For Planners & Strategists
What will you learn?
This practical half day session will teach you how to do empathetic and revelatory interviews with people in their own homes. You’ll discover how to use some of the skills of ethnographers, journalists and documentary makers to get to the truth and how to edit your video, photographic and intellectual content in a compelling way that captures their reality and convinces both clients and creatives
About the Workshop
The training will be split into 3 areas and is a blend of presentation, discussion and group exercises.
1) Observing & engaging: Creating the conditions for personal truths to be shared.
2) Capturing their reality: Looking beyond our biases and capturing the lives of participants.
3) Finding the story: Reflecting on the evidence and developing themes, and leveraging AI tools to help categorize and navigate complex qualitative data.
You’ll leave the session with tips, tricks and approaches, including how to use AI for smarter data analysis, to help you in your role moving forward.
Who is it for?
This Workshop is for all levels. Whether you're new to the industry or looking to refresh your research skills.
Workshop Tutor
Mark Hadfield has over 25 years experience as an agency Planner working in London, around the UK and across Asia. He's worked for big, small, networked and independent agencies and worked across pretty much every category you can think of.
He spent 6 years at Iris, as Regional Head of Planning for APAC, building and managing teams around Asia and working on Samsung, Guinness, Philips and Shell. He's also worked at ENGINE, Weapon7/BBDO, Southpaw and most latterly Cravens, based in Newcastle upon Tyne.
His passion for Mass Mainstream audiences and brands comes from his Comprehensive-schooled background and love of double-carb meals.
In 2023 he set up Meet the 85% - an ethnographic research consultancy that helps agencies and brands understand the reality of their customers lives. Their work sits at the intersection of journalism, ethnography and documentary film making.
Workshop Details
Cost*
Members = £425+vat
Non-members = £550+vat
Date and time
Date: Tuesday 25th August, 2026
Time: 09.00 - 13.00 BST
Platform
Face-to-face (Central London venue TBC)
Please note, the session will not be recorded, and we can’t offer a catch-up session if for any reason you can’t attend.
Testimonials
'Really engaging, interactive and full of practical advice'
- Strategist, Creative Agency
'A lot of content in a short window really made me re-evaluate the meaning of an 'insight' and place the onus on listening. Mark is very engaging and really loved his presentation style.'
- Junior Strategist, Content Marketing Agency
'Really insightful and inspiring, on both a professional and perhaps more importantly, personal level.'
- Senior Data Planner, Creative Agency
Workshop Enquiries
If you have any questions about this workshop, please e-mail Alison Trotter at alison@apg.org.uk
APG Training Course Cancellation Policy
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Should you cancel your booking for an APG training course, the following cancellation policy will apply: For a cancellation made more than 30 calendar days in advance of the training course, a full rebate will be applied. For a cancellation more than ten calendar days in advance of the training course, a rebate of 50% will be applied. For a cancellation less than ten days in advance of the training course no rebate will be applied.
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The training session will not be recorded/filmed and we can’t offer a catch-up session, if for any reason you can’t attend.
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On occasion we may need to re-schedule training sessions - we reserve the right to do this at any time although we will aim to give you as much notice as possible.
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Attendance on Training Courses is entirely at the discretion of APG. There is no automatic right to attendance.
APG Training in association with Tracksuit
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