The New Ethnographers

1
The New Ethnographers

• Using Observational Research to Inform
• New Product Design and Development

2
About Me

• Almost 20 years as a marketing manager
• B.A. in Cultural Anthropology
• M.B.A. in Marketing
• Working on Ph.D. in Marketing (minor in design)
• research focuses on how institutional,
  functional (subcultural) and/or microcultural
  discourses,
• practices and experiences influence firm
  innovation
• particular interest in the use of ethnography in
  new product development and design

3
The Studys Context

• The marketing concept says that to achieve
  competitive advantage and strong performance,
  firms should identify and satisfy customer needs
  and wants better than their competitors (cf.
  Kotler, 1999 Kirca et al. 2005).
• Of course, accurately identifying those needs and
  wants in the course of new product design and
  development (NPDD) is easier said than done.

4
The Studys Context

• Traditional market research methods to gather
  information about consumers self-report surveys,
  focus groups, analysis of historic purchase data,
  etc.
• These methods have benefits in identifying some
  consumption habits or patterns, but are less
  useful for uncovering unrecognized, unarticulated
  or future desires
• Deshpandé (1983) offers a useful distinction
  between research methods that are appropriate for
  verification versus those that are more useful
  for discovery.

5
Ethnography

• Ethnography, from the Greek, ethnos people
  graph writing is a discovery-based research
  method borrowed from cultural anthropology
  utilized by both marketing scholars (cf. Belk,
  ed. 1991) as well as practitioners (cf. Jordan,
  2003 Ante 2006, Khermouch 2001, Mariampolski
  2006).
• Ethnography is generally understood as a
  descriptive account (usually written) of a
  society or culture. This account is produced
  after the researcher has spent time among the
  group of interest (naturalistic context), engaged
  in an activity known as fieldwork.

6
Ethnography

• Traditionally, ethnographies covered a natural
  cycle (usually a year) to see how societies and
  their activities changed throughout the period
• Engaging with informants (participant-observation)
  was considered at the heart of ethnography,
  complemented by interviews of informants
• Researcher-as-instrument
• Interpretive perspective
• What people do vs. what they say they do

7
Many Types of Ethnography

• According to Mariampolsky (2006) these include
• Observed product usage in private settings
• Structured usage
• Contextual usability
• Cultural studies
• Day-in-the-life
• Accompanied purchase
• Guerrilla/blitzkrieg ethnography
• Observed purchase or mystery shopping

8
Types of Ethnography

• These types vary along multiple dimensions,
  including
• Context private vs. public
• Specific product vs. category vs. use
  constellation
• How structured the interaction is
• Amount of interaction (participation) with
  consumers
• How evident the presence of the researcher is
• Duration of study
• Number (and types) of informants

9
Types of Ethnography

• Other variables
• Use of informant interviews
• Use of auto-driving (elicitation techniques)
• Informant checks
• Triangulation with other researchers, methods
• Composition of research team
• Outputs
• Written Report? Video? Recommendations? Designs?

10
For Example

• Grab a pen and paper and pair up with someone
  beside you. Take turns describing the experience
  of using a laundromat
• If you have used a laundromat, when was it?
• Why did you need to wash there?
• Did you go with anyone?
• How often did you go?
• What were the challenges?
• What would have made the experience easier?

11
Now Lets Observe

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v3Jydtrbk55U

12
For example

• Now, work with your partner again and consider
• What did you see?
• What didnt you see?
• How is it different than you remembered?
• What you add to your list of challenges?
• What would you add to your recommendations?
• What is doing laundry in a laundromat?

13
Cultural Knowledge

• Cost Each washer in a laundromat generally takes
  15 in quarters, depending on its size, and
• each dryer typically takes one quarter per 68
  minutes. Some laundromats now have washers and
• dryers that accept prepaid laundry cards instead
  of quarters.Cost of drop-off laundry\
• service usually, laundromats charge by the
  pound... A typical load of laundry weighs 1025
• pounds, costing anywhere from 7.50 to 25.00.
  Supplies Take the following items with you Your
• laundry in a basket or laundry bag detergent
  fabric softener A roll of quarters The washers
• and dryers at laundromats are similar to machines
  designed for homes..but laundromat facilities
• are also different in several ways. Washers and
  dryers require quarters (or prepaid cards) to
• operate. Many washers and dryers have larger
  capacities than at home machines. Machines may
• not be as well-maintained or cleaned as youd
  like. Compartments for detergents and fabric
• softeners are located atop the washer. Washers
  typically tumble rather than agitateRemember
• that youre sharing washers and dryersleaving
  your laundry in the machine too long is not only
• harmful to your clothes but also inconsiderate to
  others. Never leave laundry unattended.
• Because most laundromat washers are front-load
  models, remember that they dont require as
• much detergent as a top loader.

14
The Role of the Senses

• This is simply the freshest, cleanest
• Scent imaginable. We dont know
• If anyone can tell us why, but this
• May be the most comforting,
• comfortable scent in the Demeter
• Fragrance Library.

15
Fun and Sociality

• At a music festival in the Netherlandsjeans
  brand Wrangler
• offered festival goers a much needed service
  laundry. And at 18
• meters wide and 9 meters high, the Wrangler
  Laundromat was
• hard to miss. People dropped off their
  mud-encrusted laundry
• and were sent a text message the moment it was
  ready. No spare
• change of clothes? Wrangler came up with a
  generous solution to
• that problem, too they handed out black overalls
  to anyone who
• used the laundromat. This is an exercise in
  experiential
• marketing, aimed at surprising and delighting
  consumers in a way
• that magazine ads or TV spots usually cant.

