Eating well and doing good

Editor's note: Remington Tonar is brand strategy consultant and Jacob Jasperson is marketing insights consultant at Culture Concepts, a Milwaukee research company.

The emergence of socially-responsible business models has changed the way consumers think about businesses but it has also changed the way businesses think about consumers. Buy-one-give-one (B1G1) companies, for example, give one product or an equal value in cash to charitable causes for each one purchased, requiring the businesses to understand two different categories of consumers: those who would normally consume their products and those who may consume them due to the firms’ humanitarian model.

This was one of the primary marketing challenges for 1-For-1 Foods, an Indiana-based B1G1 nutrition-bar start-up that retails in the greater Chicagoland area and gives one bar to homeless shelters in the area in which each bar is purchased. 1-For-1 Foods realized that its actual target market extended far beyond health and fitness buffs to socially-conscious consumers who might not normally buy premium nutrition bars.

To better understand these different audiences and learn how they relate and intersect, 1-For-1 Foods turned to us for some pro bono research help. Drawing on our experience conducting research for emerging technology companies, national non-profits and chain restaurant groups, we designed a series of quantitative and qualitative studies, among which was a set of ethnographic studies on nutrition-bar consumers and B1G1 consumers.

Unlike other qualitative forms of research, ethnography studies consumers in their natural environments, providing unscripted and unfiltered results that elucidate people’s perceptions and values. This kind of data was critical for 1-For-1 Foods, which needed to thoroughly understand the values and attitudes of its two disparate audiences. Quantitative surveys by themselves do not allow for this level of insight and focus groups and interviews can be less effective than ethnography because of their artificial construction. Indeed, the effectiveness of ethnography at capturing individual and shared values and perceptions is what has made it so valuable in the social sciences and, more recently, in marketing.

Many of today’s most successful companies have leveraged ethnographic approaches to study consumer behavior and garner a rawer understanding of consumer preferences. Traditional ethnographies often take the form of shop-alongs or in-home studies where ethnographers will observe a consumer interacting with a product at some point in its life cycle. Ethnography, however, is often more time-consuming and expensive than other forms of qualitative research. A typical ethnographic study might require thorough observation of multiple consumers over multiple days, high incentives for participants and high fees for external researchers, which makes these studies prohibitive for many businesses.

More data, more perspectives

As a young company, 1-For-1 Foods didn’t have a very formidable marketing budget. So, to help reduce logistical and incentive costs while ensuring credible and useful results, we proposed conducting a set of ethnographic studies on larger groups of people and augmenting the results with online ethnographic research. The advantages to this approach are fourfold. First, observing multiple people simultaneously lets researchers collect more data from more perspectives at one time, saving time and money. Second, because all people are influenced by other people, observing consumers in situations where ideas are being shared can give researchers a more accurate understanding of what those people think and believe. Third, by observing consumers interacting with a product in a group setting, researchers get a sense of what that consumer values about the product and what it means in their social lives as well. Finally, because digital media have become a major locus of social interaction, the online world is an ideal place to conduct ethnographic research in a way that is fast, cheap and effective.

Using this approach, three separate studies were conducted. The first observed a group of avid nutrition-bar consumers on a hiking trip and documented their conversations, habits and interactions with health-food products. The second study observed owners of shoes sold by TOMS – a fast-growing Los Angeles-based company that gives one pair of shoes to underprivileged children for every pair purchased – socializing in public and in private, paying particular attention to the value they placed on their shoes and TOMS’ buy one-give one model. The third study used a digital ethnographic approach that observed what different peer groups of nutrition-bar consumers and TOMS shoes consumers were saying about these products via social media. Highly detailed profiles of the most active consumers of each product were constructed using publicly available online information in order to capture the other priorities of each set of consumers.

Because we undertook this project pro bono, we wanted to make sure we were able to give 1-For-1 Foods the tools it needed to conduct future research on its own. To that end, marketing staff from 1-For-1 Foods accompanied us on both immersive ethnographic studies and participated in analyzing the data after the studies were completed.

