Shoreditch Insight Hunters

This week 99Shoreditch went to visit another local company bursting with new ideas and a unique perspective on the world.

BAMM describe themselves as a Global Consumer Insight Agency, who advise clients on brand strategy worldwide. Whilst this sounds very impressive, we didn’t really understand what made them different until they showed us how they go about gaining these insights. And that’s kind of the point - they are Visual Thinkers, people who think in pictures as well as words. People who like to actively show and tell, rather than passively report.

                                                                                   

In the old days of research a big qualitative study of consumer behaviour might have involved lots of focus groups in sterile research facilities, with clients eating curly sandwiches behind a two way mirror. BAMM have disrupted this market by embracing two key elements – creativity and technology.

BAMM properly get under the skin of consumers by adopting an ethnographic approach – spending time with people and observing not just what they say, but what they do (often without them even knowing it). All of this is captured on film and then edited into something simple and engaging to watch. 

It is interesting that it is not just small, forward thinking companies who use BAMM’s insights, they also have plenty of big corporate clients looking for new ways to connect with their customers. HSBC, Unilever, Shell and Nike all recognise that as the world is changing, so must the way we research, analyse and record that world.

The example that Anthony Martin, co-founder, gave us was a worldwide project examining people’s complex relationships with luxury brands. It is a given that these consumer goods function as status symbols, but the way people interact with them around the world has subtle differences. For example, did you know that in France the way you really show discernment is through the lemon curd you buy? Whilst mass manufactured goods can be appropriated by anyone with enough cash, real taste is apparently knowing high end niche producers that are recognisably ’the best’ within certain social groups. 

There are also regional differences that only a more anthropological approach can discover. Respondents in Europe and Asia may be buying into the same Gucci brand, but until you have been through their wardrobe and asked them to pull together an evening outfit, you would not know that the more extrovert Europeans wear their branding discreetly on the inside, whilst the more introverted Asian market wear theirs on the outside with pride. 

And the best thing about these little insights is that they get turned into beautifully made films and gorgeous stills for presentations to show to all stakeholders across the business – from the FD to the factory floor. As Anthony explains ‘you can say a lot in a 3 minute video, plus it is instantly available to markets all over the world at the same time.’

BAMM admit there is still a long way to go and many companies still revert to the default focus groups, but they want to open clients’ eyes to all the amazing possibilities that there are out there – from life logging to motion sensors cameras.

New technologies and creativity are the reasons BAMM chose to work in Shoreditch. “It seemed like a place where things were happening  - like it held promise. It was 2008 and we were a new, small company – we knew we wanted to do things differently and so it suited our ethos and approach, plus the rents were cheap! The creative flair here also means we have a big pool of talent to dip into when we need great freelance videographers or photographers.

BAMM are very aware of how Shoreditch is changing, “It will be interesting to see if the area can reinvent itself and retain its edgy cool with all the big brands and companies moving in. There are different areas that people are starting to talk about – Southwark  has some interesting stuff going on, so I couldn’t say for sure where BAMM will  be in the future”. 

We liked meeting BAMM, one of the hundreds of small to medium sized businesses that still make Shoreditch a hub of creative and independent thinking. Plus, we liked their philosophy of ‘See More’ – we left their offices with our eyes just a little bit wider and a bit more aware of everything going on around us.

Watch their film here or contact them http://bammlondon.com/about/


Photography by @BAMM and @shootbernard