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the secret cook is everywhere
I was on an airplane browsing through a recent Inculture report when a curious/friendly co passenger leaned over my shoulder and asked: “Do you work with ecological food?” The report-title included the term “ecological” so the question wasn’t too far-fetched. I found myself nodding, not in the mood to explain anthropology (hmm) whereupon he started…
the scary world of different business cultures
Overheard at the plane. Two Swedish engineers are talking. – Now we’ll start to work in Russia, that will be… – Oh, their business culture is totally different, strange morale at work… drink vodka to lunch… – It will be much worse than England… – Oh yes. – Sometimes it’s fun with new markets but…
a new world of tranquillity
I went to London to plan a project. ”Let’s meet at The Goring Hotel”, our English associate said, ”it’s nice and cosy”. It was really nice and cosy. But at the table a little note was placed with a quotation on one side: To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of…
consumers’ relation to ecological food
Of all the studies we have done I have never been so puzzled by the one that examined the question above. Food is a cultural and contextual matter and when you have the luxury of making choices on what to eat, “good food” is one of the most flexible, negotiable and unfixed phenomenon we ever…
getting tired of blogging and texting
It is the technical skill in using that generally differentiates the youth’s lives from the adults. Especially in “online life,” where daily use of communication activities are clearly differentiated between the younger and the older. Instant texting, chatting, blogging, communities, are something young people associate with youth. When one is adult one will hopefully have…
konsumentnära varumärkesutveckling*
* This one in Swedish Läste i Svenskan idag en liten text om ”så blir året för reklam”. Där fanns bland annat följande med: Kunden i fokus. Med tunnare plånböcker blir konsumenterna mer nogräknade i sina val, för att kunna tillgodose kundens behov blir det ännu viktigare att känna sin kund. Starka kundrelationer bygger lojalitet,…
how to get rid of the mountain of waste?
A friend of mine, Kristina Börjesson, has focused her research on affective sustainability, and how the notion of this can help designers to create more sustainable things. ”If designers are reactive: always try to make their design catch up with changing ways of living, what they design risks having a short life. It will feel…
the ”private” in life
Christmas time is time to wait. Historian Wolfgang Schivelbush shows in a study of rail travel history how train travel meant that passengers were forced to share cramped spaces with strangers for long periods of time. Here the newspaper came to serve as an excellent means to create ”semi-private” rooms in public. The same applies…
how to know what you didn’t know you knew – and how do you know when you know that what you knew was what you wanted to know?
Crazy, but very relevant. You see, we’ve been doing fieldwork for Vägverket focusing on getting a holistic view of the total experience of driving in relation to road quality. When I was presenting the study yesterday, one of the Research Analysist said: “It is so weird. I have been analyzing details within this field for…
anthropology as a service
This week Siamack Salari will come and give a breakfast seminar at our office. He is the CEO at Everyday Lives based in London. Ethnography is central to everything Everyday Lives does for their clients. Findings are used to inform innovations, concept development, brand strategy, scenario modeling and much more. It will be interesting… So…
krakschi jidolucka medigi anthropology? the need of translation for normal people*
When holding a MA-seminar in commercial anthropology one of the students had beforehand submitted a paper titled: Krakschi jidolucka medigi Anthropology? The need of translation for normal people. Outside the academic world (some times inside as well) this field is sort of a mystery – you’ve heard about it in relation to non-profit organizations, exotic…
75% say no to traditional advertising
Is it something new, that 75% of the consumers say no to traditional advertising?? Well, being involved in consumers’ everyday lives it’s quite obvious; people are tired of old style advertising. Brand communication needs to focus on culture, not the products. When in Malmö and Moving Images (I know it’s a long time ago now……
