Anthrojournalism

With all of the talk of Archetypes and market research lately, I thought I’d share some of the things we think about at Radar when we are in the field, working with consumers. First, we use a process called Anthrojournalism.

Anthrojournalism was first used as a term in 1985 to describe the pursuit of journalism that went beyond the traditional journalistic questions of who, what, when, where, and why to examine issues. It sees journalists and cultural anthropologists as workers in related fields, seeking different goals but sharing similar tools.

The focus of anthrojournalism is on the systemic nature of human relations and the cultural fabric in which these relations are imbedded. The goal is to find and report on commonalities in the human experience cross-culturally, giving participants in the process new and deeper insights that drive innovation and inspiration.

The aim of anthro-journalists is to develop deeper understandings of the communities they report about; they are willing and able to investigate and report on human events and issues in a comparative, holistic, and culturally sensitive manner.

Anthrojournalism draws on anthropology's understanding of culture, and its personal, face-to-face approach to data through participant observation and ethnographic methods; it borrows journalism’s communicative skills and its ability to synthesize information, its understanding of the cultural context of issues, and its methods of allowing events to be widely shared.

The overall goal is to use a tool that seeks context and perspective in understanding human interactions – with not only each other but with their cultures, including the products that they use.

In his book, The Turning Point: Science, Society, and the Rising Culture (1982), physical anthropologist Fritjof Capra suggests that

“...in the future, journalists will change their thinking from fragmentary to holistic modes and develop a new professional ethic based on sociological and ecological awareness. Instead of concentrating on sensational presentations of aberrant, violent, and destructive happenings, reporters and editors will have to analyze the complex social and cultural patterns that form the context of such events, as well as reporting the quiet, constructive and integrative activities going on in our culture.”

Companies can learn to use these anthrojournalistic tools to help them gain a deeper perspective in the context of the community when gathering intelligence to inform a more bottom-up strategy.

To better understand how to use anthrojournalistic tools, here are some principles to remember:

Being Aware of Context – Unless you understand the context, you can’t get the meaning. Only after spending time deal of time with a person, through several interactions over several days in the context of their world, can you begin to understand them.

Insisting on Eyewitness Perspectives – You have to go there, be where it’s happening, when it’s happening. You have to observe and ask questions until you understand the meaning from the point of view of those involved. Only when you get out on the street and spend time with someone do you really get to know them. It begins with honoring people and spending time with them in the context of their lives, which then helps foster the intuition that drives innovation.

Holism – Before focusing in on the details you need to look at the big picture – the whole experience within which a particular behavior makes sense. When you are developing a bottom-up marketing or product innovation strategy you have to be able to think about the lives of your customers in whole; and not just from your perspective.

Dynamism – You must seek to understand a living, evolving process – not a static snapshot. People do not lead simple lives. Likewise, their relationships with brands and products are dynamic, not static. Depending on who is asking the questions and what questions are being asked, the answers can vary widely. A bottom-up strategy understands the dynamism of the world and accepts the reality that there is more than one best way.

Descriptiveness – God is in the details: the story and its meaning are embedded in the concrete, particular details of what people actually do and say. This is “ecological validity” – keeping the level of abstraction low enough to keep the story honest. Sometimes the story is obvious, but it must be described in the context of the organization listening in order to be understood.

Rigorous Subjectivity – Anthropologists and journalists are only human. It is, therefore, their responsibility to know their own biases well enough to be able to keep them from interfering with telling the story in a fair and accurate way. We all bring our own lens to the work. This lens includes our beliefs, expectations, values, history and unwritten rules – as well as our ignorance, at times. It’s impossible to get rid of our lens. What’s more important is to recognize what we bring to the table and be able to put that aside and be as open and simple as possible.

Appropriate Interpretation – While all human interactions involve interpretation, companies have become so sophisticated in their strategic research that they can filter and interpret too much. The anthrojournalist’s job is to give an audience enough direct inspiration to allow them to come to their own conclusions and point of view. Because of the context, much of the most important inspiration is ignored simply because it comes out of the consumer’s mouth first or because we’ve heard it before, telling each other “They always say that.” Many listeners are so educated and so busy looking for the golden nugget that lies at the center of an interaction with a customer that they lose sight of what’s going on right in front of them – especially when sitting behind a one-way mirror in a focus group facility.

John Winsor

Views from the CEO of Victors & Spoils and the author of Baked In, Spark and Beyond the Brand about the future of marketing and product design.

About

John's Books

Blogs I Like

Recent Posts

Categories

April 20, 2006

Anthrojournalism

Comments