A picture paints a thousand words

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There are ways and means of doing things in market research that become engrained and second nature. While there is always a need for established methodologies, familiar systems, recognised practices and continuity, new thinking and approaches are also required, whether to address changing technology or to probe people’s behaviour and motivations in a different way.

It was a desire to get such an outside perspective that led Hall & Partners’ in-the-moment mobile agency Tempo and photojournalist Simon Walker to work together.

There was a degree of serendipity about the two coming together. Richard Owen, founder and CEO of CrowdLab, and strategic adviser at Tempo, explains: “As part of Tempo’s offer we thought ‘what is the biggest cultural phenomenon of our time?’ It’s photography and sharing photos – and how can we harness the power of photography in research?”

This is where Walker came in, because “if we’re going to develop this idea, why don’t we ...