Vox Pops: Creating Market Research with Impact

Market research is in an interesting time at the moment, with budget constraints and the rise of AI shaping the landscape. However, knowing your customer is at a more crucial time than ever, and creating research that is memorable and impactful is part of this importance. Video is a great tool for insight teams for bringing the consumer directly to the boardroom to help shape decisions. Using vox pops can be a great method to understand consumer behaviour, their preferences, and challenges to consumer purchasing.

Our survey from insight and marketing professionals revealed video’s biggest strengths is how memorable and engaging it is. Vox pops can offer this by capturing raw reactions, memorable characters, and quotes that stick. Read further on how to use vox pops in research to make an impact.

What are Vox Pops?

Vox Pops are ‘man-on-the-street’ type interviews. They are incept interviews with the public that provide raw and authentic insight. Recently, they have become a viral sensation on platforms like TikTok, thanks to their ability to capture what people are thinking and feeling in an engaging way.

In a typical vox pops shoot, we speak with 8 to 12 people in high-traffic areas, like central London. These interviews often take a natural, off-script turn, revealing real thoughts and opinions.

How Does Vox Pops Create Impact?

Vox Pops are incredibly versatile. Whether it’s talking to attendees, future customers, or the general public to spot trends. The insights they provide can be used across a variety of channels, from social media campaigns to internal presentations, making them a flexible and cost-effective way to reach different audiences. The real-world, unscripted nature of these interviews also makes them highly shareable, increasing the reach and impact of your research.

We recently gathered senior leaders in insight and marketing to discuss how video can be best leveraged for impact. Vox Pops shine in this area. For example, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) shared how they’ve used vox pops to capture the essence of their flower shows. The understanding from senior leaders was that Vox Pops are the perfect methodology for quick and authentic insight.

How Do The RHS, UK’s Leading Gardening Charity, Use Vox Pops?

RHS employs a variety of video formats tailored to different platforms and audiences. They use long-form B-roll footage, short highlight videos, testimonial vox pop style videos, and POV videos to showcase the unique experiences of their flower shows.

These videos are tailored to specific platforms to effectively engage different audiences. For instance, shorter videos are used on platforms like Instagram to capture the attention of new audiences, while longer videos are sent via email to engaged members.

By doing so, they cater to both engaged members and potential new visitors, ensuring that their content is platform-specific and effectively communicates the identity and vibe of each show.

We attend the events to capture the beauty of the flowers and surroundings but what truly made the videos stand out were the attendees we speak with. Vox pops are a great way to connect with attendees, and capture their experience for socials in an engaging way.

Conclusion

Vox pops are a key methodology in market research, allowing you to speak directly to consumers and attendees. Capturing this qualitative research on video increases engagement and uncovers emotions and reactions that quantitative methods can’t. The authenticity and relatability of Vox Pops not only make your research more impactful, but they also help create deeper connections with your audience, driving stronger results.

If you’re looking to conduct Vox Pops, get in touch! We offer a free 30-minute consultation to discuss how we can elevate your research and ensure it makes a lasting impact.