Antedote

Please describe your company and your position there.

Oakley is a sunglass, ophthalmic eyewear, and sports equipment manufacturer headquartered in Foothill Ranch, CA. I am the Sr Manager of User Experience at Oakley. Our team identifies user needs for physical and wearable digital products.

For what projects/services did your company hire Antedote, and what were your goals?

We hired Antedote to perform remote user testing and uncover user needs/unmet needs and provide feedback to Oakley/Intel to make improvements to the software. Antedote organized access to five countries: USA, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. On a second study, we hired Antedote to help us understand cyclists, golfers, and general urbanites needs for bluetooth connected sunglasses. On a third study, we hired Antedote to organize user interviews with women in London, U.K. and Barcelona, Spain, to help us understand women's mental model for choosing sunglasses.

How did you select Antedote and what were the deciding factors?

In 2012 I read an article that Anne L. had written for Core77 about remote ethnography. I was so interested and impressed in what she was doing (innovation through users) that I called her to learn more. A year later I was invited into the Radar Pace project. This global innovation team desperately needed remote user testing and I knew that Antedote would be the perfect fit. Anne is quick on her feet, she's international, and a fun and gregarious teammate who's also firm on what needs to be done.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

For RadarPace Antedote was hired to recruit runners and cyclists who will enlist in a six week training plan created by software, and then keep said runners and cyclists engaged during the length of the study. Antedote created the entire study design, screener, questionnaire, and developed relationships with each of the recruits. Antedote evaluated user pain points with the hardware, Radar Pace Application on iOS and Android, and software. We had a weekly call to discuss updates from both sides. Antedote provided a complete picture of the user experience including user summaries, transcripts, and customer segmentation of the users.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Anne Lacey was our main interface, but during our calls and in-person meetings there were at least two other Antedote employees that interfaced with us regularly; UX researchers and innovation consultants, interview moderators, coordinators, etc.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We started Radar Pace with Antedote hoping for a good working relationship, and I think everyone on the project would agree that at the end of the project we enjoyed a strong partnership together. Oakley was doing a parallel study using our internal employees and coming to many of the same results. Antedote went far beyond beta testing and drilled down into features and benefits, identified contextual insights, product insights to inform software development, and clearly spelled out the core target and translated their needs, attitudes and desires so that we could inform the sprint team and create a blueprint for Radar Pace.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

They are a master communicator who can put the team at ease and also get things done. Everything was on the table --voice, texts, email, weekly phone conferences complete with presentation updates.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The day that we were to begin $45K of individual in-depth interviews at an off-site market research facility, our software crashed. We were at risk of losing the entire research investment. Anne was quick on her feet and figured out that we didn't need the software at all --that we could draw decisions on paper and ask the users which direction they'd like to go next. While this crash seemed disastrous at first, the crash actually saved the project. We didn't need the software at all----and we'd have saved over a year of development if we'd done it this analog way at the beginning. Anne saved us, and I'm forever grateful and I am forever impressed by her quick thinking in a very stressful situation.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Anne and Antedote exceeded our expectations on all of the projects we've enjoyed together. I wish I could work with her more often!!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product innovation manager for Logitech. We primarily make iPad keyboard cases and accessories.

What challenge were you trying to address with Antedote?

We needed market research and consumer insight work done.

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the first project, Antedote did market research. They held workshops for team members and stakeholders, sharing their findings, addressing any questions, and allowing us to make necessary course corrections.

The team provided a detailed report at the end of the project, consisting of more than 250 slides.

They are currently doing qualitative research focused on customer insight. They did exclusive online studies with 50 people who met the criteria. From those 50, they did in-depth interviews with 10 of them to get understanding of their iPad use, including length of time, purpose, etc.

Based on their findings, they helped us develop a questionnaire that will be sent out to a broader audience.

What is the team composition?

We are currently working with two qualitative researchers, a quant/statistics expert, and the founder of the company. 

How did you come to work with Antedote?

I was impressed by their skills when they worked with a previous employer of mine.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $370,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around December 2019, and it’s ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

There has been a shift in the team’s mindset since working with them, regarding the value of user research and consumer insight, and its practical applications. Some of my team has expressed excitement to see results of our current phase, so we can know which concepts to further develop to match our customers’ needs.

How did Antedote perform from a project management standpoint?

Antedote have been transparent, flexible and adaptable to our needs, especially surrounding COVID. They adjusted work around that, and were quite professional in helping us achieve our goals. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism and transparency are impressive. I appreciate that they’re always willing to set aside time to talk with us. There is also a lot of value for the cost.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been a few minor issues, but we have worked on it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about business goals and objectives. Present them with a clear brief.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior product marketing manager for a memorialization company that provides families a unique offering to remember loved ones.

What challenge were you trying to address with Antedote?

