Ethnography is
an up-close and personal study of people’s
lifestyles and their impact on the products
they use every day.
As with all of our contextual
inquiry methods, our ethnographers go to
customers’ natural environment to reveal
both spoken and unspoken needs. But ethnographic
interviews go much further in explaining
the role of a product or brand in customers’ lives.
What
sets ethnography apart from traditional
research methods is the bond created between
researcher
and participant. In ethnographic studies,
we spend days or weeks with people, observing,
asking questions and participating in their
daily activities. We visit them in their
homes, school or workplace. We travel with
them to the grocery store, health club
or soccer field.
Applying
the rigors and techniques of social science,
we identify
patterns that transcend both culture and
lifestyle. Patterns revealed through ethnography
provide an in-depth understanding of how
your brand and/or products reflect people’s
lifestyle, culture and values.
Ethnographic
studies are ideal for exploratory projects
where objectives are largely undefined and
become clearer as fieldwork progresses. Ethnography
also works well for projects with goals that
cannot be attained using traditional methods.
Ethnography
is often used for:
- assessing brand
identity.
- revealing new product
opportunities.
- defining
problems, parameters and value propositions
that lead to consumer delight.
Ethnography
is particularly useful for:
- products
with strong emotional or personal identification
(fashion, automobiles, personal care
and cosmetics) where brand relationships
are
based on personal values and sense
of self.
- exploratory
studies where little real-world product
use data exists about customer behavior
and lifestyle.
Click
here to
find out how our Word for Word™ “Talking
Report” can
bring your ethnographic study findings to
life.
|
 |
