The Focus Group Saw It Differently & That Changed The Game Strategy

The film is grainy, poorly lit and difficult to see. So much rides on it.  Do the research participants see what we see?  And, seeing what we see can they help us burn down the defendant's excuses?

The bones of the story are thus: a high school football player becomes a quadriplegic when the helmet he is wearing does not protect his neck in a pre-game scrimmage.  Properly designed football helmets are supposed to dissipate the force and energy that travel through the crown of the helmet and down the neck to its most vulnerable points of fracture or breakage. 

Defense argued that the young player charged into the game, spearing to impress his coach and brought this on himself.  Spearing is what you would think: the player uses his head and body like a spear to drive into and take down his opponent.  It's illegal.  Trouble was: he could have been doing that.

We played the video for the focus group research participants.  In a moment of brilliance we chose a few of them to act as play-by-play announcers to call out the actions on the field.  What we learned when we looked at the video through their eyes and heard them describe the actions of the two key players was a complete reversal of what we thought we saw. 

Yes, our young man had run into the game from the sidelines.  He did so at the precise moment that the player on the opposing team dug in, charged, jumped, and twisted in the air to catch the ball falling to the ground on top of our guy.  There was no opportunity to spear. 

The helmet should have done its job if the design had kept up with the technology and the marketing claims of the defendant who regarded injury as the enemy.  The helmet did not do its job for this fellow but the focus group did which resulted in a very good outcome for him and perhaps the chance that future children will walk off the field.

TIP:    Test your cases early and often.

TIP:    Allow the research participants to do more than receive lots of lawyer words.

TIP:    Use demonstratives, graphics, models, easels, modeling clay, and a measure of creativity to make the case come alive.

TIP:    When there is another idea that will inform the strategy, be willing to accept that they could very well be right.