Macroforces and Changing Consumer Culture: Advancing Human Insights

At Northstar, we continue to keep an eye on macroforces that are driving change in global culture and consequently consumer culture.   A recent post discussed Mass Urbanization and its implications for consumer culture :http://thebrandsherpa.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/macroforces-and-changes-in-global-consumer-culture-part-1-mass-urbanization/

In the spirit of helping our clients and peers continue to answer the questions of “What’s going on out there, does it matter to us and if so what are we going to do about it” I would like to elaborate on another  of the several macroforces we are keeping an eye on and what it means for the future of consumer culture.

It is important to note here that the macroforces impacting our lives do not all necessarily exist in a vacuum.  Rather, they can indeed influence and be influenced by one another.  The macoroforce of Advancing Human Insights is one such phenomenon that is remarkably influenced and formed by advances in communication technology as well as globalization.  It also, as force that is gaining momentum, is perhaps the most strongly human-culture driven force out there.  We designate it as a macoforce because it is a phenomenon that has gained very strong momentum in a short period of time and is having a significant impact on life as we know it.

We see this macroforce present in trends such as

• Ongoing advances in food and nutrition
• Increasing focus on fitness and healthy lifestyles
• Monitoring of global happiness as a measure of success, e.g.: Gross National Happiness, The Happy Planet Index, The Relative Happiness Index

Following in the footsteps of Nicolas Sarkozy, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has directed the Office of National Statistics to develop metrics to measure the UK’s “general well-being.” Happiness indices have received a fair amount of press in recent years since Nobel Laureate economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen began advocating a move away from a exclusively economic view of gross domestic product towards a model that takes into account less concrete measures, such as sustainability and, yes, well-being.

So how does this evolution impact consumer culture?

For starters, it will have an impact on our global workforce.  Especially in more developed economies, we will see fewer workers willing to sacrifice lifestyle balance for the sake of a big paycheck.  Definitions of success will becoming increasingly rooted in ability to be happy, healthy, socially and financially successful.  This is in opposition, of course, to the relentless pursuit of financial success.   That means values will become more important than status and thus consumers will increasingly scrutinize their spending priorities based on the value products and brands bring to their life and the lives of others.

Consumers will also continue to be more mindful of health and wellness and how their consumption contributes or detracts from that pursuit.

They will begin to increasingly embrace the power they have to both pursue their own happiness and personal fulfillment as well as impact that of others: locally and globally.

Consumers in the developed world will start seeking more wisdom from “old world” cultural roots on how to live a fulfilling life.  There will be a strong spiritual influence here as well as the influence of longstanding cultural traditions.  We will seek our roots to seek meaning and ultimately rediscover our “humanity”.

Consumers will begin to require more substance than style and more art than efficiency.  They will seek ways to use their consumption to forward the pursuit of happiness of others close to them and those they connect to around the world.

What does it mean for brands?
Brands and companies will increasingly be judged not just by their products and marketing but also by their corporate culture:  Is it a place people like to work? Do they treat their employees well?  What are their sustainability policies?  Transparency is a new reality and consumers are increasingly looking to discover the human side of business.

Companies and services that help consumers find and manage balance in their lives by facilitating health and wellness, fitness, self reflection, personal time and even the simplicity of “fun” will grow and thrive in this changing consumer landscape.

Brands with an authentic voice that help to make the world a constructively happy place will also thrive.  Marketing messaging is powerful and global brands that can help humans find  common ground rooted in a more balanced and positive way of life will win a good amount of loyalty, with the side effect of helping to make the world a better in the process.

When all is said and done, the companies and brands that will survive will be those who, from the inside out, do as much as they can to serve their consumers by anticipating and delivering against their increasingly human needs to be better.  This is not an idealist philosophy. It is foresight based on a preponderance of  empirical evidence leading to sociological and anthropological fact.  This global advancement of human insights is directing change in consumer culture at a rapid pace and those brands and companies that can embrace that reality in their heads as well as their hearts and activate against it in business strategies  will no doubt see sustainable ROI as they help consumers lead the way toward a more “human” future.

