A good night's sleep is the key to happiness

Think adapting to life with a new baby, with all the accompanying physical changes and financial pressures, is the most stressful thing that a new parent can face? Think again: almost half of those in the UK and US cite sleep deprivation as having the biggest impact. No surprise then, that anything that helps them, or their new baby, get more or better sleep has great potential.

When a great product is not enough

The maker of Ollie the Owl sleep aid faced a puzzling dilemma. Ollie had won best in category reviews, yet the market leader in the UK outperformed it. Why?

Why only qual could show the way

Ollie's maker needed help to focus its efforts and investment on activities that would have a real impact. It had already undertaken commercial and consumer reviews, but these didn't answer the bigger questions, like what is the role of the character?

As a result, Hush believed it needed to triangulate methodologies, including consumer in-depth interviews, in-home observation, and semiotics, to understand why Ollie was not winning and what to change without relying on direct feedback from parents (which we knew would be positive).

Holistic experience mapping

Given the risk to the business of making unnecessary or ineffective changes, we knew we had to look at the challenge from all angles, with sufficient stages to learn, validate and gain client buy-in. This resulted in an approach that incorporated six stages and five unique methodologies.

"The biggest difference about this research," says Rob Hunter, global product marketing manager, Mayborn Group, "was that it took a full holistic approach. It went above and beyond just the right product solution but evaluated everything from brand recognition through to naming and awareness. This allowed me to get full business buy-in to the project and understand its role in making this a success. We are often very guilty of thinking the product is a stand-alone thing but, in reality, we need everything to come together."

An integrated and iterative approach

By combining different methodologies in an iterative manner, we were able to resolve long-held tensions, find original solutions and above all inspire whole organisations to invest and act. Before this project, the business was divided on whether any change was required. In contrast, because of this study, a successful relaunch of the sleep aids range has been undertaken.