The Primary Need Array is our empirically derived,
fully validated set of primary needs which we believe sit behind
the great majority of consumer and B2B product and service offerings.
It consists of 16 collages with each collage
representing an emotional need domain. Each domain has a ‘footprint’
that covers different expressions of the need. These expressions
are represented by individual images as well as key words.
We developed the PNA because we needed a more
rigorous projective tool that would help respondents more easily
access and talk about the emotional drivers behind their purchases
of products and brands. This tool now helps us explore many
different kinds of marketing issues, from understanding people,
to exploring brands, occasions and how categories work.
Because needs are individual as opposed to social constructs, this tool is most useful in individual interviews (IDIs) rather than groups. Its application is primarily qualitative although we are developing a quantitative version.
Some background on how the needs and collages were developed:
Step 1: Using diaries and a very broad range of category advertising, we developed a list of over 200 need statements
Step 2: Using a laddering approach in internal workshops, we made sure that these needs were fundamentally primary i.e. they didn’t ladder up to a more basic need.
Step 3: Using internal workshops, these needs were clustered and re-clustered, resulting in 16 need domains. Each domain has a core need as its focus but also contains various expressions of the need to represent its full ‘footprint’Step 4: Collages were developed for each domain using pictures taken from our own archives and from public image data resources
Step 5: These collages were tested in consumer interviews to ensure that the images ‘fit’ the need and that its full footprint was represented.
