CASE STUDY
Partnering to Unlock a Misunderstood Customer Segment
THE CHALLENGE
Kohl’s approached the WeWork Strategic Consulting team with a proposition. They couldn’t attract the one customer that was flooding through our doors: The Millennial Parent. We (the WeWork Strategic Consulting team) had a hunch that their personagraphic definition was off. In just 12 weeks, we needed to redefine that customer profile and create a “Bold Idea” retail concept that we could test and scale. This concept would be a net-new brand shared between Kohl’s and WeWork.
METHODOLOGY
We set off to find “The Bold Idea”, built from the ground up by studying our target segment: Millennial Parents. We worked through an agile process with two week sprints that ended in a client-facing release. We used demographic data from third party vendors to understand high level trends in segment spending, desk research (including social listening) to identify segment values, and an two-week in-depth “mission” with the customer research tool dScout to follow a group of Millennial Parents through the highs and lows of their days, looking for areas for product and experience innovation. At the same time, I was traveling to the Kohl’s HQ to conduct workshops with the executive leadership team and to the WeWork HQ in New York to find synergy between our corporate visions and appetite for innovation.
Research Tools:
dScout “mission” with US-based working parents
Crowd-sourcing events with WeWork members in NYC, LA and Chicago
Suzy market research with US-based consumer panel (A/B testing)
Van Westendorp price sensitivity tests (via Suzy panel)
Social listening (Sprout Social, desk work)
Proprietary demographic segmentation data
Focus groups & Workshops with Kohl’s & WeWork leadership
Walking tours of NYC stores with executive team
Partnership with Kohl’s finance team on revenue strategies
INSIGHT 1
The experience must be shaped by the target customer’s values, which are currently underserved in the retail space.
We knew this concept needed the magnetic power of attraction. A concept that would tap into the heart of Millennial Parents’ experience, and serve them in a new way. We built the concept on in-depth values research. Below are examples of two ways that one of our five key values were identified through empirical research and visual story-boarding.
INSIGHT 2
Our purpose statement should direct every element of the engagement ecosystem, and unify the project stakeholders.
We crafted a brand statement, a north-star goal that all stakeholders could rally around, as we began to develop the experiential components of several store concepts. This statement was presented first at the start of any meeting, and was hung on the wall in the team room at both company HQs. This is a particularly meaningful gesture in my work, as I’ve found that a shared vision is the most powerful tool for moving a project along on time and on budget.
INSIGHT 3
In order for our key customer to understand and love our retail concept (at a national scale) it has to have a clear point of view.
One of the hallmarks of brick and mortar retail in 2019 was innovative in-store experiences. My team and I led Kohl’s executives on a day-long excursion through Manhattan to learn about the latest greatest shopping concepts. We spent the second day unpacking the retail persona that our brand needed to embody.
INSIGHT 3
Our spatial strategy needs to be both replicable and surprising.
We also began to create spatial diagrams that would get the teams excited about the shoppability of the concept. It did, afterall, have to make money, and we wanted to set ourselves up (the WeWork Strategic Consulting Team) for additional scope. Being a trained architectural designer, I led the in-store concept design and produced several concept illustrations, shown below.
INSIGHT 4
The brand will stand out if it’s built around the “need state” of a busy working parent.
The MVP concept, “The Bold Idea” was to create a story around “Life in Motion.” We identified through our research that there was a gap in the market that would satisfy the emotional core of the Millennial Parent’s daily life. They wanted the surprise and delight of an in-store experience, without sacrificing time. They wanted to include their children in the shopping routine, but get what they need and get out. They wanted tech integrations and multiple purchase options, and they wanted in-store services and experiences.
CONSUMER TESTING
To validate the strength of the concept, we A/B tested it alongside an alternative “GRWM” (Get Ready With Me) using the market research platform Suzy. We selected panelists, presented them with concepts using a Monadic testing series. Results showed that Life In Motion tracked extremely well in relevance, excitement and likelihood to return.
LOCATION STRATEGY
The final leg of the project was to work with WeWork’s real estate advisory team on a potential roll out strategy using the WeWork nationwide portfolio, overlayed with the Kohl’s customer map.
FOLLOW-UP
Although the entire project was well received by both teams, due to the events that took place regarding WeWork’s initial public offering in September 2019, the project did not continue as a partnership. Kohl’s did take the customer insights and implemented them into their ongoing brand partnership strategy, which you can see in store today in the Sephora + Kohl’s partnership.