Understanding more – taking more targeted action

Strategic market and media analyses with a focus on children and youths

How we work

We advise you on all questions regarding markets, brands and advertising impact based on the concept of morphological psychology.

With us, research and consulting are not the sum of individual findings. Instead, your questions are answered in a methodical process. The unconscious and conscious characteristics of an item are put into a unique context with clear imagery. This makes it possible to recommend strategic measures that are lastingly effective.

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Corona Krise

During the coronavirus crisis, Wiesmann interviews and groups are carried out online. Find out which topics benefit from this from a depth-psychology perspective and learn about the limits of online research.

Learn more

Consulting services

A joint process

In many cases, our research is the starting point of lasting cooperation and individual consulting based on our specially developed consulting concept. Together with you, we go where others stop.

1
Initial consultation

We learn about your expectations for the planned research, delve deeper into background and context, and jointly specify the scope of the project.

2
Offer

We prepare an offer tailored to your research objectives. It includes a recommendation which settings and procedures to use, as well as a detailed calculation of costs.

3
Organizational preparations

Team, timing, locations and screener, used for the optimum selection of interviewees, are determined and a thematic guide is compiled.

4
Fieldwork & Analyses

Briefing of the team and implementation of settings. The analyses during and after the fieldwork determine the state of findings and ensure systematic deepening.

5
Supervision & Strategic deductions

The findings obtained in fieldwork and analyses are supervised and thus validated. On this basis, clear strategic recommendations are developed.

6
Presentation & Outlook

The findings and targeted recommendations for action are clearly illustrated in a presentation. Clarifying questions are answered and further steps are discussed.

7
Accompanying the implementation

If desired we are happy to advise you on the implementation and deepen the findings in joint workshops or with the help of other suitable tools.

Services

Services

  • Process support

    Every issue is unique. This is why the market research is tailored to your individual one. The tried-and-tested concept of morphological market and media psychology and a team of experienced psychologists ensure a high validity of the findings.

    The research is personally headed by Susanne Wiesmann, be it in Germany with an established team or internationally with local psychologists. ‘Forschen und beraten’ (research and consulting) is the concept we strive to live up to. We accompany the process from idea generation to empirical research and implementation. For us, consulting means not looking at research as an isolated part but as one stage in a comprehensive process that involves consumers as well as our client, researchers and creative agencies.

    The standardized tools are adapted depending on the issue and the existing knowledge about the segment and the market. In principle, research can be carried out on anything that can be gathered by interviewing consumers or customers, and by analyzing their descriptions of their behavior and experience. Thus, the procedures described here are only a fraction of what is possible.

    Many research topics can also be looked at in ‘quick checks’ to then decide whether or not thorough research is to be carried out.

  • Basic research

    Creating a knowledge base for further questions.

    Market segmentations:
    The rules of this market and the positioning of the brands are explored.

    Approaches to product categories:
    All psychological aspects of a product category are examined and compiled in a model.

  • Brands

    Brands are researched like living persons, including their ‘birth’, their very own evolution and their individual scope.

    Analyses of reputation and brand essence:
    The brand personality is made transparent from the consumer’s perspective: The brand with its strengths and weaknesses and its perceived specific tradition is made tangible in a brand model that integrates conscious and unconscious aspects.

    Analyses of potential:
    The brand in the market, its promise for the future, and its development principle or brand-specific ‘strategies’ become accessible and thus the decisive parameters.

    Positioning and repositioning:
    It is determined how interference with the brand presence – be it product innovations, packaging and design changes, or even a whole new umbrella brand – affects the brand and how it can be implemented best according to your objectives.

  • Packaging & designn

    The rational as well as the emotional messages of a brand become understandable regarding their sensual and visual aspects and their meaning.

    Packaging analyses:
    Analysis of a packaging’s form language and its haptic qualities as well as the required realization and its convenience in a specific product segment.

    Design analyses:
    Analysis of the imagery the design creates as an ‘image’ within the whole. For this purpose, the design elements are not examined primarily as isolated individual elements but as part of an overall design in which changing one element also changes the context of all other elements.

  • Media

    Every media research includes the media’s effects on everyday life, from getting up to going to bed (‘taking the cell phone to bed’). The change in attitudes regarding all areas of life due to media is made comprehensible in the medium examined.

    New media:
    Analysis of the differentiating frames of mind and the promises of new media

    Social media:
    What requirements for brand presences and viral advertising are derived from the ‘meaning’ of social media for their use in certain stages of life and at a certain age?

    Analyses of TV station reputations and formats:
    Analyses of TV station profiles and formats: What is the actual impact internet TV has on the reception of formats (‘parallelism of 3 media`)? When are which TV stations relevant in the course of a day? How are TV station profiles differentiated and what are their functions beyond TV?

  • Advertising

    It is explored to what extent advertising achieves what is intended

    All forms of viral marketing

    Pre- and post-test of all advertising material:
    Exploration of all visual and screen advertising in the respective media environment

    Media planning:
    Analysis of the effective advertising strategy online and offline

    Concept labs:
    Concept research based on interviews (psychologists) and immediately adapted concepts (agency)

  • Target groups

    wiesmannforschenundberaten researches all age groups, genders and social groups. Be it B2C or B2B – we carry out research competently and based on a solid depth psychology foundation.

    We have special expertise in research including mothers, parents, education professionals, teachers, doctors and midwives. Research into all products and brands that are relevant for these groups is more valid and better founded thanks to this expertise. Consulting on the implementation of research findings for tailored promotional approaches or the development of long-term concepts is in the best hands with us. Thanks to our experience, we are able to provide reliable support in every area in which children are looked after, educated or cared for in an institutionalized fashion. Research on parents also comprises research on children, who are ‘interviewed’ either together with a parent, alone, or with a friend.

    Morphologial psychology is an everyday psychology and thus better suited than any other concept when it comes to determining consumers’ behavior and experience in the context in which products, brands and media offers are applied. It makes transparent the fact that products and brands are successful if they help making the life of one’s dreams and one’s ideal self more of a reality in the ‘mundane’ everyday life.

Every issue is unique. This is why the market research is tailored to your individual one. The tried-and-tested concept of morphological market and media psychology and a team of experienced psychologists ensure a high validity of the findings.

The research is personally headed by Susanne Wiesmann, be it in Germany with an established team or internationally with local psychologists. ‘Forschen und beraten’ (research and consulting) is the concept we strive to live up to. We accompany the process from idea generation to empirical research and implementation. For us, consulting means not looking at research as an isolated part but as one stage in a comprehensive process that involves consumers as well as our client, researchers and creative agencies.

