Case Studies
The Challenge
The insight team at Nationwide Building Society had a broad goal – to understand ‘household money’ across families. They recognised, whilst it’s their role to listen, they often listen for the words that answer their questions and help prove or disprove hypotheses.
So we challenged them – how much do they not hear – by starting with a theory, or objectives, could valuable information be missed…?
The Approach
lens designed and conducted a large-scale ethnographic project – the largest Nationwide had ever undertaken. This involved 60 families UK-wide – for up to four months, families kept personal money diaries, while we listened and observed. Every time they did, thought or felt anything in relation to money, they posted about it ‘in the moment.’ This allowed us to see things organically and authentically emerge. We consciously did not set objectives, frame questions, or lead the way and embarked on a journey of exploration, entirely and genuinely consumer led.
Outcomes & Impact
The insight has challenged assumptions and stereotypes immensely for Nationwide, highlighting the connection between money and emotions and providing a holistic understanding of household money. Outputs and outcomes include:
- Development of a new proposition
framework – initiating a fundamental
shift in the way - ‘Money mindsets’ – a new way of
categorising consumers - A new way of approaching audience
research – which has subsequently been adopted for other key audiences for Nationwide (working with lens)
