Projective techniques market research

Projective techniques are used in market research to help the interviewer or moderator obtain the 'real views' of a participant which might normally remain hidden. Projective techniques allow respondents to answer questions which may be difficult to respond to verbally in more creative ways.

For instance, views around brand perception can be hard to express, so a respondent might be asked to bring an item to a focus group that they would associate with that brand.

Another example might be a guided trip to a planet or country X, where X is the brand. Respondents might be asked to think about what they saw on the planet, who they spoke to, what the planet looked like from space, what it smelt of, what the air was like in terms of taste, how they felt on arrival and how they felt about leaving. This approach also gives researchers the opportunity to visit other 'brand-planets' – to see the differences between the client planet and competitor planets.

There are numerous other projective techniques including 'moots', or courtroom enactments (respondents are asked to make a case-for, or case-against a particular product or course of action), role plays, brand obituaries, brand parties and withdrawal techniques (i.e. what would life be like without brand X..?).

Projective techniques are often utilised by DJS Research directors in focus groups and in-depth interviews.

Why partner with DJS Research?

We build small, director-led, teams of sector experts who are with you from brief to debrief. As an employee-owned company, every one of us is invested in delivering quality, value, and long-term impact.

From agile testing to deep-dive strategic studies, we design research to meet your specific objectives. The agility of our in-house operations team and strength of our UK-wide recruiter network enable seamless execution at scale.

Our sector-focused teams have decades of experience understanding audiences and the complexities of the markets in which our clients operate. Working collaboratively we deliver actionable insight which drives positive change.

We are small enough. We are big enough. We are DJS Research

We'd love to talk...

Contact us today to discuss your next market research project and discover how we could become a valuable extension of your team.

Contact us today to discuss your next market research project and discover how we could become a valuable extension of your team.