Social Action and Corporate Social Responsibility Research
The Irksome Public: When Rationality Fails
This scenario sound familiar? After spending millions to educate the public on your issue, they haven’t moved an inch in opinion polls. How about this one: All the scientific evidence clearly proves in the public’s best interest to do X, but they just won’t budge. Or this one: Some organizations seem to have no margin of forgiveness from the public or the media. People seem only too willing to suspect the worst, lumping the firm in with the 'bad guys' even though they’ve done nothing to deserve it.
What’s an advocate to do? Resign oneself to the glacial pace of change or the vagaries of public opinion? Not if you’re intent on making an impact and changing the world for the better.
What we do
Our whole approach is about aligning talented people with distinctive research techniques to de-mystify the emotions and values that determine what people do and think. Rigorous qualitative and quantitative research unearths the emotional realities behind public opinion – the ‘gold dust’ that will mobilise voters and thought leaders to respond.
What makes our approach different?
Being different just for the sake of being different is self-indulgent. Being different because new thinking delivers better outcomes is client-focused. And our relentless focus on making a difference is what most sets us apart.
Powerful outcomes
Clients who aim to do the most good for their organisations and their causes get pragmatic solutions to:
- Energize passive supporters to engaged activists
- Influence the ‘movable middle’ on social or political issues
- Reframe public debate on ‘hot button’ issues
- Flesh out the emotions and values that drive illogical or counter-intuitive behaviors
- Bridge the gap between public and private opinions
- Diagnose issues around corporate brand personality and trust
- Decode how voters really feel about the candidate – and why it matters.
Recent client questions include:
- Why don’t people wear seatbelts?
- Why do they drive under the influence?
- What triggers “pale green” consumers to become 'dark green'?
- How do we move parents from passive to engaged advocates for comprehensive sex education?
- Can we move swing voters on the issue of gay marriage?
View our case studies on Consumer and Social Action