The standardized tools are adapted depending on the issue and the existing knowledge about the segment and the market. In principle, research can be carried out on anything that can be gathered by interviewing consumers or customers, and by analyzing their descriptions of their behavior and experience. Thus, the procedures described here are only a fraction of what is possible.

Many research topics can also be looked at in ‘quick checks’ to then decide whether or not thorough research is to be carried out.

Creating a knowledge base for further questions.

Market segmentations:
The rules of this market and the positioning of the brands are explored.

Approaches to product categories:
All psychological aspects of a product category are examined and compiled in a model.

Brands are researched like living persons, including their ‘birth’, their very own evolution and their individual scope.

Analyses of reputation and brand essence:
The brand personality is made transparent from the consumer’s perspective: The brand with its strengths and weaknesses and its perceived specific tradition is made tangible in a brand model that integrates conscious and unconscious aspects.

Analyses of potential:
The brand in the market, its promise for the future, and its development principle or brand-specific ‘strategies’ become accessible and thus the decisive parameters.

Positioning and repositioning:
It is determined how interference with the brand presence – be it product innovations, packaging and design changes, or even a whole new umbrella brand – affects the brand and how it can be implemented best according to your objectives.

The rational as well as the emotional messages of a brand become understandable regarding their sensual and visual aspects and their meaning.

Packaging analyses:
Analysis of a packaging’s form language and its haptic qualities as well as the required realization and its convenience in a specific product segment.

Design analyses:
Analysis of the imagery the design creates as an ‘image’ within the whole. For this purpose, the design elements are not examined primarily as isolated individual elements but as part of an overall design in which changing one element also changes the context of all other elements.

Every media research includes the media’s effects on everyday life, from getting up to going to bed (‘taking the cell phone to bed’). The change in attitudes regarding all areas of life due to media is made comprehensible in the medium examined.

New media:
Analysis of the differentiating frames of mind and the promises of new media

Social media:
What requirements for brand presences and viral advertising are derived from the ‘meaning’ of social media for their use in certain stages of life and at a certain age?

Analyses of TV station reputations and formats:
Analyses of TV station profiles and formats: What is the actual impact internet TV has on the reception of formats (‘parallelism of 3 media`)? When are which TV stations relevant in the course of a day? How are TV station profiles differentiated and what are their functions beyond TV?

It is explored to what extent advertising achieves what is intended

All forms of viral marketing

Pre- and post-test of all advertising material:
Exploration of all visual and screen advertising in the respective media environment

Media planning:
Analysis of the effective advertising strategy online and offline

Concept labs:
Concept research based on interviews (psychologists) and immediately adapted concepts (agency)

wiesmannforschenundberaten researches all age groups, genders and social groups. Be it B2C or B2B – we carry out research competently and based on a solid depth psychology foundation.

We have special expertise in research including mothers, parents, education professionals, teachers, doctors and midwives. Research into all products and brands that are relevant for these groups is more valid and better founded thanks to this expertise. Consulting on the implementation of research findings for tailored promotional approaches or the development of long-term concepts is in the best hands with us. Thanks to our experience, we are able to provide reliable support in every area in which children are looked after, educated or cared for in an institutionalized fashion. Research on parents also comprises research on children, who are ‘interviewed’ either together with a parent, alone, or with a friend.

Morphologial psychology is an everyday psychology and thus better suited than any other concept when it comes to determining consumers’ behavior and experience in the context in which products, brands and media offers are applied. It makes transparent the fact that products and brands are successful if they help making the life of one’s dreams and one’s ideal self more of a reality in the ‘mundane’ everyday life.

Cases

The ‘ego’ is not simply there...

...we have to create it anew every morning. Researching the personal images of young adults.

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Why are baby snacks better than toys?

Food as a tool to influence the early relationship of mother and child

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My dog, the better partner

The unconscious side of pet keeping

Learn more

Panic buying — psychological arming against the crisis

Panic buying makes sense psychologically

Learn more

Our customers

References

About us

Team & institute

“wiesmannforschenundberaten” - that is Susanne Wiesmann and an established research team of experienced morphological psychologists who work wherever needed. If necessary, they are supported by young colleagues who ensure the next generation’s perspective.

In order to guarantee valid and efficient research also in other countries and on other continents, we cooperate with competent institutes and renowned psychologists around the world.

We are able to complement our research experience gained in various countries with the research experience other psychologists gained in additional countries, thus expanding it to every country – provided that research can be carried out there.

Imprint

This website is operated by:

wiesmannforschenundberaten
Strategische Markt- und Medienanalysen
Fokus Kinder, Jugendliche und Familien

Löwenburgstrasse 37
50939 Cologne
Fon: +49 (0) 221.277 99 85-0
Fax: +49 (0) 221.277 99 85-20

info@forschenundberaten.de


Managing director: Susanne Wiesmann

Commercial register
Cologne Local Court (Amtsgericht Köln)
VAT ID: DE 814090199
Responsible for the content of this website:
wiesmannforschenundberaten

Layout and design:
Chris Gaiser - chrisgaiser.com

Development:
Jannis Migdalas,
Marcel Boer - smilefootage.de

Download of files:
The download of files made available on this website takes place at the users’ own risk.

Disclaimer:
Whilst every care has been taken in checking the contents of this website, wiesmannforschenundberaten does not in any way assume liability for the content of external links. The content of linked websites is the exclusive responsibility of their operators.

Terms of use:
The content published on this website is subject to German copyright law.

Data protection:
This website does not collect, store or process any personal data.

The website features photos by:
Albrecht Fuchs, Cologne
Robert Kneschke, Adobe Stock
Humphrey Muleba, Unsplash
Amy Humphries, Unsplash

Data protection

Datenschutzerklärung

1. Datenschutz auf einen Blick

Allgemeine Hinweise

Die folgenden Hinweise geben einen einfachen Überblick darüber, was mit Ihren personenbezogenen Daten passiert, wenn Sie unsere Website besuchen. Personenbezogene Daten sind alle Daten, mit denen Sie persönlich identifiziert werden können. Ausführliche Informationen zum Thema Datenschutz entnehmen Sie unserer unter diesem Text aufgeführten Datenschutzerklärung.

Datenerfassung auf unserer Website

Wer ist verantwortlich für die Datenerfassung auf dieser Website?

Die Datenverarbeitung auf dieser Website erfolgt durch den Websitebetreiber. Dessen Kontaktdaten können Sie dem Impressum dieser Website entnehmen.

Wie erfassen wir Ihre Daten?

Ihre Daten werden zum einen dadurch erhoben, dass Sie uns diese mitteilen. Hierbei kann es sich z. B. um Daten handeln, die Sie in ein Kontaktformular eingeben.

