Listen sonny, I was out there pleading with people to buy my original oil paintings (# 46 was especially beautiful) before you woke up with the dream of humbly accepting your Loerie at Sun City.
That reminds me, if you ever need to sell door-to-door, here's the insight that even David Ogilvy knew (from his days of selling the Aga stove) - get in the door. "But that's not a deep human truth", I hear you wail.
It is if you're selling on commission.
During my lifetime of keeping creditors at bay, I had the distinct privilege of lecturing at what was a prestigious business school before my arrival. My classes were freshly squeezed out of school and had very little interest in anything that remotely involved cognitive effort. Which means they hated, feared and despised exams. I'm generalising of course, but then in general that was everyone's attitude. Once in a while I needed to convey some important information that necessitated silence. Things like, I have a pain in my chest radiating down my left arm or that Johnny needs all the support he can get at his bail hearing. So, how do I get silence? Simple, I draw on an insight - I calmly state, at the top of my voice, "...concerning the exam ...".
Somehow I always thought I heard a pin drop at this stage.
So, I define consumer insights as ...
1. Understanding (their fear of exams)
2. That can be leveraged for a result (in this case, silence)
3. In a certain dimension of time and space (this would have had little effect the day before the holidays).
Insights are simple when you understand people's motivation. Hence the headline of this article. Or glance at the following:
S_x
Shi_
F__K
I'm sure you thought of six, ship and fork. You humans are so funny - you're walking around with the same software in your heads that was needed when you spent time foraging in small groups. Evolve already.
