Every business decision comes with an element of uncertainty. Immersive research provides the feedback teams need to reduce risk and build stronger offerings.
Understanding how people experience a brand, product, or service is at the heart of making smarter business decisions. Research in controlled environments and self-reported data can provide useful information, but immersive sessions are unique experiences where brand teams step into their customers’ world to get an authentic view of behaviors, preferences, and challenges in real time.
When we design immersive sessions, we are giving stakeholders the opportunity to see, hear, and feel what their target consumers experience firsthand. This brings data to life, answers key business questions, and reduces uncertainty in decision-making. The deeper engagement also fosters a stronger emotional connection with their customers, building a satisfied and loyal base.
Over the years, we’ve developed a family of immersive research techniques that allow client teams to “live the experience” alongside consumers—sometimes even pets—who represent their ideal targets. Each engagement is carefully tailored to the team’s goals, selecting the right participants and locations to create authentic experiences that help teams develop products or services that match what consumers want.
Here’s how we do it.
Consumer connects and influencer workshops generate fresh ideas.
When stakeholders need to refine positioning, messaging, or strategy, consumer connect workshops create real-time, interactive dialogue between client teams and their target customers or clients. These sessions go beyond listening to what consumers say—they immerse brand teams in the experience, fostering a stronger consumer gut instinct and a deeper understanding of what truly matters to customers.
The format can vary, from intimate one-on-one discussions to large-scale workshops involving multiple functions within the organization—marketing, sales, R&D, finance, and even agency partners. By directly engaging with consumers, teams quickly identify gaps, validate ideas, and refine their concepts.
Read a recent case study to see Consumer Connects research in action.
In-home ethnographic exploration uncovers the unspoken truths of daily life.
Sometimes, the most valuable insights come from observing consumers in their natural environment. In-home ethnographic exploration allows teams to visit consumers in their homes to see how they interact with products in their daily routines.
Unlike focus groups or surveys, which rely on self-reported behavior, these immersive experiences reveal unspoken workarounds, pain points, and needs that consumers don’t always articulate. These subtle but powerful behavioral cues often hold the key to breakthrough ideas—helping brand teams refine products, improve usability, and enhance the overall customer experience.
Immersion excursions provide a firsthand view into industry trends.
For teams looking to stay ahead of the curve, immersion excursions provide a guided learning journey through an industry or operational environment. These hands-on experiences include expert interviews, site visits, and real-world consumer interactions that help stakeholders spot emerging trends and new opportunities before they hit the mainstream.
For example, when a client wanted to explore sustainable packaging solutions, we designed a two-day immersion where they engaged with experts in corporate sustainability, recycling, and composting, visited businesses using cutting-edge packaging materials, and spoke with eco-conscious consumers who actively seek sustainable options when shopping.
This approach doesn’t just inform teams—it helps them internalize market shifts in a way that no report or presentation ever could.
Explore the role of immersive learning in shaping activation strategies.
Non-traditional product optimization sessions remove artificial testing barriers.
Traditional product testing often takes place in staged environments, which limit the authenticity of consumer feedback. That’s why we take a different approach—conducting non-traditional product optimization sessions in real-world settings, such as Airbnbs or consumer homes, where participants interact with the product naturally.
Brand teams observe genuine reactions, refine product features, and validate market readiness in a setting that mirrors everyday life. Whether testing food products, personal care items, or tech innovations, the goal is to eliminate artificial constraints and ensure the product is evaluated in a way that reflects real consumer usage. With this knowledge, teams can build offerings that meet specific needs.
TrueView shop-alongs capture real shopping behavior—without interruption.
One of the best ways to understand how consumers navigate stores and make purchase decisions is by simply letting them shop as they normally would.
TrueView shop-alongs provide a virtual, real-time shopping research experience, allowing consumers to browse, compare, and purchase products while engaging with a remote moderator. This eliminates the need for in-store approvals while still delivering rich, behavioral insights on what influences purchasing decisions.
Brand teams can fine-tune merchandising strategies, optimize packaging, and understand barriers to purchase in an organic setting, providing them with rich insights to build into their activation strategies.
The competitive advantage you gain with immersive research.
When teams identify opportunities in broad market trends through qualitative research or a market landscape study, immersive research offers the ability to see, feel, and experience what truly drives consumer behavior.
Engaging with consumers in their real-world settings enables stakeholders to gain more actionable insights, reduce risk, and develop strategies that align more closely with customer needs.
Immersive research isn’t just about observing—it’s about walking in the customer’s shoes, connecting insights to action, and ensuring that brand teams make informed, consumer-driven decisions that drive real and sustainable growth.
When we bring teams together for immersive research, the goal isn’t just to collect data—it’s to activate it. Through synthesis sessions, debriefs, and activation workshops, we help teams turn their experiences into tangible business strategies that lead to stronger connections, smarter innovation, and long-term success.
Would an immersive session help you build deeper connections?