Andere Daten werden automatisch beim Besuch der Website durch unsere IT-Systeme erfasst. Das sind vor allem technische Daten (z. B. Internetbrowser, Betriebssystem oder Uhrzeit des Seitenaufrufs). Die Erfassung dieser Daten erfolgt automatisch, sobald Sie unsere Website betreten.

Wofür nutzen wir Ihre Daten?

Ein Teil der Daten wird erhoben, um eine fehlerfreie Bereitstellung der Website zu gewährleisten. Andere Daten können zur Analyse Ihres Nutzerverhaltens verwendet werden.

Welche Rechte haben Sie bezüglich Ihrer Daten?

Sie haben jederzeit das Recht unentgeltlich Auskunft über Herkunft, Empfänger und Zweck Ihrer gespeicherten personenbezogenen Daten zu erhalten. Sie haben außerdem ein Recht, die Berichtigung, Sperrung oder Löschung dieser Daten zu verlangen. Hierzu sowie zu weiteren Fragen zum Thema Datenschutz können Sie sich jederzeit unter der im Impressum angegebenen Adresse an uns wenden. Des Weiteren steht Ihnen ein Beschwerderecht bei der zuständigen Aufsichtsbehörde zu.

Außerdem haben Sie das Recht, unter bestimmten Umständen die Einschränkung der Verarbeitung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten zu verlangen. Details hierzu entnehmen Sie der Datenschutzerklärung unter „Recht auf Einschränkung der Verarbeitung“.

Analyse-Tools und Tools von Drittanbietern

Beim Besuch unserer Website kann Ihr Surf-Verhalten statistisch ausgewertet werden. Das geschieht vor allem mit Cookies und mit sogenannten Analyseprogrammen. Die Analyse Ihres Surf-Verhaltens erfolgt in der Regel anonym; das Surf-Verhalten kann nicht zu Ihnen zurückverfolgt werden.

Sie können dieser Analyse widersprechen oder sie durch die Nichtbenutzung bestimmter Tools verhindern. Detaillierte Informationen zu diesen Tools und über Ihre Widerspruchsmöglichkeiten finden Sie in der folgenden Datenschutzerklärung.

2. Allgemeine Hinweise und Pflichtinformationen

Datenschutz

Die Betreiber dieser Seiten nehmen den Schutz Ihrer persönlichen Daten sehr ernst. Wir behandeln Ihre personenbezogenen Daten vertraulich und entsprechend der gesetzlichen Datenschutzvorschriften sowie dieser Datenschutzerklärung.

Wenn Sie diese Website benutzen, werden verschiedene personenbezogene Daten erhoben. Personenbezogene Daten sind Daten, mit denen Sie persönlich identifiziert werden können. Die vorliegende Datenschutzerklärung erläutert, welche Daten wir erheben und wofür wir sie nutzen. Sie erläutert auch, wie und zu welchem Zweck das geschieht.

Wir weisen darauf hin, dass die Datenübertragung im Internet (z. B. bei der Kommunikation per E-Mail) Sicherheitslücken aufweisen kann. Ein lückenloser Schutz der Daten vor dem Zugriff durch Dritte ist nicht möglich.

Hinweis zur verantwortlichen Stelle

Die verantwortliche Stelle für die Datenverarbeitung auf dieser Website ist:

Beispielfirma
Musterweg 10
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Telefon: +49 (0) 123 44 55 66
E-Mail: info@beispielfirma.de

Verantwortliche Stelle ist die natürliche oder juristische Person, die allein oder gemeinsam mit anderen über die Zwecke und Mittel der Verarbeitung von personenbezogenen Daten (z. B. Namen, E-Mail-Adressen o. Ä.) entscheidet.

Widerruf Ihrer Einwilligung zur Datenverarbeitung

Viele Datenverarbeitungsvorgänge sind nur mit Ihrer ausdrücklichen Einwilligung möglich. Sie können eine bereits erteilte Einwilligung jederzeit widerrufen. Dazu reicht eine formlose Mitteilung per E-Mail an uns. Die Rechtmäßigkeit der bis zum Widerruf erfolgten Datenverarbeitung bleibt vom Widerruf unberührt.

Widerspruchsrecht gegen die Datenerhebung in besonderen Fällen sowie gegen Direktwerbung (Art. 21 DSGVO)

Wenn die Datenverarbeitung auf Grundlage von Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. e oder f DSGVO erfolgt, haben Sie jederzeit das Recht, aus Gründen, die sich aus Ihrer besonderen Situation ergeben, gegen die Verarbeitung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten Widerspruch einzulegen; dies gilt auch für ein auf diese Bestimmungen gestütztes Profiling. Die jeweilige Rechtsgrundlage, auf denen eine Verarbeitung beruht, entnehmen Sie dieser Datenschutzerklärung. Wenn Sie Widerspruch einlegen, werden wir Ihre betroffenen personenbezogenen Daten nicht mehr verarbeiten, es sei denn, wir können zwingende schutzwürdige Gründe für die Verarbeitung nachweisen, die Ihre Interessen, Rechte und Freiheiten überwiegen oder die Verarbeitung dient der Geltendmachung, Ausübung oder Verteidigung von Rechtsansprüchen (Widerspruch nach Art. 21 Abs. 1 DSGVO).

Werden Ihre personenbezogenen Daten verarbeitet, um Direktwerbung zu betreiben, so haben Sie das Recht, jederzeit Widerspruch gegen die Verarbeitung Sie betreffender personenbezogener Daten zum Zwecke derartiger Werbung einzulegen; dies gilt auch für das Profiling, soweit es mit solcher Direktwerbung in Verbindung steht. Wenn Sie widersprechen, werden Ihre personenbezogenen Daten anschließend nicht mehr zum Zwecke der Direktwerbung verwendet (Widerspruch nach Art. 21 Abs. 2 DSGVO).

Beschwerderecht bei der zuständigen Aufsichtsbehörde

Im Falle von Verstößen gegen die DSGVO steht den Betroffenen ein Beschwerderecht bei einer Aufsichtsbehörde, insbesondere in dem Mitgliedstaat ihres gewöhnlichen Aufenthalts, ihres Arbeitsplatzes oder des Orts des mutmaßlichen Verstoßes zu. Das Beschwerderecht besteht unbeschadet anderweitiger verwaltungsrechtlicher oder gerichtlicher Rechtsbehelfe.

Recht auf Datenübertragbarkeit

Sie haben das Recht, Daten, die wir auf Grundlage Ihrer Einwilligung oder in Erfüllung eines Vertrags automatisiert verarbeiten, an sich oder an einen Dritten in einem gängigen, maschinenlesbaren Format aushändigen zu lassen. Sofern Sie die direkte Übertragung der Daten an einen anderen Verantwortlichen verlangen, erfolgt dies nur, soweit es technisch machbar ist.

