Researching receptivity to diagnostic technologies
Unilever
Skincare Diagnostics Research
Unilever is interested in better understanding the pragmatic and emotional parameters that define and describe women’s receptivity to diagnostic technologies and their skin care. To meet this objective, Humanfactors conducted qualitative focus groups with 40-55 year old women which were designed to assess the appeal of 5 technology concepts that measure the condition and needs of the skin. The findings were intended to help Unilever identify the elements that invite women to engage with technology in this context, as well as the barriers, and consider the potential for technology-based devices in the marketplace as development moves forward.
Market Immersion
Animal extracts, plant tinctures, devices that vibrate, pinch, and pummel the skin. Manufacturers, spas, and therapies make astonishing product and treatment claims. Immersing ourselves in this market revealed there’s no limit to the ingenuity behind skincare companies’ approach to engaging their users.
Product Analogue
Our research into this unusual marketplace guided our approach on how to engage our focus group participants. We developed a diverse group of skincare product analogues - props that were assigned skin-evaluation capabilities, both real and imagined, so that users could more effectively envision their use. Enabling these users to realistically gamesplay engendered passionate discussions about their personal skin care regimens.
Focus Groups
The skincare analogues did more than provide these women with a physical embodiment of potential beauty products - they elicited detailed discussions about their beauty regimens. From these conversations came the meaning and motivations behind the products these women use, the feelings products invoke, the science that convinces, the marketing that connects.
Concept
Intensive focus groups were sometimes emotional, often intimate, and always informative. Using and discussing the product props enabled participants to develop a dizzying array of products and services - a purse-sized wand to measure oily skin on the go, a bathroom vanity that can record facial aging, a skin-assay card sent to Unilever’s labs for evaluation. These concepts weren’t intended for development - rather, they provided Unilever with insights into the potential for technology-based devices in the marketplace.
