Ethnography is a qualitative approach that captures how people actually live, behave, and make decisions by observing and interviewing them in their natural environments, like their homes or workplaces. It goes beyond what people say in surveys or focus groups to reveal the unspoken habits, emotional drivers, cultural influences, and context that shape real-world behavior.​

Ethnography enhances traditional market research by adding depth, context, and emotional truth to what standard methods often miss:

• Revealing the why behind the what: Surveys and focus groups tell you what people do or think; ethnography uncovers why—the beliefs, routines, and emotional triggers driving behavior.​

• Exposing real-world context: Instead of relying on recall or self-reporting, ethnography captures how people live, decide, and act in real environments, not research settings.​

• Surfacing contradictions and unmet needs: What people say in structured settings often differs from what they do “in real life.” Ethnography highlights those gaps, leading to more accurate insights.​

• Humanizing data: Ethnography gives voice, texture, and nuance to target audiences—especially valuable for personas, segmentation, journey mapping, and message development.​

• Inspiring empathy and action: Video, in particular, helps stakeholders see patients, customers, or users as people—not data points—driving better strategic and creative decisions.​