SSL- bzw. TLS-Verschlüsselung

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Wenn die SSL- bzw. TLS-Verschlüsselung aktiviert ist, können die Daten, die Sie an uns übermitteln, nicht von Dritten mitgelesen werden.

Auskunft, Sperrung, Löschung und Berichtigung

Sie haben im Rahmen der geltenden gesetzlichen Bestimmungen jederzeit das Recht auf unentgeltliche Auskunft über Ihre gespeicherten personenbezogenen Daten, deren Herkunft und Empfänger und den Zweck der Datenverarbeitung und ggf. ein Recht auf Berichtigung, Sperrung oder Löschung dieser Daten. Hierzu sowie zu weiteren Fragen zum Thema personenbezogene Daten können Sie sich jederzeit unter der im Impressum angegebenen Adresse an uns wenden.

Recht auf Einschränkung der Verarbeitung

Sie haben das Recht, die Einschränkung der Verarbeitung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten zu verlangen. Hierzu können Sie sich jederzeit unter der im Impressum angegebenen Adresse an uns wenden. Das Recht auf Einschränkung der Verarbeitung besteht in folgenden Fällen:

  • Wenn Sie die Richtigkeit Ihrer bei uns gespeicherten personenbezogenen Daten bestreiten, benötigen wir in der Regel Zeit, um dies zu überprüfen. Für die Dauer der Prüfung haben Sie das Recht, die Einschränkung der Verarbeitung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten zu verlangen.
  • Wenn die Verarbeitung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten unrechtmäßig geschah/geschieht, können Sie statt der Löschung die Einschränkung der Datenverarbeitung verlangen.
  • Wenn wir Ihre personenbezogenen Daten nicht mehr benötigen, Sie sie jedoch zur Ausübung, Verteidigung oder Geltendmachung von Rechtsansprüchen benötigen, haben Sie das Recht, statt der Löschung die Einschränkung der Verarbeitung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten zu verlangen.
  • Wenn Sie einen Widerspruch nach Art. 21 Abs. 1 DSGVO eingelegt haben, muss eine Abwägung zwischen Ihren und unseren Interessen vorgenommen werden. Solange noch nicht feststeht, wessen Interessen überwiegen, haben Sie das Recht, die Einschränkung der Verarbeitung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten zu verlangen.

Wenn Sie die Verarbeitung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten eingeschränkt haben, dürfen diese Daten – von ihrer Speicherung abgesehen – nur mit Ihrer Einwilligung oder zur Geltendmachung, Ausübung oder Verteidigung von Rechtsansprüchen oder zum Schutz der Rechte einer anderen natürlichen oder juristischen Person oder aus Gründen eines wichtigen öffentlichen Interesses der Europäischen Union oder eines Mitgliedstaats verarbeitet werden.

3. Datenerfassung auf unserer Website

Cookies

Die Internetseiten verwenden teilweise so genannte Cookies. Cookies richten auf Ihrem Rechner keinen Schaden an und enthalten keine Viren. Cookies dienen dazu, unser Angebot nutzerfreundlicher, effektiver und sicherer zu machen. Cookies sind kleine Textdateien, die auf Ihrem Rechner abgelegt werden und die Ihr Browser speichert.

Die meisten der von uns verwendeten Cookies sind so genannte „Session-Cookies“. Sie werden nach Ende Ihres Besuchs automatisch gelöscht. Andere Cookies bleiben auf Ihrem Endgerät gespeichert bis Sie diese löschen. Diese Cookies ermöglichen es uns, Ihren Browser beim nächsten Besuch wiederzuerkennen.

Sie können Ihren Browser so einstellen, dass Sie über das Setzen von Cookies informiert werden und Cookies nur im Einzelfall erlauben, die Annahme von Cookies für bestimmte Fälle oder generell ausschließen sowie das automatische Löschen der Cookies beim Schließen des Browsers aktivieren. Bei der Deaktivierung von Cookies kann die Funktionalität dieser Website eingeschränkt sein.

Cookies, die zur Durchführung des elektronischen Kommunikationsvorgangs oder zur Bereitstellung bestimmter, von Ihnen erwünschter Funktionen (z. B. Warenkorbfunktion) erforderlich sind, werden auf Grundlage von Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO gespeichert. Der Websitebetreiber hat ein berechtigtes Interesse an der Speicherung von Cookies zur technisch fehlerfreien und optimierten Bereitstellung seiner Dienste. Soweit andere Cookies (z. B. Cookies zur Analyse Ihres Surfverhaltens) gespeichert werden, werden diese in dieser Datenschutzerklärung gesondert behandelt.

Server-Log-Dateien

Der Provider der Seiten erhebt und speichert automatisch Informationen in so genannten Server-Log-Dateien, die Ihr Browser automatisch an uns übermittelt. Dies sind:

  • Browsertyp und Browserversion
  • verwendetes Betriebssystem
  • Referrer URL
  • Hostname des zugreifenden Rechners
  • Uhrzeit der Serveranfrage
  • IP-Adresse

Eine Zusammenführung dieser Daten mit anderen Datenquellen wird nicht vorgenommen.

Die Erfassung dieser Daten erfolgt auf Grundlage von Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO. Der Websitebetreiber hat ein berechtigtes Interesse an der technisch fehlerfreien Darstellung und der Optimierung seiner Website – hierzu müssen die Server-Log-Files erfasst werden.

Kontaktformular

Wenn Sie uns per Kontaktformular Anfragen zukommen lassen, werden Ihre Angaben aus dem Anfrageformular inklusive der von Ihnen dort angegebenen Kontaktdaten zwecks Bearbeitung der Anfrage und für den Fall von Anschlussfragen bei uns gespeichert. Diese Daten geben wir nicht ohne Ihre Einwilligung weiter.

Die Verarbeitung der in das Kontaktformular eingegebenen Daten erfolgt somit ausschließlich auf Grundlage Ihrer Einwilligung (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. a DSGVO). Sie können diese Einwilligung jederzeit widerrufen. Dazu reicht eine formlose Mitteilung per E-Mail an uns. Die Rechtmäßigkeit der bis zum Widerruf erfolgten Datenverarbeitungsvorgänge bleibt vom Widerruf unberührt.

