A large, global FMCG company wanted a first-hand view of West African women’s laundry processes.
This study was designed to help understand the use of laundry powders and bars in West Africa.
More than that – the client team wanted to experience the hand washing laundry process as the women do – from collecting water and setting up the laundry area, through to cleaning, hanging, and disposing water.
Objectives
- Truly experience the laundry process from the eyes of the woman
- Understand how, why, and when women use various laundry products or tools
- Observe any differing behaviours and laundry environments between individual women, as well as between the three countries
- Analyse video for products, tools, or messaging to improve the process for women
- Experience women’s attitudes and mindsets in the moment
METHOD
25 women across 3 countries in West Africa hand-washed their laundry as they usually would
Contour cameras captured first-person video as the women narrated their laundry process, from bucket setup to water disposal
80 hours of global footage were analysed by weseethrough’s coding team and uploaded onto the video curation platform, Haystack. Haystack’s advanced behavioural coding and transcription capabilities helped bring-to-life examples of behaviour for the team to see – and internalise
Haystack allowed weseethrough researchers to mine for unarticulated nuances that could inform new product ideas, ways of communicating, behaviours, or trends
25
Women
3
Countries
80
Hours of Footage
FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS
Her Detailed Process – An outline and bring-to-life videos for each step
The broader client team do not do laundry in this way. From product developers to marketers, this first-hand experience gave them a means to understand women’s laundry processes in detail.
Implications included: new product innovation, on-package communication
Ensure laundry products can withstand the rigor of the process, including storage, transport, and use
Unarticulated Process Steps – No longer ‘invisible’!
The detailed process outline importantly included items only discovered through the first-hand observation technique. Handwashing sounds simple, but there were many unarticulated observations. Examples include how they handle each piece of clothing, differences between those pieces of clothing, order of cleaning, etc.
Implications included: new product innovation, on-package communication
Consider communicating a better process for cleaner results
Motions and Movements – The same everywhere!
Physical motions and movements within the hand-washing bucket across women (and countries) were shockingly similar – seemingly innate. Even the sounds created were universal.
Implications included: new product innovation
Consider products with specific attributes to make it easier on her hands.
Identify ways the product/packaging could work harder to clean, given these universal motions within buckets
Water Procurement – It is what it is
No matter how women procured water, none complained… it’s just the way life is. We did notice some pride among some – suggesting it is a social status symbol to have more easily available water.
Implications included: brand building
For an unexpected delighter, how can water procurement or availability be made easier?
Cues of Clean – More than the garment
‘Clean cues’ go well beyond looking at a piece of clothing after washing it. Besides cleaning products and tools, women’s routines are filled with a variety of process steps, and several kinds of ‘inspections’. Many factors add up to ‘clean’.
Implications included: new product innovation, on-pack communication
Consider all of the points in her process that contribute to ‘clean’