Related articles

• Evolving Youth Culture and What it Means For The Global Brand Marketplace (thenarcissisticanthropologist.com)
• Empowerment Is The New “Green” (thenarcissisticanthropologist.com)
• Youth Culture Series Part 1: The Evolving Mindset of Global Youth (thebrandsherpa.wordpress.com)
• 6 Psychological Reasons Consumer Culture is Unsatisfying (healnowtherapyhypnosis.blogspot.com)
• Why we work (economist.com)

A Peek Into Context: Millennials Blog About Their New American Reality

In my anthropological studies of American youth, I have unearthed a lot of insights about the emerging mindset and values shift towards a more balanced, holistic perspective.  I have even used a turn of phrase to describe how Millennials are no longer seeking the American Dream but living an “American Reality”.

I came across this young blogger (who actually came across another one of my blogs” and thought “here is a brilliant example”.  So, I thought I would share a peek into “James Room”:

Lies My Country Told Me: The Hollow American Dream.

Macroforces And Changes In Global Consumer Culture: Mass Urbanization

Normal, crowded street in Bombay. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a part of my day-to-day and that of the Chief Culture Officer at Northstar Research, we stay pretty keenly focused on the macroforces that are shaping the world and what that means for humans and consumer culture.
We always encourage our clients and our internal teams to ask three big questions:

“What’s going on out there?”

“Does it matter to us?”

“If so, what are we going to do about it?”

These are pretty basic questions but also pretty big questions.  And in order to really grasp the magnitude of the task it’s important to start with a solid foundation of understanding based on the big picture.

At Northstar, we have focused on 7 big-picture macroforces.   To start off, I would like to talk about one that has been a topic of interest among several of my clients lately:  Mass Urbanization

• Today, half the world’s population (i.e. 3 billion) lives in urban areas.
• Three million people move to cities in the developing world every week – mostly from subsistence farms (OECD 2010).
• Global urban populations will grow by nearly 2 billion in the next 20 years, and by 2050, about 70% of the world’s population will be in cities in the developing world (Nielsen 2011).

So, what does that mean for consumer-focused brands?  Well, for starters it means taking a look at how your organization defines “urban”.  Chances are that conception is skewed by a fairly ethnocentric, western context.  What we view as the realities and lifestyle impact of urban living in the developed world is likely very different from the reality of urbanization as it is evolving, especially in emerging markets.

America and the developed world’s concept of “urban” is rooted in an ethnocentric perspective based on a very specific sociocultural trajectory

From our western point of view, we see Urban life as having a very distinct cultural context:

• Melting Pot Cities:  a multi-ethnic collection of citizens from diverse backgrounds and geographies who are all both challenged and enriched by one another’s presence
• Distinct racial divides between the haves and have-nots (in America specifically): in particular, urban “ghetto” culture is characterized by African American and Hispanic minorities
• A more class-warfare driven concept of street culture and youth culture in particular:  e.g., Rap / Hip-Hop music, street art and graffiti, and celebration of athletic prowess  like Basketball as a “golden ticket” to upward mobility

Bit if you look at the more likely cultural realities of  the mass-migrants to urban areas from a more rural and disconnected upbringing in emerging markets, there is a distinct difference.  In particular, you see a stronger cultural tension between that geography’s deep culture and the culture that is more timely, topical and surface level

New urbanites in emerging markets are likely:

• Carrying with them internalized “deep culture” from an upbringing steeped in centuries old traditions:  such as deeply held spiritual traditions and family centric values in Eastern cultures
• Following an accelerated learning curve (compared to the historical trajectory experienced in the developed world)and urban acculturation path: due to the rapid spread of globalization / capitalism and augmented by the proliferation and adoption of communication technology.  People can see both the pros and cons of how capitalism and rapid growth has affected human culture for better or worse…and they are adjusting their consumer behavior according to that information and their assessment of their personal priorities
•   Experiencing a far more homogeneous ethnic context than in the developed world:  like in India or Asia where most people in urban centers “look alike”  and come from regions with similar socio-political realities and far  more similar (although diverse)  spiritual and cultural traditions

So, that’s a peek at what is “going on out there” from a mass urbanization perspective.  And every company that markets a global brand…especially those with a perceived urban target, should answer in the affirmative to “does it matter to us?”

