Multi-Country Creative Boards on Digital Software Preferences

Client

A multinational software company that develops digital media and marketing solutions. Known for blending creativity with AI-driven innovation, the brand helps professionals and young creators alike turn ideas into engaging digital content.

Service

Digital User Study

Sector

Technology – Creative Software & Digital Media Tools

Coverage

Germany and Australia

The Challenge

The client sought to navigate complex subscription model challenges in digital tools, where expectations differed sharply between professional creators aged 21+ and next-gen creators aged 16–24 across regions. In Germany, seasoned professionals emphasized reliability, advanced features, and workflow stability, while in Australia, younger creators prioritized affordability, accessibility, and ease of use. At the same time, rising competition from free or low-cost creative platforms and fast-changing user demands made it harder to sustain long-term loyalty. Reconciling these diverse needs was critical to shaping a subscription model that could balance value, innovation, and market relevance.

What We Did

To address these market dynamics, we engaged 42 creative software users across Germany (22 participants) and Australia (20 participants), representing a mix of seasoned professionals and next-gen creators. Over the course of three days, participants took part in structured online discussion boards hosted on the Aha! platform, with daily 30-45-minute sessions designed to capture authentic perspectives on workflows, tool usage, and evolving expectations. Each session combined guided tasks, written inputs, and video responses, capturing views on workflows, software preferences, subscription models, and AI in content creation. All feedback was recorded digitally, enabling the research team to gather real-time, structured insights into user expectations and behaviors.

The Impact

The research uncovered how different creator groups interact with software, where established users rely on advanced reliability and where younger users prioritize ease and affordability. It identified friction points in subscription models, pinpointed AI features that added genuine workflow value versus those seen as gimmicks and revealed how attitudes diverged between German professionals and Australian next-gen creators. The use of structured digital boards and multi-format feedback ensured that insights were directly tied to real user behavior, decision-making patterns, and helped inform creator engagement strategies with software tools for future innovation.

Business outcomes

The insights refined the company’s global strategy, enabling it to reframe the subscription narrative around value, strengthen retention among experienced creators, and make its tools more attractive to next-gen users. Development priorities were realigned toward features that genuinely improved workflows, fueling both adoption and loyalty, while differentiated positioning across Germany and Australia ensured local relevance. Together, these actions provided the brand with sharper engagement strategies, stronger pathways to capture new audiences, and a more resilient, growth-ready position in the competitive creative software industry.

Unlock the Next Wave of Innovation in Digital and AI

We empower brands to translate the evolving needs of creators into clear growth strategies. By uncovering what drives subscriptions, how engagement is sustained, and where AI adds real value, we help transform user insights into actionable roadmaps that boost adoption, loyalty, and market relevance. Partner with us to turn creator intelligence into stronger products, sharper positioning, and lasting leadership in the digital and AI space.