the round-
table, and pick up your smart
This, at least, is what a ground
breaking new study by Consumer
Insight is suggesting. And the
finding has shifted perceptions of
how technology and market research
interact; while pointing to a new
future for qualitative methods.
The study involved taking two of
the most popular digital platforms -
Skype and WhatsApp - and running
‘‘ The big question at
the centre of the study
was: “Do technology
driven methods help
focus groups open up
and discuss sensitive
matters?” This
formed the hypothesis
the study sought to
prove.’’
38 MAL 17/17 ISSUE
the same focus group discussion on
them, side by side. As a control, a
traditional face-to-face focus group
was done concurrent to the digital
study; it involved the typical round-
table and moderator.
Skype, from introduction in 2003,
has become a global phone-style
network, used by over 300 million
people. A simple download of the
Skype-client is all it takes to use the
software. Skype allows both video
and audio calls.
WhatsApp, a more recent
innovation, is almost exclusively
smartphone based, and dominates
instant messaging. Its popularity
among young people is higher
than other segments. It too is
available through a free download.
Significantly, this study is one of
the first times that WhatsApp has
been used for qualitative research in
Africa. But what was the focus of
this study?
The big question at the centre of the
study was: “Do technology driven
methods help focus groups open up
and discuss sensitive matters?” This
formed the hypothesis the study
sought to prove.
Digging deeper, the study also
explored the nature of two different
online research platforms: Which
platform performs better for the
moderator? Is there uniformity in
responses of panellists? Is group
proximity still relevant for focus
groups?
On test were two TV
advertisements, one from global
soft drink Pepsi, and one from
Durex (styled as the “No.1 Condom
Brand”). Both were shared to both
digital groups online, and both were
shown by projector to the face-
to-face group. Of note is that the
Durex TVC was highly suggestive,
featuring adventurous sex:
considered sensitive by conservative
African audiences.
And how did the platforms
perform?
Undoubtedly, the WhatsApp group
turned out to be the most open,
especially seen with the Durex ad,
whose racy content was received
negatively by the face-to-face focus
group.