Die von Ihnen im Kontaktformular eingegebenen Daten verbleiben bei uns, bis Sie uns zur Löschung auffordern, Ihre Einwilligung zur Speicherung widerrufen oder der Zweck für die Datenspeicherung entfällt (z. B. nach abgeschlossener Bearbeitung Ihrer Anfrage). Zwingende gesetzliche Bestimmungen – insbesondere Aufbewahrungsfristen – bleiben unberührt.

Anfrage per E-Mail, Telefon oder Telefax

Wenn Sie uns per E-Mail, Telefon oder Telefax kontaktieren, wird Ihre Anfrage inklusive aller daraus hervorgehenden personenbezogenen Daten (Name, Anfrage) zum Zwecke der Bearbeitung Ihres Anliegens bei uns gespeichert und verarbeitet. Diese Daten geben wir nicht ohne Ihre Einwilligung weiter.

Die Verarbeitung dieser Daten erfolgt auf Grundlage von Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b DSGVO, sofern Ihre Anfrage mit der Erfüllung eines Vertrags zusammenhängt oder zur Durchführung vorvertraglicher Maßnahmen erforderlich ist. In allen übrigen Fällen beruht die Verarbeitung auf Ihrer Einwilligung (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. a DSGVO) und/oder auf unseren berechtigten Interessen (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO), da wir ein berechtigtes Interesse an der effektiven Bearbeitung der an uns gerichteten Anfragen haben.

Die von Ihnen an uns per Kontaktanfragen übersandten Daten verbleiben bei uns, bis Sie uns zur Löschung auffordern, Ihre Einwilligung zur Speicherung widerrufen oder der Zweck für die Datenspeicherung entfällt (z. B. nach abgeschlossener Bearbeitung Ihres Anliegens). Zwingende gesetzliche Bestimmungen – insbesondere gesetzliche Aufbewahrungsfristen – bleiben unberührt.

4. Newsletter

Newsletterdaten

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Quelle: e-recht24.de

Team & institute

Susanne Wiesmann

Curiculum Vitae

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2007
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2001
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1997
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1995
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1992
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1987
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Team & institute

Our network


Emsulting
Katrin Mai and Holger Meisen
Rudolfplatz 6
50674 Cologne
Tel: 0221-9959876-1
Fax: 0221-9959876-9
www.emsulting.de

forschungsbüro Kulms
Thomas Kulms
Provinostraße 52
86153 Augsburg
https://forschungsbuero-kulms.de/

SIRIUSmrc
Market Research & Consultancy
Thomas Pohne
Flatowallee 16/824
14055 Berlin
http://siriusmrc.com/

Salber Institut
Dr. Daniel Salber

Ina Remmers Business Psychology
Brand and communication consultancy


How we work

Going where others stop


Our approach is special because of the time we allow the consumers to take. This time enables them to describe the everyday procedures in which a product or brand obtains its specific significance.

Another important special feature of our settings is the form of deepening and analysis. It starts with the way of further questioning within the settings, where nothing is evaluated or counted as a mere ‘statement’ without closer description. This means an initial analysis takes place already during the settings together with the interviewees. The growing understanding of correlations is the criterion of ‘depth’. In the subsequent team analyses, the statements and dynamics during the settings are used to model the specific structure that makes visible all statements regarding a brand and all ways of dealing with it based on one construction. This construction is the basis of understanding for all further measures.

This goes far beyond mere collections of quotations and tables.


Our settings:

wiesmannINTERVIEWS – face to face, duration 2h
The most intensive form to glean empirical material. One is able to align oneself with the conceptual world of the interviewees and follow them. Even embarrassing ideas can be voiced within the protected environment of such an interview. Thus, all rational and all unconscious aspects of a research topic become transparent.

wiesmannINTENSIVE GROUPS – 6-8 persons, duration 2.5h
Just like a sculpture standing in the middle of a room, each participant of a group describes the research topic from their point of view. It is not about individual opinions that are counted. Instead, the statements made by the group outline the imaginary sculpture – the topic as a whole. While each participant recounts their individual story, it is a joint experience told by many that gradually becomes transparent. The number of participants and the duration guarantee that the intensive frame of mind is maintained and one is able to act from a context for the entire session.

wiesmannPAIRS – two friends, duration 2h
The pair interviews are used to crash test attitudes: two attitudes toward a brand, a product category or a means of advertising challenge each other, thus revealing arguments for or against an item in a distinctive fashion. This setting also makes visible compromises that are possible without the brand losing its profile.

wiesmannCREATIVE SETTINGS – 3-6 persons, duration 2 or 3h
The creative settings are mostly about non-verbal expressions. With adult interviewees, this is the case only if actual material is to be handled and changed creatively. With children, this is the one form that allows them to express unconscious notions. Children’s verbalizations, on the other hand, are to be considered paraphrases of their actions. With these settings, the analysis after the settings, both adults’ and children’s settings, is the decisive aspect. The creative processes need to be translated. They do not speak for themselves.

Research in times of corona


Research continues also during the coronavirus crisis.
By way of online settings. But how do we achieve the ‘depth’ of depth psychology in such settings?

In morphological research, ‘depth’ means that the state of mind of being on a psycholo-gist’s couch is ensured, which allows for ‘productive self-talk’ of the interviewees. In order to achieve this, a psychic space has to be created in which one is allowed to describe one’s experience without judgment. In Wiesmann interviews and groups, this is achieved by the framework conditions and questioning technique.

If these settings take place online, one has to translate the state of mind and clarify in advance which topics of research are suitable.

On the state of mind: It is achieved by an online setup that enables face-to-face dialog only for certain moments and works without eye contact otherwise.

On the topics of research: Some topics are very well suited for online research. In some cases, one can even benefit from the in-home situation by gaining direct insight into the use and storage of products, or by watching the ways in which interviewees play with their children. The limits of online research are reached, however, if a topic requires the inter-viewees to examine material haptically, weigh it in their hands and twist and turn it. Such a situation can be handled only if it is possible to send the material to the interviewees in advance.

Ask us which topic you would like us to research and we will find a solution.

How we work

How does a product become a brand?

We uncover the personality structure of your brand

What are the distinctive characteristics of your product? Firstly, it is the material aspects, such as ingredients, basic substance and processing. Added to this are sensory qualities: shape, color, feel, smell, consistency and texture. They establish the material composition character of a product. These product characteristics are the decisive basis for a successful product, and consumers are usually able to describe these particular material characteristics rather accurately. With Nivea, for instance, the color, paste-like consistency and smell make up the substantial product core. With Coca-Cola, the color and the supposedly unmistakable flavor set the product apart.

Paradoxically, however, consumers would neither buy Coca-Cola nor Nivea just because of these sensory product characteristics. They want more from a product. Otherwise, why would products that are of lower quality, rationally speaking, be preferred over alternatives that are actually of excellent quality and similarly priced?

