Since they were first used over 65 years ago by US government sociologists investigating the effectiveness of military propaganda movies the focus group has been the mainstay of the market research industry.
By the middle of the twentieth century, advertising agencies were jumping on the bandwagon hiring researchers to find out why certain kinds of products and services were appealing. The focus group gained popularity because its format prompted the participants to explain their reasons and motivations behind product attraction, recognition and ultimately purchase. The use of focus groups grew, especially amongst politicians as policy setting instruments. Focus groups even gained credence in academic research despite having no standard methodology for the gathering or capture of the outputs produced. It looked like the focus group was here to stay.
So whats gone wrong? In his recent Slate Magazine article, “Lies, Damn Lies and Focus Groups?” Daniel Gross challenges the efficacy and value of focus groups for informing product development and marketing. He highlights the widely documented mismatch between what people say about product concepts in focus...
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