Consumer brands’ love affair with ethnography

1. Consumer brands’ love affair with ethnography Sarah Castell Research Director Ipsos MORI

2. Category generic standards very high – benefit only from knowing consumer needs intimately, globally Why? “Moments of identity” Not fixed, immutable preferences; so trad research is limited Producer/consumers, user-generated brands, co-creation… consumers expect a direct say in what companies produce Reputation: Corporate world and brand world have never been so close Innovation must be two-way, but still create delightful surprises! Ethnography is one of many springboards to creativity

3. Challenges Asking the right questions Who wants to know? Brand team, research team, senior management? What will you be doing with the findings? How can we preserve the space to think freely … when we need the debrief in 2 weeks? Restrictions on time, high expectations about outputs Imperative for innovation and “usefulness” back in the client’s world – though often not geared up for seeing things differently!

4. So we wear even more hats than academics… Probing researchers who “audition” participants… Documentary film makers Moderators, facilitators Drinking partners Video editors Fellow consumers – in our own society Client liaison and PR Friends to respondents

5. Commercial ethno - a strange beast , not very “pure” Events Accretion Narratives Netnography Do it (to) yourself

6. Best practice requires choice of philosophies “Leave them as you found them” COVERT observation and analysis Observer’s paradox? Durative process One event Can create interesting blur between participation and ethnography Get them involved as active, unmediated participant – OVERT participation in client’s agenda

7. Event methods COVERT observation and analysis Observation –Accompanied shops, hiding behind shelves Researcherslive along with subjects Durative process One event Recruit people specially to do something with them Participants go to clients – perhaps for an action planning day; participants become researchers, clients become subjects? Increasingly relevant! Respondents demo their lives to researchers AND clients OVERT participation in client’s agenda

8. What are event methods good for? Don’t frighten the horses Easy and cheap Handy illustration of key demographics Usage experience of physical brand/products For NPD, spot needs quickly, avoid fake usage memories HOWEVER – Researcher still brings many preconceptions Participants put on “social face” We may misinterpret why they are doing something To get beyond this can be expensive

9. ‘Delegator’ Janet

10. Who is she? • Janet is a divorcee in her fifties who lives alone in a one bedroom starter home (her description) in Egham • She works as an administrator in a local hospital, having previously lived abroad for many years • She has few friends and little family – significant in that she does not rely on others for ‘free’ help (including DIY) • She has no plans to sell the house, and lacks the confidence and budget to fulfil her ambitions for it

11. What kinds of DIY / HI does she do? Janet took out a loan to buy and install this kitchen The previous drawers had been sellotaped together for months – not being able to fix this was a factor in deciding to get a new kitchen She was going to buy from MFI but found a better deal once she found someone to install it for her – he also did the tiling for her, and was very influential in the design For example he suggested this side here was done in a living room wood finish (it faces into the living room) that compared with the painted wood look of the kitchen – she was very impressed by this

12. What does she need? • Janet needs clear and direct marketing. She needs to know that DIY stores can offer her more than just tools and materials • She needs in-store face-to-face advice from ‘an older man - not one of the kids’ • Perhaps unrealistically, she would like someone to demonstrate how to (for example) use a drill • She needs reassurance that the ‘first step’ is within her reach and that there are links between DIY and the softer aspects of HI • She needs clear visual diagrams with all products – she cannot cope with wordy leaflets

13. Accretion methods COVERT observation and analysis Traces they leave –recycling bins, contents of bags, Follow online communities and blogs Iteration – return to the scene, see what changes! Durative process One event People take photos, keep diaries Participants carry out analysis – what’s changed? What does it mean? Participants search for more traces for us – perhaps online? OVERT participation in client’s agenda

14. What is accretion good for? Brand context Ongoing relations with consumers, without marketing jargon Concrete examples of change over time. Bring in semiotics to make one hit work harder for trendspotting Findings need to be analysed and sifted carefully to be useful

15. Narrative methods COVERT observation and analysis Recorded dialogue, social interactions – customer complaints? They interview others – citizen research INTERVIEWS oral histories They interview themselves – pics, vid diaries etc Durative process One event They help you implement results… (beyond ethnography?) They design the interview - Peer research OVERT participation in client’s agenda

16. Narratives track subconscious beliefs

17. What are narrative methods good for? Peer and citizen interviewers focus on outcomes for consumers/users, not research outputs… … this is useful, and salutary, for client and agency!

18. Netnography The web provides a huge space to reconfigure communication Internet lives are often as rich and complex as “real lives” “De-familiarise” the internet Many online spaces allow easy access to research subjects and straightforward “covert” observation

19. Netnography How do consumers operate, view, organise information? Commercial interests might focus on a number of things… How do people follow and reinterpret brands and products online? What sort of cultures and communities exist that brands might have a place in? Following an idea from page to page – how is it organised? What rules govern its use? What makes it coherent?

20. Netnography methods • Accompanied browsing • Investigations located entirely online: • Follow traces • Observe communities • Join communities • Contribute to communities

21. Up and coming techniques? Netnography Client Researcher Participant Consultant participants?

22. But ultimately…

23. It’s about the results Editing meetings Knowledge management and wikis Squeeze the juice out of the findings Walk-through debriefs Continued engagement through panels and meetings with participants Booklets

24. Thank you For further information contactsarah.castell@mori.comon 020 7347 3263