2024 Year End Reflections with Catapult Insights

Dec 7, 2024

2024 Year End Reflections with Catapult Insights

Like most years, it feels like 2024 went by in a flash. It was a year of growth, connection, and exploration for Catapult Insights, and while we are quickly approaching the end of the year, we wanted to take a moment to pause and reflect on the experiences that made our 2024 a memorable year. Read on to hear from the Catapult Insights team as we look back at 2024 and the experiences, adventures, and risks we’ve taken together.

If you had to pick a single word or phase to describe your 2024, what would it be?

Jill: Change. My family and Catapult Insights HQ relocated to Washington over the summer, and it was definitely an adventure. While my family loves our new home, and it has been wonderful to be so geographically close to many of our clients, the move hasn’t been without its challenges. From finding my way in a new town and adjusting to life as a Washingtonian after a decade in the desert, to navigating the world of moving a business from one state to another, I’ve experienced my share of surprises and speed bumps. But, with the support of the Catapult Insights team and my family, we’re now settled in and looking forward to a 2025 that doesn’t involve quite as many changes.

Justin: Affirmation. We work with a lot of clients, but there are a few that have quickly amassed a body of work with us to support some big initiatives. This is particularly rewarding to me, because I love to see insights in action. It’s affirming to know that the consumer voices I’ve studied and represented are shaping our client’s view of the world. Our work is helping clients address needs of underserved markets, improve real people’s everyday lives, and making sustainability changes that will leave a mark that far exceeds my time on the planet. It’s what we set out to do when we started Catapult Insights years ago, and seeing it happen is a dream come true.

Andre: Adaptability. My son was born late last year (my second child), and this year was partly about learning how to juggle a budding baby and a toddler finding her emotions just outside of my home office door, while working on some really incredible and in-depth client work. Learning to become like water and move with the tides has really elevated the level of service I can provide to Catapult Insights’ clients (why pay for an army when you can hire a tactical team to achieve the same results?) and also allows me to be there for my family when they need it most.

What are you most looking forward to in 2025?

Andre: Growth (both personal and professional) – a new year to me represents endless possibilities. That’s the beauty of working for and supporting a company like Catapult Insights, there is an energy in the air where anything is possible and a new year totally encapsulates that. Growth and change are intertwined and the only thing you can control in those situations is your personal outlook. I can safely say that my personal outlook is positive and super charged; I’m ready to take on anything.

Are there any trends you expect to emerge in 2025? Or others you expect (or hope) will disappear?

Justin: I often joke that research approaches are cyclical. One year I travel so much I hit status with airlines and hotels. The next we see a trend of virtual approaches (and I lose all my status). My hope for 2025 is that it be a year of balance. We believe in approach agnosticism and there’s such great potential to unlock when designing multi-method research, so here’s my wishcasting that 2025 is an exceptionally balanced year of reaching our research subjects in a multitude of ways.

Was there anything that surprised you in 2024?

Jill: The number of intercept interviews we did this year! Intercepts have always been a staple in our research methodology toolkit, but we saw a higher than usual demand for them in 2024. I think it was a combination of our clients feeling the squeeze in their budgets and timelines (do more with less, and faster!), and a need for insights into the customer/shopper experience that led to the increase in intercept interview projects. I, personally, loved it as it is a great way to gather important information to help our clients make some big decisions without sucking up their entire budget and taking weeks or months to do. I hope this trend continues in 2025!

What was your favorite project in 2024?

Andre: A controversial choice, but my favorite project this year has been an ongoing employee experience tracker. 2024 has been an intense learning year with my kids (a baby and toddler) and working from home so the consistency and expectations that a tracker brings was a much-welcomed breath of fresh air in between all the new product development and brand-related work we’ve been doing over here. Plus, it always feels great to know that you are helping employees have a voice via research to their corporate office.

Jill: There were so many great ones, it’s hard to choose! We worked on several new product development projects this year and they were all very interesting, challenging, and fun. Especially the ones that involved a combination of research methodologies – those really allowed us to contextualize the insights and help our clients make some important decisions with confidence. Plus, it is always exciting to know you were involved in the development of a new product that will soon be on store shelves, especially when you win a Quirks Award for your work like we did in 2024.

