Inspirations from Analog in a Digital World

The Case for Analog
in a Digital World

8 implications for marketers and new product developers
www.blog.mindswarms.com

Purpose

MindSwarms wanted to consider what one thing in people’s
lives, of all the things that could be digital, which people want
to remain non-digital


Research Objective

To understand people’s views on items they hope remain analog
and why this form is important in their lives


Target Audience
• National US sample
• 16 states
• 25 cities
• Ages 19 - 45
• Even male/female ratio
• Mix of ethnicities and socio-economic
backgrounds


What insights emerged?


Respondents acknowledged that digital
relationships offer benefits, but
human relationships still top the list of
things that must remain non-digital


The importance of maintaining nondigital relationships

“I think my husband and I could have a
digital relationship. We communicate
better through text than we do when we
are face-to-face, but our relationship has
to remain non-digital because we do
have to have face-to-face
communication and touching at some
point!” - Laura, 36, AL

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“There's something to be said about
having an interaction with somebody in
person, face-to-face, how you're
touching them, feeling those emotions
run through you when you see
somebody in person and talk with them.”
- Joshua 28, CA



“Having a real human connection without
machines when you need to call a
company to take care of something is
really important. We shouldn’t speak to
our families with texting and we shouldn’t
have to talk to a machine when we have
a problem.” - Jessica, 33, TX


In addition to human interaction,
people had many other things in their
lives that they strongly prefer to
keep non-digital because:

• Some non-digital product experiences are richer and
more inspiring than their digital forms
• Older product forms often provide a link to the
craftsmanship of the past
• There is a comfort and security to doing things the “old,
proven” way


Relationships with
non-digital “treasures”


Although technology is usually
positioned as interactive, many felt
non-digital products offer
a better multi-sensory experience

• Many read digital books but still crave the touch, smell,
and interactive experience that real books provide
• The interaction offered by books and traditional board
games was felt to offer a more immersive and
educational experience
• The enjoyment and inspiration from traditional wall art
was also mentioned as a valued benefit versus the “art”
from large, digital TVs that now fill walls

The multi-sensory experience from
non-digital products

“I like to be able to physically touch the
pages of a book, move the pages, see
how far I am in the chapter, look back
on things, make notes, highlight and
underline…” - Ashley, 29, NE



“There’s nothing that can beat the
feeling of a book in your hands. I
also love the smell of a new book or
even the smell of an old book. It’s
wonderful. It smells like the history
of the book.” - Antonio, 28, TX
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“I think board games should stay just
the way they are. Especially games
like Monopoly because it’s important
for kids to learn how to deal with bills
and make change. Also, when kids
play those traditional board games, it
teaches them social skills and good
sportsmanship.“ - Damian, 24, VA



“I'm sure that [robots] would provide
some companionship for people,
however, this is not the same thing
that my pet has. She's got little
idiosyncrasies, she greets me when I
come home, she does silly things
when she thinks I'm upset, she
snuggles with me; I just don't see that
being capable, being possible with a
robot.” - Kissa, 38, AZ


For some, new tech cannot replace
old craftsmanship

• Digital cameras often described as “for work” while
traditional ﬁlm “for craft”
• Previously non-digital products oﬀer a nostalgia and
quality that newer digital versions can’t replicate
• Fear that the faster paced world which comes with
digital products will take away from the experiences
had in the past

old craftsmanship

“I do semi-professional photography
and I use a digital camera for
production work, things which have
a deadline where someone is paying
me, but for art there is in my opinion
nothing as good as a ﬁlm camera.” Matthew, 27, CA


old craftsmanship

“You can get a really high-end, high
deﬁnition picture [with a digital
camera], but that's not artistically what
I'm always looking for. I like the
representation of the way I used to
see photographs and covers of
magazines when I was growing up.
There was an importance to that that I
want to preserve.” - David, 41, FL


old craftsmanship

“I think it's important that we all don't
get jumbled up in ‘everything needs to
be quickly advancing’ and ‘everything
needs to be brand new.’ I think there's
great value in things that are decades
old and things people use all the time.
For me, the best example is my old
record player.” - James, 25, PA


Non-digital experiences offer a level
of comfort and security that doesn’t
transfer to digital products

• News of digital hacking and compromised online
security seems to draw some people back to tangible
security, like a traditional house key
• Many ﬁnd comfort in habits and experiences
established with the “old” non-digital version of
products or services like the paper calendar and faceto-face customer service