That being said, there are more macroforces to consider.  Stay tuned.  But if you are a stakeholder on a global brand to consider what the other macroforces mean and what you’re going to do about it…

Wellbeing Trends: The Values Bubble

Quality of Life (Photo credit: angrywayne)

A couple of posts ago I had shared some of my “raw” thoughts on well being trends that I had given to a friend of a friend for a piece she was writing. It has turned out to be a series addressing a number of macro trends related to well-being, and she has done a good job of curating my “mess” of feedback along with some others.

The topic of her most recent piece is on how consumer values have shifted to increase our focus on well being. Namely, the monumental shift from mid century America to where we are now, driven by trends in communication technology that have allowed us to as a human populace to regularly interact wtih old and new points of veiw and see how the “other” lives in a way that is complimentary or detrimental to our own lifestyles…thus allowing us to practice more informed curation of values.

You can read Renee Morefield’s article in Marmapoints here:

http://marmapoints.org/features/317-good-health-is-trending

Defining The Focus and End Goal of Applying Consumer Anthropology: Companies, Brands and Products

As a part of training and development for Consumer Anthropology at Northstar, I have been putting together a “handbook” / training guide to help researchers (both green and seasoned) understand the role 0f this practice area and how it is applied.

In the spirit of beginning with the end in mind, It was important for me to make sure to include a foundation in philosophy and theory as well as in the definition of those social agents that impact and are impacted by consumers:  The company, the brand and products.

So, I started by taking to the academic publications and then turned loose on LinkedIn, posing the questions to practicing academic and private sector anthropologists.

Here is where I netted out, but of course welcome a continued conversation in the spirit of constant evolution:

A Company is a functional collection of humans within our culture

Company is what Malinowski calls “an institution” in the broader anthropological and sociological sense. It is the basic unit in a socio/cultural system. Its product(s) is its function(s) in and contribution to in a larger system. Since a company is a human institution it could be sole proprietor of an ice cream stand with  three ice cream flavors as the, or Goldman-Sachs, with the financial system of United States of America as its product.

Products are the outputs of human ingenuity and are definitive part of human culture

“As for the term “product,” it is the output of a company. It requires the transformation of raw materials (physical, human, or intellectual) into something that has value in the marketplace”.  – Barry Bainton

“A third part of our definition of culture is “products.” Human thought and behavior often lead to the production of material artifacts or tools. In this people are not alone; other forms of life also make and use simple tools. Birds make nests; some ants use sticks as prods; caged monkeys use sticks to get bananas. But in transmitting knowledge to successive generations so that it becomes cumulative, humans are distinctive. And as human knowledge and technology grow, human tools become increasingly complex, and growing bodies of information stimulate an even more rapid rate of expansion”.   – http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/points.htm

A Brand is an IDEA, completely dependent on collective culture’s interaction with and perceptions of products and companies

“A brand is a process of attaching an idea to a product. Decades ago that idea might have been strictly utilitarian: trustworthy, effective, a bargain. Over time, the ideas attached to products have become more elaborate, ambitious and even emotional. This is why, for example, current branding campaigns for beer or fast food often seem to be making some sort of statement about the nature of contemporary manhood. If a product is successfully tied to an idea, branding persuades people — consciously or not — to consume the idea by consuming the product. Even companies like Apple and Nike, while celebrated for the tangible attributes of their products, work hard to associate themselves with abstract notions of nonconformity or achievement. A potent brand becomes a form of identity in shorthand.  – Walker, Rob.  2006.  The Brand Underground.  New York Times, July 30, 2006

