Brand Management: Research, theory and practice

Summary

The cultural approach ‘borrows’ methods and data from other approaches to
science. Phenomenological interviews, ethnographic immersion, case methods and
the semiotic decoding of commercial and cultural manifestations are all legitimate

Phenomenological

interviews

The everyday,

idiosyncratic

consumption

experiences

become

‘cultural’

through

macrolevel

interpretation

Macrolevel

interpretation

Microlevel data

Ethnographic immersion

Case studies

Photos and observations

Decoding of ads

Figure 10.7Research methods of the cultural approach

Box 10. 5 Doing a cultural study yourself

• Immerse yourself in the environment of research like a true ethnographer.


• Conduct long phenomenological interviews.


• Deconstruct the ‘strings of signs’ of commercial communication.


• Test the enculturation of relevant cultural groups by having them
  deconstruct the same commercial texts.


• Sample cultural knowledge of the relevant cultural context.


• Conduct extended case studies of individuals of specific interest.


• Most important: feel free to pick the most suitable methods for your
  research design.


• ... but be sure to submit all your micro-level data to a macro-level
  interpretation...


• ... as you bear in mind the golden rule of regarding your informants as
  mouthpieces of their cultural context!

The cultural approach 227