Addicted to video: why I believe research is falling in love with moving images

Over the past few years, I’ve seen video evolve from a research “nice-to-have” to a tool I honestly can’t imagine working without. It’s changed the way I collect insights, share stories, and, frankly, how I get clients to fall in love with real people all over again and not just ask ChatGPT for the answers.

Let me take you through why I believe video isn’t just the future of research but the heartbeat of it.

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The vlogger effect: why authenticity wins

I always thought of vloggers as entertainment, and poor entertainment too, but that’s me. Now I see them as proof. Proof that people connect best with other people, not polished scripts or data-heavy charts. Vloggers succeed because they’re raw (most of them), real, and unfiltered. That’s exactly the kind of honesty we crave in research, too.

When I include consumer video in a project, whether it’s a man handling a the pack of a product, a mother talking about fries, a teenager talking about their favorite snack or a youngster talking about insurances, I see the magic happen. It’s not just what they say, it’s how they say it. Their facial expressions, their tone, the cluttered kitchen in the background, it all adds depth. It humanizes the numbers. And in a world overloaded with information, I believe that the human touch is everything.

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From data to drama: what happens when you bring video to the boardroom

The first time we made a video montage for a client presentation, well I was nervous. Would they be okay to watch a few minutes of video in such a session. But the response? Game-changing. And the funny thing was that the complication itself wasn’t that strong. But...

People in the room leaned in. They felt what the consumers felt. The insights didn’t need extra explanation. The video said it all. It was so much more than just the words insights were coming from. It was how they were talking -in that case- about their products. It kind of was like flipping a switch, from passive listening to real engagement.

Now, when I walk into a boardroom, I bring more than slides. I bring stories. Stories from the mouths of real people, not just stats in a graph. And every time, I see the same reaction: heads nodding, eyes widening, decisions being made. That’s the power of video!

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Clients come back for more (and I totally get why)

There’s a reason clients come back asking, “Can we also use videos?”

Once they’ve seen what consumer footage can do, how it captures nuance, emotion, even contradictions, they’re sold. And it’s not just about the final showreel. Along the way, video opens up the research. Respondents tell so much more but also when you see them handling a product or getting frustrated with an app. Stakeholders get curious. They ask better questions. They remember what they’ve seen.

And here’s the bonus: the content keeps working long after the debrief. Clients reuse clips for internal training, creative briefings, even to get buy-in from other teams. I’ve seen a good video montage travel through entire companies and spark real action.

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I know the future is visual

Every time I use a new tool that makes video research easier, whether it’s an AI-powered analysis platform, like we have ourself, or just a smarter way to combine clips, I get excited. Because I know we’re just scratching the surface.

Consumers are already living their lives on camera. They document, share, explain, confess. And we, as insight professionals, have this incredible opportunity to meet them where they are. To listen in a way that’s more intuitive, more emotional, and more effective.

I genuinely believe that if you want to understand people today, you need to see them. And if you want to be heard, you need to show them.

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Want to try it? Just start small.

You don’t need a big budget to start. Next time you run a study, ask one question via video. Compile a few clips. Let people speak for themselves. Use it in quantitative studies, or in qual, ask everybody or only a few consumers.

Then watch what happens, watch how the story unfolds, how your audience reacts, how your work shines. And yes this definitely makes you shine too!

Because once you go video, you don’t go back. Trust me, I’ve been there. I’m still there. And I’m not letting go anytime soon.

Willing to try???

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