Social technologies have transformed the fundamental way in which organizations interact with their audiences. They have given employees a voice (whether companies like it or not!) and have become an organizations’ gateway into understanding culture[1].
Additionally, Social technologies have also empowered audiences, who today are highly knowledgeable, have a strong voice, and are impervious to traditional marketing B.S. Unfortunately most organizations and most marketers do not understand this phenomenon. The net result — they fail to make real connections with real people.
Take the traditional focus group for example. In it’s simplest form, a focus group is a research method that’s typically used to understand a consumer’s reaction to a product/service. Focus groups are essentially after-the-fact testing grounds. They don’t really provide market researchers with any real insight into the needs of consumers. What’s more, they give marketers the ability to get away with ridiculous ideas and concepts. Remember the Arnell Group’s Tropicana Packaging debacle? This design was put through extensive focus group testing. Here’s an explanation they offered in regards to the carton’s design:
Historically, we always show the outside of the orange. What was fascinating was that we had never shown the product called the juice…the idea of course is to have a consistency between the purity of the juice, which is coming directly from the orange, the cap which you squeeze every day and of course the carton. – Peter Arnell
Tell me that doesn’t sound ludicrous! Here’s a link to an article that explains the design of Pepsi’s new logo. I think some of this is so over the top that even a television show like “The Office” is put to shame! For my Canadian readers, I want to include the example of a recent Niagara Tourism ad campaign that took cheap shots at the city of Toronto and then invited Torontonians to come visit. Again, focus group tested and certified!
Real research is about immersing ourselves in our audiences’ culture. It’s about spending time with consumers and understanding their world. That’s where ethnography steps in. Ethnography is about understanding needs before they exist. Fundamentally, it’s a form of qualitative research where data is gathered by observing audiences in their natural surroundings and conducting intuitive in-dept interviews.
So why are most organizations not adapting quickly enough? Well, for one, it requires a massive shift in organizational culture. Responsibility also goes to educational institutions, especially business schools, who haven’t really evolved either. At the end of the day, audiences have moved on and their expectations have changed. The next five years will see drastic changes in the way organizations engage with their audiences. It’s not a choice anymore. These are the ‘cluetrain‘ years.
[1] “The body of ideas, emotions and activities that make up the life of the consumer” (quote fromChief Culture Officer).
McDonald’s seems to be trying to re-position itself. We can already begin to see changes in the menu (the addition of healthier items) and ads featuring what could only be imagined as cultured, urban, hip women getting together to eat a healthy meal at the restaurant.
But it won’t work.
Okay, I concede that they might end up selling some of the new items on the menu, but the company’s brand position will NOT CHANGE. Here’s why:
McDonald’s core consumers don’t really care
I like to think of McDonald’s consumers as consisting of 2 distinct groups. The first group is comprised of loyal customers who eat at the restaurant chain multiple times a week. McDonald’s doesn’t make it’s revenues because it sells healthy food. It makes money because it sells freakishly yummy food at a very reasonable price. The restaurant chain’s loyal customer doesn’t go there to eat oatmeal. Just sayin’.
The second group, I like to call the “gluttonous healthy urbans”. For this group, McDonald’s is all about the ability to indulge, once in a while. This group cares about eating healthy and lives a lifestyle where it’s not exactly considered “cool” to eat at McDonald’s…or meet someone there for a meal. So this whole visual of urban, professional women eating a comparatively (they do use dressing on that salad!) healthy meal at the restaurant doesn’t really work for me.
[Yes I know, kids make up a key segment for McDonald's but the purpose of this blog post isn't to talk segmentation.]
Here’s how McDonald’s should be approaching this
1. Conducting an ethnographic study of consumers at McDonald’s
The key to understanding the various personas (groups of people who share common characteristics/buying patters) is to totally immerse oneself in the sub-cultures of those who visit McDonald’s. It’s the only way to truly understand the motivations of different types of people who eat at the restaurant chain. Unfortunately, an anthropological study requires forward thinking marketing executives, patience and quality ethnographers (all of which are highly lacking in most companies today).
2. Using the results to develop programs, menu and ambiance changes that enhance the customer experience
Here’s a simple example: If McDonald’s understood that the only reason I visit the restaurant is to indulge and seek instant gratification, their menu would’ve included optional ingredients that could make my indulgence experience slightly healthier (and possibly make me want to visit the chain more often).
Similarly, knowing that Sunday morning “Egg McMuffins” are considered one of the best hangover remedies among party-goers might make the chain act differently and develop programs, campaigns and promotions that are culturally relevant.
You with me? How do you think we can make organizations understand the importance of cultural immersion? How can we make organizations more relevant and engaging to consumers?
Nov 10
14
The power of noticing – A new wave of insight gathering.
During a breakfast meeting a couple weeks ago, my buddy Sean Howard remarked on how he was drawn into the world of digital ethnography some years ago, when he first realized how much a person could tell about him by simply looking at his Facebook profile. This is probably true for most us who today spend a majority of our lives online. And unfortunately unlike Vegas, or Austin for that matter, whatever happens online doesn’t just stay online.
Yet, as marketers, we continue to look at consumer insight like it’s the holy grail. We continue to shell out surveys after surveys of boring questions simply because we’ve grown accustomed to ask and look for anything quantitative, and we refuse to look at what the internet gods gave us!
Source: The Internet
The power of observation is underestimated.
Ethnographers will swear by the insight one can gain by simply observing people, their activities, interests and social interactions. The same applies to the online world. Whether we like it or not, our activities online are governed predominantly by our need to build a certain identity for ourselves. An identity that eventually ends up determining where we live (online), what we choose to share and how and with whom we choose to interact. Unfortunately traditional forms of research cannot successfully unearth identity markers. That’s purely because we as human beings are not built to be perceptive (or honest) when it comes to our own selves. And when you ask a person why she does activity A versus B, in most cases, her answer will not represent reality.
So this is where digital ethnography fits in. It helps you unearth common cultural threads in an online audience and helps you understand identity, values, social interactions and brand attitudes. And while it does take experience and a certain skill set to be able to observe audiences in a given context, this isn’t something that organizations need to be afraid of trying.
Sean made a really good point during that breakfast conversation – that marketers have learned to accept the flaws in quantitative research but somehow when it comes to the qualitative world, they’re very wary. The tools exist and the knowledge certainly exists. It’s only a matter of time before more organizations learn the value of understanding culture and start engaging audiences with things that really matter to them.
Oh and please Detroit, not another one those “what do you think of this car?” YouTube videos!
Posted in Marketing Commentary by Ujwal Arkalgud. 1 Comment