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Applied Ethnography
This document discusses the field of ethnography and its application to business. It defines ethnography as the study of cultures through immersing oneself in people's everyday experiences. Ethnography provides deep insights into how consumers view and experience brands, products, and services. It shifts the focus from needs to exploring the cultural meanings and social practices associated with objects. The document outlines ethnographic research methodologies and provides case studies of how ethnography has helped companies better understand consumer motivations and design more meaningful product experiences.
Applied Ethnography
- 1. Applied Ethnography for businessand social innovation Bruce Davis July 1st 2010
- 2. The New BarnStudios Collective Ethnographic entrepreneur Or entrepreneurial ethnographer?
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- 4. And watch thisspace...
- 5. What is ethnography? •Ethnography is a branch of anthropology which studies cultures, and culture, through the experiences of individuals in everyday life. • At its heart is the idea of ‘deep hanging out’ – the idea that to understand a culture you have to immerse yourself in the experience; by being there and doing it. • Its commercial value is now well established for gaining a deep-rooted understanding of the role and value of a brand, service or product experience in the everyday world of the consumer.
- 6. Lots of peopleare doing it... • William Grant & Sons • Bacardi Martini • Electrolux • Unilever • Egg • ZOPA.com • Lloyds TSB • E-ON • M&S Money • HBOS • Orange • Vodafone • Mflow.com • National Rail Enquiries • Boots plc • Public Sector – HMRC – Participle (Social Enterprise) – The Work Foundation – Local Government Social Services – No.10 Downing Street • Creative Agencies – Quickheart Ltd – Imagination – Mother/Naked – Tequila – Michael Wolff • Research Agencies – Intrepid Consultants – GfK – Spinach
- 7. The ethnographer’s eye •Shift from viewing consumption as the satisfaction of needs to the search for meaning. • “Product is neutral; usage is social” (Mary Douglas – The World of Goods) • Studying the ‘social life of things’ reveals the implicit meanings and cultural ‘common sense’ of the objects and transactions of everyday life.
- 8. Research Methodologies • Participantobservation – ‘deep hanging out’ in everyday life, observing people using money and making decisions about money. • Long interviews – free flow conversations • Creative consumer workshops – personal perspectives of people whose job it is to have a point of view on the world. • Focus groups – provocative stimulus to get beneath ‘public’ perceptions and tap into subjective insights.
- 9. The value of‘things’ Functional (What I need) Emotional (What I want to feel) Cultural (Why is it valuable to me?) Focus of ethnography Conventional Qualitative Approaches
- 10. Why the differencebetween Needs and Meaning is important: ¢ 8 per cup $4 per cup Nestlé believed that they had extracted maximum value from a cup of coffee, focussing on the consumer “need” of excellent product delivery. For Starbucks, the cup of coffee itself is only one small part of the deal. The value of the experience is created by the cultural meaning it creates in a consumer’s life.
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- 12. Layers and Codes– signifier and signified
- 13. From object tothing Object= -Technology -Rational function -cost ‘Thing’’= -Social meaning -Social practices - Social capital socialisation domestication ritualization Meaning = neutral Meaning = Situational Usage = Social Shift from looking at what a product ‘does’ to what meaning it ‘creates’
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- 15. Context: a sociallife of money
- 16. A quick example “Whenis an ISA not an ISA?”
- 21. A place tocreate your world of money? objective subjective Growth/fluidity Surplus/Stability Traditional Entrepreneurs Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Personal EntrepreneursDomestic Entrepreneurs Everyday Entrepreneurs Tangible/Place Human/Social Control/Confidence Real alternative
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- 23. Loan as gift? Interestas reciprocation?
- 24. Cultural catalyst? Culturalmedium?
- 25. Monkey Shoulder The firstethnographically-inspired whisky
- 26. A ‘new world’Whisky • Ethnographic Insight – ‘Whisky is lacks authentic social currency in public drinking occasions’ • Semiotic Insight – Desire for “remix” of traditional and modern styles rather than wholesale ‘reinvention’. • Outcome – Successful launch with acceptance by both the whisky and style establishment (Both Kate Moss and Noel Gallagher profess to enjoying Monkey Shoulder!).
- 27. Packaging Fabric Conditioneras a meaningful cultural experience
- 28. From needs tomeaning • Ethnographic Insight – Fabric conditioner creates and maintains social relations and values of ‘home’ and ‘motherhood’ • Semiotic Insight – Generous proportions emphasise role of FC as ‘gift’ for the home.
- 29. A nudge inthe right direction... • Ethnographic insight avoids research being blinkered by internal cultural ‘truths’ and preconceptions. • It helps a business understand where it fits in the everyday life of the consumer (and hence how it is valued in reality). • Ethnography expands the scope of analysis of customers from rational investigation needs to more subjective and fuzzy exploration of context and motivation.
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- 31. Recommended reading • GrantMcCraken – Chief Culture Officer (latest book) – Culture and Consumption (I & II) – The Long Interview • Zygmunt Bauman – What chance for ethics in a world of consumers? – The “Liquid Modernity” Series – Liquid Life, Liquid Love etc • Viviana Zelizer – The Social Meaning of Money – The Purchase of Intimacy • Keith Hart – The Memory Bank