SINGAPORE – In an unprecedented global research initiative, McCann Worldgroup has enlisted all of its employees around the world to leave their desks for a day and head to the streets in their local markets to meet with and interview people face-to-face to gain insights into their shopping behavior and their relationship to cultural values. This new “Truth About Street” study will involve roughly 20,000 McCann Worldgroup employees in more than 100 countries. In Asia Pacific, 3,200 employees from across 12 markets will be participating.
Every department and level of the network has been enlisted to participate, from associates to senior management, including creative, business leadership, strategy, production and administrative teams. The questions and conversations are designed to gather additional information and insights about local cultures, brand attitudes, traditional shopping, e-commerce and emerging consumer sentiment.
Luca Lindner, McCann Worldgroup President, said, “This is the first time that we have galvanized our entire employee base to help us develop in-depth insights about local culture and its connection today to brand attitudes and shopping behavior. In doing so, our employees will hear first-hand the cultural shifts that are affecting our clients and have a deeper understanding of how to apply these learnings to help grow our client’s brands and businesses.”
Charles Cadell, McCann Worldgroup APAC President commented, “As one of the most culturally-diverse regions in the world, I am delighted that all our Asia Pacific employees are out there hitting the streets, since I know we will unearth some great findings. Our Truth studies are a core part of who we are and how we help our Clients with insightful consumer understanding. They are also great fun and I personally look forward to getting out there and getting back a taste of my days as a street interviewer.”
McCann Worldgroup APAC President, Charles Cadell (on the far right) and McCann Worldgroup APAC CFO, Ji Watson (third from left) with some McCann team members in Tokyo.
The findings will be incorporated in the next wave of the company’s Truth About Global Brands study. First conducted in 2014 by McCann Worldgroup’s global intelligence unit, McCann Truth Central, it looked in-depth at the changing dynamics affecting global brand marketing. The research entailed quantitative work with 30,000 people in 29 countries, supplemented by rich ethnographic research with consumers as well as with marketing, cultural and entertainment experts.
