SPARK was founded in 2009 because we believed then – as we do now – that there is a much better way to create and test brand ideas than the standard focus group.
Focus groups are largely a rational, verbal exercise - fine for some types of discussion but unsatisfying when it comes to exploring ideas or creative work.
Simply put, people are highly visual and rather irrational, and that is reflected in the way they make decisions about brands. Purchase behavior is often based on emotional associations, one's history with the brand in question, and all kinds of impulse factors that can't be measured through verbal questioning and surveys
That's why SPARK created the SENSORY SAFARI™. It's an immersive exercise that uses sensory stimuli to evoke people's genuine reactions to ideas. Carefully styled sensory stations give people a visual "language" that allows them to express their own individual, visceral feedback on brands and creative ideas using music, textures, colors, food and drink, photographs and art. Part of the beauty of the SENSORY SAFARI™ is that it relies on symbols and semiotic interpretation, allowing each study to transcend language barriers and look at patterns globally as we expose the same stimuli to people in various cultures.
Increasingly, we are also developing new services to meet the needs of clients both large and small that need to expand beyond borders. SPARK has conducted work all around the world, from Shanghai to Munich, to São Paulo (Zimbabwe is coming up this year).