A ‘brand’ is much like an ‘imagined community,’ a symbolic cluster that’s partially created by the company & its partners (advertisers, PR) and partially created by the consumer community (both those who invest in the brand and those who avoid it)”. -  Greg Downey, Macquarie University

At the end of our work day, the study of consumer culture involves the study of companies, brands and products alongside thw culture of consumption.  Ultimately, however, the benefactors of that work are also the same objects of study.   It is because all three of these are intensely human in nature and driven by culture.  We explore the context of that culture to bring meaning and meaningful change to the way we do business and the way we “consume” our world.

Context In Professional Sports is Everything: Especially for Marketers!

In a recent post I gave a preview of some perspective I had gotten from some fieldwork we were doing at Northstar on the cultural context of Hockey for Canadians:

The purpose of this work was to prove that, when it comes to reaching sports fans, understanding the context of spectatorship and “fandom” is critical to truly effective media messaging and reach.

You can learn so much by taking the time to incorporate the study of context into any strategic research initiative.  In this case, we were able to use our contextual exploration to not only create a remarkably robust quantitative assessment tool, but to inform the hypotheses that would bring to light some truly new insights.

I am proud of our team and we are proud of this work.  Here are some of the headlines, courtesy of Yahoo Finance:

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/northstar-studies-nhl-fan-engagement-130200402.html

 

Related articles

• A Brand Sherpa In The Midst of Hockey Fans in Canada (thebrandsherpa.wordpress.com)
• Being a good sport is very VERY Canadian (thenarcissisticanthropologist.com)

The Macrocultural Trends Driving Increased Human Interest In Wellbeing

I was recently asked to contribute some perspective for an article on wellbeing trends that was written by a friend of a friend, which i think is an interesting read in and of itself:

http://marmapoints.org/features/317-good-health-is-trending

Renee asked a few questions:

• What do you believe are the 2-3 most important emerging trends driving a greater human inquiry toward wellbeing? (For instance, in one of your emails you mentioned “dematerialization” as a trend which may inadvertently creating more question and possibilities to explore wellbeing.)

•  Why are these trends emerging now? And why do they matter to global companies?
•  In your highest vision, where could these trends lead us (us as people, us as companies, us as whole societies)?

In returning to the original verbatim brain-dump response I sent, I thought it was interesting to see the context from whence she was able to find a couple of much more concise points.

So, here is my stream of consciousness on where we got to the interest in all this “well being” business. 

Sit down with a long-drinkin’ beverage and enjoy:

First: Surface culture versus deep culture balance seeking

One trend that has been emerging on a global scale…especially in places like the emerging third world / BRIC countries is a palpable cultural tension driving consumers to find a balance between the new drivers of economic gain/status/consumption and connection/homage to what is in many cases hundreds or thousands of years of cultural and spiritual tradition.

Economic globalization (more access to “stuff” due to economic prosperity) combined with the proliferation of communication technology (our ability to facilitate dialogues and have access to information) has allowed humans to see and discuss the impact of economic prosperity for better or for worse and to really examine the values that are truly important….rather than relying on propoganda or invented popular culture as our soul source of stimulus and input on what’s right or wrong.

To give you an idea of how why that is significant…in America, when we were an up-and-coming middle class nation starting in the mid century, the only exposure we had to shape our norms / values / priorities / ideals was the content that was choicefully curated and broadcast on our limited communications mediums…TV, Radio, periodicals, etc. Therefore, we (for better or worse, come ambition or depression) believed that the path to happiness and prosperity was through working hard and accumulating “stuff”. That lead to a generation of Baby boomers who sacrificed time with their family and having balance for the promise of pensions and economic stability. Then Gen Y came of age watching their boomer parents lose their jobs, pensions and stability after having sacrificed their passions, and oftentimes relationships with their children. NOW, gen Y in America is re-examining their priorities toward a more realistic balance. BUT what we don’t talk about is that their parent’s generaiton didn’t have any access to what was going on in the rest of the world, an understanding of diverse spiritual and cultural traditions, etc….because they were living in a bubble.

