Hispanic Culture and Beer An Ethnographic Understanding

Transcription

1 Hispanic Culture and Beer An Ethnographic Understanding By Gavin Johnston Lead Ethnographer at Two West As Hispanic markets expand in the U.S., companies are increasing their consumer research into the demographic mix. Sometimes the results are good, but just as often companies touch only on the superficial, with no in-depth understanding of cultural processes. The research methodologies used are generally conventional a mix of surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews. Unfortunately, these methods, while useful, often overlook key elements that should have a dramatic impact on any marketing approach. There is, however, an alternative in qualitative research, which is already being used, namely ethnography. Ethnography, and other methods rooted in cultural anthropology, provide significantly greater insights into a particular culture and furnish richer information than traditional methods by focusing on context. In other words, ethnography works from a holistic and inductive approach, assuming that participants will guide the researcher to the most important findings rather than the researcher starting with a fixed set of hypotheses. This article explores the role of the ethnographic study in marketing and advertising, concentrating on beer consumption across different Hispanic markets. Ethnography in Marketing and Advertising Ethnography has its origins in cultural anthropology and, to a somewhat lesser degree, sociology. In the early 20th century, it emerged as a tool primarily employed to study small and/or non-western cultures, and it remained largely in the academic venue until the 1980s, when it began to be applied in business and design settings. It is now regularly, and successfully, being used to study modern cultures, subcultures and settings previously assumed to be mundane or known. Ethnography means looking at and analyzing events through the anthropological lens, searching for hidden meanings, cultural symbolism and the contexts in which people experience the world. The key point in ethnography is that the unit of analysis is not the individual, but the culture in which people operate. As such, it is intrinsic to understanding ethnography s value to comprehend that the study of a culture involves exploring two levels of consciousness and meaning: the explicit and the implicit. Explicit

2 culture is what we see and hear people articulate: social mores, tools, basic interactions, etc. It is that level of shared knowledge people can typically communicate easily, or those aspects of material culture that are readily identifiable. Implicit culture is comprised of those things, which are simply known and usually either unspoken or difficult to articulate. It is that space where culture is not just trappings and customs, but rather meanings, symbols and practice. The implicit side of culture is the domain of meanings taking shape, and it is here where the ethnographic understanding finds its true value. Good ethnography explores both the explicit and the implicit levels and adds value by providing a more complete understanding of why. For marketing and advertising, ethnography allows a deeper understanding to explore symbols, systems of belief and subtle methods of interaction, uncovering truly powerful tools for more effective messaging. Participants do not attend a facility in an ethnographic study. In fact, the participants or the context/setting largely determines where and when they meet with the ethnographer(s). So, if the area of inquiry is about beer consumption, the fieldwork may take place at a bar, picnic or ballgame. The point is that these are all contexts in which beer is consumed and by exploring various contexts, the ethnographer begins to understand the myriad roles beer plays in people s lives. Once the range of contexts is understood, patterns of meaning and norms emerge. The willingness of participants to engage with and teach the ethnographer greatly helps uncover both explicit and implicit information, while also allowing information to emerge in a more natural way. This means that the participants direct the ethnographer to what is important. It also means that the ethnographer can readily follow an exploratory lead as it emerges, rather than relying on a script. In other words, we don t know what we don t know working within a given context allows the ethnographer to adapt and plumb for more powerful insights. This isn t to say that it is a methodological free-for-all. The ethnographer always has areas which are the basis for the exploration. But the structure of the research is a significant departure from traditional methods, in that it is ultimately more natural and fluid. Besides asking questions and talking with people, the ethnographer(s) both participates in the social interaction, activity and setting (as much as is appropriate) and observes the surroundings, noting as much as possible about the environment.