16
Doing Laundry as Clean Slate

• Declaring laundry bankruptcy If youre someone
  with a mountain of laundry
• who is having a problem getting your laundry
  situation under control, I think
• that the laundromat bankruptcy plan is a good
  plan to follow. Go once to the
• laundromat, get all of your clothes washed, and
  then get started on your new
• laundry routine at home with a clean slate you
  can do your laundry
• yourself, or you can use the Fluff-N Fold service
  that most laundromats offer...
• There is something simple and wonderful about
  using the laundromat as your
• first step in getting on track with a home
  laundry routine. Also, if you dont
• have a washer and dryer in your home and dont
  already use it, you may want
• To consider using the services of your local
  Fluff-N-Fold. You may find that the
• expense of the service is less than the amount
  you value the time you could
• spend doing something else.

17
Reflections on Exercise

• Everyday processes are complex
• They have both material and social meaning
• Missing out on part of the story might mean
  missing out on an NPD opportunity
• Looking for one thing, you might find another
• A priori assumptions can get in the way
• Lived experience is powerful
• Ethnography is only as good a tool as the people
  who use it.

18
Ethnography and NPD

• Product design has long been consumer-centered
• Human factors analysis
• Ergonomics
• Participative Design
• Although instances of corporate ethnography date
  back more than 70 years, the method wasnt used
  extensively in commercial applications until the
  development of interactive software in the 1980s
  (Wasson 2000).
• Ethnography has become popular in product design
  because it fills a void in the research data
  (Jordan 2003 p. 77).

19
Ethnography and NPD

• The few marketing articles that mention both
  product development and ethnographic methods do
  so only indirectly (cf. Arnould and Wallendorf
  1994, Agafonoff 2006 Elliott and Jankel-Elliot
  2003) design is rarely explicitly addressed.
• There is literature on the use of observational
  research for NPDD in the management literature
  and NPD literature, but very little theorizing
  about design and ethnography (for exceptions,
  see. Rappaport and Rayport, 1997 Rosenthal and
  Capper 2006)

20
Ethnography and NPD

• Globalization, market fragmentation and increased
  competition have increased pressure on firms to
  innovate faster, with products that resonate with
  both existing and prospective customers
• Ethnography has consequently been embraced as a
  research method by firms marketing, RD, and
  design units. The hope is that its techniques
  will bring an understanding of consumers lived
  experiences, and therefore enable the creation of
  more relevant, marketable and successful products

21
Research Questions

1. Why do firms engage in ethnographic inquiry,
   particularly in the context of new product
   development and design?
2. What strategic value do they believe the
   methodology brings to NPDD?
3. What roles do marketers, designers, engineers
   and/or qualitative researchers play and how to
   they intersect/interact?
4. Who in the firm manages and/or interprets the
   findings?

22
Ethnography and NPD

• Ethnography, then, is seen as a unique lens for
  seeing the consumer
• Hundreds of major firms purport to you it as one
  research method for NP (or service) D
• Is it a fad?
• Does it work?
• Under what conditions?
• Do you need to hire anthropologists? Design
  ethnographers? Marketing consultants?

23
Research Program

• Phase One reviewing the rhetoric surrounding the
• use of ethnography in NPDD (i.e. looking at
  what
• Proponents of the method say about it)
• Phase Two conducting on-site observation to see
  what
• transpires and how it compares to assumptions
• Phase Three Gleaning best practices for NPDD

24
Phase One Data Sources

• Books on ethnography written for marketing
  managers
• Media reports on firm use of the method
• Blogs on design, innovation, and applied
  anthropology that discuss the ethnographic method
  in NPD
• Ethnographic consultants marketing materials
  (often just one of a suite of market research
  methods offered)
• Design associations materials
• Conference proceedings (e.g. EPIC (Ethnographic
  Praxis in Industry Conference), DUX (Designing
  for User Experience)

25
Preliminary Findings

• Ethnography X-Ray Vision
• can uncover current design flaws
• e.g. the smell of clean laundry
• (Abrams 2000)

26
Preliminary Findings

• Ethnography Horse Whispering
• can get into consumers minds figure out what
  theyre not saying
• e.g. seniors at Best Western hotels (Khermouch
  2001)

27
Preliminary Findings

• Ethnography Dream Interpretation
• can reveal brand or product associations that
  consumers arent consciously aware of
• e.g. technology use in the home
  (Elliott and Jankel-Elliot 2003)

28
Preliminary Findings

• Ethnography Muse
• Will stimulate ideation for breakthrough products
• e.g. Herman Millers Resolve Office System (Deasy
  et al. 2001)
• find new consumer markets or categories for
  existing products (Jordan 2003)

29
Next Phase

• Interviewing corporate stakeholders about the
  role of ethnography in new product design and
  development (including marketers, designers,
  ethnographers, consultants)
• Observing firms qualitative research efforts and
  considering how the product design and
  development process is impacted
• I would welcome your feedback and appreciate your
  participation in the study

30
Thank You!

• Contact information
• Sarah Wilner
• Schulich School of Business
• York University, Toronto
• swilner06_at_schulich.yorku.ca