There is no more bubble. The emerging middle class nations now are coming up in a time when they do have all kinds of access that allows them to objectively see how other humans prioritize and also the failures of priorities gone wrong on other nations who have “been there and done that”.

This is important to companies on many levels: because they will have to develop business practices (from employment policies to brand strategies) that are human-centric and prioritize the importance of honoring cultural and spiritual traditions as well as economic ambition and managing the “triple bottom line” of People, Planet, Profit.

I think this trend will continue to shape how humans view their place in the world as consumers and their responsibility to other humans and to maintaining a connection to our humanity. It will mean that we will be increasingly more desirous of higher order benefits from our work as well as our consumption practices.

I suppose it goes without saying (but I should say it anyway) that many cultural traditions are rooted in maintaining a connection between our minds and our bodies and other humans and the planet. Spirituality in many eastern senses is about harnessing positive energy to sustain your existence and contribute to a harmonious society. That is well-being at its core and is, in actuality, old news we are reminding ourselves of as we get pulled in by the “shiny things” that come with economic prosperity. In many ways, the emerging third world is lightyears ahead of the developed world in that respect, but we are catching up with the “wellness’ trends (in the developed world) BECAUSE we are seeing the value it brings to other cultures…by virtue of the fact that we no longer live in that “bubble”….

Second: Consumers taking responsibility for facilitating human equality

Again, caused by the proliferation of communication technology and our ability to see the consequences of globalization and the reality of human inequality, humans are becoming more cognizant of the realities that affect other humans…and are able to see pictures painted of other humans around the world, realizing that regardless of our differences we share mostly the same basic ideals and needs.

We are also, because of the emergence of more middle class individuals with more spending power due to globalization, feeling more empowered by our economic access: we see how much influence we have with our purchase power. This is true mostly of developed cultures who have had capitalism hanging around for a while. We are used to being marketed to and having lots of choices and are seeing that how we spend affects what companies do. And we are starting to see that our dollars, in no matter how small an amount on an individual level, have an impact when we act as a collective toward a common goal.

We are therefore not only starting to demand that the companies we buy from do more to benefit society, but demand more from ourselves. We are starting to find more impactful ways to make our money count. This is evident in the rapid growth of microfinance, for example….and on a more conceptual level with crowd-sourced venture capital concepts like Kickstarter (kickstarter.com) which empower creativity and entrepreneuriship.

This is important for companies because they need to understand that the impact they have on the world is significant and being watched….placing a responsibility on those companies to behave in ways that further the cause of equality and don’t polarize the “haves” and “have nots”. It also means that they are no longer just competing against other big, well funded companies, but against individuals who are being activated and empowered by masses of other individuals.

I believe this trend will continue and we will see a more level playing-field emerge in both the third world as well as developed nations. We will see more entrepreneurship and creativity and people carving out their own destiny / path that is driven by passion and funded by…literally…human-centric ideals. It will also lend to a continuation of the first trend I mentioned regarding seeking basic balance between our ambition and our traditions…but also an overall mind-body-soul balance because we will be empowered to achieve on our own terms and create new concepts / ways of doing business centered around those ideals.

At the end of the day, empowering others makes us feel good. It enhances our sense of well-being and encourages us to examine our own personal priorities regarding happiness and health and the importance of each relative to our other more pragmatic financial or ego-driven priorities.

