Ethnography

Ethnography is a method of research within the broader discipline of Anthropology.

Ethnography is from the Greek word ethnos, which means "folk, people, nation" and grapho, which means "I write." It is the systematic study of people and cultures, with an emphasis on providing detailed, in-depth description of everyday life and practice.

It is a process of observing, listening, understanding and describing other people.

Ethnography is a qualitative research technique that relies on relatively few people, versus quantitative research which is statistically oriented.

It is in the consumer context in which Brad Bennett practices ethnography. We spend extended periods of time with consumers and enter their world so we can observe and understand what they say, do and how they do it. The emphasis is not just on questioning, self-reported answers and conversation, but is also on observation.

The benefits of consumer ethnography are that we:

  • Understand context and history
  • Consider the surroundings and relationships
  • Observe behavior first hand
  • See the emotional impact
  • Learn about contradictions
  • Capture articulated and unarticulated motivations and needs

The result is both a deeper and wider understanding than many other research methods provide.

 

  • “ Attention is a discipline. ”
    — Brad Bennett
  • “ My clients have great ideas. They just need help connecting those ideas with consumers at the deepest level. ”
    — Brad Bennett
  • “ We seem to have lost track that we are in the people business, not the products business. ”
    — Brad Bennett
  • “ Team misalignment wastes time and money. Clients cannot afford not to do deep consumer insight work. ”
    — Brad Bennett
  • “ Superficial research produces superficial strategies. Imagine the implications. ”
    — Brad Bennett
  • “ Curiosity is a close cousin to wonder. I’m frequently in awe of the amazing things we learn. ”
    — Brad Bennett
  • “ Entrepreneurs don’t need me. They create products for their own needs. That’s rarely true in large companies. ”
    — Brad Bennett
  • “ The littlest things are big. ”
    — Brad Bennett
  • “ Distraction distances people and opportunity. ”
    — Brad Bennett