Justin: A series of related projects focused on reinventing a symbol that is central to a brand’s public identity and CX. We’re several projects deep at this point and have a few left to go, but this is going to be a big and meaningful shift that will help reduce waste and help the environment. While that’s a positive and lofty goal, we’re helping our client make this move while remaining true to their brand identity and maintaining (or improving) CX. This is a brand that more than 9-in-10 of the people reading this are highly familiar with, so the stakes are high!

As we close out 2024 and venture into 2025, we’re feeling grateful, fulfilled, inspired, and excited for what the next year has in store for us and our wonderful client partners. Cheers to 2024!

THE CATAPULT INSIGHTS TEAM

From Insight to Impact: Launching a Product for Curly-Haired Consumers

Nov 25, 2024

From Insight to Impact: Launching a Product for Curly-Haired Consumers

Behind every award-worth project is a story for teamwork, challenges, and innovation.

Did you know that roughly 65% of people have some degree of curl in their hair, be it loose waves, spirals, or tight coils? If you don’t have curly hair you might not know how challenging it can be to manage and maintain those beautiful locks of curls—frizz, dryness, damage, and difficulty detangling can be a daily struggle.

Understanding the difficulty of daily maintenance of curly hair, Delta Faucet Company partnered with Catapult Insights to embark on a journey to truly make a difference for our curly-haired friends and family. Their product, the VersaCurl™ detangling shower tool, is already winning industry accolades by enhancing shower routines via quicker, easier, and more enjoyable experiences. Now we’re thrilled that this effort has been recognized as a Quirks Excellence in Insights Award Winner!

Catapult Insights Co-Founder Justin Sutton

We invite you to a behind-the-scenes look at how we partnered with Sequoyah Glenn, founder of 924 CoOp Consultants, and Statistical Expert Tom Rosholt to combine empathy, human-centered design, and data to build winning product and go-to-market strategies is already earning industry accolades and we are so proud of the work we did together to create better solutions for curly haircare.

You’ve Got a Great Idea… How to Break Through the Noise

Above all else, our goal was to deeply understand the routines, struggles, and underserved needs of individuals caring for curly, textured hair. From there, we investigated the intersection between Delta’s expertise in understanding water and the consumers’ haircare needs. The haircare industry is highly competitive, with well-established brands that already dominate in terms of trust, marketing power, and customer loyalty. If Delta were to bring an offering to market, our goal was to do so authentically and remain true to the people we aimed to help.

There are several key elements that we needed to understand before we could create a strategy to rise in the haircare world. Delta’s core challenges:

- - Understand Consumer Behavior: Fully understand the routines, challenges, and hair care tasks among those with curly hair.
  - Market Sizing: Determine the size of the curly-haired market and understand what motivates individuals to engage with new hair care tools.
  - Product Usage: Gain insights into how users might utilize the tool and what benefits VersaCurl delivers in real-life scenarios.
  - Effective Messaging: Identify relevant and meaningful messages that resonate with the target audience.
  - Product Pricing Strategy: Develop a data-driven pricing strategy that allows for a confident product launch.

For Delta, these steps were critical for successfully introducing a new product to a crowded and competitive industry.

Authenticity Through Listening and Learning

VersaCurl is specifically designed to address the needs of textured hair, which is most commonly found in Black and Hispanic communities. Recognizing the importance of cultural relevance, we assembled a team with diverse cultural, research, and industry backgrounds to guide the development of the tool and go-to-market strategy.

To build empathy and establish a deeper connection with the target market, Catapult designed a Culture and Communication Conference for Delta’s cross-functional stakeholder team. This immersive experience included moderated focus groups in partnership with 924 CoOp Consultants. This new approach blends moderated conversations, observation, and individual connections between Delta’s stakeholders and consumer representatives from hypothesized consumer segments. These immersive sessions were interspersed with storytelling and message development workshops, allowing us to refine our approach as the conference progressed.

Our approach fostered deep empathy-building, helping Delta understand the lives, needs, and reactions of key consumer groups. Sessions provided valuable insights on how Delta could communicate in this new category among distinct cultural segments, ensuring the product’s authenticity while accounting for nuances rooted in consumer behaviors and needs.

