Living with type 1 diabetes

Last week, the Open University posted two powerful testimonies from type 1 diabetes patients. 

From diagnosis in childhood to their current young adult lives, they discuss the challenges of living with this condition and getting it understood by others.

For people from the industry, these videos give true insights on how devices and adherence programs, such as smartphone apps, can truly engage patients with the management of their condition and make their lives a little easier.

The author: Axel Rousseau is brand scientist (SRE) at Branding-Science and has been working on international market research and consultancy since 2008.

The value of teamwork

A few weeks ago, one of the workshops we facilitated was introduced to the team with the following video:

The point was to emphasise the value of teamwork:

• Each of these 5 people perfectly play their role in delivering the song
• The coordination of the band doesn't tell how much rehearsal and training has been invested in this video - but we guess it's been hard work!
• They only have one guitar - Even with relatively little means, what a fantastic achievement for these guys!?

Although it is a bit of a long video and everyone got the point in the first minute, I found this example extremely inspiring. To me, it shows that with creativity and the right energy, you can achieve extraordinary results. And what is more relevant when your key challenge is to do more with less?

The author: Axel Rousseau is brand scientist (SRE) at Branding-Science and has been working on international market research and consultancy since 2008.

So what does the Rapid Physician Decision task look like?

A short demo.....

So how does RPD differ from traditional qualitative research techniques and just what does it add? Here’s an example of how it can be used in treatment decision making research based on patient profiles -

-          Physician is presented with a self-guided computer based task

-          The test begins; the physician is presented with a set of patient profiles to read

-          After each, the physician is then asked to pick his 1^st/2^nd/3^rd line of treatment, with a number of treatment options given (to mine real gut instinct and avoid ‘driving blind’ through the test, questions can be time limited and options randomised)

-          Once complete, the moderator has a full set of responses available with which to challenge respondents

And what does it all mean?

This example merely scratches the surface of what RPD can offer. We believe this is real ‘next generation’ market research. For our work in antifungals, it produced thought-provoking results; physicians often contradicted their decision-making in open conversation, providing insight into how decisions are often unconsciously guided by herd behaviour but sometimes difficult to verbalise within discussion.

In our experience, the RPD has enabled us, and our clients, to see beyond the obvious, offering critical ‘actionable commercial insights’.

The author: Ben Jones is Senior Research Executive at Branding Science. He has a special interest in digital and how research can harness new technologies to generate deeper insights.