We use products to build the dream worlds of our life and daily routines. They symbolize fantasies about how one would ideally behave or how one wants to be perceived by others. Successful products become brands and cater to this need. They address the desires and dreams of consumers with their unique personality and attitude. They offer themselves as supporters in shaping one’s state of mind in the course of the day and show us how love of life can arise in the midst of everyday life (Coca-Cola), how one can get active together with one’s children (Kinder Pingui), how one can fill one’s inner emptiness and exhaustion with new life (L’Oréal), how one can relearn to see one’s pubescent children as familiar beings (Nutella), and how one can preserve one’s inner home (Rügener Badejunge).

To put it briefly: Successful products have transformed into a brand. A sustainable and convincing brand experience emerges only if the ‘raw materials’ of a product and its compelling promise to consumers are successfully converted into a fascinating story.

Only then do functional materials become a unique and indispensable product for consumers. This is where wiesmannforschenundberaten comes into play. Discover with us the psychological correlations and the fascinating secret of your brand.

We analyze the reputation of a brand to identify its secret promise. We explore the values of a brand. One needs to understand that these values, just like the DNA of a human being, cannot simply be laid down or changed at will. This is why we also describe them as brand DNA or brand personality. It comprises the life story and evolution of a brand, based on which one can tell consumers ever new aspects and stories. What is important for the long-term success of a brand is the dialog with consumers. It is the only way to determine whether consumers still understand the brand and whether its message is still heard.

As part of our morphological research, we listen to consumers on behalf of a company. We become the mouthpiece of consumers for your benefit.

wiesmannforschenundberaten identifies the current state of your brand personality. We track down the latest trends in consumers’ souls so that your brand is able to respond quicker than others.


How we work

What forces drive the market?

We help your brand use the forces of the market

Markets are changing. Therefore, brands have to change as well. But what exactly does this mean for brands?

The digitalization of all market processes currently impacts the way the markets are perceived. Major upheavals are taking place and will likely continue also in the future.

In the past, there used to be a long-term market order based on strong brands that were firmly positioned and steadfastly dominated the market activities. Thus, they also assigned positions to other brands or served as challenges for strong brands to find their own answers.

Today, the emergence of new digital providers creates parallel markets. These brands are no longer omnipresent in brick-and-mortar stores. Their existence is digital and becomes tangible only in the person of the consumer. Communication takes place via recommendations, be it from bloggers and influencers or friends that have discovered the brand. These brands make consumers feel as if they are right there with the trend setters, getting their information directly from New York or Paris and having valuable inside knowledge at their disposal. One is happy to pay a little more for this feeling.

Global shopping is the suitable pathway for sectors that benefit from the glamor or the specific competence of certain countries or cities (New York, Paris).

On the other hand, there are sectors in which consumers attach great importance to local origin. Ideally, they want to be able to follow a product every step of the way, from the producer to their own household.

One could say that the markets are faced with a spectrum that has to include every aspect, from local craft to global product. New systems have emerged that did not play a role until a few years ago. And the rules are different in every sector. While orange marmalade, for instance, only had to compete with the well-known, sometimes already English or French brands in the past, nowadays it has to compete with organic providers from Spain and cooperatives from Sicily as well. Digital shopping is expanding the markets and challenges companies to re-examine and realign their market position.

At the same time, the known driving forces remain relevant: generation-specific change of perspective regarding the markets, product innovations that make existing products ‘look dated’, as well as changed economic and cultural framework conditions and new shop systems.

The change of the markets creates a sense of unease and in many cases also a push forward that sees a variety of ideas brought to market at top speed. Even before something has been researched and is thoroughly understood, advertising, products, packaging and digital measures are initiated to show the consumers how much one is able to move along.

In some cases, this makes for excessive reactions:

Too much too fast – As if their intention was to overtake the trends, some companies move at a speed that pushes all reflection and consideration to the sidelines. At times, one gets the impression that they drive at 220 km/h without knowing where they are going.

This leads to dis-illusionment if consumers reject the hastily conceived ideas and the companies lose market share.

Waiting things out – This is the opposite response to market changes: one puts on blinders and shapes one’s internal processes at a snail’s pace. For fear of having to realize the changes in the market, one turns a blind eye and waits things out, hoping against hope that one’s old formulas are still going to work out in future. In such cases, external developments tend to make themselves felt: sales drop. This puts pressure on one’s cherished habits. Sometimes it is too late, however, and the brands that have not been further developed have to be discontinued. One is shocked to realize that consumers expect brands to evolve and thus demonstrate that they have answers to today’s questions. Consumers do not want brands to talk to them from the past.

Acting deliberately – Striking the right balance is a demanding challenge. One is required to put on blinders for part of the way. In many cases, even with regard to in-house attitudes and the pressure to get things done ever faster, ideally yesterday. Taking one deliberate step after the other currently requires courage and the certainty that one is doing the right thing. It is thus essential for successful companies to determine the sequence of steps as well as their objective in advance. For this purpose, the market and the brands in it need to be researched. In doing so, one is able to base one’s measures on real conditions instead of ideals.

Conclusion: In light of current major upheavals, it is a very special art to constantly face the changes in the markets, analyze them and develop strategies for one’s brand to address them.

One finds oneself in a position similar to Ulysses between Scylla and Charybdis. One has to endure the things one sees and hears and still remain on course so as not to be wrecked by short-term maneuvers.

wiesmannforschenundberaten analyzes the markets from the consumers’ point of view and pinpoints the overarching approaches to the sectors as well as the relevant market segments. You will come to know what brand holds what position and what strengths and weaknesses the market players have. You will see that we do not merely list individual attributes. Instead, we visualize the conscious and unconscious driving forces as a functioning whole that lives and shifts. This makes transparent the changes that are to be expected in future, as well as the ways of successfully influencing these changes for one’s own brands.


How we work

How do international companies become successful locally as well?

We make complexity understandable and manageable

Companies that are active in several European countries or even globally are faced with very special challenges. While our world is growing ever closer together thanks to digitalization, there is still a virtually inconceivable cultural diversity.

Nevertheless, many international companies have only rudimentary knowledge of the life and experiences of the local consumers in their global markets. In many cases, they are either not aware of the special cultural circumstances or they fail to take them seriously. Especially today, however, local and national forces are a strong counterbalance to the unstoppable globalization. This complex force field needs to be understood. In the long term, a global brand can occupy a local market only if it has specific knowledge about local consumers. The global brands need to understand how they are perceived in different countries.

The good news: Consumers want a part of the global product world and thus have access to the material ‘values’ of the globalized world. This way, one is part of the comprehensive and advancing globalization dynamics and feels up-to-date.

