Last week we posted some ideas about how to explore perceptual mapping in an online community setting to help people better articulate how they feel in qualitative research. We promised some additional ideas and variations, so here they are…

Winners Podium: For this activity, show an image of a winners podium and ask members to share who they think wins the gold, silver, and bronze in the appropriate category (e.g. most entertaining) and why…

Family Portrait: Show an image of an extended family and ask members to share who they think each of the brands listed in this zany family are and why…  (e.g. the crazy uncle, the worldly cousin, the baby, the grandpa, the trustworthy son, the mom that holds it all together, the black sheep).

Target Practice: Include an image of a target and have members place competitive products on the target (where the bulls eye is the ideal) and explain why they put them in the respective spot.

I know there are more ideas out there, so feel free to share. Keep in mind that these mapping exercises are fairly flexible and are not just relevant for brand associations. For example, you can use the Smart Phone Target Practice example and instead of evaluating competitive brands/products, you could list the top qualities of a smart phone to try to understand how customers describe the relative importance of each of the characteristics.

- Ben