Coolhunting in China

1. What is VISUAL RESEARCH?from traditional marketing to “genius loci”

Visual research is an approach to market research that focuses on local identity and global contaminations of consumer’s environment. My target is the so called “genius loci”, a metaphor derived from Roma mythology and indicating the protective spirit of a place. In contemporary usage, "genius loci" usually refers to a location's distinctive atmosphere, or a "spirit of the place”.

Visual research’s approach aims to describe through photos and videos the interaction between environment and identity, social and cultural features, architecture, language, habits and customs.

1. What is VISUAL RESEARCH?from traditional marketing to “genius loci”

cultural studiesbackground about local culture, language, traditions, customs, values etc.

ethnographic observation from belowshooting of audiovisual material (still photos, videos, music) regarding a specific field (i.e. fashion accessories in Shanghai) or topic (i.e. pink colour in China)

Commented visual insights on Chinese consumer cultureA research approach which puts the genius loci at the center, provides hints about the cultural roots of a country, a region, a place, but also a company, a brand, a product. It tells us how these actors shape their own distinctive identities building their own narrative in a specific environment.

Witchcraft or coolhunting?

The core idea behind my research approach is that in order to understand and forecast new trends, you need to feel the spirit of the times and to connect it to the “genius loci”.

There’s no coolhunting, there’s no way to make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing cultural trends, without an understanding of the living/cultural environment of your target consumers.

I’m not a fortune teller nor a wizard, but my approach to coolhunting can help you to achieve this goal in China!

2. Coolhunting research in ChinaMy approach

Reporting “living experience” instead of quantitative dataIn my perspective and my working experience, visual research - or in fancy words “coolhunting” - is an ethnographic research method which has the key feature in providing cues about “living experience” by means of an immersive approach in the described environment.

Providing a cultural fluent’s perspectiveThe observation I personally carry on in China is from the perspective of an insider. I spent a long time in the country, I have easy access to local language, culture and social practices, and I can fluently communicate with local people.This “cultural fluent” approach can give access to collective imagination, values and priorities of a community, can provide insights about how to open an effective communication channel with consumers.

Enhancing communication effectivenessCoolhunting research is a way to observe people and their behaviour in order to understand their needs, expectations and way of perceiving reality. From a company perspective it means to find the key to effectively convey its message and its core values to a specific audience, in respect of its cultural identity. On the other hand it helps to understand how local trends might become global and how contaminations between local and global influences can be a source of new ideas and concepts.

3. From your values to Chinese environment

My starting point to define the outline of a research project is the main features of the brand identity/mission and their meaning/interpretation once transferred to Chinese living environment.

My research approach has the goal to explore and describe the evolving relationship between the client’s product/brand/concept and local culture.

3. From your values to Chinese environment

RESEARCH TOPICS: How is the story important for the brand and its products among local consumers? How is the story told? What are the main traditions/traditional products? Where do I find the tradition in China? What is the meaning of “exotic/ethnic” and when it becomes a synonymous of “strange/unacceptable”?

RESEARCH TOPICS: What are the places, time of the day, settings of the food experience? What is the place/role of food-experience in Chinese families’ life? What is the importance of conviviality and sharing? What are the daily eating habits? What is the approach to “eater-tainment” for different age groups?

RESEARCH TOPICS: What are the main concerns of Chinese consumers in terms of environment? What is the meaning of safe/healthy when we speak about domestic environment in China? What is the awareness/sensibility toward the topic? What does environmentally friendly means to local consumers?

WE HAVE A LONG TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE

WE OFFER A JOYFUL CONVIVIAL EXPERIENCE (es. food products)

WE MAKE YOUR ENVIRONMENT HEALTHIER (es. electric

appliances, air-water purifier)

Every research project starts from an initial set of questions whose aim is to dig the meaning of a brand* core values in China. I hereby report a few examples:

Not all the researches have to be brand-driven: the field of investigation could also be a specific product domain (i.e. “snacks” in China) or even something immaterial like for example a colour. Before launching a pink label champagne, Moet et Chandon commissioned a monitor to explore the meanings of pink colour worldwide!

4. MethodologyOnce defined the initial set of questions, it’s time to start a visual journey

Beyond raw market data, the visual approach and ethnographic method aim to describe current phenomena through experience and immersive observation of the environment. Therefore, while text and written commentary still keep providing an outline, photographic and visual materials are core research elements to explore the aforementioned issues.

I hereby describe 3 levels of research, taking as an example a research commissioned by a multinational food brand planning to enter Chinese market. In each step of research you will find an increasing level of structuration and different outputs. All of them, as a whole, contribute to the description of the observed phenomena.

4. Methodologya) direct photographic observation

TAGS: Beijing,street food,snacks

a. direct photographic observation Unbiased observation of “street signals” and delivery of food-relevant urban itineraries is the starting point of my research approach.

It includes monitoring of food related events, new restaurant/groceries/fast-food openings, food habits (time of the day, public holidays and special occasion etc), food street culture, products, key areas, new business models/aesthetics, specific case histories.

The goal of this method is to deliver a “feeling” of the local environment, offering a few basic coordinates to understand and to give some possible interpretations.

The photos are followed by a brief comment and a set of relevant tags to have the possibility to rearrange all the collected material and explore a specific aspect (ex. “fastfood+beijing”, “conviviality+organic”).

