#versaresearch

‘Red Bull gives you wings...Unleash the beast...Drinks like a soda, kicks like an energy drink...’ one thing is for sure, Energy Drinks are intended to boost your energy, alertness and concentration.  

In addition to Caffeine the main ingredient, Energy Drinks, are also made up of are sugar (sucrose & glucose), Taurine, Vitamin B and so on. 

The bone of contention on whether energy drinks are good or bad is as a result of the Caffeine. Caffeine, the main ingredient is said to be the cause of health concerns especially when this main ingredient is mixed with other ingredients. 

A can of Energy Drink contains as much as 500 mg of caffeine which is equivalent to five cups of coffee. The jury is still out but the recommended maximum amount of coffee per day is 3-4 cups. 

Within the last 20 years, Energy Drinks have become a club mixer where people are mixing this stimulant with Alcohol which is a depressant. 

When the stimulant and depressant are mixed, you become something we call ‘wide awake drunk’ making you feel like you can drink more than you normally would. You are also more likely to have psychological and physiological conditions such as anxiety, panic, nausea, heart palpitations. 

Energy drinks will help you overcome fatigue, especially when you are in your late 20s upwards, wake up at ungodly hours to get to work on time, spend countless hours in Lagos Traffic on your way home and then your University friends come to town - you don’t have a choice! Have to show them a good time.   

So let’s throw it out to you, do you consume Energy Drinks? And how do you consume them?

Hey Foodies, ‘good food tastes good’

We conducted a focus group session with Chefs/Caterers and we asked them the same question thrown to you:

 Are they willing to share their recipes?

Interestingly, majority were not comfortable with the idea of sharing their recipes because they see it as the core of their business; the recipe was not easy to come by, hence their unwillingness to share. 

What consumers say is not necessarily what they do! So what do we do when the goal of brands is to understand the needs and desires of their target audience? Don’t worry Neuroscience and Technology are standing poised to revolutionize the way we sell and market. 

Neuromarketing has been around for roughly a decade but most companies in Nigeria are yet to leverage on this technology when designing their products, websites, advertising campaigns and packaging. 

Neuromarketing uses Neuroscience (Brain Research) to reveal subconscious consumer decision-making processes.

Unlike traditional market research, Neuromarketing derives data  from observations of respondents’ unconscious reactions.

So what are the technological tools used in Neuromarketing?

They include Mouse Tracking, Eye Tracking, Facial Coding and Brain Activity Measurement/ Electroencephalography (EEG).

Neuromarketing is very helpful in gathering in-depth actionable insights about your product, packaging, product placement, advertising, interface and so on.

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Yep! No idea what I just wrote. But Consultants swear by Chatbot. By the way that was a Chatbot code. 

According to Oxford Dictionary, Chatbot is “a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the Internet.” Chatbots enable brands to communicate efficiently with their customers. For customers, it provides them with information quickly and directly from the brand.  Also, for them the novelty and uniqueness of Chatbots sparks curiosity. People want to try something new and different from the norm. 

The idea of machines doing the work of humans has often been a controversial topic and has been a bone of contention whether its use should be encouraged or discouraged. 

In Nigeria, the scepticism that surrounds this technology is the fear of loss of human employees as they will be replaced by Chatbots. But, it is pertinent to note that Chatbots are designed to support, not replace.

‘According to Fei-Fei Li, AI is everywhere. It is not that big, scary thing in the future. AI is here with us.’ Yay or nay?

There is a lot of buzz globally around Artificial Intelligence (AI) but what exactly is AI and is it here for good.

AI is basically intelligence displayed by machines. And why is this important? Because the intelligence showed by machines allows us to learn from the past experiences, create new processes and the machine will execute them efficiently and effectively. 

For us in Market Research, we can use the machines to help us learn more about customers, using their customer data (eg data you provide when you sign up for loyalty programs). With these learnings we can anticipate their next move and make their journey easier.