Innovation Blog

Let Imaginators® Enhance Your Next Research Initiative

So, what is the Imaginators® panel?

Imaginators is Decision Analyst’s exclusive community of highly creative individuals who rank in the top 4% of the population in terms of idea-centric creativity. They are tested and trained using Decision Analyst’s proprietary testing system, which is based on the works of Dr. E. Paul Torrance, the world’s leading authority on adult creativity, and Dr. Edward de Bono, the leading authority on creative thinking.

This is not a stagnant community; members are engaged monthly by participating in multiple creative exercises. Their contributions are assessed after each engagement, and low performers are “retired” and replaced with newly trained individuals to ensure that the most creative group is available for research and innovation sessions.

Our approach to using Imaginators is custom for each project and is designed to best fit your business goals, budget, timing, and geographic needs. And, because Imaginators are also consumers like you and me, we can hand-pick individuals who best match your consumer base.

Some examples of how Imaginators can enhance your next research initiative include the following:

1. To generate ideas prior to (or after) your team workshop.
   We know that internal ideation workshops are a great way to get your team together (e.g., marketing, sales, consumer insights, etc.) to plan your brand or product’s next move. Imaginators can enhance your internal ideation workshops by:
   • Helping you get to convergent thinking and optimization more quickly. Let our Imaginators help with the divergent idea generation before your workshop. Once we understand your ideation goals (e.g., new products, new offers, naming, new flavors, new markets, etc.), we will create custom, engaging exercises to help frame the Imaginators ideation session. Ideas generated from the session will be organized by theme and shared with you and your team to explore, build on, and optimize.
   • Optimizing your top generated ideas with trained consumers. Incorporating an Imaginators optimization session after your internal workshop is an effective way to get your top generated ideas in front of idea-centric, creative consumers. Using this approach, Imaginators will further optimize and build on your ideas, while also evaluating through a consumer lens.
   These Imaginators sessions are typically conducted using our Time-Extended™ online approach, which allows Imaginators to visit the online platform at their convenience (over a 3- to 5-day period) to generate and/or build on others’ ideas. Typically, they can generate 120+ detailed ideas during a session. We can also conduct these sessions virtually (live) or in-person.
2. To participate as part of a wider range of individuals for ideation workshops.
   Ideation workshops often include a wide range of individuals, such as internal stakeholders, external partners, industry experts, and sometimes, even consumers with category/brand experience. Imaginators are a great addition to enhance these workshops because they:
   • Have expertise in creativity and idea generation.
   • Are familiar with the ideation/innovation process, so they are ready to jump right in.
   • Again, can provide a consumer point of view, which is important to understand.
3. To participate in consumer research when more creative-minded individuals are needed.
   
   Hearing directly from consumers can be invaluable to your organization. However, when your research initiatives are a bit more creative in nature (e.g., naming, co-creation, brainstorming new ideas, etc.), Imaginators are a valuable addition to consumer focus groups, as they can act as a catalyst to bring out more creative thinking from your consumers. They will not dominate the discussion, but may guide or encourage your consumers to help them come up with great ideas as well.
   
   When including Imaginators, we choose individuals who best match your consumer target, and your consumers won’t know that there is anything different or special about them.

Some final thoughts

These are just a few examples of how Decision Analyst and Imaginators can help enhance your next research initiative.

And finally, because every research method has different strengths, including Imaginators as part of a hybrid (or multi-method) approach to your research often provides a more comprehensive perspective which translates into strategic action.

Interested in learning more about Decision Analyst and our Imaginators? We are happy to discuss your organization’s research needs and how we can enhance your next research initiative.

Gretchen Riskind

Director of Innovation

Gretchen is a Qualitative Consultant on the Insights and Innovation team with more than 20 years of market research experience. She has deep experience in industries such as CPG, apparel, and B2B, and she has special expertise in the youth & family segment.

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