Exploring the Rural/Urban Divide: When Flyover Country isn’t Flown Over Anymore
May 13, 2020
As part of our research on the impact of coronavirus on the consumer marketplace, we have been tracking which government and health agencies people view as responsible for managing the response to the outbreak, and how they rate these agencies’ performance. Our data reveals a significant divide in patterns between rural, urban, and suburban attitudes Read more
From Face Masks to EMT Teams: Personal Control and Its Impact on Reopening
May 1, 2020
For more than a month much the country has been in ‘lockdown’ due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now the process of reopening is beginning, with some states starting to loosen their stay-at-home measures. As we noted last week, our ongoing research into public perceptions of the coronavirus outbreak shows the public is starting to think Read more
Cracks in the Ice: What Consumers Think about Reopening America
April 22, 2020
Since early March, MAi Research has been conducting a tracking study to understand people’s reactions to the coronavirus outbreak, delivering insights to clients and businesses. We’ve been delving deep into the emotional side of this crisis, and with recent increasing pressure to “reopen America” we decided to shift our research toward understanding attitudes and emotions Read more
A Shared Reaction: The Universal Response to Coronavirus
April 17, 2020
You may be familiar with the “Choose Your Quarantine House” meme that’s been making the social media rounds recently; the premise is to create different “Big Brother” type houses filled with diverse personalities that may clash with each other when forced to live under lockdown. From sports figures to philosophers, entertainers to politicians, variations create Read more
Bored and Anxious, but Holding onto Hope – Consumers’ Emotional Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
April 9, 2020
As part of our continuing exploration of consumers’ behaviors and attitudes during the current COVID-19 outbreak, MAi/Pathfinder has used our unique methods to explore the emotional impact the current situation is having on the public. In our tracking study we are asking consumers to describe in detail their current feelings and state of mind as Read more
Consumers Foresee a More Cautious Future
April 1, 2020
Consumers Foresee a More Cautious Future As COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), continues to spread across the globe, MAi/Pathfinder have been busy conducting research to try and understand the resulting impact on the American consumer’s behaviors and attitudes. One of the topics we’re exploring is the long-term social impact that consumers anticipate Read more
Millennials are not Monolithic: Dispelling the Millennial Myth
March 9, 2020
What do you think when you hear the term millennials? Maybe you are a millennial yourself. If so, you know that not everything they say is true about all Millennials – or even most. Today, we are going to debunk some of the common myths about the millennial generation, starting with the myth that it Read more
Adapting and Coping with Cultural Change
January 15, 2020
COPING WITH CULTURAL CHANGE It’s said that death and taxes are life’s only certainties, but we’d like to add shifting cultural attitudes to that list — after all, the things people embrace or reject change over time, often in unexpected ways. And even the most successful businesses need to be able to cope with these Read more
What Drives Positive Product Reviews?
July 11, 2019
There’s no question that online product reviews are a great way to measure consumers’ reactions to a product. But while the average rating score might tell us what consumers think about a particular product, it doesn’t tell us why. And how can a company improve a product or its messaging without knowing why it’s satisfying Read more
The Difference Between Strategy and Tactics
June 12, 2019
Businesses always talk about strategy and tactics, but sometimes the terms get confused and are thought to be interchangeable. It is important to understand that the two terms are different, but both are equally important for successful branding. So what exactly are the differences between strategy and tactics? Strategy vs. Tactics Strategy defines your brand’s goals Read more
Where Did Game of Thrones Go Wrong?
May 29, 2019
As the dust settles on the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones fan reactions are sharply divided, with some calling the conclusion rushed and nonsensical, while others seem perfectly satisfied with it. But the numbers don’t lie — season eight is generating much lower scores on both IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes than any of Read more
Should A Brand Care About Social Currency?
May 9, 2019
Social currency is a buzzword you may have heard before, but few businesses really understand what social currency is and how they can lever it to generate awareness and sales. But a brand that can translate social currency into sales may have found how to spin straw into gold. Social Currency: What Is It, And Read more
Can Today’s AI Speak English?
April 25, 2019
We can communicate instantly with anyone in the world, which means quick and automatic translation has nearly become a necessity. Over the past 15 years, services like Google Translate have brought machine translation into our lives, and have improved communication across the globe. But even as machine translation technology gets better, there’s still a lot Read more
What Final Twist Does Game of Thrones Have In Store?
April 11, 2019
A Social Media Analysis of Fan Expectations (Note: This article may — or may not — contain spoilers for the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones.) With the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones upon us, fan speculation has reached a fever pitch. How will this epic tale, 8 years in the telling, Read more
“Bottoms-Up,” Amazon, and Google: Eyes Wide Open
March 14, 2019
Steve Jobs once famously said: “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” These words have been quoted and re-quoted thousands of times, often framed as a visionary pronouncement from an idealistic genius. And yet, apart from the perhaps self-deceptive conclusions that many entrepreneurs have drawn from them, they contain an Read more
Emotion Marketing: Using Emotion to Carry Your Message
February 28, 2019
The last time you went car shopping, did you notice something interesting about the front of all the cars you saw? How some cars looked like they had friendly faces, with upward curving grilles and wide headlights to make them look like they were smiling at you? Or how other cars have a glaring headlight and angry Read more
Drinking with Feeling: How Emotions Impact Spirits Consumption
February 12, 2019
MAi Research recently conducted exploratory research to better understand the Millennial consumer’s shifting consumption patterns in the alcoholic beverage category — particularly the emotional aspect of the drinking occasion and how it affects beverage selection.
Introducing Pathfinder
January 25, 2019
Too many solutions and research firms remain very good at answering the questions related to the who, what, when, where, and how. However, they often fail to answer the most important question: the why.
Challenges and Implications during the COVID-19 Outbreak
March 27, 2020
Observation: Prior to the outbreak, many companies were focused on how to encourage more online shopping. During the current situation, consumers are shopping and communicating using online channels like never before. Observation: These changing behaviors are bringing not just new consumers to the table, but new segments. Significant numbers of consumers – across ages, genders, Read more
The Goldilocks Principle: Finding the ‘Just Right’ Spot
February 20, 2020
Much of the human experience resembles a bell curve: things on the upward slope might not be interesting at all, while move too far to the right and things can get downright scary. This is true for brands and products as well. What is a brand’s sweet spot? How can a company assess factors like Read more
A Brand Apart: How Brands Can Stand Out from the Competition
February 5, 2020
Rising above and standing apart are critically important in today’s increasingly crowded market. Going with the flow and being part of the crowd are recipes for a failing brand. But how, specifically, can a brand set itself apart? Be Different We often associate products with a particular feeling or attitude. Mattresses = comfort. Roses = Read more
