Shattering the Old Paradigm in Market Research II
We discussed how the paradigm of market research should change and what are the options for enriching it. To answer the question “How do we mine the information out of the cultural and social surroundings?” we need some heavy caliber research methods at our disposal. This time, let’s take a look at ethnography.
What is ethnography and why bother?
Ethnography is both quantitative and qualitative research method, where all decisions made by the researcher are transparent. It is the most effective mode of analysis when it comes to observing culture. The scientist becomes a part of the studied group and lives with it for a significant period of time.
The key to effectiveness is to become a “professional stranger”, as Michael Agar put it, and to record even the simplest rituals. Making familiar seem strange and making strange seem familiar will make the marketers understand their public in its own domain. That will lead to what we crave the most – an accurate consumer insight unspoiled by the filters that come into play during a focus group discussion.
Limitations of ethnography
Whenever you are doing an ethnographic study, make sure it is empirical. This should make your life easier when you are presenting the results. Numbers help, statistics are also good. However, ethnography will never give you a full picture with all unknowns revealed. Given that it’s about people and their (in a way really weird) habits, it should be open to elements that cannot be codified. Messy results are fine and may provide you with additional insights that the hard data would never reveal. The last key thing to remember is that this mode of analysis is limited to the target audience you are observing at the time within a given space. You couldn’t draw conclusions about 18-23 years old urban professionals based on a study about 20-25 years old farmers from small towns and villages. The results from the first study could be used as a basis for some generalization but the degree of bias and difference would be way too high.
How to do ethnography?
The best way to do an ethnographic study is to live within the tribe you are observing. Think about Margaret Mead, Bronislaw Malinowski or Edmund Leach who studied its subjects in situ, unlike other anthropologists before them. Ethnographic research incorporates many previously used methods and turns them into a very powerful amalgamation of tools that give you a holistic picture of the studied subjects. Here are some ways of building up an ethnographic analysis.
- Transcribed focus group discussions
- Interviews with key actors
- Self-reporting by key actors
- Personal biographies of key actors
- Participant observation – recorded
- Field notes
- Data from other sources
Case study: San Mig Light
Instead of filling your mind with theory only, here is a case study that illustrates the uses of ethnography. When a brewery San Miguel had been facing decline in sales, it hired an Asian division of Ogilvy to help it out. The key strategy of the advertisers was to utilise ethnography as the core of their market research.
They mingled among the target audience (18-25 years old guys and girls), interviewed them in-depth and gathered some information about them. Since the researchers were too old to fit the tribe for a long-term survey, they handed a camera to every participant and instructed them to document their lives.
The results were amazing – when the researchers had analysed the data from the interviews and images regarding the lives of the target market, they found several key elements the target market had in common.
- Irreverence and the need to provoke the establishment
- Crowd mentality, yet fickle loyalty to the current leader
- Constant vying for leadership by demonstrating that “I can be a better badass” than the current leader
- Destroying public property, as these landmarks belonged to current establishment and orderly system
- Slacking without any objectives
- Phatic communication dominating the interaction among the group
It goes without saying that the following ads appealed exactly to the aforementioned elements. The campaign managed to increase the sales and create a lasting bond with the target audience.
In closing remarks, I would like to thank Tess Slavickova in regard to the theoretical part, because most of the information presented in the post comes indirectly from her classes and class materials.
Image credit: LexnGer