An ideal setting

For the first ethnographic study, we worked with independent coffee shops in the Chicago area to locate health-bar consumers. Because of the social focus of the study, rather than choose a number of individual participants, we selected a group of friends consisting of 10 male and female health-food consumers from multiple generations that could be observed collectively. After talking with the group about the requirements of the study, we suggested that a hiking trip that the group was planning would be an ideal setting for an ethnographic study.

Using a pre-planned hiking trip as the setting for the study guaranteed that all participants would be immersed in an environment that felt natural and meaningful to them, ensuring that their behavior would be authentic and insightful. The three-day study resulted in extensive documentation of the personalities, social and individual behaviors and value expressions of the hikers. It is worth noting that most of the data was documented in writing due to the lack of electricity on the trip. However, we did use solar chargers to replenish their smartphone batteries so some video could be recorded.

Particular attention was paid to how the hikers interacted with nutrition bars and other health-food products that they had brought with them. A number of powerful insights emerged as a result of these observations. One important finding was that health bars appeared to add value to the hikers’ experience both physically and psychologically. On a basic and quite obvious level, health bars provided a portable and convenient form of nutritional sustenance. On a higher level, however, health bars seemed to serve as tangible symbols of a healthy lifestyle that unified the experience of natural food with the natural environment, acting as a visible expression of the hikers’ worldview. As one participant said, “[Nutrition bars] stand for who I am and what I believe to be important.”

The deeper meaning of health bars was further evidenced by the social value that they added to the group dynamic. The hikers consistently consumed health bars together and often shared and exchanged different bar brands. Most of the hikers demonstrated genuine interest in discovering new brands and hearing peer reviews of popular ones. Additionally, lending further credence to the idea that health bars have a social value proposition, half of the hikers reported that they consume health bars in a similarly social way at their gyms or after working out.

Shadowed the group

Working with several different shoe retailers, we identified a number of TOMS shoes owners to participate in the second ethnographic study. Like the previous study on nutrition-bar consumers, a group of six friends – men and women in their 20s and 30s – who all owned at least one pair of TOMS shoes was chosen for observation. We shadowed the group for a day, accompanying them on a shopping excursion and to dinner at a downtown Chicago restaurant.

Although all of the group members were devoted TOMS shoes wearers, only half of the participants wore their TOMS on the day of the study. Beyond being a more accurate reflection of reality, the diversity of shoe brands yielded a couple of insightful observations. For example, there was a difference in how the participants wearing TOMS treated their shoes compared to those who weren’t. Contrary to what one might expect, the TOMS shoes wearers actually treated their shoes with less regard than those wearing other shoe brands. A number of observations, such as the reactions of participants when they scuffed their shoes, suggested that the slightly worn look of TOMS shoes is not only acceptable but valued.

These observations were validated later in the day when two of the participants saw TOMS shoes for sale in a store, causing one of them to remark on the waning condition of his own TOMS. His companion responded by saying, only half-jokingly, “Whatever, it gives them character.” Outside of this exchange, the participants did not talk directly about their TOMS shoes. However, they did have several very elucidating conversations about their social and political views. Particularly salient topics of discussion included health care, corporate corruption, global warming, iPhone rumors and new movies.

These touchpoints gave us useful information about the values of a core audience and also served as a reference for participant responses during one-on-one exit interviews that were conducted after the observation period. During these interviews, participants were asked what types of ideas they associate with TOMS and with socially-responsible business models in general. A significant portion of their responses to these questions corresponded with the conversation topics from earlier in the day. For example, some ideas that the participants associated with TOMS included the health and wellbeing of others; the value of ethical corporations; authenticity and trendiness. Additionally, almost all of the participants associated the idea of socially-responsible business with environmental friendliness.

