Ethnographic Research

Working with a global client several years ago, I was amazed to find our European partners had a very different approach to product development. Their starting point was the consumer, not the product. Their initial focus was on qualitative research (what consumers thought and felt). Our primary focus was on quantitative research (the numbers—what products and/or flavors consumers liked best).

In recent years, marketers everywhere have faced increasing challenges as the effectiveness of print and television advertising has decreased, and Internet and personal communications like MySpace, blogs and PDAs have increased. Consumer interest has also shifted toward foods and beverages that are experiential: exciting, fun, soothing, memorable and designed “just for me.”

Martin Lindstrom, in his book “Brand Sense,” writes: “More communication in an already overcrowded world simply won’t do it. A new vision with an emotional basis is required.” Ethnographic research has emerged as a way for companies to observe consumer behavior, tapping into underlying emotions, expectations and experiences that are the basis of insight and a new vision. Lindstrom believes that the five senses—which go beyond words—are links to understanding consumer behavior and creating an emotional bond between the consumer and the brand. Sensory scientists are uniquely qualified to participate in these efforts.

What is ethnographic research?

Ethnography is a type of qualitative research that observes human behavior in context—where people live, work, shop, eat and play. “Compared to other research methods, ethnography is most likely to result in completely new and unexpected learnings by being open to what is really there, rather than being constrained by what is already known, or presumed to be relevant,” says Barbara Perry, Ph.D., Barbara Perry Associates, Truth or Consequences, NM.

The research design of the William Wrigley Jr. Company, Chicago, for its new “5” gum, demonstrates how ethnography can be the GPS of new-product exploration. The company sent 10 scientists, engineers and marketers to spend time with teens and young adults who represent their primary target demographic. The observers discovered, among other findings, that the image-conscious gum-chewers wanted a resealable package with style that would look good on the table next to their iPods (Fast Company, Oct. 2007; 71-72).

Classic ethnography must take place in the subject’s natural environment, and should be distinguished from other forms of observational research such as focus groups, labs and video. These “secondary” situations are akin to watching a movie of an archeological dig, compared to getting down on our knees and sifting through the dirt looking for shards. It’s in the natural environment that product developers uncover the nuances that point to differentiation and innovation.

Ethnographers on the job

Connie Jones, food insight strategist, McCormick & Company, Inc., Hunt Valley, MD, is passionate about the treasures that can be uncovered in consumer territories. She is open and curious about what she may discover on fuzzy front-end explorations: “We go to places where people are using or doing what we’re considering. We do this even before we have an idea. We want to understand what it is we have to resolve ... what we have to create against.

“Our ethnographic research is always a team effort,” Jones continues. “The team includes all who have a part in the project, such as R&D, operations, insight and marketing.” Participation in the observation, gathering of data and subsequent insight and concept development engenders individual buy-in that subsequently promotes commitment and follow-through, she explains. Team members begin by identifying their own (and the company’s) preconceived ideas and assumptions, and committing themselves to observation and collection of information without judgment.

Including sensory professionals on a team is particularly important, not only for observation and interpretation, but for language skills. A descriptive sensory vocabulary is used to record observations, articulate concepts, bridge project phases, maintain communication and provide rationale for decision-making throughout the project.

If a project objective is to find a truly new idea platform, it is helpful to work with an ethnography specialist. Team members observe ethnographer-led consumer interviews and record the responses. A gifted moderator will probe for deeper learnings as they emerge, and encourage storytelling while still staying on course. Sensory analysts use the ethnographic and qualitative situations to decode consumer commentary into descriptive sensory attributes. The attributes are used to formulate sensory hypotheses reflective of consumer needs. Sensory hypotheses provide foundational strategy for product development.

Ethnographic research requires training. Inexperienced team members sometimes find it difficult to leave the security of the observation window, computer screen or laboratory to have one-on-one discussions with consumers. However, novice ethnographers can be teamed with an experienced partner; the experienced team member leads the interview, leaving the note-taking to the partners. In my experience, consumers who accept research assignments are very easy to work with—ready and willing to tell stories, share their thoughts and feelings, and demonstrate their habits. What consumers reveal, independent of others, often leads to important discoveries. This is especially true with children who are given opportunities to respond or demonstrate their preferences apart from parental overlay. Sensory-trained observers recognize body language cues—facial expressions or ways of handling a product—that lead to product innovations.

Powerful insight

Observing behavior is not the same thing as understanding what it means. “You can’t observe insight,” Lori Rothman, senior marketing research manager, Kraft Foods, Glenview, IL, told seminar attendees in “Design of Products That Will Delight Consumers” at the 2007 IFT Annual Meeting. “A woman only buys items that are on sale because she’s cost-conscious, we note, but this isn’t insight. We have to dig underneath and find out why she’s behaving this way. It’s the ‘whys’ that point to opportunities for new products.”

In the innovation session that follows an ethnographic trek, teams sort and funnel quantities of observation notes, looking for patterns, contradictions, tensions and keywords that will uncover the “whys.” Themes emerge and become “maps” for organizing shapes, colors, sounds, words describing experiences, and emotions that are crafted into concepts. Sensory scientists’ insight and interpretative skills are critical to the success of this early phase of product innovation. Sensory language bridges themes to concepts, and concepts to protocepts. Descriptive sensory decoding of consumer insight identifies form and product features that are emotionally relevant, unique and consistent with core brand identity.

Nancy C. Rodriguez is founder and president of Food Marketing Support Services, Inc. (FMSS), Oak Park, IL, on the web atfmssinc.com. The company provides master-level sensory-based innovation, examination, interpretation and applications for domestic and global food and beverage projects. Anne Hunt, a Chicago-based writer who works with FMSS, contributed to this article.