4. Methodologyb) subjective narrative

b. Subjective narrativeInstead of the informative approach of direct observation, narratives based on food-related experiences can help to deliver a material that stimulate a role-taking perspective in the observer (“what if I was there, what is the difference between them and us”).

Moreover, since this method provides a more immersive experience, it can be particularly useful when social interactions are a consistent part of the described phenomena (ex. domestic environments, eater-tainment patterns, personal food habits etc).

The visual experiences can be structured as a storyboard with a sequence of images and dialogues, as a brief video/audio interview or as a short documentation video.

4. Methodologyc) desk research

c. Desk researchAs an integration to visual observation and description of the current situation, desk research helps to keep an eye on food and media interactions and to be updated on the latest food relevant phenomena as well as media imagery of food and eating experience.

Relevant material can be newspapers/magazines/leaflets/menus scans (+translations), tv programs’ excerpts, commercials, movie sequences.

In addition, a specific attention would be paid to new media, by reporting posts and captions from online shops, social networking website and forums (extremely widespread in China), video portals and other form of user-generated content.

5. Observation citiesChinese diversity

A key feature of China is diversity. Every city/region has its specific features. According to client’s needs, I define a geographical area where the research has to take place.

My main cities of observation are Beijing and Shanghai. The political and economic capitals are both crossroads of identities. They’re both the windows of China, which attract people from all over the country (and increasingly all over the world). Here the salary level is higher and people are more inclined to new experiences.

5. Observation citiesBeijing & Shanghai

BeijingThe capital‘s strong identity, mixed with its present of booming city, makes it the most interesting observation spot. Here you can find very upscale venues and foreign-oriented consumption patterns as well as temples of pop Chinese culture and a special attention to tradition. People are generally more concerned about the food experience itself, about its aspects of conviviality or relations-building, beside the pursuit of fashion or style. In a few words the city represents the frank and genuine character of northern provinces, it mixes underground culture with mainstream trends.

ShanghaiWhile the capital might seem dusty and grey for a first time visitor, Shanghai is a fancy wonderland of skyscrapers and European style buildings. It’s the economic and financial centre of China, the hotspot of business and contemporary style. People living in Shanghai are definitely more “western-oriented”, concerned about fashion and addicted to an endless exploration of new, as far as it means cool. Coffee bars, bakeries, foreign restaurants are in every corner of the city. Shanghai, its history and its long-time Eastern+Western mix make it a global catwalk of mainstream consumer culture.

6. Research outputHow is the material delivered?

An interactive report about Chinese consumption patterns and trends

The goal of this kind of research is to provide an immersive experience in the collected data, where you have the possibility to easily browse through different materials and topics and to rearrange the showcased concepts according to your personal analytical approach.

In order to deliver all the research material to the company, I build a digital presentation which is a kind of web-based observation manual. This is an ideal platform to showcase and share different contents collected through the methods described in the previous pages.

Launching the presentation means opening a travelog about food culture and lifestyle in China: you find photos, videos, sound bites, texts, leaflets and magazines’ scans (through integrated online tools like vimeo, issuu, flickr, slideshare etc). You can browse contents by date and tagcloud, you can download material and, thanks to external links, you can access to extra information.

If a long term monitor is needed, the research itself can become a private blog, where the client can post comments, feedbacks, specific questions and additional research inputs.

Text

6. Research outputAn example

Following my previous research example, Tradition was a core value for my client.

In the next page, I report a few examples of outputs I delivered in the final report, along with questions raised by my observation, which I replied to with further research, hypothesis and specific strategical suggestions.

On client’s request I can provide further visual examples and excerpt of past presentations.

美容

New Venues 2005 - China - Beijing

A Beijing's heritage brand -Traditional Chinese Medicine and Tongrentang's tradition .1Tongrentang first shop in Dazhailan St .2

Health consulting in front of Tongrentang .3

5

BEAUTY

1

2 3

6. Research outputAn example

Topic (T): Traditional food habits

Output (O): storyboard of daily meals and snacks of a young couple (25yo) during a day off, with written dialogue excerpts

Raising questions (RQ): How could the client’s products become part of traditional shared routines? Which time of the day they could fit in? Which target would be more open to try them?

T: Food and eater-tainment patterns linked to traditional dishes

O: short documentation video about pasta making acrobats in a restaurant introduced to the audience by a local anchorman.

RQ: How could the client shape effective strategies to talk to Chinese audience about its history through a shared fun experience?

T: Tradition and communication

O: desk research -> commercials of the most important local noodles’ brand from tv

RQ: How traditional values are communicated through media? Which values of the brand identity we find in Chinese food-related media?

T: Places of tradition and contemporary style

O: photos of new venues for local laozihao (time-honoured brands)-> interior design, dishes, service etc.

RQ: How do old traditional brands change their image to challenge other new and fashionable venues? The brand can rely on its tradition but can also appeal as a “style brand” or an exotic choice...

T: Beyond tradition, fast-food culture in Shanghai

O: commented photos about food habits and urban lifestyle.

RQ: What features of the brand’s products could meet the demands of a urban fast-paced environment like Shanghai?

e-mail: alessandro.detoni@gmail.comskype: laowai77

website: www.alessandrodetoni.comblog: alessandrodetoni.net

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