But why are companies still met with resistance in certain countries and experience sudden and incomprehensible sales slumps?

Paradoxically, the challenge is to integrate the global brand locally and tie it to the ideas, desires and wishes of local consumers. It is not about catering to the commonly known stereotypes about a country but about a deep understanding of how local consumers experience and assess the brand. The local consumers want to understand the brands as ‘their’ brand. The exact meaning of this becomes clear from the unconscious interpretations of a brand. wiesmannforschenundberaten unearthes this treasure for you using its depth psychological morphological research approach.

Depending on brand, market and sector, our findings result in different recommendations for action. There are brands, for instance, that are sold globally but use different brand names in different countries. In sectors such as fashion (top-quality tailoring from Italy), alcoholic beverages (whiskey from Scotland) or automotive (‘made in Germany’), it is the ‘foreign’ origin of the products that is essential for their value and specific character. In other sectors, consumers want to see at first glance that the product is ‘from here’, that is, of local origin. This applies to many food products, especially dairy products and baby food. It can go as far as people perceiving a brand as coming from their own country even though its origin is elsewhere.

Therefore, the task is to take into account local consumers on the one hand and the brand’s presence and impact in different countries on the other hand.

In most cases, the usual statistics are not helpful in this regard, as they are unable to capture the psychology of a brand. What is needed is a method that is able to make transparent not only the facts but also the unconscious attitude consumers in the respective country have towards a brand. In a globalized world that is currently once more strongly influenced by local tendencies, the challenges for international companies are growing. Demand for research and consulting in particular is increasing.

International research thus has to identify relevant correlations under challenging circumstances. As a qualitative depth psychological institute, we listen to consumers and record their unconscious attitude towards products and markets. We decipher what it is that drives (inter-)national markets, which trends influence consumer behavior, and which aspects of a brand take effect in the current environment. We make the essential findings understandable for you and provide support so that you can devise effective product accentuation and claims as well as advertising strategies. This is your key to being successful in different markets.

Headquartered in Cologne, wiesmannforschenundberaten is your partner for international research. We cooperate with competent researchers in the respective country to ensure that the country-specific perspective on the object of research is taken into account. Our own team ensures by applying the morphological research concept that both conscious and unconscious factors and the decisive complex are identified.


Cases

The ‘ego’ is not simply there. We have to create it anew every morning.

The day begins and the first activities largely follow a fixed routine.

These include the early morning activities in the bathroom, the more or less lengthy decisions to be made regarding clothing, and of course makeup and hairstyling. All of this helps us put together the person we want the world to see in us, and the kind of person we see ourselves as.

The more or less lengthy procedures indicate that we create this ‘ego’ anew every morning and that it is not something that is already there as a given. Instead, the ‘ego’ of a person is elaborately created. The more distinctive and coherent a person looks to us, the more they have worked on themselves – on their skills as well as their appearance.

Young people thus use their style to show the world how they see themselves and what they are made of. This stage of life in particular is one of much experimenting, seeing as young people are still trying to find their ‘ego’. As competence increases, styles become characteristics of persons’ nature.

Great personalities such as Goethe, Freud, Thomas Mann, Picasso and Ghandi stood out due to their unique style, which nobody would see as merely their outward appearance. In the middle of life, this style continues to be shaped and modified until one has become the figure one wants to be. Aging human beings can use style to control the signs of deterioration and show who they used to be.

People who put on makeup, style themselves and carefully choose their clothing teach us that personality is nothing ‘internal’. Rather, it is internal and external aspects that are reconciled.

However, styling can also take the place of personality development. In this case, styling is not the protective shell that allows one to develop oneself in peace, nor is it in line with the life one lives. Instead, styling becomes significant as a development effort in its own right. One invests time, money and acquisition of knowledge in the right style. This style is then refined even further, looking more and more ‘hollow’ to others.

Conclusion: The mirror reveals whether one’s reflection and mental image of oneself match. If not, one still has to work on oneself. Companies can help with that by researching the relevant and currently dominating personality profiles among young adults and fleshing them out with products.


Cases

Why are baby snacks better than toys?

Mothers are mobile and won’t be restricted in their mobility by their baby.

When mothers are out and about with their child, it is striking that most of them come equipped with lots of snacks for the baby or toddler but rarely bring suitable toys.

This is also the case in the interviews with mothers carried out at wiesmanforschenundberaten. During the interviews, the babies are given food whenever they pipe up. In many cases, the mothers fail to see that the babies are trying to grab something, bring their hands together or hold something in place, and they offer food instead of toys.

This mechanism has its origin in the beginnings of providing for the infant. The mothers experience the following with their baby: the baby cries – I provide food – the baby calms down. Food becomes a tool to influence the child’s emotional state, and a reliable means to calm it down. The effect food has on the baby is more convincing than all other attempts of the mothers to calm down their babies. A causal link emerges which no other measure guarantees this reliably: rocking and singing, finger games, driving around, music in bed – nothing works ‘every time’. All of this only works in context and thus requires the child to understand.

This uncertainty troubles many mothers. They frequently feel insecure anyway in trying to determine the ‘right’ way of handling their baby, and they feel exposed to numerous, often even contradictory pieces of advice, as well as to the looks of third parties in public. At the same time, they are expected to confidently deal with the child. Thinking about things, trying things out, considering the context and finding out what the baby can already understand – all these behaviors are not well regarded. Instead, mothers with babies are expected to be discreet, and dealing with them is to be no different than dealing with women without children. If the baby pipes up, it is expected to be calmed down as quickly as possible.

In such situations, mothers go for the most reliable means they know to calm down the child: food. The interviews reveal how quickly a pouch that calms down a child can be ‘squeezed in’, and how easily a child can be distracted with a cookie. Breastfeeding mothers make the baby ‘disappear’ by putting it to the breast so they can continue the interview unimpeded.

Conclusion: A snack certainly calms down a child more reliably than any toy. However, it also teaches the child that every emotion that arises is best treated with food. Companies can do a lot here by pointing out ways of dealing with children in addition to offering their food products.


Cases

My dog, the better partner

Dog and cat owners love their pets beyond measure.

People who do not own a pet are frequently at a loss when confronted with such love, and they wonder what a dog or cat can give to justify this love.

Of course, there is some level of understanding: Cats and dogs are close to us because they share the fate of our life story. With cats and dogs, however, this shared fate can be considered in an exemplary and distanced fashion. This makes one feel how precious one’s own life and that of one’s loved ones actually is.

This parallelism legitimizes getting a dog or cat. It is sufficient to say ‘I want a dog’ and everyone understands and accepts it. Some people add further arguments, such as ‘so I get out more’, ‘kids need pets’ or ‘because with a pet there’s always something going on.’

