cultural proficiency for the new mainstream

Marketing to a mainstream America necessitates a deeper understanding of the vast interplay of cultures within it.

Our company was founded on the principle that in order to market to someone, you have to truly understand where they are coming from; from a historical, socioeconomic, cultural and emotional context. Market research these days has become an ethnocentric exercise, ignoring the sociocultural and emotional basis of how consumers behave in a heterogeneous society. 20 years ago we started this business to fill a gap in how researchers viewed the Hispanic and cross-cultural consumer. 20 years later, we have learned that that a lack of cultural expertise persists and greatly limits advertisers’ understanding for the rapidly evolving mainstream culture, not just “crosscultural” targets. As former planners, sociologists, linguists, academics and creatively driven professionals we bring the consumer to life without the usual cultural filters of mainstream firms.

Though research is meant to generate and interpret data, it is in the application of cultural understanding and intuition that allows you to dig deeper. JP Theberge, Founder

humans, close-up

By zooming in, we transform discussions with the consumer into meaningful conversations, and information into knowledge.

good research requires science, but demands art

We combine right brain creativity and left brain insight to gives clients the best of both worlds when it comes to understanding the consumer mindset.

While we are steeped in the rigors of analytical, social, qualitative and quantitative sciences, we also apply graphic design, original photography, ethno-videography and good creative design sense to transform the data into a narrative that drives client decision-making. We bring the consumer to life through empathy, understanding and creative portraits of who they are as human beings, not just consumers. It helps that we hire individuals with training in the social sciences, humanities and a proven creative background.

our goal?

to help take clients away from an ethnocentric view of the consumer

cross cultural expertise

clients

Over the past 17 years, we have worked with companies, agencies and brands that seek to deliver better value and enhance their connection with the consumer. Some of the world’s greatest brands have counted on our deeper and more creative cultural insight among both mainstream and cross-cultural targets.

our approach?

Right brain meets left brain to go beyond basic research to empathy and understanding.

stuff we do

Our breadth of offerings focus on a broad range of both in-person qualitative, and our RemoteAccess™ virtual methodologies as well as quantitative methods to dig deeper. Some of the work we have done include:

in the field

the science of cross-cultural research

While any competent researcher can collect data, to do it with cross-cultural audiences requires depth of knowledge and nuance that come from decades of working with this consumer. To do it right, you need to ask how it is being done:

Click graphic to expand

our team

A combination of talents from the advertising, planning, design, sociology and academic worlds along with some of the best partners in the business give each project the best of both right and left brain approaches.

JP

JP Theberge, Founder and Chief Insights Officer of Cultural Edge is a citizen of the world and veteran market researcher with a degree in International Relations and Sociology. An Argentine American who was raised in 4 countries, he speaks 3 languages fluently and another 2 conversationally. Starting out as an advertising executive at Goodby Silverstein and Partners and FCB, then VP of Latin American and multicultural research at Kantar TNS, he founded Cultural Edge 20 years ago to help Fortune 500 brands, government and NGOs navigate complicated research environments. He has focused on digging deeper into the US, Latin American, Caribbean and European consumer on behalf of Fortune 500 companies for over two decades leveraging his background in advertising, design, photography and sociology to help clients see more. He has lived in Santiago, Buenos Aires, Managua, Riyadh as well as Washington DC, Boston, San Francisco and San Diego.

Mari, Director of Insights, in addition to being a tenured, bicultural qualitative researcher, Mari has more than 20 years of experience conducting all kinds of research in the US General Market, Hispanic, cross-cultural, Latin American and Caribbean markets. She enjoys discovering insights, identifying new brand opportunities and optimizing marketing strategies for her clients. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but raised in the US, she is fully bicultural and bilingual, seamlessly adapting to both general market, bicultural and foreign-born cohorts. She has an MBA from San Diego State University.

MARI

KATIA

Katia, Research Strategist, brings her international business background, global academic studies, and her trilingual capability to Cultural Edge as an analyst and expert in linguistics and culture. She plans and coordinates logistics of complex projects with hard-to-reach targets as well as moderating qualitative projects. She also leads our in-house translation and adaptation team for multilingual projects. Born in Mexico, she has lived in and completed her post graduate studies in France as well as living in several cities across the US and Mexico.

who are we?

creatively engaged leaders in culturally-nuanced research.

cultural proficiency for the new mainstream

Marketing to a mainstream America necessitates a deeper understanding of the vast interplay of cultures within it.

Though research is meant to generate and interpret data, it is in the application of cultural understanding and intuition that allows you to dig deeper. JP Theberge, Founder

humans, close-up

By zooming in, we transform discussions with the consumer into meaningful conversations, and information into knowledge.

good research requires science, but demands art

We combine right brain creativity and left brain insight to gives clients the best of both worlds when it comes to understanding the consumer mindset.

our goal?

to help take clients away from an ethnocentric view of the consumer

cross cultural expertise

clients

our approach?

Right brain meets left brain to go beyond basic research to empathy and understanding.

stuff we do

Our breadth of offerings focus on a broad range of both in-person qualitative, and our RemoteAccess™ virtual methodologies as well as quantitative methods to dig deeper. Some of the work we have done include:

in the field

the science of cross-cultural research

While any competent researcher can collect data, to do it with cross-cultural audiences requires depth of knowledge and nuance that come from decades of working with this consumer. To do it right, you need to ask how it is being done:

our team

A combination of talents from the advertising, planning, design, sociology and academic worlds along with some of the best partners in the business give each project the best of both right and left brain approaches.

JP

MARI

KATIA

contact info

Our headquarters are in North San Diego County though various team members operate out of San Juan, San Antonio, Washington DC, South Florida and Denver.

ph: 760-475-0050 x101 email: info@culturaledge.net

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