Truths about ‘insights’

Let’s get the most agreeable truth about ‘insight’ out of the way – it is a much often used, overused, and abused word.

Agreed! But since we haven’t learnt to discuss advertising without this word, let’s continue on this topic.

There are two more, perhaps equally obvious, truths about insight. But they don’t get talked about much; hence, this post.

One, not every ad campaign needs an insight.
Sometimes, a great ad campaign is great simply because it’s a fresh idea or fresh storytelling. The first TVC of Sony Bravia just showed colourful balls filling up the streets of a small town; it was brilliant art direction. ‘Chal Meri Luna’ and ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ became path-breaking campaigns because of brilliant copywriting. Calling a memorable moment a ‘Kodak moment’ is brilliant marketing. There’s no consumer insight in the ad. Creatives, planners, and servicing people know this, understand, and even accept this truth. A few clients would, too. Most others can’t. They would probably get nightmares if they were told that their ad agency would be presenting a script without an insight behind the idea. Nevertheless, if it’s a fresh idea, it would work even without an insight.

The second truth: Insights don’t and can’t exist in isolation.
Have you ever tried to think of insights without a brand or product in mind? Try it... in vain.

Because we think insights are about consumers, we believe that they are independent of brands and products. But they aren’t. When CEAT Tyres said “the streets are filled with idiots”, it said so because the brand offer was safer tyres. When Tata Sky said “Poochhne mein kya jaata hai”, it said so because consumers considered the brand so premium, they didn’t ask about its packages and prices when they were out to buy an inexpensive DTH service. Olx says ‘Bech De’ because it relies on people growing distant from their possessions to the point that they want to dispose them of, at a small price. Would these insights mean anything without the brand offer?

This brings us to the most controversial aspect of insights – their definition.
Based on truth no. 2, we know that we would have to consider both the brand / product and the consumers to be able to arrive at an insight.

Hence, here’s what I propose:
An ‘insight’ is an already-known truth about consumers that makes the brand proposition compelling and irresistible to them.

This truth could be how consumers use the product, how they buy it, or even the emotions and imagery around the brand that is offering the product. But it can’t be bereft of the brand / product. If it is, it’s just great storytelling at work, not insightful.

What do you think?

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This is my post on LinkedIn. It has been cross-posted here so that it has its own URL.