Beyond Observation: Why True Consumer Understanding Still Requires Interpretation
There’s no shortage of iconic stories: from CEOs sitting at kitchen tables to brand teams observing families at breakfast, witnessing a single moment that changed everything—from product positioning to global strategy.
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No one argues anymore with the idea that understanding how consumers actually use our products is vital to building successful, modern brands. But the way we access those moments has evolved dramatically.
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Even before the pandemic, many companies were already using video to bring consumers into the boardroom. Today, with the continued rise of remote ethnography, AI-assisted analysis, and mobile self-ethnography, we now have the ability to watch how people engage with our brands across the globe—on demand, and in context.
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Consumers can narrate their actions in real time. They can reflect via post-recorded voiceovers. We can slice data across demographics, geographies, and even moods. These tools offer an unprecedented level of access. But here’s the catch:
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Observation is not the same as understanding.
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Yes, video ethnography lets us see inside consumers’ lives—how they use (or misuse) our products. But while this delivers rich visual data, the interpretation of what we’re seeing is often left to the viewer. And that’s where things get tricky.
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Too often, insight teams end up in long debates:
? “What did that moment really mean?”
? “Was that frustration, or just habit?”
? “Is that important—or just interesting?”
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And while it may seem helpful to simply ask consumers to explain what they were thinking, this can be misleading. As Daniel Kahneman’s System 1 and System 2 framework made clear, much of our behaviour is instinctive, emotional, and unconscious. When consumers try to explain System 1 behaviours, they’re often justifying—not truly explaining—them.
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Why Observing Isn’t Enough Anymore
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To unlock real value from consumer ethnography, we must go beyond observation and into interpretation.
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The truth is, most consumer behaviour is not rational. It’s driven by emotional patterns developed over years—shaped by culture, upbringing, experience, and belief. These patterns operate below the surface. You can’t see them on camera. And consumers can’t always articulate them in words.
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That’s why, at The Marketing Clinic, we specialise in decoding the emotional and instinctive responses that drive behaviour. We look past what consumers say—or what they think they saw—and into the deeper structures that explain why they act the way they do.
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From Insight to Action
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We use a range of psychological qualitative tools:
? Remote and in-person ethnography
? Depth interviews with emotional mapping
? Symbolic and sensory decoding
? Contextual behavioural interpretation
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But the most important tool we bring is meaning-making. We don’t stop at “what happened”—we uncover why it matters, and more importantly, what to do next.
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Our approach consistently helps teams:
? Identify emotional barriers and drivers
? Refine product experiences that resonate
? Shape brand communications that feel authentic
? Build stronger, stickier consumer relationships
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Because it’s not just about what consumers do—it’s about what they feel, often without knowing it themselves.
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In a World Full of Footage, Meaning is the Differentiator
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Modern research gives us access to consumer lives like never before. But footage alone won’t build the next great brand.
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Only by interpreting what lies beneath the surface can we truly understand our consumers—and turn that understanding into action.
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If you’re ready to move beyond observation and into deep insight, we can help.
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Chris Lukehurst is a Consumer Psychologist and a Director at The Marketing Clinic:
Providing Clarity on the Psychological relationships between consumers and brands
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