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Group Wise MKT302 | Fall 2017
Blog 8 | The Company We Keep
DUE MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 11:59 PM
Background
In class, we watched the case study of Intermarché’s Les Fruits et Légumes Moches (Inglorious Fruits and
Vegetables) campaign to reduce food waste by buying the imperfect and uncalibrated produce its growers
usually throw away, and selling them at 30% off. This included creating a range of new products like soups
and fruit juices to show they are just as good as the ones made from more ‘perfect’ produce.
Not only did the initiative help raise awareness about the issue by reaching millions socially and through the
media who picked up the story, but Intermarché also had a 24% rise in store traffic at a time when they and
others are facing increasing competition from the German discounters Aldi and Lidl.
A key to the success of Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables was understanding culture – political and social.
This requires looking deep into what motivates people to do what they do and their needs. This type of
information is called Thick Data. Thick Data is gained through qualitative research methods, such as
ethnography, and is becoming used as the lens for analyzing Big Data. As Christian Madsbjerg, co-author of
the Harvard Business Review ‘Moment of Clarity’ book explains, the marriage of Thick and Big Data is
unlikely to be happy one because they come from very different positions philosophically and
methodologically. But the marriage will be essential because, “if you assume that your customers are fully
aware of their needs and intentions, you will continue launching products that lack interest or excitement”.
That said we will still need social listening to play an increasingly role in research and innovation, but what we
are beginning to see is how it can shape the initial assumptions or hunches about where to find those hidden
truths within the ‘Thick Data’. This will help brands create more imaginative products that consumers not
only want, but will also talk about.
Studying social media trends is a great place to begin looking for Thick Data. This week’s Blog as you to
reflect on your own social behavior (Part 1) and then to look at trend and tweet watching sites for a look at
what is new now and think about what you think might be next.
PART 1
1. Make a list of all the formal and informal groups that you belong to.
2. Which ones are most important to you? Reflect on why you believe this is.
3. How long have you belonged to these groups? If they are formal groups, what was the process of
joining?
PART 2
1. Using a website like Trendhunter (https://www.trendhunter.com) and Tweetreach
(https://tweetreach.com), take note of popular trends over the course of a week.
2. Why do you think these trends and tweets are so popular?
3. What ones are you particularly interested in and why?
Solution Preview
The informal group differs from the formal group as they were not created formally nor are they headed by an organization. Despite this, I still find them to be of importance to me. Specifically, the family matters and the association…
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