Progressive Sample Selection (PSS): A Methodology for Optimizing Qualitative Insights

Identifying challenges for ethnographic and qualitative approaches

At Northstar research partners, we are committed to the relentless pursuit of progress in the way we approach unearthing Insights that Inspire. With regard to human and cultural insights generation, approaches and methodologies are typically ethnographic in nature. These projects are typically rooted in an anthropological ethos that seeks to explore the rich, cultural context that shapes and influences consumer behavior. They also look at sociological and psychological factors that have an impact on consumerism.

With such a robust and potentially infinite set of variables, sometimes a major challenge is in discerning how to approach data collection so you can both define what constitutes data as well as how to generate it. Another key issue is also related to identifying patterns in the data.

In the majority of ethnographic projects, although a good amount of time might be spent observing context and interacting with participants, often pattern identification is a more intuitive exercise, as participant samples are typically smaller and it’s difficult to quantify context unless significant rigor exits around data classification and data entry / analysis.

And if we look at purely qualitative projects, which typically utilize a more question-response based approach to collecting and contextualizing data, in absence of spending more time with research participants, much richness can be left unearthed under the surface.

And this is not to say that Insights aren’t meaningful if they don’t have large sample sizes and statistical significance. Nor is it to say that there isn’t significant value in understanding patterns from the lowest hanging fruit on the surface.

But, in the space of consumer research, one can observe a fair amount of anxiety on the client side in determining the best type of research for guiding and backing up strategic decisions. Often budgets are stretched and the myth of economies of scale leads to use of a qualitative or quantitative methodologies in a “silo”. Also, while human and cultural insights are absolutely critical for driving business growth that will be sustainable over time, much of the time, the C Suite decision makers need to feel that the research results are driven not just by gut instinct and keen interpretation of surface patterns, but by analytical rigor as well. It is an easy but often-erroneous presumption to make that qualitative analysis is not “rigorous”

Introducing PSS: Progressive Sample Selection
Progressive Sample Selection is a Northstar process that enables us to efficiently select the “best” respondents through a multi-stage qualitative exploration

This qualitative approach begins with tasks assigned to a large sample of candidates.

These tasks completed by this larger pool of candidates produce a broad range of data outputs from which we identify patterns and themes. Next, we query those candidates we deem the best equipped to provide further depth and insight into these identifies phenomena.

While qualitative research typically seeks to uncover in-depth commentary from a specified sample and that is where it ends, Progressive Sample Selection achieves depth and fine-tunes focus throughout the process by both deepening the conversation, but also by progressively selecting those candidates best able to shed light on emerging findings and issues as they arise in the overall investigation.

How does PSS optimize qualitative and ethnographic research?

Progressive Sample selection serves a couple several “masters”.

First, It elevates qualitative research to a broader, ethnographic purview by allowing-in data that is ethnographic in nature, generated by participants.

Second, in the space of qualitative and ethnographic research, it also elevates the quality of the research participant sample in the more in-depth sample…by seeding thoughtfulness / preparation in participants, alleviating peer-generated bias that may happen in a focus group setting by more outspoken participants. It also allows for more in depth screening on creativity and articulateness so the right respondents can be selected for either qualitative or further in-context ethnographic deep dives.

Third, it supports efficient rigor in collection and analysis of qualitative and ethnographic data: providing a structure for data collection and analysis through coding of pre-task responses and outlining of specific data collection-points against each strategic research objective. The rationale: in order to properly scope out a PSS project, you must first identify which data source each specific objective will be covered by and how (pre-task, focus group discussion capture, ethnographic photo capture, etc.)…Allowing for checkpoints for coding data throughout the qualitative process. Also, by letting your research participants be informants from the outset, they are doing the bulk of the initial data generation in the pre-task assignment, which is (by design) the most robust data set. It also, again, allows the research team leader extra exposure to qualifying characteristics of the respondents in order to select the best participants for subsequent stages.

Finally, if the initial sample is large enough, some identified patterns can even be quantified. I like to call this “quantilative” research. With an initial sample of 100 to 200 respondents, one can identify legitimately quantifiable patterns from the pre-tasks, depending on the sample distribution.

