MCCP learnings from cultural

activities:

MCCP Cultural Trip #1. 2011

Zoo Observation Visit, March

What we did: MCCP Team conducted a family

ethnographic experience at Dublin Zoo to

understand family experiences.

Why: Our MCCP DNA is to understand how

people behave in different environments but in

a real not uncontrived way.

Focus on our findings

• 1. Observations and learning’s from people’s

interaction with animals

• 2. Observations and learning's from people’s

interaction with people

• 3. Observations and learning’s from the animal

kingdom

Observations and learning’s from

people’s interaction with animals

Observation: People approach new aspects of

the world with a mixture of fear and

fascination

“When that pelican opens its wings

and flew he was terrified, then ran

after it to see where it went”

Children’s reaction to new animals

typifies our approach to new

things, we are curious beings but

with an inbuilt caution

Learning: We need to manage fear and scepticism of consumers in new products and

propositions, but harness their natural curiosity

Observation: People have a fundamental desire for

interaction

“Hi Penguin, hey penguin, I said hi,

HI HI HI PENGUIN”

Children’s repeated attempts to

speak to the animals highlights our

constant desire for interaction

Learning: People constantly want to touch, feel, try out and interact with brands and

products far more than they will ever admit, we need to let them

Observation: People become impatient when

expectations are not met

“Why is it not playing with a ball mom?”

“Mammy is there killer whales…is there sharks…is

there dolphins?”

A child’s disappointment at the fact that a seal was

not playing with a ball in the manner in which

stereotypes lead us to believe, highlights the

importance of expectation management and

delivery. As we can see from the killer whale

comment, sometimes expectations are unrealistic

Learning: If we manage to create and expectation, we must deliver on it

Observation: You can lead a horse to water,

but you can’t make him drink

“Look at the baby Rhino son”

“Hey dad, look at that big pile of poo”

“look dad, there is a digger”

Children do not always get excited

about the bits we hoped they would.

Neither do consumers.

Learning: Allow the consumers to find their own areas of fascination with brands. Give

them the tools and let them create the excitement

Observations and learning’s from

people’s interaction with each other

Observations: We engage in repetition type

behaviour to build our own excitement

“The penguins. Let’s see the penguins”

“Yeah, the penguins, the penguins are

great”

“Yeah, penguins, lets go and see the

penguins”

Both parents and adult engaged in

frankly annoying levels of repetition,

however this was an effort to create

excitement in each other

Learning: We need to understand how people build up experiences and help them to

do this

Observation: If an experience is not share its

not worth having

We witnessed a child running up to the

penguin enclosure shouting in

excitement. When the child turned

around and its friend was not in tow, all

excitement in the animals was lost. As

if the experience was now pointless

without company

Learning: We are fundamentally social in all thing we do. We need to understand how

group versus solo consumption of any experience or product affects it

Observation: We have a strong ritual of story

telling

We witnessed parents elaborate wildly

on the life a tiger has in the zoo after

being asked by a child where the tiger

was. We use stories to build context, to

entertain, to explain, to teach and to

make sense of the world. Stories are

the currency in which people share

information

Learning: We need to form our communications into easy to digest stories that people

can understand. We can borrow from use and create stories.

Observation: We have a strong desire for

achievement and recognition

“look how good the picture I took is”

We have a need to be liked. We need to

feel we have achieved and that this has

been recognised by other

Learning: Allow people to feel as thought they have achieved, or give them a way to

be recognised by others as being different

Observation: We use reward as a motivator for

desired behaviour in others

“Jack at this rate you are going to end

up with minus stars”

Parents use the promise to reward to

control children just as brand use the

promise of reward to try and control

consumers

Learning: We must understand the nature of reward, how can we make people feel

rewarded?

Observation: Operate at the same level as the

consumer

Learning: Many brand/consumer relationships are much like parent/child

relationships. Coming down to the consumers level when talking to them makes

things more engaging. It allows brands to see the world from their eyes and changes

the relationship from one of authority towards one which is peer to peer.

Observation: To fully engage

children in the experience

parents are going down on

one knee to get on the

children’s level before

discussing with them all the

animals that they can see

Observations and learning’s from the

animal kingdom

1.Stand out with your Brand DNA

Every business needs to

standout in the market

place. But stand out

because of what you are in

your essence, not with

cheap tricks. The parrot

stands out effortlessly

because of what it is, not

because of what it tries to

tell everyone it is

2. Be agile in the marketplace

We know the importance

of be flexible and agile in a

marketplace where people

want quick turnover,

adaptability and tailored

solutions. You need to be

able to move quickly and

accurately. Like the

squirrel monkey, we need

to remain agile

3.Know your strengths

Observing the penguins at the zoo it was clear that the penguin feels

naturally at home in the water whilst alien on land. It is in the area where

each of us is strongest that we can deliver most for the company as a

whole.

4.Have multiple strengths

Similar to the last point, we need to know our strengths but also develop

where we are weak. If we are uncomfortable in the water, we need to learn to

swim better.

5.Be self sufficient

Look at our friend the bird, on top of the Rhino, feeding from the skin

parasites in her larger friend. Without the Rhino, the birds food source is

lost. The bird is not self sufficient.

6.Go past the low hanging fruit and

look at things from a different

perspective

The giraffe has developed its physiology based on the fact that the low

hanging fruit is in a crowded place. He has adapted himself to be able to

reach further to get the really juicy morsels. We need to reach for a juicier

life. The giraffe also reminds us to look a things from a different perspective