REDARC RESEARCH PROGRAM + NPD

CLIENT: REDARC

STUDIO: IN2 INNOVATION

MARKET RESEARCH | ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH | USER INTERVIEWS | INSIGHTS MINING | IDEATION SKETCHES | GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY

Project Overview

REDARC approached IN2 Innovation with the goal to better understand mobile power needs for US consumers.

This innovation program focused on envisioning new products, services, and support offerings for the Overlanding, Van Life, 4x4, and Bass Fishing markets via an end-user research effort targeted towards acknowledging and uncovering consumer behaviors, needs, and functional requirements within the industries.

User Research - Strategy

This field research revealed overlapping needs across the user groups, such as portability, durability, and multi-functional design, while uncovering unique pain points for each segment. These insights directly informed the development of a versatile, adventure-ready product line that balanced rugged performance with thoughtful usability.

By conducting on the field, in-person interviews, we were able to gather valuable insights from users. These insights were transformed into actionable ideation and concepts that allowed us to create products that genuinely resonate with the users.

01 | Recruiting

For this qualitative effort, we conducted in-person as well as virtual interviews with a total of 27 participants about their off-grid power experience, with a focus on the Overlanding application.

An additional set of interviews with REDARC internal stakeholders were held, to provide foundational brand and market context.

We began by carefully defining the user profiles for each group. Using a mix of social media platforms, community forums, and partnerships with outdoor gear retailers, we identified individuals who matched the criteria. Each participant was screened to ensure they had significant experience in their respective activities, guaranteeing insights from authentic, knowledgeable users.

2 | Interviews

To capture diverse perspectives, we selected three cities known for vibrant outdoor adventure communities. The cities were strategically chosen based on proximity to off-road trails, overlanding routes, RV-friendly areas, and popular bass fishing destinations. Each location offered unique environmental and cultural contexts to inform our research.

Journey Mapping and Insights Mining

REDARC team members, some traveling from Australia, arrived in at the IN2 Technical Center in Addison for a Frameworks and Clustering session. In the session, we digested the data gleaned from our intercepts, collated it, and utilized it as the foundational element for ideation around new products and services to meet user needs.

Innovation

Following the workshop, we began mining for insights with an exercise.

The next step was to engage in an ideation session, with ideas captured and recorded through live note-taking and rapid sketching.

Following the ideation session, ideas captured were input into a “Idea Matrix” spreadsheet for further refinement and categorization.

While each idea was tied to its parent framework, the Idea Matrix went through five passes of re-categorization, revision, and appending in the concurrent steps of the process.

GoBlock

The GoBlock was developed by Redarc with the user findings we provided. Our research provided the foundation for the design of a rugged, user fiendly, human centric solution for portable power that can endure some of the world's harshest conditions.

The REDARC GoBlock is a robust and versatile portable dual-battery system designed to provide reliable power for various off-grid applications. It caters to outdoor enthusiasts, overlanders, campers, tailgaters, boaters, and professionals requiring dependable energy solutions in remote locations

The GoBlock's casing is constructed from 100% recycled aluminum, reflecting REDARC's commitment to environmental sustainability. This eco-friendly approach utilizes recycled materials from sources like old alloy wheels and automotive engines.