Helping a Social Media Brand Regain Relevance

Challenge

Understanding young adults’ expectations for how a leading social media brand’s position shows up on the app so the client can ensure that its app experience delivers on those expectations.

A leading social media brand had been losing relevance among young adults for years, struggling to communicate its value proposition, particularly in social discovery. The client needed to understand young adults’ expectations for how the brand’s positioning should manifest in the app experience to drive growth and regain relevance.

Approach

We began with a deep dive into young adults’ perceptions of the client’s brand positioning. Participants were asked to examine specific parts of the app and provide examples of potential improvements. We then conducted 2-hour in-person workshops to further explore expectations and app enhancements. Finally, we measured the gap between expectations and experiences through a 2000-person survey to quantify the issues.

Impact

Our research allowed the client to understand how their app was delivering on its positioning and how different app components met or fell short of key objectives. The insights helped the client improve the app and adapt its messaging to better resonate with young adults by showcasing how the app facilitated social discovery and why users shouldn’t continue to ‘ghost’ the platform.