The Final Push: Getting the Price Right

A cornerstone of the go-to-market (GTM) strategy—the pricing research needed to be rooted in accuracy and reliability while retaining speed to accommodate internal product decision-making timelines.

Catapult worked with Tom Rosholt to design a Gabor-Granger pricing analysis to guide Delta on the pricing for this new-to-company product. Optimal price points were uncovered, but after a successful readout of the results, Delta and Catapult challenged themselves to get the pricing just right, because creating a new product in a new category comes with unique challenges and considerations.

Building from a base of data and findings, we wanted to ensure Delta’s VersaCurl would be available in the right channels and at a price that accurately reflected its value to haircare routines. To do this, Catapult conducted a tactical follow-up pricing study using a monadic design to assess price receptivity while minimizing anchoring bias. The findings from this study were analyzed alongside data from the initial research, creating a triangulated, data-driven pricing strategy that inspired confidence and aligned with the tool’s value proposition.

The Result

An innovative, industry award-winning shower tool and a green light to continue development for launch.

What Our Delta Clients are Saying

“Together, Catapult and 924 CoOp Consultants fostered an environment of collaboration and innovation. Their ability to work seamlessly with our diverse teams ensured that every aspect of the project was executed flawlessly. We were particularly impressed by their flexibility and adaptability during the Home Use trial, which provided the final push needed to move the project into the go-to-market strategy.”

– Sara Falzone & Colin Byard, Market Research Analyst & Innovation Catalyst

Hear directly from Colin on how he approaches innovation:
Watch Driving Market Success with Innovation

“From start to finish, partnering with Catapult and 924 CoOp to learn more about textured hair care has been an amazing experience. I felt listened to. I felt challenged. And now, I feel empowered to make the right decisions.”

– Kyle Duffy, Innovation Marketing Manager

“The addition of both Catapult and 924 into our DFC teams was indeed seamless; the larger team quickly “normed” such that all voices and opinions were readily accepted and heard. Which ultimately led to very timely acquisition of needed research results, meeting our stakeholders’ needs.”

– Tom Gospel, Senior Product Manager, B!G Innovation Lab

The Takeaway

This case study provides a blueprint for using qualitative research to inform product development, quantitative pricing strategies, and cultural empathy in marketing. The integration of empathy-driven focus groups, cultural insights, home usage test (HUT), ethnographic approaches, and rigorous pricing analysis highlights the importance of a multi-layered approach in delivering products that meet consumer needs and succeed in competitive markets.

From a broader perspective, this project evolved over more than 10 distinct research engagements with Delta, each building toward a comprehensive understanding of the market and consumer needs. This article highlights a few cornerstone moments along the way, offering key takeaways from the journey.

For market researchers, this project underscores the value of collaboration, iteration, and the application of both soft and hard data in making informed, consumer-centric decisions.

By combining deep consumer understanding with precise, data-driven strategies, Delta’s launch of its VersaCurl is a multifaceted example of how to develop a product that fills a market gap and creates lasting consumer connections.

If you’re interested in broader best practices for developing go-to-market strategies, we invite you to reach out to us for a deeper discussion.

THE CATAPULT TEAM

The Marketing Research and Insight Excellence Awards, powered by Quirk’s Media, recognize the researchers, suppliers and products and services that are adding value and impact to marketing research. Finalists and winner are selected by a panel of judges made up of a combination of end-client researchers, supplier partners and Quirk’s editorial staff.

About Quirk’s
Quirk’s Marketing Research Media produces a print and digital magazine, e-newsletters, events, industry awards, webinars and the most comprehensive website – all of which is devoted entirely to professionals responsible for conducting, coordinating and purchasing marketing research products and services. Designed to promote the understanding, use and value of marketing research, Quirk’s free resources include original articles on research techniques, case studies, news, survey findings, global listings for conferences and jobs, LinkedIn groups, webinars and the most complete and up-to-date directories of market research product and service companies. To get your own free access visit www.quirks.com.

