New consumer research offers up ‘treasures'

The study, which uses video to capture the every day reality of real people, was carried out by the Consumer Insight Agency (c.i.a). It is the first in-depth, qualitative review of sociographic and psychographic trends in South Africa and breaks new ground in penetrating beneath the surface of what makes South Africans tick.

“This research challenges the usual segmentation studies common in the marketing world,” says Wendy Cochrane, director of the c.i.a. “Conventional studies tend to focus narrowly on demographics (race, earning power etc.) and quantitatively derived psychographic statements. But often when marketers are briefed to “bring a segment alive” they're impossible to find. Humans are not stereotypes, and refuse to stay in boxes!”

Cochrane says that the new study is a more meaningful way of making sense of the dynamic landscape. “A powerful tool that is grounded in reality, It's the first “big picture” view of South African society where everyone from the richest ‘Polished Diamond' to the ‘Township Mama' is laid bare,” she says.

Social trends

Called the NOW project – because it acts as a snapshot of the here and now - the c.i.a study has already attracted considerable interest from marketers, who recognise it as a valuable tool to help them innovate, plan media and target brands at the right level. But Cochrane says that the findings also have implications for policy makers, social researchers and politicians who urgently need to understand social trends so that they know where to target services

Archetype architecture

The project is a collection of 12 studies, each of which hones in on a classic South African “Archetype”. Each study is presented in a documentary-like video format, featuring footage distilled from hundreds of hours of interviews and is supported by extensive commentary and analysis.

Cochrane says the project works like a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece is beautiful and fascinating on its own, and when all 12 archetypes are viewed together, over time, you can start to see the big picture: who is influencing who, where tomorrow's trends are coming from and where they are going. “It provides the architecture for talking about and understanding trends in the South African population,” she says.

The interviews x-ray the lives of ordinary people, taking in what brands they prefer, why and what they buy, where the money is coming from and what their ambitions are in an intimate and accessible way.

“The way that NOW is presented, allows you to see where people live, hear how they speak. You are able to get really up close and personal with what their lives are really like. It's easier to understand people and what they think, do and feel through the medium of video than it is through graphs and pie charts and sterile statistics,” says Sam Strover, consumer planning manager at Brandhouse and a key supporter of the research,

'Treasury of insight'

“They've allowed us into the intimate spaces of their lives and minds and so a treasury of insight is exposed,” says Cochrane.

“For example, the first study, focuses on the ‘Loxion Dreamer' a group of young people living in townships who are linked by a common dream of escaping poverty and acquiring the trappings of ‘status' (and social acceptance) that they see around them, but who lack the means to realise this dream. The study unearths some uncomfortable realities behind what is being done to hotwire material dreams. This challenges assumptions and raises questions like what is really beneath the rise in violent crime and the virulent spread of HIV/AIDS?”

The issue of race, or more precisely the value of categorising South Africans primarily on race, is also challenged by the research.

“While our divisive history has ensured that some Archetypes (like the rural ‘Gogo' and the ‘Township Mama') are black and others white (the ‘Jones' and ‘Ja-well-no-fine'), we're revealing evidence that our mindsets are increasingly blurring, particularly amongst younger generations,” explains Cochrane. “For example, one study titled ‘Wildchild', demonstrates this reality: Thabi, a young third-year UCT student who grew up in post apartheid South Africa in a black middle class family is one of the people interviewed. She is as focused on “experimenting” and “finding herself” as other white people existing in this Archetype. The drivers of brand and media choice are so similar that one is forced to conclude that race should increasingly recede as the key differentiator in classifying the emergent tiers of our society.

“It's these kind of discoveries that hold significant potential for all of us to understand ourselves and our country better. This study is definitely not just for marketers!” said Cochrane.

For more information about the NOW project go to www.nowproject.co.za.