Consumer Ethnography: A Case Study Focused on Personal Mobility Technology
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Authors
Burns, Natalee
Issue Date
2009
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
People like to move around and internet economically and socially. Today, more
than half of the world's population does this in cities. With growing concerns about
traffic congestion, air pollution, energy consumption, roadway safety and parking
availability, automobiles may not be sustainable as a mode of personal mobility in cities.
In response, General Motors and Segway teamed to develop an innovative personal
mobility system called PUMA (Personal Mobility and Accessibility). While PUMA
offers compelling individual and societal benefits, consumers must aspire to own and use
PUMA to realize these benefits. This paper applies consumer ethnography methods to
assess PUMA's market potential on college campuses, where PUMA may initially be
marketed.
Ethnography involves understanding groups of people and documenting what is
learned. Corporations began using this anthropology method in the 1980's to gain a
deeper understanding of their customers. This was in line with an emerging shift in
market power from producers to consumers. In contrast to quantitative consumer
research methods, consumer ethnography helps companies uncover why consumers
behave as they do. This leads to innovative products and market campaigns aimed at
enhancing the overall consumer experience as a means to improve company success.
Fifteen college students from large- and medium-sized cities were interviewed
using pictures to gain insights about how they move around and interact on campus and
how PUMA might change their experiences. Five 'personas' were created from the
responses to reflect the diversity of college students and to better describe how PUMA
might fit into the every-days lives of students. These results suggest that getting to class,
time restraints, and interacting socially and conveniently are well integrated within the
lives of college students. The students reacted positively towards the idea of PUMA and
its ability to meet their mobility, time, and convenient social interaction needs and
desires.
PUMA holds promise as a way to enhance the freedom of people to move around
and internet while eliminating the negative side effects of automobiles, especially in
cities. For this potential to be realized, PUMA's safety must be demonstrated in a real
world context. Ethnographic methods are important in uncovering what motivates
mobility consumers and in identifying ways to develop and market innovative products.
Description
vii, 103 p.
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License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.