2024 Quirk’s Award Finalist

Oct 3, 2024

2024 Quirk’s Award Finalist

We are proud to announce that we have been recognized by Quirk’s Media for our collaboration with Delta Faucet Company on their upcoming VersaCurl Detangling Hand Shower. As a finalist, Catapult would love for you to join us at the virtual awards ceremony on November 19 – register here today!

Delta Faucet, a leader in the durable good and home fixtures space, was preparing to bring a bold in-shower hair tool to market. Delta dedicated immense time and resources to deeply and fully understanding the needs of those caring for curly and coily hair to ensure their solution could meaningfully address lifelong struggles. This learning journey featured a carefully curated supplier team to represent a diversity of cultures, research, and industry backgrounds to help Delta leverage their expertise in water to better tailor the showering experience for those with textured hair. Delta, Catapult, and 924 CoOp took risks together with first-of-its-kind research approaches designed to bring Delta closer to their consumer audience, develop empathetic understanding, and remain true to Human Centered Design principles in their pursuit of better solutions for an often-under-served market. The result was an industry award-winning haircare tool and a greenlight to continue development for launch.

Delta is already earning industry accolades and we are so proud of the work we did together to create better solutions for curly haircare.

THE CATAPULT TEAM

The Marketing Research and Insight Excellence Awards, powered by Quirk’s Media, recognize the researchers, suppliers and products and services that are adding value and impact to marketing research. Finalists are selected by a panel of judges made up of a combination of end-client researchers, supplier partners and Quirk’s editorial staff.

The award winners will be announced at The Marketing Research and Insight Excellence Awards Virtual Ceremony on November 19, 2024. Please visit quirksawards.com for more details.

Pricing Research Q&A with Catapult Insights’ Statistical Expert, Tom Rosholt

Sep 10, 2024

Pricing Research Q&A with Catapult Insights’ Statistical Expert, Tom Rosholt

Pricing research has always been a valuable tool in the market research toolkit, but it has become even more relevant and useful in the last couple of years with the changes to the US economy, inflation, and many brands bringing new, innovative products to market. While there are a set of tried and true techniques for pricing research and analysis, it can be challenging to figure out which one to use, how to use it, and when you need to think outside the box a bit. This is why Catapult Insights brings our stellar statistician, Tom Rosholt, into the early stages of all pricing research to expertly guide the process. Tom Rosholt and I recently sat down to chat about pricing research and how to ensure the results impactful and relevant.

Jill: Tom! It’s great to be chatting with you about pricing research. I know it is one of your favorite topics because it presents so many unique challenges to work through, and you always love a challenge.

Tom: I do love a challenge! It keeps things interesting and I enjoy trying new techniques to help pull meaningful insights out of the data that our clients can actually use in the real world.

Jill: Why do you think pricing research is so important for brands?

Tom: There is a price at which anything of value will sell, from a matchbox to a mansion. Brands need to know as early as possible if the price people are willing to pay for an offering is within the pricing sweet spot, i.e., the range at which the maker of the product will realize sufficient profit, to reduce the risk of devoting time and resources to a non-viable proposition. Getting the price right is more important now than ever because competition is fierce and fast-paced, product development can be enormously expensive, and pricing information in the marketplace has been fully democratized. In addition, the era of making big (and even modest) business decisions without data is waning, making it nearly impossible to get an offering to market without research data, and that includes pricing.

Jill: Do you have a favorite pricing research methodology?

Tom: I actually don’t. I favor the technique that works best for the context. Here are things I think about when choosing a method:

1) How well-developed is the offering when consumers will be exposed to it?

2) Which is the greater risk, overstating or understating price sensitivity (i.e., the degree to which purchase willingness changes as price changes)?

3) The nature of the survey that includes the pricing inquiry.

4) The category, market maturity, market penetration, and realistic price range of the offering.

Jill: What was your favorite pricing research project and why?

Tom: We worked on the project together, Jill. This particular team collectively possesses an attribute that I believe is incredibly valuable in the research realm – curiosity. Their offering was tricky in that it is “familiar yet different,” so it was difficult to get a sense as to what people would pay for it. Research to the rescue! The client was willing to go at the pricing problem using two different research methods with differing biases. The results of the two methods told complementary stories, so the client got clear direction.

