Question

Eating Well and Doing Good - Case Study

The emergence of socially responsible business models has changed the way some 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 to intersect, 1‐For‐1 Foods turned to Culture Concepts, a Milwaukee research company, for some pro bono research help. 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, Culture Concepts proposed conducting a set of ethnographic studies on larger groups of people and augmenting the results with online ethnographic research.
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’ B1G1 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. For the first ethnographic study, the researchers 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, Culture Concepts 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, it was 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 the participants would be immersed in an environment that felt natural and meaningful to them, ensuring that their behavior would be authentic and insightful. The 3‐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, solar chargers were used 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.
Working with several different shoe retailers, we identified a number of TOMS shoe 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 twenties and thirties—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. Particularly salient topics of discussion included healthcare, corporate corruption, global warming, iPhone rumors, and new movies.
These touch points 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 well‐being 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’ value and lifestyle.
Culture Concepts 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 shoe consumers, the researchers 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 and 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 pretender. Simply put, the ethos of socially conscious brands needs to correspond to the ethos of socially conscious consumers.
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.

Answer Questions below:

1. Do you think that 1‐For‐1 Foods has enough information to create a successful marketing strategy? If not, what other questions need to be answered, and what research methodology should be used?
2. What other types of research could have been used to gather the insights uncovered in the studies? Could this research have been done using tracking data and Google Analytics? Why or why not?
3. Is a hiking trip a proper venue for ethnographic research? What about dinner at a restaurant? Now that qualitative research has been done, should 1‐For‐1 Foods do quantitative research? Why or why not?

Answer 1

1. In my views, through the research conducted by Cultural Concepts, 1-For-1 Foods got a brief idea about the consideration which customer segment may have for health foods and companies contributing to social causes. The research study was quite generic and was applicable to all health and nutrition supplements and companies contributing to social causes. The company also requires a specific research study to identify the specific needs of the customers from the products offered by the company. The different nutritional requirements and the price which the customers are ready to pay for it needs to be assessed. The company can opt for exploratory research to gain insight about the customer needs and requirements from the company. Focus group interviews and questionnaire surveys can be used to facilitate the research study.

2. The given research study unearthed information about the hikers, their personalities and social behaviors, their value expressions, choice of health bars, etc. To gain the same perspective, descriptive research could have been conducted on people who register for hiking groups. Various fitness tracking devices are now being used by consumers. The tracking data of these devices as well as Google Analytics could have facilitated the research in a better way. The company could have gained better momentum about the active hours of the hikers in a day, in a week as well as in a month, on an average. This could have extrapolated with the consumption of health bars in such groups. This research would have enhanced the value addition of the overall research study.

3. Ethnographic research is a study in which the real life attributes of the participants is studied and analysed upon. Hiking trip would facilitate such a study as the real attributes of hikers and people who pursue fitness can be gained.

Conducting a quantitative research can be beneficial for 1-For-1 Foods. They can opt for descriptive research study so as to gain more information about the target consumers, their purchasing patterns, demographics, etc. A correlational study can also be done to check the consumption rate of health bars with that of the total calories consumed and burned by the participants. All these data would help in developing a comprehensive marketing strategy for the company.