FAQ
Frequently
Asked
Questions
Our Purpose
What is a breakpoint?
A behavioural breakpoint is the point where behaviour breaks from the expected path. It can be where people get stuck, resist or disengage, or where they find their own way forward, work around a system or move ahead of the support designed for them. Finding the breakpoint helps explain not just what people are doing, but why behaviour is changing – and what can move them forward.
What does Breakpoint do?
Breakpoint helps organisations identify behavioural breakpoints and understand what to do next. We use survey research, behaviour-led analysis and strategic storytelling to identify what is happening, why, and what could move people forward.
Who is Breakpoint for?
Breakpoint works with organisations navigating moments of change, growth or friction. This includes businesses, government agencies, education providers, industry bodies, not-for-profits and organisations that need to understand behaviour, adoption, engagement, trust, decision-making or public opinion.
What kinds of problems can Breakpoint help with?
Breakpoint is useful when an organisation needs to understand why people are not behaving as expected – or why new and unexpected behaviours are emerging. This could mean people know about something but are not acting on it, attitudes are changing without behaviour following, consideration is not converting into adoption, engagement is falling, trust is being lost, or important decisions are being delayed. It can also mean people are adopting something faster than expected or finding entirely new ways to behave, use a product or navigate a system.
How is Breakpoint different from a traditional market research agency?
While market research often explores what people think, feel or intend to do, Breakpoint puts particular emphasis on what people are doing, what has already changed and where behaviour breaks from the expected path. This grounds the research in real-world actions, revealing shifts that attitudes and intentions alone can miss. We also combine research thinking with editorial judgement from the outset – considering what is changing, where the tensions might be and what evidence could genuinely add something new to the conversation. That lens continues through the analysis, identifying the differences, contradictions and behavioural shifts that reveal the strongest findings. The result is carefully curated into clear strategic and media-ready stories, with research designed from the outset to have an impact beyond the report itself.
Can original research help brands be discovered?
Yes. Original research gives organisations something genuinely new to contribute to the conversation – creating findings that can earn media coverage, support thought leadership, generate searchable content and give other sources a reason to cite the brand. As discovery increasingly happens through AI as well as traditional search and media, original evidence can also help build a brand's presence across the authoritative sources these systems draw upon. Breakpoint focuses on creating original findings worth discovering, sharing and citing.
Our Methodology
What kind of research does Breakpoint conduct?
Breakpoint primarily conducts survey-based market and audience research. Projects can involve nationally representative samples, targeted audience surveys, customer or employee research, and comparative studies between a wider market and an organisation's own audience. Research can range from focused, rapid-turnaround studies to larger national research programs, with each designed to produce robust evidence that can inform decisions and contribute something meaningful to the wider conversation.
What is the Breakpoint Model?
The Breakpoint Model is our five-step framework for diagnosing behaviour. We start by mapping the context in which behaviour occurs and identifying the tensions shaping it. From there, we pinpoint the breakpoint where behaviour breaks from the expected path, analyse the drivers behind that shift, and finally, define the unlock that can move people forward. This process transforms raw research into a clear diagnosis of what is happening, why it matters, and what to do next.
How does Breakpoint analyse research?
Breakpoint looks beyond topline results to understand where the most meaningful patterns sit within the data. We compare behaviours across relevant groups and segments, test relationships between findings and investigate unexpected differences or contradictions that emerge. The aim is not to give equal weight to every result, but to identify the patterns that best explain what is changing, why it matters and where the strongest strategic or media implications lie.
What is the difference between Market Lens, Audience Lens, and Combined View?
Market Lens looks across the wider market to understand how behaviour is changing and what it means. Audience Lens looks inside your own customer base, workforce, member group or community to understand what is shaping their behaviour. Combined View brings both together, comparing your audience with the wider market to reveal gaps, tensions and opportunities – and what they mean strategically.
Can Breakpoint conduct research outside Australia?
Yes. Breakpoint is based in Australia but can conduct survey research in international markets, including the United States. We have experience conducting research with US respondents and can also design comparative studies to identify differences and similarities between Australian and international audiences.
How does Breakpoint ensure research quality?
We work with established research panels and apply appropriate quality controls to data collection, interpret findings with sample sizes and statistical significance in mind, and avoid overstating differences the data does not support. Published findings, statistics and external sources are checked before release, with methodology information provided alongside our original research.
Does Breakpoint use AI in its research?
Yes. We use AI selectively as a research and productivity tool. AI may assist with tasks such as exploring data, testing interpretations, developing questionnaire wording and refining written material. It does not replace human judgement in research design, analysis or final conclusions. All reported findings, statistics and external sources are reviewed and verified before publication. Our reports and visual identity are designed by people, not generated by AI.
How We Work Together
Does Breakpoint only produce reports?
No. A research report is just one potential output. Research can also be developed into data visualisations, presentations, press releases, articles and social content. A single study can become a body of evidence that can be used across channels and over time.
What are Breakpoint reports?
Breakpoint reports are original research studies on behavioural shifts shaping society and the world we live in. Each report identifies where behaviour breaks from the expected path, why it matters, and what can be done next.
Can Breakpoint create PR-ready research?
Yes. Breakpoint designs original research for earned media, thought leadership and campaigns, with an editorial lens applied from the outset rather than conducting research first and searching for a story afterwards. We can take care of the process from developing the research concept and designing the study through to fieldwork and analysis, identifying the differences, contradictions and human tensions that make the strongest findings worth paying attention to, and translating them into media-ready stories. We can work directly with organisations or as a specialist research partner to PR and communications agencies. Projects can be Breakpoint-branded, client-branded or delivered behind the scenes as part of a wider campaign.
Can Breakpoint identify research opportunities?
Yes. Breakpoint can help organisations and PR and communications teams identify where original research could create new evidence, strategic insight, media stories and thought-leadership opportunities. This can range from exploring the research potential around an individual issue or brief to reviewing a broader set of topics, business priorities or client portfolios and identifying the strongest opportunities to pursue. We consider the behavioural shift or tension at the heart of an issue, gaps in existing evidence, whether the opportunity can be credibly researched, its relevance to the organisation and its potential to generate meaningful insights and stories.
Can Breakpoint test an existing idea or hypothesis?
Yes. If your organisation already has an emerging idea, hypothesis or point of view, Breakpoint can turn it into researchable questions and generate original evidence to test, substantiate or develop it. This can be particularly valuable for thought leadership, where organisations often have strong ideas based on their experience but lack independent evidence showing how widely those patterns are occurring, who they affect and where the most interesting differences lie. Sometimes the research validates the original thinking. Sometimes it reveals something more interesting.
Can Breakpoint take care of an entire research project?
Yes. Breakpoint can manage the research process from beginning to end – from identifying what is worth investigating and developing the questionnaire, through to fieldwork, analysis and identifying the strongest findings, then shaping them into clear strategic and media-ready stories. Projects are senior-led throughout, creating a consistent line of thinking from the initial research question through to how the findings are interpreted and communicated.
How do projects usually start?
Projects usually begin with a conversation about the behaviour you need to understand. From there, Breakpoint helps define the right audience, sample, key questions, outputs and timeline. The project may use our Market Lens, Audience Lens or Combined View, depending on the behaviour you need to understand.
How do I work with Breakpoint?
For research partnerships, commissioned reports or strategic communications enquiries, contact find@thebreakpoint.com.au