The insights gathered from these live ethnographic studies were then used to inform an online ethnography that analyzed conversations about nutrition bars and B1G1 products on social media networks and profiled a number of consumers who were ardent evangelists of these products. The study of online conversations validated a number of hypotheses that emerged from the live ethnographies and using publicly available information to profile key audience members was a quick, affordable and comprehensive way to get a detailed view of consumers’ values and lifestyle.

Impediment to success

For many organizations looking to use ethnography as a research tool, the major impediment to success is not actually conducting the study but interpreting the findings. In the case of 1-For-1 Foods, this task was particularly challenging because two disparate audiences were studied. After revisiting the field notes and media from the ethnographies, however, we were able to draw out dozens of actionable insights that had implications for audience identification, messaging and packaging.

Sticking with the examples cited above, we learned that health bars are not always consumed in isolation and that many times they are paired with other healthy activities such as hiking or working out. Health bars can sometimes even become a topic of conversation, the facilitators of social interaction. The fact that they can facilitate social experiences suggests that they can be symbolic, not merely symptomatic, of a healthy lifestyle.

Health bars are more than a source of nutrition. To some, they’re a symbol of a lifestyle, a culture and a particular set of values that are shared among health-conscious consumers. In order to tap into those sentiments, marketing and advertising cannot just focus on the nutritional value of the product but should also feature healthy activities and healthy people in ways that glorify and reinforce the values of that particular consumer culture.

From TOMS shoes consumers, we learned that their personal sociopolitical beliefs are very much linked to their loyalty to TOMS. The B1G1 model is at the heart of why they value TOMS and a socially-conscious focus is important to them when they select both products and peers. This culture of socially-conscious consumers prizes integrity and authenticity in their politics and their purchases. They place a higher value on things that are raw, real and worn, that are not pretentious and nonconformist. Thus, messages directed at this audience should be honest and simple and packaging should look natural and organic.

Ensuring that the entire product experience resonates with socially-conscious consumers is pivotal to getting them to remain loyal to B1G1 brands. It is not enough to have a socially-conscious business model. If the brand experience doesn’t meet their expectations and conform to their values, then even the best B1G1 brand will be seen as a poseur and a pretender. Simply put, the ethos of socially-conscious brands needs to correspond to the ethos of socially-conscious consumers.

At the intersection

The 1-For-1 Foods consumer sits at the intersection of two consumer cultures, espousing the values of both health-conscious consumers and socially-conscious consumers. Of all the live ethnography participants from both groups, over half consumed both nutrition bars and owned TOMS shoes, demonstrating that there is tangible overlap between these two core constituencies. Beyond the overlapping of consumer product preferences, there is also a salient overlapping of values. Both segments demonstrate deep consideration for human health, whether their own or that of others, and an underlying concern for the environment. These values of vitality and sustainability inform the perceptions and behaviors of these groups, transforming what they believe and what they buy. Although this statement is mildly truistic, arriving at this conclusion through ethnography gives researchers a comprehensive and unadulterated look at how these values instantiate themselves, allowing researchers to go beyond simply identifying consumer values to understanding what those values mean. Evolving this understanding by monitoring and profiling consumers via social media shows how these values are shared in a less formal environment. This deeper grasp of consumers’ values can help marketers reach the right people in the right way with the right message.

The insights that emerged as a result of this process of immersive group ethnography and online ethnographic profiling allowed 1-For-1 Foods to better understand its audience and helped to inform a new approach to marketing and packaging. Conducting ethnography in this manner was truer to how it’s traditionally used in anthropology and showed 1-For-1 Foods how it could save money and time down the line by gathering more data in one study and augmenting those findings with free online data.

It should be noted that, in addition to these ethnographic studies, a number of other research tools were used, including quantitative surveys and focus groups. When combined with other tools and properly executed and interpreted, ethnography has the potential to add tremendous value to a research project, and doesn’t have to be overly expensive or time-consuming. If the success of the 1-For-1 Foods ethnography project demonstrates anything, it’s that even the most complex of qualitative research methods can be leveraged effectively by even the smallest of organizations. 

 

Â