RACE Part 2: Never! Research.

Research, Action, Communication, Evaluation

Never start a brand project without research. It’s crucially important to know how your product or service stacks up with the competition and the current market conditions.

While on an assignment a few years ago, a co-worker and I traveled across the country to Golden, Colorado, to study patterns in a particular outdoor industry market segment. Spending a few days in the midst of the culture and lifestyles surrounding this particular industry allowed us to understand the products and uses at a much higher level.

Aside from the on-site research, we also compiled some amazing data from magazines, personal interviews, and the internet.

The end result? Believe it or not, we came back and recommended against moving forward with the project simply because the current market was already overcrowded with key players and failing start-up companies.

Research is the key first step to the RACE, and one should never start without it.