3 - Marketing in the Wild

Summary

In the last chapter we explored three classic ethnographic studies that provide a starting point for developing a unique ethnographic theory of marketing. This theory starts with accounts of events from the frontline of marketing. It explains the action inside marketing organizations as consequences of the ambiguous nature of marketing, the translation between symbolic and economic resources, and structural tensions within marketing organizations and between marketing organizations and their clients. Based on this, I suggested that the ethnographic theory of marketing is a structural- functional theory. It explains the structure of marketing actions in terms of the functions they serve.

Having set out this theoretical foundation, in this chapter I want to review more of the ethnographic observations of marketing action. My aim is to expand the discussion beyond advertising, as the three classic studies we have looked at so far focus on advertising agencies. On this point, I will argue that we need to study marketing research ethnographically. Here, reviewing the existing literature in more depth also helps to put some meat on the bones of the ethnographic theory of marketing. Finally, I will use this review to set up the questions that I want to explore as the book progresses. To this end, this chapter highlights two key themes in the existing literature: the discourses of Marketing Science and Marketing Art. These interpretative repertoires have been developed to explain marketing action and the ways marketing workers think about their activities.

Before beginning, though, let me offer some disclaimers. I acknowledge there are many other incredibly interesting accounts of marketing that do not rely on ethnographic methods but show us, in their own ways, marketing in its natural environment. These include historical (Schwarzkopf, 2015a; 2015b; Tadajewski, 2016), interview- based (Cluley et al, 2020), even experimental studies (Piercy et al, 1997). But, I will limit the discussion to ethnographic work and will leave these other traditions to one side.

I also acknowledge that many ethnographic studies include other methods, such as formal interviews with key contacts, and that many studies based on other methods often include some form of broadly ethnographic observation. When conducting interviews, for example, a researcher might spend a prolonged period of time in a marketing organization and observe the action around them (for example, Cronin, 2004a).