39 West 32nd Street
Suite 1404
New York, NY 10001
212.244.3960
www.zstrategies.net
Sometimes research leaves us with more questions than
answers, but at Zebra Strategies our goal is always to figure it
out together.
GOING BEYOND THE STRIPES
Examples of what Zebra Strategies deals with in the jungle…
A large beverage manufacturer hired us to test some rudimentary ad
concepts with an African-American audience. While the ad agency
presented itself as multi-cultural, our initial feelings were that their
campaign concepts may have subtly played into cultural and racial
stereotypes. Our hunch was correct -- respondents reacted to the ads by
calling them “coonery”, a term the client did not understand, but that we
were familiar with from our extensive urban research. We immediately
recommended the client scrap that ad campaign.
Confused, a client called us to complain that he did not understand why
non-whites were invited to a Hispanic research project. We explained that
Hispanic is not a race, but an ethnicity and that there are Black, White and
even Asian Hispanics. We went on to explain to the client the gradations
and transgression his comment may cause in certain environments.
A client asked us to conduct research with a South Asian target
audience. As we began the research, our client started to question why
some of the chosen respondents did not have “Indian-sounding names”.
We explained that those respondents might come from a non-Eastern
religious background, thus explaining why some of the names may not
reflect the preconceived notion of a “South Asian name”.
We worked with a client who was targeting low-income, blue-collar
workers for a text messaging campaign. We thought this concept might not
be salient for an audience whose mobile devices are sometimes transient
given their economic circumstances. We were correct in hypothesizing
that the added costs of texting in many data plans dissuaded low-income
individuals from participating, but also uncovered the fact that many in the
target segment had literacy challenges or struggled with complete
illiteracy. Sometimes the most important factors are ones that go unstated.
39 West 32nd Street
Suite 1404
New York, NY 10001
212.244.3960
www.zstrategies.net
CAMPAIGN: Pouring on the Pounds
Working alongside the ad agency, Zebra Strategies sifted through a series
of test campaigns to land on the final product for the visually and factually
jarring “POURING ON THE POUNDS” campaign that was a staple in
subway cars and stations for many months.
While the core message was always our focus, we also took into account
the tone of the message, nuances specific to the target audience, socioeconomic factors and the targets audience’s preferences. Thanks to our
attention to detail in research, knowledge of the target audience and ability
to collaborate with the ad agency, this campaign received local and national
39 West 32nd Street
Suite 1404
New York, NY 10001
212.244.3960
www.zstrategies.net
recognition. Could we do the same for you?
CAMPAIGN: HIV Prevention
It is a fact that HIV rates are increasing in women of color, but is this fact
known by the very group it is affecting? Exploratory research with women
of color built the foundation for this sensitive campaign and created a
deeper understanding of the challenges faced by this often misunderstood
and misrepresented demographic.
39 West 32nd Street
Suite 1404
New York, NY 10001
212.244.3960
www.zstrategies.net
CAMPAIGN: Teen Pregnancy
Zebra Strategies is renowned in the industry as a leader in difficult and/or
sensitive research. Although any adult would agree teen pregnancy is not
the ideal circumstance for young adults, statistics show that a record
number of teens are sexually active, yet relatively uninformed about sexual
health. The goal with this campaign was to deal with the reality of teen sex
head-on, but to leave the target audience feeling empowered and in
control of their choices, yet well aware of possible consequences.
Zebra Strategies interviewed a wide range of New York City teens as
background research for this campaign, a tactic many other firms might
find to be uncomfortable.