Generally, our custom Trends reports do not include drivers because we study meaning in culture through an anthropological lens, not market data.
At Lux for Predictive Anthropology, we focus on the macrocultures that naturally occur around a topic of conversation and the microcultures that represent different subgroups within that macroculture conversation.
The interesting insights in culture emerge at the subconscious, unspoken level, where drivers are traditionally focused on the conscious, moment-by-moment decision level.
Nonetheless, it is sometimes possible for us to determine drivers within the context of some cultures (so long as the data permits).
Determining Drivers
First, our PhD anthropologists identify drivers that naturally emerge in consumer conversations by analyzing the meanings of microcultures.
E.g., if we’re in the macroculture of yogurt and the microculture of gut health, we can see that difficulty with bowel movements in one factor driving consumers to discuss (and likely purchase) yogurt.
We combine cultural analysis and anthropological insight to determine that this topic of conversation indicates a driver.
Calculating Drivers
Once we’ve identified drivers, we calculate the maturity and population of consumers who are discussing bowel issues within the context of both yogurt and gut health.
Ultimately, the key to this process is using anthropological insight to determine which topics represent drivers in consumers’ decision making processes.