MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES: BRINGING TOGETHER EMOTIONAL, CULTURAL, & LOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR MORE RICH, MORE POTENT BRAND POTENTIAL

Cultural Intelligence

Historically, those who could make consequential distinctions in the world of nature--discerning what mushrooms are poisonous, which clouds portend stormy weather--were revered for their life-saving knowledge and capabilities. Today this trait survives as Cultural Intelligence--the ability to sort the titillating from the significant, the useful from the distracting--synthesizing what's important among the vast array of signs, signals and cultural artifacts that we come across each day. Because the marketplace is flooded with products--many competing directly with each other--to break out from the pack, brands increasingly need to go beyond high performance to be high relevance. We regularly track whats happening in culture and translate those learnings to your business. Check out our blog (see Cultural Intelligence Perspectives) or follow us on Facebook or Instagram (below).

Check out @my.grandson on Instagram. This new company (four days old) was created to meet the everyday needs of those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19: those with underlying conditions or are immune suppressed. Available for errands (groceries,

CREATING A BIAS TOWARD ACTION. The trend in marketing is to move consumer learning practices toward behavior science practices, and we are seeing the appointment of Chief Behavioral Officer as an indicator of how increasingly important this capabili

HABIT CHANGE. One of the most difficult objectives in marketing is to encourage a habit change. In its infancy, we had a most difficult time encouraging people to wear daily UV protection even though the science was clear... burning UV rays—e

WE’RE ON TO THE FINALS. Today Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign. A principled candidate, one who pushed for utopian ideals and community support from the beginning of his career, Bernie has played an important role in putting issues front

A NEED TO FEEL SAFE AND IN SAFE HANDS. The coronavirus crisis makes apparent that there are certain leadership qualities we need and want: resilience, persistence, ability to navigate and think creatively without panicking, and having a “miss

STARBUCKS SIREN MAKES ME NOSTALGIC FOR OLAY. During my years on Olay, we had many, many, many conversations about our “Madonna”, and updated her a few times. First, we freed her from the house she was locked in (up in the attic like Mis

I dare you to not be mesmerized by internet sensation Li Ziqi and her videos of a beautiful life in rural China. https://youtu.be/hR4DiU8wcVk

IN AN AI FUTURE, WHAT ARE PEOPLE GOOD FOR? So , we’ve all seen the evidence. The abandoned malls. The automated check-out counter at the supermarket. The boxes from Amazon overflowing in the package room in our building. Presidential candi

WE FINALLY CONNECTED WITH ANDREW YANG. And it was worth it. We’ve spent the last year traveling the great granite state of New Hampshire and meeting the democratic presidential candidates in person. Originally scheduled to meet with Yang a y

THE RISE OF THE NEWS DESERTS: CULTIVATING IGNORANCE. The past two decades have seen the shuttering of small and local newspapers as the cost to compete against the likes of Google and Facebook are prohibitive. What these local newspapers once did

“I HOPE WE SHALL DRINK DOWN ALL UNKINDNESSES” (Merry Wives of Windsor). The worldwide wine industry is on the precipice of disruption as the world ages AND China comes of age. Wine is an acquired taste as only 27% of 18-27 year olds sayi

CHANEL IS CATCHING OUR NEW ENGLAND HOLIDAY VIBE. Now through Sunday, Chanel No. 5 has a pop up “In the Snow” at the Standard Hotel in NYC. Ice skating, crafts, hot cocoa, greenery. The New England Christmas aesthetic is charming and lo

THIS WEEK, AMERICAN BRANDS DEEMED “LOW QUALITY” IN CHINA CRACKDOWN. When political tensions run hot, China’s trading partners seem to fall under extra scrutiny. Japanese goods were called out for dubious quality in 2012 and 2014,

HOW OLD IS YOUR DOG? I had heard rumors that the notion that dogs age 7 years for every human year (dog age = 7 x years) was not quite accurate. Under that calculation a 12 year old dog would be 84. The latest calculations from a research group wo

NATURE KNOWS BEST. A team of scientists working out of UCLA looked at a sunflower’s ability to bend toward the light to capture the sun’s beneficial energy and thought Eureka! What if solars panels could do the same? Introducing the Sun

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to interact effectively with others, by being sensitive to others' feelings, motivations, moods and needs. For brands, and businesses, it is critically important to understand what people want and need. Through deep dives and proprietary research using creative stimulus we can help you understand better what makes people tick, and where their real human needs intersect with your business and why.

schiller celebrate life.jpg — Schiller Bikes:

**CREATING AN ENTIRELY NEW--AND GLOBAL--SPORT**
Four years in development, the Schiller Water Bike is a marvel of engineering, design and ambition. As the brand is poised to grow beyond its initial small scale manufacturing, they turned to Sugar Hill Strategy for help in strategic purpose, mission and meaning. We prepared a multi-lens cultural overview to help Schiller Bikes pinpoint what business they were in, who their most relevant competitive set is and to marry it with the uniquely liberating experience of being on a Schiller. This work helped align the organization on the next steps for the next two years.

Chef’s Cut:

**REFRAMING WHAT BUSINESS YOU ARE IN, OPENING UP AVENUES FOR NEW GROWTH**
Chef’s Cut is a premium jerky brand that got its start on the golf course, when an amateur jerky maker carried this protein rich treat on the links and shared with his friends. Chef’s Cut is a national brand, but at that critical point where they are trying to figure out how to continue on their growth trajectory. We helped them explore ways of reframing what business they are in and highlighted the decisions needed to set a course for the future: target audience, distribution extensions, keywords and associations, line extension possibilities, partnerships and more.

Make America Think Again.jpeg — WTF

**INNOVATING IN THE SPACE BETWEEN POLITICS AND SOCIAL MEDIA**
This project focused on understanding the new volunteer class in the US, those who have spent a lifetime sitting out the marches on Washington or the letter writing campaigns, but who were energized after the November 2016 election to do something. Who are these new volunteers? What motivates them to be involved? What are their dreams? hopes? fears? What can we do to create a network of positive collaboration and engagement that keeps them engaged over time? This project delivered on the ground insights, one-on-one phone interviews with new volunteers, analysis and write-up for WTF (Win The Future), a Silicon Valley start-up.

Logical Intelligence

There have always been people who were important to the survival of their tribe because they could make consequential distinctions in the world of nature, such as discerning what mushrooms are poisonous, which clouds portend stormy weather, etc. Today this trait survives as Cultural Intelligence--the ability to sort the titillating from the significant, the useful from the distracting among the vast array of signs, signals and cultural artifacts that we come across each day. Because the marketplace is flooded with products--many competing directly with each other--to break out from the pack, brands increasingly need to go beyond high performance to be high relevance. We regularly track whats happening in culture and translate those learnings to your business. Check out our blog (see Cultural Intelligence Perspectives) or follow us on Facebook or Instagram (below).

We know how to mine data for magic, whether it be business/sales results, segmentation or attitudinal tracking studies. We can run tertile, quintile or regression analyses. We know the difference between composition and coverage. We can help you field studies that help you sort through options and we can help with studies that help you evaluate ideas. We believe the learning you get should reflect the goals and objectives of your business. Random norms produce random results.