The challenge

Wall Street Journal is one of the most respected newspaper brands globally. But like many other sectors, media is undergoing rapid digital transformation. The Wall Street Journal wanted to understand how its digital experience was perceived and how it could be optimized going forwards.

What we did

We embarked on the Wall Street Journal’s biggest ever piece of consumer research at the time, engaging over 5,000 respondents, spanning current, lapsed and prospective customers. To understand perceptions of and attitudes towards the Wall Street Journal and its digital products, we used a range of methodologies, including surveys, focus groups and in-depth interviews. By combining this with passive tracking, and UX testing, we were able to go beyond what consumers say, and understand how they really interact with Wall Street Journal’s digital portfolio.

The impact of the research

As a result of the research, Wall Street Journal has been able to better understand the role and interplay of its products and identify opportunities for further development to drive retention and acquisition. This has been translated into a new digital product strategy, that has shaped decisions on everything from the products and formats the Wall Street Journal produces, right through to the user experience.

Kadence were an excellent partner on this project; they took time to really understand our business challenges, and developed a research approach that would tackle the exam question from all directions.  The impact of the work is still being felt now, several years later.

Customer Intelligence Director
Wall Street Journal

The challenge

As school systems in the US struggle to fund programs and services, teens are left with access to limited resources to help guide their plans for the future. Agencies, both not-for-profit and for-profit, provide tools, questionnaires and information, but few do so in a way that takes the unique preferences of this digital-native generation to heart. American Student Assistance set out to create a planning tool, called Futurescape, which would be highly engaging to teens, providing them with valuable resources to make informed decisions to achieve their education and career goals.

What we did

Our approach was multi-faceted. We first carried out a large, independent online survey with middle schoolers and teens in the US. With this, we helped ASA understand teens deeply – their thoughts and struggles, their successes, sources for advice they trust, among many other topics. We also engaged 90 teens in a week-long online community to dig deeper on these topics and create a video summary for key stakeholders at ASA, bringing them closer to their audience. In parallel, we hosted focus groups with teens to review early designs of the tool itself which informed further design planning.

The impact of the research

Guided by insights from the research, Futurescape has been launched and is helping teens navigate toward their future. Marketing efforts are underway, with Kadence continuing to support American Student Assistance by tracking ongoing awareness and perceptions to understand how well marcomms around the tool are working. What’s more, ASA has leveraged what they’ve learned through social media posts and more formal reports, supporting their position as a respected thought leader.

Kadence were an excellent partner on this project; they took time to really understand our business challenges, and developed a research approach that would tackle the exam question from all directions.  The impact of the work is still being felt now, several years later.

Customer Intelligence Director
Wall Street Journal

The challenge

While Singapore Management University (SMU) has been clear/strong in their positioning/marketing of their undergraduate program, the nature and content of the Post-Graduate Program (both Masters and Doctorate) is fundamentally different, which meant that there was a need to investigate whether there are any existing brand attributes that can be similarly extended to the Post-Graduate Program, and find resonance with past and current students, as well as potential applicants.

What we did

The broad scope of the study, across respondent types and geographies, meant that the research approach needs to be tailored accordingly as well.

For the Post-Graduate Program track, in Singapore, 2 focus groups were conducted with alumni and current students, while 6 employers of Post-Graduate Program graduates were interviewed on the telephone to gather their thoughts on working with the SMU Post-Graduate Program candidates. Online surveys were also circulated amongst the SMU Post-Graduate faculty to get their perceptions of the various brand attributes. Outside of Singapore, online surveys were done with current students and alumni, as well as prospective students. For the Post-Graduate Program track, phone interviews were carried out with employers and peers of the graduates from the program, while an online survey was conducted with alumni as well.

The impact of the research

Findings from the study provided guidance to the university, by calling out which of the internal branding attributes resonated most with the various stakeholders. This, in turn, made next steps clearer, and they were able to proceed with their plans to reinforce Post-Graduate branding in the future.

The challenge

Vital Strategies is one of the biggest NGOs with its head office in the US. It has a focus on the anti-tobacco sector but with ever evolving consumer perceptions towards smoking, and with the changing laws regarding smoking in India, it’s important to check the comprehension, understanding and potential effectiveness of communications and collateral and to assess the potential for ads to have the desired impact on attitudinal and behavioral intentions.

What we did

We conducted 28 focus groups among tobacco and non-tobacco users using a hybrid methodology to understand the effectiveness of communication material and to explore any negative connotations or responses amongst the target audience.

The impact of the research

As a result of this study, Vital Strategies has been able to better understand the comprehension, understanding and potential effectiveness of its communications material. Through the research, Vital Strategies could check relevance, memorability and the potential for ads to change attitudes and behaviours. This has helped Vital Strategies to refine the communication materials, using these in mass media to drive the desired changes.

Kadence team is more like a partner to us. We have run a number of projects together and … the pro-activeness, out of the box thinking and delivering in spite of tight deadlines are some of the key reasons we always reach out to them.

Vital Strategies