LookLook

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at Mondelēz, a global snack company. We’re spread across different categories, including cookies, crackers, chocolates, and candies. I work in the consumer insights department and oversee the well-being and sustainability of the company in the US. 

What challenge were you trying to address with LookLook?

We work with LookLook on exploratory research, where we try to understand our customers. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve been leveraging LookLook’s technology platform to understand our consumers and explore different types of positioning territory. Our collaboration centers around knowing who our consumers are and how we can reach them. We also figure out how we can take down barriers in terms of product purchases. The other projects we’ve done recently are related to massive brand positioning, such as understanding the consumers’ perception of our brand.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Malinda (Founder & CEO) and 3–4 other people from her team over the course of the years. 

How did you come to work with LookLook?

I’ve worked with LookLook in my previous companies for several years prior to our engagement at Mondelēz. I worked with them at a prominent fast-food chain and at a chocolate manufacturer.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2018, and the relationship is ongoing. 

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

LookLook has become my go-to partner when it comes to quality work. Whenever I work in the area of exploratory consumer research, I go to Malinda. I’ve been pleased with their outputs, and that’s why we keep an ongoing relationship. They’re 100% timely in their work, and if they weren’t good, I wouldn’t have been working with them for the past 7–8 years. 

I trust their delivery and quality of work. Moreover, I appreciate their recruitment quality. In qualitative research, the people that we recruit are important. To find the right people, LookLook uses a rigorous process, allowing me to further put my trust in their work. Overall, they’ve been an amazing partner. I’ve recommended them to other teams in the company, and they’ve been on different projects within our organization. 

How did LookLook perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management has been amazing, and we’ve seen no issues in it. We use various platforms to communicate, including texts, FaceTime, MS Teams, and Zoom. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their work and recruits and the strategic thinking that goes into their recommendations are impressive. On top of that, their overall flexibility allows them to build relationships with us instead of being transactional. They’re not rigid, and they always listen —  they’re truly amazing. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Malinda is highly flexible when it comes to listening and brainstorming with her clients. As a result, you can be a bit more open in terms of your objectives. You should always have a brief of what you want to accomplish, but the goals don’t necessarily have to be nailed down. The LookLook team can help you shape those as you engage. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of customer insights and engagement at Pacers Sports and Entertainment.

What challenge were you trying to address with LookLook?

We were trying to understand our  Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team, the Indiana Fever. We wanted to understand what the fans were looking for, the brand health, and what we needed to do to grow engagement for the Fever.

What was the scope of their involvement?

LookLook did a mobile ethnography study. The services they provide are recruiting, developing a discussion guide, utilizing their mobile app to field the study, reporting the results, and developing the report with strategic recommendations.

They recruited individuals for the study, which included a mixture of Fever fans and non-Fever fans. They started with a proposal, and then they went into the recruitment and interviewing. They developed a discussion guide with my input, did in-depth interviews on the phone, analyzed all of the results, and then presented them to our working team and us.

We provided some documentation to jumpstart the project, and they did extensive research. They go above and beyond looking at other categories and things that could enhance the reporting. They make recommendations of what they think should be improved.

One of their methodologies entails sending a link to respondents to download a mobile app. Then, the respondent is asked questions through that app. The respondent can take pictures of their experience. The app facilitates an ongoing conversation over a couple of days; it’s not just one-and-done. While we may be talking to 20 people, we could be getting hundreds of insights because it’s so in-depth.

When doing market research, you always have screening criteria. Our criteria include people interested in the Fever, may have gone to a game, or are engaging in some way. LookLook found and recruited people in two different ways. We gave them access to our database of Fever fans. Then, they also recruited people in the Indiana area to make sure that they fell into the criteria that we developed. Finally, LookLook interviewed them in-depth.

What is the team composition?

Malinda (President) is very involved. She has recruiters, but I don't interact with them daily. There are 1–2 other people from LookLook working on the project.

How did you come to work with LookLook?

I've worked with LookLook for years, so I know they deliver high-quality work. That's why I chose to bring them into Pacers sports entertainment.

I've been at the Pacers for over a year. Before working here, I worked at a company in Philadelphia that did food and facilities for universities and businesses, and LookLook conducted many studies for us. They used the same methodology: they recruited employees and asked them a series of questions regarding culture.

What is the status of this engagement?

I've worked with Malinda since before LookLook even started. I brought her in when I was working at another company, so we’ve worked together since February 2009, and it’s ongoing.

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

Our whole strategy for the Fever is based on the insights that LookLook provides. LookLook also presented their work to showcase what great insights we have on the Fever.

One thing that separates LookLook from other vendors is their outstanding recruiting and analysis. They don’t just deliver a traditional market research report; it is a strategic document that you can use for a couple of years because it has great foundational insights and recommendations.

How did LookLook perform from a project management standpoint?

They do amazing. They provide great updates, good communication, great timeline management. We communicate through email. We also had tip-off calls to brief them, which I think is really important. When we get the results, we have a working session and then present the results to our broader team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

If I had to pick one aspect, it would be their report writing — their reports are stellar and like works of art. The second most impressive thing about LookLook would be their unique recruitment; their recruiting is by far the best in the business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They dig into everything. If LookLook doesn’t know something, they'll find a solution for it — I appreciate that. I like their can-do attitude and ease of use of working together — that's all you can ask for.

Any advice for potential customers?

Have clear objectives, and then let them run and do their job. You have to educate them to know what's going on in your particular business, and the more they understand your business, the better the analysis will be.