After I posted an online survey on my Instagram from November 5 to 8, I received 21 responses.
Here is the link to the online survey https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlQnTm7yfxw4fTbrPq91kPm75RSN23vDSJzPPokj3_vFyehg/viewform?usp=pp_url
I will highlight the important questions and feedback.
- 11 responses out of 21 are from Thai people aged between 25 and 30, which is my focus group. The largest number of people are 24 years old, which has 4 people.
- Art toys are already recognised within this age group, which gives me a strong foundation for my goal of changing perceptions from trend-driven to craft-focused.
- 100% of respondents do think that art toys are a trendy product.
- 16 respondents see the story or meaning of a creative product as the most important reason to buy it. But no one sees a craft as important.
- 13 respondents would pay more for Pop Mart’s art toy than mine.
- 18 respondents expressed interest in knowing the process and story behind creative products.
- After they saw the making process, 20 respondents liked my art toy more than Pop Mart and felt that it was more valuable to them.
- 15 respondents are likely to pay more after seeing the making process.
- 9 respondents will definitely consider the craft before buying their next art toy.
- 10 respondents may consider the craft before buying their next art toy.
- I received the following feedback from the survey: “To buy an art toy depends on how much I like the character. If the price is okay, I will buy it. An example of comparing art toys from a questionnaire is not enough. Another weakness of handmade that I see is defects, which is usually another reason why I don’t choose to buy it.”
Key insights
- Art toys are seen as trendy
- Story and meaning matter, but crafts don’t yet
- Preference for Pop Mart over handmade
- Challenges with perceptions of handmade quality
There’s a clear opportunity to use storytelling and process-sharing to make consumers more aware of and interested in the crafts behind art toys. However, the feedback from the online survey is not enough. I need more feedback from my target group (25-30 Thai).
Regarding the feedback, it confirms that showing the making process helps people see the value of creative work but not craft. In the next step, I will conduct a hands-on workshop where participants create their own art toys using Hebby and the theme ‘reimagined childhood’ and learn about how crafts could effectively shift perceptions. I will invite Thai people aged 25 to 30 who have experience buying art toys to the workshop and let them give feedback by doing the pre-and post-survey because I think the survey is the most effective method to measure change.