The audience of 30 or so women bursts into enthusiastic applause. They thought they'd signed up for another boring focus group. But instead, they're the stars of a TV show. Today's topic: car companies and their ads. The two-and-a-half-hour conversation is filled with fun bits -- like "the good-, the bad-, and the ugly-o-meter," which lets audience members rate ads based on how those ads portray women. Quinlan bounds around the set with a wireless mic. And a question as simple as: "What did you think of that ad?" brings heated responses: "I can't relate to it at all," says one woman. "It's definitely geared toward the male population."
Like any good talk show, this one has an element of true confession: "I get orgasmic when I drive my car!" admits one audience member. Another, more sheepish participant adds, "When I turned 40, I couldn't get my 40-year-old ass into the Camaro anymore." That comment inspires laughs, a consoling "I know what you mean!," and a hug from the host.
The logic behind such offbeat programming is simple: If you want to design products that are relevant to women, you've got to understand how your women customers think. If you want to understand how they think, you've got to engage them in compelling conversation. The problem with focus groups, argues Quinlan, is that they are often more like police interrogations than inviting dialogues: "Because focus groups are designed to be analytical, they treat participants as if they are lab rats. What we're trying to do is to put women in a relaxed situation so that they can communicate openly."
Quinlan, the former CEO of N.W. Ayer & Partners, the country's oldest advertising agency, spent 10 years in sales motivation and marketing at Avon before she joined the ad business. So she knows a lot about listening to women customers. "During our shows, you can watch the conversational train of thought build until the women have created what they believe to be the truth," she says. "I have much more confidence making recommendations based on that experience than based on three people responding to a focus-group question." Now you're talking.
You can reach Mary Lou Quinlan by email (mquinlan@nwayer.com).
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