What it means to be a Brainer

Many market research companies have a term for the people who share their insights and opinions with brands. In fact, they all tend to use the same term: 'participant'. Research participant, focus group participant, 'participant' always seems to be in there somewhere.

At Brainsights, we've always viewed things a little bit differently. We don't view the thousands of people who have exchanged their brain data for value with us over the years as a mere pool of potential 'participants'. Rather, we see them as members of an ever-growing community.

But here’s the thing, the term community is a bit played out as well. To be more specific, our beef comes down to how ‘community’ is defined. One definition for community, the one that most people tend to use, is group of people who share a common characteristic. For example, “the scientific community”.

But almost any group of people can share a common characteristic. Are all Walmart shoppers a “community”?

The way we see it, our community stems from the other definition of the word: a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of shared attitudes, interests, and goals. And we’re more than a community—we’re Brainers.

For the uninitiated, a Brainer is a member of the Brainsights fellowship. The term was initially coined by one of our founders—a Xennial throwback to a high-school term of endearment for super smart friends. And make no mistake, we think our Brainers are really smart.

Like us, they are curious. They understand that we all have biases and that they are best understood through measurement. They understand that, while initially uncomfortable, exposing bias brings us closer together. They understand that data has value and is deserving of fair compensation.

They see these attitudes, interests, and goals as no-brainers—just as we do. That’s using your brain. Ready to use yours?