Driving product discovery through new Dolby product recommendation tool
Business Challenge
To promote Dolby in home entertainment (think TVs and soundbars), the marketing team created a product recommendation tool. As this was the marketing organization’s first foray into digital recommendation features, my fellow UX researcher and I had to convince the campaign team to balance marketing goals with usability.
Research Goals
Assess general user understanding and relevancy of the tool
Discover potential navigation and interactivity issues
Evaluate user comprehension of the information presented through each phase
Approach
When we first saw the prototype, my research partner and I anticipated that users would be confused by the question-and-answer text, which tried to serve multiple goals—educating, positioning, inspiring, and maintaining a playful tone. We suggested changes to the team, but given their marketing priorities, only minor adjustments were made.
Given the short timeframe of 1.5 weeks from kickoff to reporting, we ran moderated tests with the option to rapidly iterate the text after the first day. This approach let us explore the users’ confusion in real time, convincing the team of the importance of clarity. We developed guidelines to inform how the text should be changed, and all following sessions were done with the iterated text.
Original → iterated text
Guidelines for iterated text
The campaign’s target consumers in the UK, where the campaign was being run, were recruited for testing. Sessions started with think aloud tasks, followed by an in-depth interview to probe into the think aloud; my partner and I each moderated 6 of the 12 sessions.
After testing, my research partner and I aligned on early insights before each building half the deck and editing together. We presented our sections to the campaign team.
Prototype tested (after text iterations)
Key Learnings
Users think about home entertainment by device, not by experience. Framing the tool around the device they want, rather than whether they want better sound or visuals, unlocks clearer value and stronger adoption.
The Q&A text tried to serve multiple purposes. Separating key goals across each level of text unlocks better user flow: use Q&A text to guide users through the tool, and supporting text to educate users about the value of Dolby’s technology.
Users are willing to learn about Dolby and tech specs, but only if it’s effortless. Automatically revealing supporting text, rather than hiding it behind expandable boxes, maximizes educational goals while keeping engagement friction low.
Final product recommendation tool after implementing research findings
Impact
The tool’s success on the UK campaign page paved the way for its US launch on the main Dolby.com site, which can be found here. Over 90% of visitors reach the recommendation results, showing its strong engagement and clear value delivery.
Beyond metrics, by showcasing the impact of user-centered design, my research partner and I established a lasting collaboration with members of the campaign team. We conducted five additional UX research initiatives within the year, helping their teams make data-driven decisions, optimize user experiences, and unlock new opportunities for engagement and growth.
Reflection
This project taught me how to bridge UX and marketing, giving me and my research partner the chance to champion UX in a marketing organization with low UX maturity. By demonstrating the marketing value of prioritizing user experience, we were able to secure buy-in.
If we had more than 1.5 weeks, it would have been ideal to test the text first outside of the tool UI to finalize copy separately from design elements and enable more focused discussions on each.