Blog #1: Empathy Map

Many of the readings from last week discussed how consumer insights can, and frequently do, lead to the ultimate success of a business or product. Theses insights are often not found during a scheduled research study, but uncovered through attention to the detail of the company’s consumer activities. The Insights Into Consumer Insights article by Mohanbir Sawhney shared the example of the Apple iPod. Interestingly enough, the Apple iPod was not the first MP3 player on the marketplace, far from it. But through the consumer insight that people were looking for a small, simple player that could hold a lot of songs, the iPod was born. The article also discussed the “not-yet-obvious” discovery, which is often rooted in an observed anomaly and further points out that, “the obvious is true but the truth is not obvious.” As a student studying marketing, I often evaluate advertising and marketing efforts by placing myself as the persona who the marketer is attempting to reach. Putting myself on the shelf and adopting the characteristics of a person in a different target segment will provide an interesting challenge and fresh perspective.

Gary is a 27 year-old, African American male studying performing arts at Texas State University. A true Austinite at heart, Gary grew up just outside Austin, TX near the small town of Sunset Valley. He is a family orientated, charismatic and enjoys drawing, music, and horror movies. Gary is political but belongs to his own party and doesn’t participate in organized religion. To quote one of his many idols, Bob Marley, “Love is my religion.” Gary is active in the community attending many college campus events and concerts or shows in Austin. He is a social being who thrives in large groups but enjoys smaller, intimate conversation with his closest friends.

The things that really count in Gary’s life are his friends, family and finding his place in the world. His major preoccupations are having a fulfilling life that provides meaning to why he was put here. As an actor and performer, Gary is very in touch with his feelings. He is in control of his emotions but freely expresses them to any interested party. He worries that people don’t understand him. He is very in touch with his own emotions. Gary also worries that people are not seeing enough variety in their lives and wants to encourage them to broaden their horizons. He aspires to be successful by defying the typical definition of success. In school, he has navigated around a variety of topics. He dabbled in philosophy, the social sciences and business, but continued to return to theatre and the arts. With this, he aspires to be able to utilize all that knowledge in a practical and impactful way.

When Gary looks out at the world I think it troubles him. He takes on the world’s problems as his own and attempts to find a way to mend them, whether it’s through is art or music, or even just kind daily acts and emotional generosity. Since Gary is largely committed to his arts, he tends to surround himself with people also dedicated to their craft or interested in similar activities. This often finds him surround by a wide variety of people, some awfully dramatic but all fairly interesting a unique. However, as a good listener and conversationalist and his friendly, outgoing nature, Gary typically gets along with a wide variety of people. He is aware of his surrounding and looks at products, services and marketing with a discerning eye. Since he is a part of the creatively community, he expects a certain amount of finesse and originality in the marketing messages he receives. He is a difficult consumer to reach and impress, but with the right messaging he can become very loyal to particular brands.

Gary is very in touch with his surroundings. He intently listens to any feedback from his friends, bosses, teachers and family. As a sensitive male, he is very susceptible to this advice. He seeks out conversation with people to advance his own education but to also experience the perspective of others. He finds other’s input about his work very valuable and takes extra measures to ensure he receives the opinions of others. After each of his theatrical performances, he was sure to get a detailed count from his friends and family in the audience. He is not scared of what other people may say or think, he is very open and encourages discussions.

Fear of not being understood by people is a concern for Gary. He also feels frustration when others are not willing to be as adventurous as him especially because he wants people to have unforgettable life experiences. He finds frustration in his chosen profession. Despite wanting to pursue acting or singing, he has such a wide variety of interest he often feels frustrated in deciding a future path. This also proves to be an obstacle that he must overcome. In order to be successful and have the impact he aspires to have, Gary must overcome these fears and frustrations of being lost to truly reach his goals.

He hopes to gain love, respect and happiness. Gary feels that those basic needs should come before all else. He is so passionate with everything he does, he wants to have someone by his side to share it with, and be surrounded by people whom he respects and who respect him. He measures this success often. Gary is definitely constantly reflecting on his everyday actions and how his decisions affect his goals. In order to surpass the obstacles that he faces, Gary hopes to narrow his goals down to truly find a fit for him in the world that encompasses his many passions in life. 

The above images show a visual representation of the empathy map layout for Gary.