Sentient Insight: the business blog for consumer psychology and consumer marketing

Let’s face it. We’re still in an economic crisis. We can be sure of that. There were 467,000 jobs lost last month alone, and the unemployment rate is projected to rise to 10% by the end of the year. The number of housing foreclosures in the first half of this year was up 15% from last year. Real GDP fell 5.5% in the first quarter. Retail sales in the second quarter were down 9.6% from last year. Construction spending is 11.7% below what it was the same time last year. The Dow is still down 3.8% for the year.

As a qualitative researcher who has conducted literally hundreds of focus groups, interviews and ethnography studies, I’m used to the aftermath of my job: after spending time with a stranger discussing their emotional attachments, decision-making process, and personal values, I can’t help but feel a letdown when I’ve gotten all the data I need and it’s time to leave them.  We call this “researcher empathy” and it stands to reason: a key to successful qualitative research is developing rapport with our subjects and creating a trusting environment, free from judgment, where our research subjects feel free to share their innermost thoughts.

Coming Home to Eat is a personal story. A man’s personal experience trying to grow crops in Arizona, a man’s personal relationship with indigenous groups trying to reclaim their ancestral dietary traditions, even a man’s (graphically) personal intimacy with his girlfriend blindfolded under a peach tree. It is a hyper-idealized narrative about Gary Paul Nabhan’s endeavor to experience his daily nutritional intake on a more fundamental and traditional plain.

A dairy farmer. A stockman. An organic farmer. There, that’s it, that’s Deeply Rooted. If you choose to pick up this visual, emotional, well-written book by Lisa Hamilton, that’s what you’ll find. Perhaps her background as a photographer coupled with her writing experience produced a book that is more a series of three portraits than a structured narrative. There is no over-arching argument.

The current environmental crisis is the biggest generational challenge that the world has ever faced. You’ve undoubtedly read that before. The gravity and ubiquity of the statement have unfortunately made it cliché. If you’re liberal, you might be fed up with stonewall conservatives that don’t want to interfere with the economy to ensure the planet’s health as we move into an uncertain future. 

The Mind of the Market is deeply concerned with the expansive topic of evolution. The evolution of man, markets, social structures, and the intersection of all three. If Michael Shermer’s book were to be inserted into the same theme, it would be at the evolutionary stage of “primordial ooze.” This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; primordial ooze is full of nutrients, activity, and all those good things necessary for life, but it is also chaotic and disorienting, pushing and pulling you in different directions. But where this work falls in terms of utility for a general audience – and specifically one of marketers – is questionable.

It seems that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just fell into the same trap as the producers of The Bachelorette (See previous blog). According to The New York Times, “The Oscars just got a whole lot bigger.” Instead of the typical five nominees for best picture, the Academy recently announced that it will now nominate ten films for the coveted title of best picture starting next year.

On the eve of the fourth of July holiday in the U.S., we thought it would be interesting to gauge people’s opinions on different tactics used to dissuade driving under the influence of alcohol. Have you ever seen an anti-DUI commercial that displays horrific car crashes resulting in crushed metal and graphic imagery? My guess would be no, unless you have spent a significant amount of time abroad. Unlike their American counterparts, European anti-drunk driving advertisements invoke fear and tug at heartstrings to promote safe driving. The question of the day is which method is more effective and why?