Know Your Audience from a Cultural Perspective

Culture. It is what unites and divides groups of people. From the beginning of human history, cultural groups have formed, adapting various behavioral traits and beliefs. Historically, when two different cultures have crossed paths, it has often resulted in a clash between the two groups. The end result demonstrating the worst characteristics of humanity. However, history has also shown cultures to engage with each other in trade and commerce, benefiting from the resources each group has to offer. Of course a much more civil and desirable behavior. There are many factors contributing to the causes of one result over another but in my opinion, communication and understanding are critical elements to the cultural exchange between two groups. In our field of communication design, it is growing increasingly important to understand audiences from a cultural perspective. In order to conduct business and communicate effectively, you really need to understand the culture of your target audience.

Enter the field of Ethnography. It is best described as a research method for observing people behaving in their natural environment. This is in sharp contrast to focus groups that gather people in groups within a formal research setting. In addition, this goes beyond compiling demographics and building profiles based on gender, income levels etc. Through observing behavior in natural settings, one begins to develop a deeper understanding of the group being studied. The insight gathered informs marketing and communication professionals, giving them an understanding between the relationship of what they are producing for their target audience and the meaning their product or service has in their lives.

Why is this important? Is it just pseudo-intellectual babble? Lets look at some examples of what can happen when you don’t really know your audience.

• United Airlines unknowingly got off on the wrong foot during its initial flights from Hong Kong.  To commemorate the occasion, they handed out white carnations to the passengers.  When they learned that to many Asians white flowers represent bad luck and even death, they changed to red carnations.

• A company advertised eyeglasses in Thailand by featuring a variety of cute animals wearing glasses. The ad was a poor choice since animals are considered to be a form of low life and no self respecting Thai would wear anything worn by animals

• Proctor & Gamble used a television commercial in Japan that was popular in Europe. The ad showed a woman bathing, her husband entering the bathroom and sponging her back. The Japanese considered this ad an invasion of privacy, inappropriate behaviour, and in very poor taste.

These are just a few of many examples of how cultures differ and by not understanding your audience it can lead to costly mistakes. These examples are in context of international business but understanding culture is not limited to geographic and ethnic boundaries. There are numerous cultures, sub-cultures and even counter-cultures existing in our world today. People gather in herds based on likes, dislikes, common beliefs, professions, and many other attributes that lead to cultural development of any particular group. For example, country music has a distinct culture to it, different than groups of people that follow jazz. People that participate and follow extreme sports have their own unique cultural trademarks that sets them apart from other athletes and fans. The point here is that ethnography can be applied to many situations, even in your own local area.

Implementing ethnographic principles into your process can be broken down into the following steps.

1. Define the problem - What are the issues? State the clear objective. Normally this can be captured in the form of a creative brief.

2. Find the people - Who can provide answers to the questions at hand? Do they live in a certain environment, geographic location or do they demonstrate particular behaviors? Is it someone that influences others or uses products in a specific manner?

3. Plan an approach - Determine the game plan for observing your audience. How will you interact with them? Create a list of questions that are asked consistently among participants. Create opportunities for people to communicate what they value, how they do things, what they own, and what they believe.

4. Collect data - This goes beyond just simple writing answers to survey questions. Take photographs, video, audio and even sketches. We live in a multi-sensory world and all these tools help to provide data that leads to true insights.

5. Analyze data and interpret opportunities - Having the data isn’t enough, it takes time and effort but the data needs to be analyzed to formulate ideas. This can lead to models, personas, user scenarios and experience modeling.

6. Share insights - Communicate the ideas and insights discovered through design and storytelling. Present your findings in visually compelling ways in order to engage people and motivate them to action.

Know your audience in a deep meaningful way, through their own culture. Avoid the mistakes others make by creating general assumptions of how one communication style that works for one group will work for another. When you gain insight and understanding to the culture of your audience, you can talk to them in meaningful ways that will resonate with them. Your chances of adoption from the target group will increase and your chance of rejection will significantly decrease. The world is becoming more tightly integrated and cultures are interacting with each other more and more. Have consideration for your audience and get to know them at a deeper level and enjoy the benefits that ensue.