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. Buyonegiveone (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 1For1 Foods, an Indianabased B1G1 nutritionbar startup that retails in the greater Chicagoland area and gives one bar to homeless shelters in the area in which each bar is purchased. 1For1 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, 1For1 Foods turned to Culture Concepts, a Milwaukee research company, for some pro bono research help. As a young company, 1For1 Foods didnt 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 nutritionbar consumers on a hiking trip and documented their conversations, habits, and interactions with healthfood products. The second study observed owners of shoes sold by TOMSa fastgrowing Los Angelesbased company that gives one pair of shoes to underprivileged children for every pair purchasedsocializing 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 nutritionbar 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 healthbar 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 healthfood 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 3day 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 nutritionbar consumers, a group of six friendsmen and women in their twenties and thirtieswho 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 oneonone 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 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, theyre a symbol of a lifestyle, a culture, and a particular set of values that are shared among healthconscious 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 doesnt 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 1For1 Foods consumer sits at the intersection of two consumer cultures, espousing the values of both healthconscious 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 1For1 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 1For1 Foods do quantitative research? Why or why not?