Abstract:

The world around us seems to be in meltdown. While banks collapse and the credit markets freeze up. governments are scrambling to avert a replay of the 1930s. In the centre of the storm, middle classes around the world shiver and wonder what the effect will be on them and their livelihoods. As the scenario unfolds. I would venture to suggest that research will need to be on hand as never before to understand and tell the story of how the lives of ordinary people will change. How will values and behaviour mutate in the new reality? What will this mean to the relationships that people have with brands? How will societal interaction change? In short, how can we understand this tsunami of change, react to it in real time and make sense of it? To do so, we will need to do more than just ask questions. We will need to listen to stories, understand their context, observe them, retell them and interpret them. Enter qualitative research, with all its abilities to observe, probe, interpret and immerse. Qualitative has long had the power to transport us into the world of the people we study and has had an impressive history of innovation, based on psychological and social sciences, with which to do so.