A fictional example of PSS in practice

Lets say ACME widgets wants to identify the value and purchase drivers of their long-standing line of wonder-widgets among a couple of consumer segments (from an existing segmentation): one that is a sizeable and loyal customer base and one that is a psychographic fit but somehow not adopting the franchise in the volume ACME hypothesizes they ought to be. The objective of the project is to prioritize product line enhancements, changes and price-tiers that will exceed the expectations of their loyal consumers and get them to buy higher-priced wonder-widgets, as well as to seed relevance and encourage purchase consideration among the prospect group.

The PSS sample might start with 30 participants in each target segment group, in each of 3 priority ACME markets. Each of those 180 participants will be given a week to complete an ethnographic homework assignment that might involve a photo journal of their widget use, a widget-brand collage with accompanying narrative to explain the collage content, etc. From there, the research team would enter data and do an initial analysis to identify patterns, then find a selection of participants who represent those patterns most accurately and / or are the most articulate, thoughtful or diligent in completing their assignment…giving them an elevated right to a point of view on the topic.

The participants identified as “optimal” would then be invited to participate in a focus group discussion…perhaps two groups of 8 participants for each target in each market: just over half of the initial sample. An additional 4 participants (mutually exclusive from the focus group sample) who seem like they would thrive in a more personal deep-dive setting might also be selected to conduct ethnographic immersions in the days following the groups to dig in on identified patterns and bring some more context to the initial findings…perhaps adding a deeper level of findings and insights in the process.

The insights that results from the exploration for ACME widgets would identify both a breadth and depth of insights that can identify meaningful similarities and differences in wonder-widget value drivers and purchase consideration factors. It will not only identify the patterns, but also unearth the meaning behind those patterns that in turn lead to actionable product implications…with brand implications likely to surface as well.

The process can minimally add the project timeline (perhaps a few weeks to a month) but also serves to add significant incremental value to the results and implications.

Want to know more?  Would you like .pdf copy of the “official” whitepaper? Send me an email: jgordon@nsesearch-usa.com

Demystifying Ethnography

From Fuzzy To Focus
As a part of the practice of applying a Consumer Anthropology framework to strategic research, we use ethnographic approaches; those focused on gathering facts generated by social mores and behaviors. The goal is to explore the culture that surrounds and shapes consumer lifestyles and their relationships with brands and products.
Often, in discussions with clients, or even amongst ourselves as strategic research practitioners, ethnography is used as a term or title to efer to a stand-alone research approach that involves in-home interviews, observation of consumers while they are involved in a specific activity, or some other narrow definition of a particular research tool.
This is not unusual. Even seasoned researchers who sell ethnography to their clients sometimes assume that engaging in ethnographic research means using the traditional anthropological approach of participant observation. However, in Consumer Anthropology, participant observation is merely one method for uncovering ethnographic insights. Ethnography in this case (and even more broadly in modern academic research practices) is actually a collection of methodologies that allow us to understand consumer context.
There are a number of ways to collect ethnographic data, with some examples including:
• Response-based group discussions (among strangers, friends or peer groups): this type of data collection is best used to gain input on new topics and in order to develop hypotheses

• Response-based one on one discussions: to get at deeper look at attitudes, values, motivations and behaviors and identify patterns of reactions and actions

• Ethnographic immersion: participant observation, in-situ, and either one on one or among a family or subculture group lasting anywhere from several hours to several days.

• Narrative Creation: asking consumers to write stories will provide context and language that describe how they relate to a brand, product or category. The trick here is to use this tool with the right target consumers: for obvious reasons, creative types often are better at constructing narratives.

• Ethnographic photos, video diaries or journals: consumer generated photography or videography of their lives that often include stories or narrative will add further texture and insight.

• Metaphor elicitation: having participants create collages of words, pictures and other imagery around a specific topic help participants to think more critically and abstractly. Usually assigned as homework, collages are an interesting way to identify cultural patterns.

