A matter of Culture - Death and Memorialisation

Image sourced from Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries

Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries NSW (SMCNSW) commissioned CIRCA to undertake consumer research to enable SMCNSW to:

  • market the right products to the right consumers at the right price point;

  • develop products that respond to the needs of SMCNSW local communities (new products or products that have been enhanced using the insights gained in the research); and

  • develop a marketing and community engagement strategy that is aligned to the SMCNSW Strategic Plan

We conducted a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) study to provide insights to SMCNSW along those dimensions. Specifically, CIRCA conducted focus groups with people from five cultural and religious backgrounds to identify their interment practices and preferences and factors that influence their decisions (Italian-, Greek-, Mandarin-, and Arabic-speaking adults aged 50-65 and Jewish adults aged 50-65; n=39). All focus groups were conducted in-language and in-culture, by CIRCA’s skilled bilingual and multicultural Research Consultants.

In addition, CIRCA worked with Sphere Company to undertake demographic analyses of SMCNSW sales data and data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics to identify the populations likely to be interred at the two cemeteries SMCNSW manages. The results of the demographic analysis and focus groups were used to develop a population survey across the catchment area of the two cemeteries. The survey was conducted and administered by McNair yellowsquares, a long-term partner of CIRCA’s in quantitative data collection. The survey collected data from 1,002 individuals, representing a diversity of CALD and Anglo residents across eastern and south-eastern Sydney.

The research provided insight into the preferences and likely behaviours of the population served by the two cemeteries managed by SMCNSW. We were able to identify upcoming generational changes in preferences for burial and cremation, as well as changes in product preferences by cultural groups that have traditionally favoured certain products toward less traditional products. Most importantly, the research provided SMCNSW concrete evidence for rising overall demand, shifts away from burials toward cremation, and opportunities to capture emerging market demand.

CIRCA’s research findings were put to use by SMCNSW to inform their community engagement strategy, land use plans, and marketing strategy.