The best insights are a SPIGOT to great ideas

What's the point of an insight? If it's not stopping you in your tracks or opening your mind, you might be settling for an insight-wannabe.

Insights aren’t usually just sitting there waiting for us to pick and use. You have to hunt for them by examining the data and considering the impact of why that data point matters.

When rushed, especially in today's performance-driven times, someone is forcing something to serve as an insight for a strategy. But insights require work. You cannot pretend you have it.

• Are you using a problem as an insight? You're just forcing the issue.

• Are you seeking validation through universal accepted consumer beliefs? That's probably not going to lead to fresh thinking.

• Are you testing an insight to effectively establish logic? That mistaking fact for fuel -- an insight will naturally inform ideas.

• Are you using a data point as the insight? You still have work to do to make the connection to why this is interesting. Use the data to inform the insight that will ignite ideas.

Insights are not universally shared issues or behaviors. ⬇️

They clearly show how observations and inquiries reveal what our consumers really care about.

Think of SPIGOT to check your insights:

SPECIFIC to the brand experience or category situation

POTENT with an air of unpredictability that feels exclusive

IGNITING in its power to see into a situation

GROUNDED in having intuition into the inner nature of things

ORIGINAL; novel and fresh perspective of the what and the why people do what they do

TRUTHFUL in how one behaves, interacts or responds with no sugarcoating