• Two scenes of face painting: one shows a person painting on a child's face, and the other a child receiving face paint, appearing as a cat.

    Face Painting Through a Child's Eyes: Unveiling Hidden Experiences

    We immersed ourselves in the vibrant world of face painting to capture the authentic experiences of children under 10 years old, revealing emotional responses that had previously gone unnoticed.

    Our approach was fundamentally child-centric. We eliminated adult interpretation to truly understand the experience through children's eyes. This authentic perspective was our guiding principle throughout the project.

    Our methodology combined depth with breadth: we conducted in-home observation of playdates across both the UK and US, equipping both parents and children with camera-and-microphone glasses to capture moments that might otherwise be missed. We then validated the rich qualitative insights with a comprehensive online survey to size the market opportunity.

    The breakthrough came in our deliverables. We presented insights through compelling first-person case studies that captured both the language children used (‘what it sounded like’) and their observed behaviours (‘what it looked like’). This dual approach allowed us to tell a story they had never heard before, despite years in the children's face painting industry.

  • Two young boys watching a cartoon on TV in a living room.

    Identifying Growth Opportunities for Children's Television

    Viacom's Milkshake!, a programming block targeting preschoolers aged 3-7 years, needed strategic research to support continued growth by understanding its role in the lives of young viewers and their parents.

    Our methodology blended in-home observation sessions that captured morning routines with innovative digital ethnography using body-mounted cameras. This technology provided an authentic child's perspective on morning routines and media consumption without researcher interference. We complemented this with parental sessions to gain a holistic view.

    Our findings delivered comprehensive audience understanding and identified key strategic opportunities for Milkshake! in three critical areas: strengthening brand identity, enhancing audience engagement, and expanding the brand offering—providing a clear roadmap for sustainable growth in the competitive children's programming landscape.

  • Two women standing with bicycles in a park, wearing white tank tops and denim shorts, surrounded by trees.

    New Product Development: Capturing Children's Play Insights

    Our client approached us with a concept for a new children's product but faced significant time and budget constraints. This challenge demanded an innovative approach to gather authentic insights into children's natural play behaviours.

    We leveraged everyday technology to capture crucial moments of children interacting with existing toys in their genuine home environments. This observational data was complemented by strategic video calls and carefully designed open play sessions.

    Our analysis revealed not only validation for the initial product concept but uncovered additional opportunities that expanded the potential partnership scope with our client transforming a single product brief into a comprehensive development roadmap.

    ‘Although the objective of the research was to validate an existing proposal, what impressed us was the way that Magenta’s research also unearthed two or three other sizeable opportunities, one of which we are actively developing with strong hopes of sizeable commercial impact next year.’

    Global Head of Insight, TCC Global