In our in-depth interviews, we see another level of love of dogs and cats that is unconscious. In Germany, people keep cats and dogs to facilitate the complicated human relationships that are difficult to influence. For this purpose, one – unconsciously – chooses the dog or cat as a stand-in for a person one loves. With a dog, one ‘has’ someone who ‘always’ loves one and who is always available. With a cat, one has a being that is like oneself: willful. A pet can also replace a person who is no longer there. It may remind one of the father who has gone to live with another woman and other children. The pet completes the broken family and makes it whole again – without one having to expressly figure it out. For a childless couple, a dog or cat may also take the place of their unborn child.

Psychologically, one can see from a dog or cat as a family member that one is always a creature of deficits, emotionally speaking. There is no ideal or ‘sound’ way of life. Something is always lacking. We suffer losses or have to do without something we long for. All human beings are in this state of need, regardless of their financial means. From time to time, everyone has to find something that helps them go on with their lives and stabilizes their current way of life. One such support construction is getting a dog or cat.

Conclusion: Life tends to deny us love or something we long for, often in intolerable ways. Pet cats and dogs offset losses by filling the role of the person that is missing, or by being better, more loyal, more grateful than one’s partner, children or parents. Companies offering pet supplies can be successful if they consider this unconscious side of pet keeping instead of merely selling functions.


Cases

Panic buying – psychological arming against the crisis

Panic buying makes sense psychologically

For weeks people have been ridiculed, then admonished, and now denounced as being antisocial when engaging in panic buying. But even this cannot deter them from continuing their stockpiling. Psychologically speaking, panic buying is psychological arming against a crisis against which one can do nothing but wash one’s hands and keep one’s distance. Panic buying, on the other hand:

1. … confirms one’s personal vitality

2. … is the first step towards facing the crisis

3. … is psychological immunization


1. Panic buying confirms one’s personal vitality

Psychologically, shopping is a vital activity. It requires strength and fighting spirit, which is why the elderly are no longer able to do it on their own. Shopping is fun, because, just like on a hunt (S. Grünewald, rheingold, thought up the image of hunting for shopping), one first goes stalking to see where to do some good shopping, then one hunts down one’s prey and fills one’s shopping cart, drags the catch to one’s car and takes it home, where one takes pleasure in stowing it away, piece by piece, in freezers and on shelves, creating the reassuring feeling of having sufficient supplies for some time.

The many purchases that are currently being made in which more goods are transported home than can be consumed within a week require strength in every respect: financially, because those who are poor cannot build up such stocks; physically, because those who are weak are unable to buy and carry such quantities; and intellectually, because one has to consider carefully what could actually be important.

Panic buyers are seen as lacking intellectual competence, as they buy lots of toilet paper. Psychologically, however, buying toilet paper means that one will master the crisis and have a lot to eat and sh… also in future, because psychoanalytically, feces is closely linked to money and the question of whether one is able to control a situation. (S. Freud ‘Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality’; ‘Character and Erotism’)

Conclusion: Panic buying, particularly with regard to toilet paper, reassures the buyers that they are mentally, physically and financially prepared for the crisis and thus able to overcome it.


2. Panic buying is the first step towards facing the crisis

In light of a crisis whose extent is unknown and whose consequences for people’s professional and private lives cannot be calculated, panic buying is an attempt at finding a way of dealing with the crisis.

As experts are merely recommending washing one’s hands and keeping one’s distance, people are defenseless against the emerging crisis. What is more: the enemy, the virus, is invisible and can be transmitted by loved ones, of all people – the symbol for this are grandchildren. Psychologically it is impossible to do nothing in light of the announced and largely implemented standstill of the country, unless one gives in to paralyzing fear.

Panic buying, on the other hand, is a first attempt at recognizing the crisis. By taking action where something can be done, one begins to come to terms with the new situation. The measure may or may not be the right one – but it is possible and also symbolizes the most important thing in life: the supply of food. Nothing goes without it.

Of course, buying things is also easier than keeping one’s distance and washing one’s hands for 30 seconds – after each contact with surfaces and other people. Especially since exemplary behavior in public - from doctors’ offices to public agencies, politicians and bus drivers – wasn’t practiced until recently. Just a few weeks ago, people taking hygienic measures were considered hysteric. Disinfectants and face masks are still being rejected as ridiculous and useless – while doctors and sensitive professional groups are futilely calling for additional supplies. However, some experts are beginning to change their mind: Prof. Drosten, for example, now also says that masks are an effective means – but there are not enough of them. Disinfectants, too, could be a real asset to hygiene while also backing its significance symbolically.

But one is to fight the crisis ‘unarmed’. That is impossible!

Panic buying means taking action and arming oneself. Only by taking action can one take a first step towards preparing for weeks – or longer? – in which many things won’t be as they used to be. Panic buying demonstrates: ‘You need to abandon your routine!’

Conclusion: Panic buying means tackling the crisis instead of sitting and waiting powerlessly. It is an exercise for living with Corona and especially with its consequences.


3. Panic buying is psychological immunization

There is no vaccine and no drug effective against Covid-19. It can be fatal. The claim that it is the same as influenza has proven wrong. One is facing a disease for which there is no cure as yet and which is turning our lives upside down.

The consequences go far beyond the question of how to spend weeks in isolation. People are sensing that this is about much more. When businesses go bankrupt left and right, when the auto industry is at a standstill – that is when an economic tsunami is looming that could hit anybody.

The chancellor said that the current situation is unlike any since the end of World War II. This also means that nobody except the very old knows what Mrs. Merkel is talking about. In the past decades, every emergency has been cushioned by the state. Everybody has been supported financially and materially in times of need. The reference to war (Macron ‘We are at war’) shows that we are faced with something tremendous, incalculable, something with which the state may not be able to help. We don’t know.

Now, before thinking about how to make a living should one be hit, one looks for a psychological vaccine to prevent the actual outbreak of the economic disease.

Panic buying is such a form of immunization: Against the sneers of others, against the instructions of experts. One realizes that one should mainly rely on oneself in times of crisis. One’s own ideas, strengths and measures are one’s capital if one is not one of those covered by the state or one of the few rich in the country. By engaging in panic buying, one tells oneself that one is taking up the fight and that, afterwards, one will also be able to find solutions for the greater problems that might arise.

Conclusion: Panic buying immunizes against private and economic collapse by encouraging the need to think and act for oneself. Paradoxically, it is not ‘herd behavior’ but the exact opposite, psychologically speaking. That is why it is rejected as ‘antisocial’ from ‘on high’.