It is my hope that account planners become the "champions" for building ethnography into the research processes at their agencies. I have listed points below that should help you "sell" the method to both your agencies and clients.
1. Observation
The ability to simply observe is highly underestimated. Observing allows a researcher to soak in the sounds, smells, and emotions of any given situation. When researchers have to talk, their senses are dialed down, and they can miss several verbal and visual cues.
I once sat in a woman's dressing room for several hours so I could eavesdrop on the conversations being had between women and their girlfriends. It was an incredibly valuable experience because I was able to note what they did and did not like about the shopping experience, the way the clothes fit, their perceptions of the salespeople, and the ways they went through the buying process.
2. Natural Environment
Ethnography is one of the only forms of research that allows you to see subjects in their own environments. This allows the subject a certain sense of comfort that isn't obtained elsewhere. While focus groups have their advantages, they are not conducive to making the subjects feel comfortable. Oftentimes, subjects in focus groups are asked to go to strange office buildings and participate in discussions about bizarre things with unfamiliar people, all while being watched through two-way mirrors. If you can eliminate some or all of these factors, you are going to be met with responses that are more enlightening and less skewed.
A few months ago, I conducted a focus group with teenage boys, and one of them was convinced that his parents were watching behind the two-way mirror. As a result, his responses were distorted and probably untrue.
3. Intimacy
Ethnography allows you and your subject to interact face to face. This type of personal interaction allows you to experience the subject's emotion with your own senses. You can spot emotions like joy, fear, trepidation, and excitement without having to ask about it. This can be incredibly beneficial because the emotions expressed can be just as important, if not more important, as the actual answers themselves.
I recently conducted an interview with a teenage boy, and in more questions than one, I asked him about his relationship with his parents. His energy level went immediately from a 10 to a two when the subject was brought up. His unhappiness was instantly displayed in his posture. He went from sitting on the edge of his chair with his elbows on the table to slumped over at the back of his seat. His downbeat reaction was very noteworthy, and I was fortunate to have witnessed it in person. Had the interview taken place on the web or over the phone, my perception of the situation would have been deeply skewed.
4. Honesty
As with any relationship, time leads to trust, and ethnography fosters this very basic principle. Because this method allows for more one-on-one time, you are given the opportunity to build personal relationships. As these relationships grow, subjects are able and more willing to trust you. Research often asks very personal questions, and there is no incentive for subjects to answer honestly. Subjects feel compelled to answer honestly only after they know you and how you are going to use the information.
5. Enjoyment
When market researchers conduct telephone surveys, it is often viewed as an annoyance, and many people will refuse to participate. I find that participants feel the exact opposite about ethnographic research. The subjects I have studied actually find the process rather enjoyable. In general, people really like to talk about themselves because it is the one area in which they know they are experts. I believe that there is an egocentric part of the psyche, and ethnography thrives in this area. As a result, subjects tend to be more responsive and uninhibited with their answers.
6. Creativity
Ethnography allows you to be creative with your research. There aren't strict rules that come along with ethnography like sample size and questionnaire length, so there is more room for freedom. One of my favorite ethnographic tools to use is a disposable camera. I often give my subjects disposable cameras prior to meeting them and ask that they photograph items that are important in their lives. I develop the photos after the interviews have been completed to see how the verbal and visual cues align. This can be very interesting because it can give you a completely different perception of the subject's wants and needs.
A few months ago, I used the disposable camera technique with a 10-year-old girl. When I interviewed the girl, I asked her what she was going to do with her $50 participation incentive, and she replied by saying, "I'm going to help my mom pay the electric bill." I was taken back by her response because it was very different from how her peers had responded. I was even more surprised when I developed her film because I found several pictures of her family's home entertainment center, which included a flat-screen TV, DVD player, XBOX, and dozens of DVDs and CDs. Needless to say, I wouldn't have known about the paradoxes in this child's life had I not requested the photographs.
One of my most successful and recent ethnographic ventures was for a government agency that was trying to reduce smoking rates among teens. The client had been successful in getting adults to quit smoking, but they had no experience in getting teens to quit, so they asked my agency, McKee Wallwork Cleveland, to help them with the challenge. From the time the research started to the time the campaign launched, my life was consumed with nothing but teenagers. I constantly hung out at skate parks, malls, movie theatres, restaurants, gaming centers, and concerts. I even went as far as attending high school as a student on the first day of class. I talked about everything and anything with the teens. Topics of conversation ranged from relationships with friends and parents to technological trends. The research was tremendously enlightening and provided a solid framework for developing an exceptionally focused target and strategy.
It is my hope that as the industry evolves, ethnography will become a "required" rather than an "optional" piece of the process as we strive to be increasingly more consumer savvy and insightful for our clients. I predict that the agencies and clients who truly put ethnography into place will start to see more insightful and more effective advertising.
About the Author
Deena Crawley is an account executive with McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising in Albuquerque, NM. She is most proud of her work with the New Mexico Department of Health and their campaigns based on her ethnographic research to dissuade adults and teens from smoking. She may be contacted at dcrawley@mwcmail.com.
