Prosperity Productions — Bridging the gap between consumer desires and brand innovation

Innovation has become a major factor for every company to flourish or even survive. Today, we are overwhelmed by new companies coming up in almost every sector. Existing companies are under constant pressure to innovate rapidly. But developing a new product or service is a complex task as it requires a lot of research over market feasibility.

However, according to several studies, it has been found that consumers are not very smart about translating and conveying their product or service needs to the companies. To improve upon this, companies are now slowly recognizing the importance of user feedback and suggestions. Collaborating with users allows companies to develop better products and services quickly and cost-effectively. It also minimizes the risk that products will underperform or fail outright.

Prosperity Productions is a company that aims to bridge the gap between consumer desires and brand innovation. It does so by getting inside the data, going beyond the obvious to help you make informed decisions that connect with consumers, build brand reputation, and boost engagement. We interviewed Lori Hamilton, the Founder and President of Prosperity Productions, to understand more about the company and its services. Here are a few excerpts of what we talked about:

Q. How do you think research can help bring plenty of opportunities to the table?

Whatever you do best, you have almost no awareness of – that is true for people as well as companies. Your brain doesn’t pay attention to things that you do easily. Thus, research can bring insights to the table on your audience’s core emotional drivers and how your work or products intersect with those drivers. When audience needs are addressed in this way, massive opportunities are brought to the table.

Q. What strategies do you use to bridge the gap between consumer desires and brand innovation?

Innovation happens when the consumer experiences value, not just when you bring something “new” to the table. Our goal is to uncover deep emotional needs and core drivers so that your brand innovation creates an increased sense of value.

Q. What is Prosperity Productions’ success mantra?

I love this quote. “All truths are easy to understand once we discover them. The point is to discover them.” – Galileo

Q. How is Prosperity Productions ‘prospering’ day by day?

Our goal is to create a sense of prosperity on all sides of the equation. We do as much homework on our internal clients as we do on our external clients. Insights work is all about creating engagement – not just with customers, but in the enthusiastic embracing of those ideas by internal clients and stakeholders.

Q. What, according to you, are the levels of innovation?

Experiential innovation – Taking what you have already and serving it up with more effective communications.

Incremental innovation – Taking what you already have to the next level by addressing customer needs and creating a sense of value.

Game-changing innovation- Taking what you have and revolutionizing the category using customer insights to create massive new value.

Q. What is your approach towards creating/customizing solutions for your customers?

Think of it like an apple vs. apple pie. If you want to know basic answers, like “how many people do X,” that’s an apple. If you want to understand your customers deeply, you have to find ways to allow them to tell you stories. The way your brain works is that you have an emotional response first, then a rational one. We use creative exercises to get people to reveal what they really do and compare that to what they think they do.

Q. How important is partnership to you?

It’s critical. Everything we do is in service of our client’s success. Partnering on the insights work – not just research design, but also how to socialize the findings – is foundational to having our work enthusiastically embraced and acted upon by the client team.

Meet the Founder

Lori Hamilton is the Founder and President of Prosperity Productions. She has worked as a marketing strategist, researcher, and creative consultant for more than 20 years. Her work has generated over $3 billion in incremental business for clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups. She has personally interviewed over 25,000 people, from Global CEOs to people living in trailer parks and everything in between. Having worked across a wide range of categories and industries, her clients include Google, ConAgra, Intuit, Rubbermaid, Deloitte Consulting, CitiBank, MetLife, Accenture, Microsoft, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and many others. Her firm has conducted research in 23 countries around the world.

Lori holds a B.A. in Linguistics from UCLA and has won 59 awards for creative and marketing excellence, including five Best of Shows and a Clio. She also uses her Juilliard and other professional theatrical training to create customized workshops that generate hundreds of ideas in a matter of hours. Lori has taught Insights and Innovation at Columbia University’s Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Communications, NYU Business School, and Pace University.