Jill: Have you had any opportunities to see the results from a pricing research program you worked be implemented in the real world? If so, how did that go?

Tom: We will soon find out when the product I just talked about hits wide distribution!

Jill: Are there any potential landmines you see researchers or clients risk stepping into with pricing research?

Tom: It is crucial to see pricing research for what it is – guidance rather than some sort of final answer. The dynamics of having a product in the market are usually very complex, so it’s impossible to determine if the price is just right until the offering is on-shelf and consumers are required to part with their money. However, pricing research done right can get you close and let you know whether or not your offering is viable.

While pricing research can feel like an overwhelming endeavor, having an expert like Tom as your guide ensures you’re following the right path, with the right methodologies to help you to make data-driven decisions. Drop us a line if you want to learn more about how we approach pricing research and how we can help you navigate the challenging world of pricing your offerings right to drive purchase behavior and create loyalty.

Jill Miller

CO-FOUNDER
CATAPULT INSIGHTS

The Checkout Revolution is Here

Jul 18, 2024

The Checkout Revolution is Here

Checkout has long been the bane of in-store shopping experiences, marked by long lines and cumbersome processes that slow the shopper down. Many shoppers have learned to love aspects of the online shopping experience, particularly the purchase moment. Although complicated in its own right, the end of online purchases is often far faster and less rife with frustrations than in-store checkouts. But the vast majority of retail purchases in the US are made in-store, despite a fairly steady rise in eCommerce spending. This is why many retailers are reimagining the in-store experience and focusing on the checkout pain point.

Just Walk Out (JWO) is an Amazon technology which allows shoppers to authenticate through their Amazon account at store entry, thereafter automatically tracking and charging the account only for what each shopper carries out of the store. A system of cameras in the ceiling paired with strategically placed weigh sensors works extremely well – after 80 purchases in Go stores I have never had an incorrect charge. This technology has been licensed to other shops, like Hudson News at many airports, and seems like a natural fit for small-to-medium shopping trips like on-the-go meals and topping up on household staples.

Pop over to Amazon Fresh and the experience is focused on the Dash Cart, chosen because shoppers on grocery stock-up missions want to track purchases as they go. The cart automatically senses items that it’s carrying and uses the shopper’s Amazon account for secure payment. This technology brings the same speed and convenience benefits as JWO and is a more conducive fit considering the store format.

Sam’s Club has been using Scan & Go for some time, which allows shoppers to use the Sam’s app to scan barcodes as they shop, then produces a QR code for an attendant to scan on your way out. While this solution allowed shoppers to skip the checkout line, it still required active scanning by the shopper. However, the retailer just started rolling out an AI-powered solution that should eliminate receipt-checking when exiting the store.

This technology is still in its early days, and when I tried it for myself I was still stopped by an employee to scan my receipt. But the trajectory appears obvious that the retailer aims to one day eliminate that human touchpoint, which would bring their checkout and store-exit experience at parity with other retailers. Taken a step further, this technology could one day eliminate the need to scan product barcodes in the first place. This could mean a shopper would load their shopping cart and walk out of the store without scanning a single thing – much like customers are able to do today at Amazon stores.

Several Catapult clients are working on yet-to-be-announced technologies to make shopping and purchase experiences better for customers. We see a potential challenge in disparate experiences existing across retailers, making previously mundane tasks no longer feel like second nature to shoppers. This is why we’re working closely with our clients to devise optimal education and rollout strategies that balance new benefits with acceptable learning curves.

JUSTIN SUTTON

CO-FOUNDER
CATAPULT INSIGHTS

Catapult Insights Moves to Seattle

Jul 8, 2024

Catapult Insights Moves to Seattle

We are excited to announce the relocation of our headquarters from Las Vegas to Seattle! Our move is both strategic and personal. We are looking forward to being closer to some of our amazing client partners and the collaboration opportunities the close proximity will provide. And, our Co-Founder, Jill Miller, is looking forward to finally escaping the Las Vegas summer heat!

Please join us in celebrating this exciting news, and, if you’re in the Seattle area, let’s meet for coffee so you can share your best Seattle recommendations to help us get settled in.

THE CATAPULT TEAM

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