It is also important to note that when it comes to sources of ethnographic data collection, we are only limited by our vision! That means that as the world changes and we evolve as researchers, the possibilities are limitless. If it can be observed, it counts as data. So we should always feel free to make customization a top-of-mind option for ethnographic research methodologies.

Why Do We Care?
And, why would we want to study consumer context? What is the value of conducting research that goes outside the sphere of asking consumers for their opinions or to report their attitudes, values and behaviors?
Ethnographic methodologies allow us to collect the context that helps us give meaning to consumer behavior, framing it in the influence of environmental and social factors. The greater the understanding of context and the stronger the collaboration between consumers and marketers (AKA “clients”) the more likely an increasing return on investment (ROI) will result.
This is the central philosophy of Consumer Anthropology and the reason why ethnographic methods are used as part of the “Consumer Context” sphere of the “3 C’s”(see previous blog on this topic).
At the core of the reasons to utilize ethnographic approaches is the desire to compensate for the limitations faced when using siloed approaches to gather insights, such as exclusive use of custom quantitative or qualitative studies. It is important for us to know not only what different types of research techniques can do, but also what they fail to do.
First, traditional quantitative and qualitative studies are very useful for helping develop models that seek to predict consumer behavior and for uncovering attitudes that consumers hold toward brands or products.
There is no opportunity, however, to identify patterns and differentiate between what consumers say and what they actually do, nor is there an ability to understand the impetus for those actions and the cultural influences explaining why certain patterns exist.
And, while qualitative and quantitative methodologies can create opportunities and lines of questioning that go deep, what these approaches often miss is the cultural context for interpreting the results. We don’t want to look at research in a vacuum. We want it tied to real world events, trends, and experiences.
Ethnography is a method of discovery that seeks to compensate for these limitations inherent in traditional qualitative and quantitative research.
Specifically, if in a more strategic focused research initiative (such as defining / segmenting consumer targets, assessing brand health or identifying innovation opportunities) research relies exclusively on what consumers say in a response-based setting, such as focus groups or surveys for insights, they risk missing bigger pieces of the puzzle and leaving holes in the efficacy of their final solution.
In focusing on the lived experience of research participants among other cultural factors, we gain insight into patterns of behavior that allow us as ethnographers to recognize unspoken assumptions, making the invisible visible to both the participants themselves as well as our clients!
Thus, the specifics of a research methodology or set of tools used in a strategic research approach, whether it involves primary or secondary data, matter less than its application. In other words, it is the entirety of the research approaches used that make a project ethnographic; the way they combine to provide understanding and meaning of sociocultural practices is ultimately what is important.
Getting To The Point
Ethnography is not a stand-alone offering that sits in a set of mutually exclusive products we offer to help develop strategic research solutions for our clients. Nor is a research methodology inherently ethnographic just because we are taking the experience off the survey page our out of the focus group facility.
Ethnography is, however, a set of approaches we can use to bring depth and breadth to the solutions we deliver to clients. Strategic research results that have a foundation in the understanding of human and cultural context elevate findings to insights, and elevate the return on investment clients can expect from application of those insights, both in the near and long term.
Ethnography is also a way to truly engage clients as partners in strategic research and “unlock insights that inspire!”

For more information about Northstar Research Partners and / or  our Consumer Anthropology practice area, please feel free to reach out to me directly: jgordon@nsresearch-usa.com

Context Is Everything

Most of my blogs are devoted to topics rooted in Consumer Anthropology. I recently gave a brief talk as part of the NewMR virtual event on Ethnography. Link below to see the presentation.
In the dialogue, I discuss the CONTEXT of ethnography in the broader 3 C’s framework. As researchers, it is important that we see the bigger picture. I discuss a few case examples here of how understanding Client, Cultural and Consumer Context are all essential part of a well rounded strategic research approach.

http://newmr.org/page/6298711:Page:9314