Interviewing the Brain **

In addition to using ZMET® as a way of transporting thoughts and feelings from the unconscious to the conscious mind, OZA also uses patented priming and implicit association techniques and brain imaging techniques that reveal unconscious reactions to various marketing stimuli. These techniques generally are more reliable indicators of consumer thought and behavior than are explicit methods such as questionnaires, standard interviews, and focus groups. Implicit measures can be adapted to measure responses to visual, written, and sound stimuli. They are particularly well-suited for evaluating advertising concepts, competitive brand positionings, brand names, and in selecting Deep Metaphors™ surfaced by ZMET® research.

How does a ZMET® study work?

There is no "one-size-fits-all" ZMET® project. Each study is tailored to meet the specific needs of the client. The length of time, depth of analysis and financial investment for each project vary according to these differences. Our clients have chosen to use ZMET® findings both as a stand-alone study or to complement other quantitative or qualitative research.

The first step is to work with you to clearly specify the managerial issue or question our research is to address. For example, a dental referral service needed to know how people think and feel about going to the dentist. The manufacturer of an over-the-counter heartburn remedy sought to better understand how heartburn affects the lives of consumers and where the client's brand of medication fits into the consumer's understanding.

Olson Zaltman Associates selects research participants based on criteria set by the client. It is not necessary for participants to have a certain level of education or creativity. A ZMET® study usually involves between 12 to 30 participants, each of whom is interviewed individually for two hours. Independent research has shown that our techniques require a relatively small sample to produce consistent patterns of thought.

About a week prior to their interviews, each participant is asked to gather 8-10 pictures that reflect their thoughts and feelings about the research topic. Most participants devote several hours to selecting pictures and thinking about the assignment. As a result, participants arrive for their interviews with the benefit of considerable conscious and unconscious reflection about the product or issue.

Participants find ZMET® interviews to be challenging, intense and rewarding. They are asked to explain their thoughts and feelings about the research topic, using the pictures as visual cues. Interviewers explore whatever metaphors are elicited and probe -- but don't prompt -- for deeper meanings. Using techniques adapted from psychotherapy, cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and sociology, interviewers take participants through a series of exercises designed to reveal the fundamental feelings and beliefs that drive their actions.

At the conclusion of the interview, an associate trained in digital imagery helps participants to create a single collage-like computer image that summarizes their thoughts and feelings about the subject.

When the complete set of interviews has been transcribed, the OZA team analyzes the data. Depending on the depth of analysis, the length of a ZMET® project ranges from 2 to 8 weeks from the date of the last interview to delivery of the final report.