Curtain Up for Insight Impact Video Company Explners

In the UK, researchers Mark Whalley, Dan Parker-Smith and Judith Rose (formerly Judith Staig) have launched Explners, which uses video formats to summarise research findings and help clients disseminate them among internal customers and other stakeholders, maximising ROI from their research.

A typical 'explainer' video is three-to-four-minutes long and brings together together data visualisation, animation, voiceover, music, sound effects and existing footage such as vox pops or focus group respondents. The company was soft launched earlier this year and will initially focus on clients in the UK and in FMCG markets.

Whalley worked as Head of Food & Drink Research at GlobalData Consumer, and then Insight Controller at convenience food producer Greencore. Last year he founded strategic insights consultancy The Differential.

Parker-Smith's background is in research, but he also has a degree in cinematography and film production: he worked as a Content Producer and Film Maker at insight firm Trinity McQueen until 2019 when he founded The Word Is Out, a videography company specialising in the insights sector.

Rose was a Research Director at GfK for nine years, latterly as an In-house Writer creating case studies, white papers, articles and reports. In 2013 she left to launch ContentWrite, an insights sector content and communications consultancy.

Comments from the three illuminate the thinking behind their collaborative venture, which was soft-launched earlier in the year. 'For many client-side researchers, the problem is not the access to quality research' says Whalley, 'it's the struggle to communicate those insights in a consistent and compelling fashion'. Parker-Smith comments: 'I'm a big fan of explainer videos from companies such as Vox, and it struck me that there is nothing similar available in the insights sector. Currently, video content is typically limited to talking heads or content from qualitative projects - with my background in film, I saw an opportunity to do something better and more engaging'. According to Rose, 'Research reports may be thorough, but they aren't often easy to read or impactful - especially for stakeholders who aren't research literate. Much of my work over the last ten years has been about helping agencies and end clients tell the story of their research using the written word, so it's been exciting to bring those skills to storyboarding our explainer videos'.

The company is online at www.explners.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.