We had a very successful regional business and were looking to expand it nationally. That was the challenge that Antedote helped address along with addressing where we wanted to go, who to target, and how to speak to our target audience.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Upon the engagement, we gave Antedote some initial information. Essentially, we had little to no research but we shared what we had and it was very collaborative from then on. They mapped out the top questions we wanted to be answered and designed a methodology that’d answer those questions.

They were a key player in implementation, and we did qualitative research on a digital platform they coded. The Antedote team also recruited participants for that piece of research. We conducted in-person focus groups, which they facilitated. Lastly, we did a 5,000-person survey, which they recruited for and hosted the digital platform.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Adam (Founding Partner) and Bec (Partner). We also had specialists helping us during different phases, including Riki (Innovation Director) and Neal (Director).

How did you come to work with Antedote?

We worked with a research consultant to help find and choose Antedote. This was the first time our company was doing a major piece of research, and we wanted someone with expertise. Antedote came highly recommended by our consultant. We interviewed a few research firms that our consultant recommended, and Antedote was the right fit.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement was from December 2019–August 2020. We occasionally email back and forth about minor questions.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Their research has been instrumental. We were able to confidently plan our 2021 roadmap. Our team has written marketing materials and email campaigns using their feedback. Those efforts generated many times the number of booked appointments than previously run campaigns.

How did Antedote perform from a project management standpoint?

They were professional and organized. It was clear in the pitching phase that this was not the strong suit of the other agencies we were considering. It was really important to me that I could trust our partner to stick to deadlines or tell me if we were running behind, and Antedote was very capable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What set them apart was their strength in both qualitative and quantitative research. Our topic is memorialization, and if there aren’t strong qualitative researchers, it’s a difficult topic to get people to open up about and to dig deeper to find those patterns. We needed someone that was experienced and able to accomplish this all while keeping a scientific mindset. I was very impressed with how Antedote was able to do qualitative research.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing that could’ve improved was their presentation style. This wasn’t a huge issue though. Their findings were so robust that I’d often have to redesign a slide if I was presenting it to our leadership team.

This was often because it’d have too much information or unclear key takeaways and summaries. But, if I had to choose one or the other, I’d much rather have more information that I have to edit down.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Identify the open questions you have across your company. Antedote did a skillful job of helping us get the directional answers to questions that were held across the company.

This really helped with buy-in when the results came because we were able to offer these helpful insights to the marketing and sales departments as well as our real estate and product teams. Don’t limit your scope to the point that it hurts your ability to get company-wide buy-in.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a global consumer products company specializing in homeowner and professional outdoor power equipment. I am head of a professional business unit and based in Sweden.

For what projects/services did your company hire Antedote?

Our company needed expert assistance in defining our target customer's personas so we could start the process of reaching them better through quality marketing & communications. Based on the high quality of the work, we expanded the work with Antedote to include persona driven product development roadmaps.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to find cross-company alignment around how we were to approach, connect with and support our target customers.

How did you select Antedote?

Antedote was selected after rigorous research and via referrals.

Describe the project in detail.

The scope of the project included market research and customer interviews from all over the world. My role was to lead the product development arm of that research while acting as a subject matter expert for our marketing team. Antedote performed the research and delivered a detailed persona overview, a communication strategy as well as detailed roadmaps for product development aligned to the research.

What was the team composition?

Antedote's team was small but extremely professional and effective.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have now executed a new communications strategy and product development roadmap based partially and in some cases wholly on the results of the research.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Antedote took the lead from the beginning but was always open to our input for the best way to manage the project. They also challenged us along the way to think differently when necessary.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

As I said to them, 'I have been in this industry for 20 years and I have never had a research firm provide such high quality, accurate and excellent work'.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The project, research and deliverables were perfect. Well done and the materials were detailed and organized ready to present around the organization.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I lead the consumer insights department at a medium size global food and beverage company

For what projects/services did your company hire Antedote?

Our company need help understanding our consumer segments, their tensions, how our company could help. As we look to grow and reach new households, understanding these segments is a key foundation.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to humanize the segments so the company could have an intuitive understanding of who they are, their motivations and their barriers. This helps us create better products and advertising best suited for each segment.

How did you select Antedote?

Antedote has helped us with several strategic projects that have pushed our thinking. They were the only company I trusted to do this important work. I need a trusted thought partner and that's Antedote!

Describe the project in detail.

Ethnographic research to bring to life and humanize consumer segments

What was the team composition?

The team was composed of two Antedote team members and myself.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Feedback was extremely positive from the organization. They are looking forward to utilizing the insights to feed into brand and innovation plans.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great. No problems, no complaints

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I always find Antedote's thought leadership the most impressive. They are able to take consumer insights and ladder that to the so-what's for the company.

They are very adept at consumer research as well as business strategy, which is what makes them such a valuable partner.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No