Insanity isn’t loud.
It’s quiet. Methodical. Dressed in self-assurance and a really confident PowerPoint.
👉 Brands do the same thing over and over and genuinely believe this time will be different.
It won’t be.
And nowhere is that more obvious than in how they do consumer research. Same questions. Same format. Same moderator voice. Same awkward focus group room with the cheap snacks and the one-way mirror.
“What do you value in a product like this?”
“How does it compare to similar products?”
“What would make you choose this over other brands?”
You know what those questions get you? The same answers your competitors got. The same ones that you got last year. And the year before that.
You’re not doing research. You’re confirming what you already know.
The brands that actually learn something? They burn the questionnaire playbook.
They get hyperlocal and hyper-relevant. “What does this product mean to THIS neighborhood, THIS community, THIS moment in time?”
They get emotional. “What would you lose if this brand disappeared tomorrow?”
They get weird. “If this brand were a person, would you trust them to babysit your kid?”
THAT’S where the insight lives. The stuff that doesn’t look like everyone else’s stuff. The answer that makes the room go quiet for a second.
Most brands aren’t willing to go there.
Because brave questions get brave answers — and brave answers demand brave action.
So here’s the only question that matters before you go back into the field:
👉 Are we actually ready to hear something new?
If the answer is no — save your budget. You already know what’s coming.
Tripp Westbrook is an innovative, convention-breaking agency leader and President/Chief Creative Officer of Firehouse . His creativity has been recognized by virtually every major advertising award show, but it’s his thought leadership and expertise in challenging category norms that have been the real difference maker for both his clients and his agency.
