People make 90% of consumer decisions at an unconscious level. It’s not that people don’t want to tell you why they buy, it’s that they don’t really know. Cultural analysis studies what people do, not what they say, searching out consistent patterns of behavior over time that reveal the underlying motivations that drive the buy decision.  It identifies the main drivers of decision-making as a total system of meaning to explain consumer motivation and behavior.

Sample results:

Helzberg Diamonds: A decade ago diamond jewelry was marketed based on carat weight and cut because that’s what consumers told them they wanted. Our cultural analysis studied how people actually used jewelry. Conclusion: throughout human history, and across cultures, jewelry has been used for only one thing, to signify hierarchy and relationships. Our recommendation: don’t sell the jewelry, sell the relationship that jewelry represents. Outcome: Client sales went up 17% the first quarter – and Warren Buffet bought the company. Today nearly all successful jewelry advertising is relationship-based.

Dupont Flooring Systems: client problem was how to sell industrial carpet along with a proprietary cleaning service. Our research went beyond the narrow problem frame to determine how people used carpets and how they recognized “clean” throughout the historical record. Conclusion: the issue for clients went beyond clean to health and safety. As such, the product was part of a larger system of air quality and a healthy indoor environment. Outcome: client formed a new division, DuPont Indoor Environmental Solutions, later sold off as a stand-alone entity.

AAmco Transmission:  consumers said they chose auto repair either because they had a trust bond with a mechanic or, failing that, by lowest price. We studied customers’ relationship with their cars and redefined the core value as time, not money: – the longer they were separated from their cars, the more difficult their live and the more dissatisfied they became. Solution: guarantee a specific time frame for repairs so people can plan their lives around it. Result: satisfaction rates went up; price as a factor diminished.

Disney theme parks: We studied how people used the parks for social bonding; proposed timed attraction tickets to give consumers more feeling of control over their time. Now implemented as FastPass. Even when guests don’t use the system, they express more overall satisfaction because they feel that waiting in line is now a choice, not imposed by an unfeeling management.

Anthony-Sylvan Pools: Looked at how people used pools as social hubs. Finding: home pools were used intensely for swimming only for the first few weeks – after that they became a venue for family gatherings with swimming as just one option. Suggestions: don’t use the word “swimming:” because customers had buyer’s remorse when that activity dropped off. Sell pools as social hubs with organic shapes and water features. Most important, short-circuit the buyer’s remorse tap by sending marketing material stressing the value of the investment three weeks after the sale. Outcome: validated customers become unpaid sales people to their neighbors.

Satellite Radio: traditional research said the core value was not losing a favorite channel when driving, prompting selling the system as a car radio. We studied how people used radio – found that the majority of every generation dropped out of radio in their early 30s because the stations were programmed for 16-35 age demographic. We suggested selling the decade-specific channels to everyone except the 16-35 demographic (who were served by free radio). Outcome: satellite radio has the highest acceptance rate by adults and seniors of any new technology.

Other pitches:  For young women’s fashion, the value of the venue is in facilitating bonding between friendship groups or mother/daughter shopping “teams.” For casinos, we identified gaming as a budgeted experience, for fast food, we identified how people use the venue for socialization.

Our studies have included the following categories, models, and sub-specialties:

Consumer Products: Fine Jewelry, Auto Repair Service, Main Meals, Fast food, Dairy, Fresh-Cut Fruit & Vegetables, Microbrews, Retail Women's Clothing Chains, Retail Eyewear Chains, Health Care Systems, Affiliation Dining, Auto Buying, Television Viewing, Swimming Pools, Sports Shoes & Equipment, Public Utilities, Gourmet Chocolate, Candy & Gum, Shaving, Compliance in Pharmaceuticals, Home Security, Lawn and Garden Care.

Experience Environments: Museums & Exhibits, Live Theater, Themed Parks and Attractions, Destination Resorts, Retail Environments, Thrill Parks and Rides, Historic Sites & Symbols, Downtown Revivals, Shopping Malls, Public Transportation, Gender Effects on Wayfinding, Male Buying Patterns in Female Environments, Perception of Ideal Indoor Environments, Higher Education, Travel 

Group Perception: American Perception of Space Exploration, Defining the American Hero, Defining the American Leader, The Unconscious Drivers of Consumer Choice, Age Stage Development, Age Wave needs and thinking (50+), Loss Aversion, Future Thinking

Finance: Cultural Drivers of Money, Cognitive Finance, Savings, Banking, Trust-Building Online, Private Banking

Agencies & consulting groups:  Earle Palmer Brown, Tierney & Partners, ML Rogers (NY), Connor Communications (Philadelphia), Aspirient (NY),  Harmonic (Baltimore) New & Improved (Chicago & NY), Innovation Focus (PA), Strategic Horizons LLP (Pine and Gilmore, authors of The Experience Economy)