The true value of these techniques lies not only in the data that they produce, but also in the way that they give us new entry points for further investigation and enquiry.

Here is a list of some of the more interesting and revealing techniques that can be used:

Adcepts
A hybrid of strategic and creative development research. Respondents select, and then discuss, which single-image ideas best bring a new product to life. Useful for developing product positionings, creative directions and for setting executional guidelines.

Dreams
Respondents make up a dream relevant to the topic under investigation. The dream does not have to be logical. A dream, in which anything can happen, gives greater expression to the emotional and non-rational.

Future Scenarios
The respondent is encouraged to describe the future as it might be in 5 or 10 years time, and to say how lifestyles and products might have changed and developed. This technique promotes fantasy and wish-fulfillment, and tels us the boundaries consumers are placing around the growth of a brand.

Psychodrawing
Respondents are given instructions in the use of shapes, colors and symbols to express their feelings and emotions about a brand (or their interaction with a brand). Respondents should be encouraged to describe what they are doing (or feeling) as the psychodrawing progresses.

Role Playing
Respondents are given roles to act out in a scene that involves the brand. Inanimate products can be brought to life with role-playing. For example, respondents can play different brands having a conversation on a store shelf, after the store has closed for the day.

Other methods include Word Association, Epitaphs, Cartoon/Bubble Drawing, Personification, Sentence and Story Completion, and Collages.

Contact John Pigram at Research 360 ^Inc for a full list of Projective Techniques, and to discover which of these methods could help gain further insight into your brand.