3 Photographs, sketches, video, etc. are all part of the data set. Understanding these contexts helps companies identify and talk to the beliefs, needs, processes and hidden triggers of their consumers. It seems daunting, but it is not a stretch to say that everything is data in an ethnographic project. The goal, and the hardest part by far, is to connect the dots between the various points of data and build a meaningful and valid pattern. The Case of Light Beer Two West conducted an ethnographic research project to learn more about Hispanics who drink light beer. We conducted this research using two-person field teams that spent time with Hispanic legal drinking age participants in their homes, restaurants, bars, festivals, liquor stores, etc. As is always the case, there were limitations to the depth of the research, focusing on areas with predominantly Mexican and Central American cultural roots. Our final choices of locations, however, represented a good first step. The goal was to develop an ethnographic understanding of the lifestyles and habits of Hispanic light beer drinkers, the ins and outs of light beer purchases, and the evolving landscape of communications and symbolic meaning for light beer drinkers. The results would help better shape our understanding of the drivers behind light beer choices, particularly choices made by the Hispanic population residing in the United States. A central belief heading into the project emerged from earlier segmentation work centering on degrees of acculturation and assumed that acculturation was the principal structure around which beer consumption, daily life, and identity pivoted in a fairly rigid way. This is a nearly universal approach to market research and represents little supplemental insight into a target consumer segment. We soon discovered that degrees of acculturation exist and certainly impact beliefs and practices. Levels of acculturation are extremely fluid and cross-cultural patterns exist that would be more effective for messaging strategies. Amongst these central themes were 1) the importance of extended family, 2) the highly internalized awareness of the sacrifices made in attaining a place in the larger society, 3) the subconscious awareness that a brand of beer is an agent and symbol of the overall forces of globalization, 4) that drinking is an inherently social act, and 5) light beer is fundamentally different than regular beer. Most important of all, was the understanding that identity arises when an individual constructs and presents any one of a number of possible social identities, depending on the situation. Drinking is an example of national and other cultural

4 practices in the sense that it is a performance of something that runs deeper in the national or ethnic makeup. It is an integral social, political and economic practice. It is a manifestation of the institutions, actions and values of national and ethnic culture. We can be sure that light beer drinking as displayed (a code of messages about selves and status, role and religion, race and nation), will persist as long as human beings live by symbolic communication. In other words, beer does more than quench a thirst, it signals important information about who you are to the rest of the group. Being Hispanic and categorizing a beer in the same cultural construct shifts depending on the situation and place. This means that degrees of acculturation and assimilation vary as identity shifts to accommodate the contextual norm. Ethnography Applied to Hispanic Marketing Marketers must understand how and why a certain brand or category develops and finds meaning for Hispanics. They need to know the habits related to the product or category s consumption so as to better direct their strategy, but they also need to know when people go to church, who goes shopping for food (a single person vs. the whole family), and how people conceptualize freshness. They need to understand a broad range of topics and how they interrelate. Marketers obviously need to be well informed to successfully merchandise a brand to Hispanic consumers, but before they can take that step they must define what it is they mean by Hispanic identity and culture. Ethnography helps mitigate mistakes in interpretation by allowing, though perhaps not directly, a voice at the table when a campaign and strategy are being developed. Both identity and language are dynamic, and so how we perceive ourselves changes with our community at a given moment, allowing us multiple identities within a day. The same can be said for a brand as people internalize it. It is also important to note that our identities are shaped as much by others as they are by anything else. People can and do attempt to influence how others perceive them, but ultimately it is the person and people (in this case the marketing company) with whom they interact who create a person s identity. If the person being marketed to is not allowed any influence on his or her own output, then the marketer constructs an identity, which may be entirely disparate from that person s desired identity. This allows the marketer an inordinate amount of power and leads to campaigns that reflect a stereotype, no matter how well intentioned the company may be.

5 Acculturation, Identity and Being Hispanic One extremely difficult, but fundamentally important piece of information is coming to an understanding that Hispanic is a loaded term and changes meaning frequently. Acculturation is a process in which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and behaviors of another group, and although acculturation is usually in the direction of a minority group adopting habits and language patterns of the dominant group, acculturation can be reciprocal. In other words, the dominant group also adopts patterns typical of the minority group. What this means is that a business strategy based on fixed notions of acculturation is likely to fail because it assumed too much social and cultural rigidity. A brand or product must be understood on the explicit level of shared cultural patterns as well as the implicit level of fluid identity. Most Latino families are first and foremost Mexican-American or Chicano families, Cuban-American families, Nuyorican families, Dominican families, Honduran families, or Peruvian or other such immigrant or ethnic families. Each is like a cluster of related (or even unrelated) identities that correspond to the wide-ranging roles through which they live their lives. Because identity is also situational, it means people work within a set of roles and ways of living life that are mediated or created in social interaction with other people playing roles and living their lives. For the greater majority of Hispanics, families are ethnic families above all else, defined more often by locality than pan-latino monikers. Their ethnicity is as much Anglo-American as it is Hispanic. This is not to say that there might be a time when social conditions create a post-ethnic Hispanic community. It simply isn t there yet. In response to these forces and opportunities, Hispanics create and maintain multiple identities, sometimes identifying with their homeland culture, at other times with the United States, and yet at other times with a vague pan-latino born of circumstance. For the marketer, this means that there are no purely Hispanic beers (national beers, yes, but not Hispanic beers) and few Hispanic brands. Miller, Budweiser and Heineken are just as likely to be seen as Hispanic as Corona, Modelo or Bohemia. When we come to understand these sorts of subtle issues, we then start talking about doing legitimate marketing. Until then, companies will miss the mark.