Mister Three Sixty

Crackheads, Prostitutes and the Poor are not the sort of people most of us have much experience of dealing with. Which is ironic, given the number of marketing and communications briefs that ask us to include ‘Hard-to-Reach’ audiences. Too often the ‘Hard-to-Reach’ get nothing more than a politically-correct hat tip.

I met with Stephen Lacey (stevielacey@aol.com) yesterday, a researcher who specialises in finding, connecting with and talking to hard to reach audiences. Stephen grew up on an Estate and that’s given him a head-start but combined with a fearless and unassuming approach, he has a deep understanding of the worlds of prisoners, alcoholics, benefit fraudsters, children in homes, domestic abusers, anorexic models, drug dealers, business men with heroin problems, Eastern Europeans, Estate kids, Faith groups, people with disabilities, the homeless, heroin addicts, teenage parents, sexually abused children, sex workers and the transgendered.

Steve had some really interesting stuff to say about motivations for crime – and it seems obvious now (all the best insights do) – but he showed other factors that drive crime e.g. Fame, escapsim, to appear hard, to look good, to get rich and to have fun.

The truth is that most market researchers are much more comfortable treading worn paths to the doors of the recruiter in Oldham. Or that one in Watford. A comfortable armchair, a cup of tea and kidding yourself that this is truly moving outside your comfort zone to meet with ‘the people’.