The comfort and security of nondigital experiences

“I know there are options out there for
unlocking your door using
smartphones, but I do worry about how
easy it is to intercept those unlocking
codes, how easy it is to hack my device
or hack my home lock. The keys have
been around for a very long time. They
are a well-established and proven
technology.” - Richard, 45, CA



“There are tons of ways you can make
an app to get your keys to unlock your
door or your car, but what happens if
your phone gets stolen? That person
now has access to not only whatever
records you keep on your phone, but
also probably your house. Keys are
something that are very tangible and I
think need to stay tangible to protect our
safety.” - Kendall, 20, WA



“I love writing things in my paper
calendar. There's something about
seeing it visually, being able to ﬂip a
page, visually counting the weeks. It
just comforts me to know that I'm
getting things accomplished and I
have things coming up.” Jacqueline, 41, NY



“Just having a real human connection
without machines at the grocery store
or when you need to call Amazon or
when you need to call someone to take
care of something, just not dealing with
a machine and having real human
beings…” - Jessica, 33, TX


Digital products make life easier
in many ways, but some fear the
impact of an overly digital world


Fear of the impact of an overly
digital world

“So, it’s true the world is becoming
digital with just about everything in
our lives. When I look around my
apartment to ﬁnd something that
either isn’t already digital, or has a
possibility of being digital, it’s pretty
hard to ﬁnd.” - Gershon, 37, NY


Fear of the impact of an overly
digital world

“I think it's troubling or disconcerting
that more and more we’re just
communicating by the internet or
digitally. I think we should have more
face-to-face interaction than we have
now.” - Brad, 41, NY


Everyone has at least one thing, usually
something they treasure most, that they
want to remain forever non-digital


Treasures to remain forever nondigital

“I think there are a lot of things in life,
like that sound of time passing from
a ticking watch, that should remain
non-digital” - Sarah, 40, CA


Conclusions & Implications
People resist the idea of digital relationships and expressed
great frustration with the “digitization” of customer service
relationships
When it comes to people’s passions, there is often a nostalgia
and quality perception associated with the more labor-intensive
products/processes of the past
Consumers crave product experiences that involve the senses:
the smell of a book, the look of an old vinyl record cover, and
the act of crossing oﬀ days on a paper calendar
There is a comfort and safety beneﬁt that comes from the
physical versus digital form of some products

Conclusions & Implications
Companies must continue to balance eﬃciency with
personalization to be perceived as a quality customer service
provider
Today’s product development teams must be aware of
consumers’ evolving perceptions about what deﬁnes quality
and cognizant that “new doesn’t always mean better”
Digital products must continue to create bonds with
consumers, even with the absence of some sense experiences
available through the more traditional, non-digital versions
Further, consumer trust in “virtual” security related products is
still shaky and must be a considered messaging point in
product communications

About MindSwarms
MindSwarms gathers video feedback from consumers via
smartphone/tablet (and webcam) all over the world. Fast.
Consumers are screened ﬁrst, then qualiﬁed respondents are
invited to record their responses (asynchronously).
Consumers are paid for participating.
Responses to the study questions are viewable and shareable
online, and can be downloaded in Quicktime format for
inclusion in presentations or to create curated videos.
Learn more at MindSwarms.com or blog.mindswarms.com.


About MindSwarms

Click here to watch the video.

Thank You


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Photo Attribution
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Page 1
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Book 10 by ~Brenda-Starr~

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Page 2
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Digital Bolex D16 on CineSkates by Cinetics

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Page 3
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Digital Producer by tonyhall

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Page 4
CC-licensed Flickr Photo 08.08.Independence.WDC.4jul05 by Elvert Barnes

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Page 5
CC-licensed Flickr Photo wooden booklet - opened by SNIJLAB

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Page 6
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Love project by certiﬁed su

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Page 10
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Books by Katherine Hodgson

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Page 11
CC-licensed Flickr Photo DSC05844 by bluebirdsandteapots

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Page 12
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Euphoria in board games is often at the expense of other players... by elPadawan
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Little Blue Car by robnguyen01

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Page 17
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Tschibo disposable camera ﬁlm by Uwe Hermann

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Page 21
CC-licensed Flickr Photo We got the keys! by Bill Selak

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Page 25
CC-licensed Flickr Photo The digital world by serzhile

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Page 29
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Tick by Ivymike


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