Helping brands understand the reasons motivating consumers’ opinions and buying habits is one of the most important phases during a brand’s development process. But the process can sometimes face obstacles when it comes to revealing unbiased input. After spending countless hours in the same cookie-cutter environments behind glass, Chicago-based branding agency Soulsight recognized that improving the research environment was key to uncovering the core human truths that inspire consumers. Establishing the right environment can elicit deeper insights simply because people feel more at home. So Soulsight developed Soul-Lab, a non-traditional, lounge style, consumer qualitative research facility under the overarching mission of consumer-centric brand design.
The Soul-Lab has been the venue for many brands being invented and reimagined, including MillerCoors’ Henry’s Hard Soda, which ranked in the list of top 10 innovative food and beverage brands for its first-year sales. “The Soul Lab has deepened our direct connection to the human experience, while allowing our team an opportunity to get firsthand consumer insights that fuel our brand strategy and innovative branding solutions,” says George Argyros, Partner & CEO. “People are more apt to share their true thoughts and feelings when they don’t feel as if they’re being examined under a microscope.”
Photography: Aimee Mazzenga. Interiors & Design: Caryn Campbell
