From television shows (live action & animated) to electronics, the idea of focus groups seems logical in theory: a company hires a group of randomized citizens (of varying ages and demographics) and gauges their opinions on a product, with said companies want to improve their changes of success by finding out what the average conscious thinks.
But in practice (from my experience being on both sides of the fence from 19 different FG screenings), I've discovered most people show up because they need the cash & rarely express their honest opinions as consumers. I once saw this one guy lazily pressing Option 'A' for every question presented to him, mumbling to himself in boredom when he will get his check. Another example of a nervous young woman who was influenced to follow along what her sister was doing so it would look like she was comfortable with all the decisions she was making. The old idiom of "Everyone has opinions, but they are not all equally valuable" should apply here, as one person asked why the wheels of the prototype sports car were round. (No, I'm not joking about that one. That actually happened.)
I remember talking to Giancarlo Volpe (one of the creators/show-runners and writers on 'Green Lantern: The Animated Series') about his experience when he & Jim Krieg were watching a focus group screening of an episode of GL (with kids ranging from 6-11), & despite the positive response and the kids overall enthusiasm to know more, the moderators were not gentle with giving them unreliable feedback.
So with that in mind, why are Focus Groups even a thing when it's obvious it's a unreliable avenue to gather genuine feedback on what people truly desire, and instead it's only there to appeal to decision makers validation?
But in practice (from my experience being on both sides of the fence from 19 different FG screenings), I've discovered most people show up because they need the cash & rarely express their honest opinions as consumers. I once saw this one guy lazily pressing Option 'A' for every question presented to him, mumbling to himself in boredom when he will get his check. Another example of a nervous young woman who was influenced to follow along what her sister was doing so it would look like she was comfortable with all the decisions she was making. The old idiom of "Everyone has opinions, but they are not all equally valuable" should apply here, as one person asked why the wheels of the prototype sports car were round. (No, I'm not joking about that one. That actually happened.)
I remember talking to Giancarlo Volpe (one of the creators/show-runners and writers on 'Green Lantern: The Animated Series') about his experience when he & Jim Krieg were watching a focus group screening of an episode of GL (with kids ranging from 6-11), & despite the positive response and the kids overall enthusiasm to know more, the moderators were not gentle with giving them unreliable feedback.
So with that in mind, why are Focus Groups even a thing when it's obvious it's a unreliable avenue to gather genuine feedback on what people truly desire, and instead it's only there to appeal to decision makers validation?