So… what methodologies does Square Holes use?

PERSON

So how does Square Holes actually explore people and culture?

SQUARE HOLES

We tailor methodology to each client and brief — combining ethnography, focus groups, in-home and friendship-group conversations, surveys, behavioural and human data, cultural analysis and expert interviews in structured explorations that uncover the wider social, psychological and cultural forces shaping how people live, think, behave and connect.

Different methodologies reveal different things.

Some uncover emotional drivers and unmet needs.
Some separate isolated opinions from genuine patterns.
Others reveal the cultural tensions, behaviours and shifts shaping what people expect next.

Usually, the most valuable insights come from bringing multiple perspectives together.

PERSON

So it’s not just surveys and focus groups?

SQUARE HOLES

Much broader.

Traditional market research often focuses on what people say they think or do.

We’re also interested in:

• why behaviour is changing
• what tensions exist beneath the surface
• what culture is normalising
• what people no longer consciously notice
• and what wider shifts may mean next

Because behaviour rarely exists in isolation.

People are shaped by technology, economics, media, identity, place, lifestyle and changing social expectations — not simply by competitors within a category.

That’s why we talk so much about looking beyond the category.

PERSON

Everyone talks about focus groups. Are they actually still valuable?

SQUARE HOLES

Absolutely — when they’re done properly.

Focus groups are guided group conversations designed to explore reactions, beliefs, behaviours and emotional responses in real time. Typically, they involve around 6–8 participants over 60–90 minutes, although some projects involve shorter online sessions, extended workshops or multi-stage explorations.

Most studies involve multiple groups across different audiences, segments or locations to compare perspectives and identify consistent themes, tensions and differences.

But good focus groups are rarely just about collecting answers.

The interesting part is often:

• hesitation
• humour
• disagreement
• emotional language
• contradictions
• the way people influence each other

Sometimes the most revealing moment is when somebody changes their opinion halfway through the discussion.

Over time, patterns begin emerging across groups — often revealing tensions and behavioural shifts participants themselves may not consciously recognise.

PERSON

What’s the difference between a focus group and a friendship group?

SQUARE HOLES

The participants already know each other.

Which changes the dynamic completely.

People speak more naturally.
Challenge each other more honestly.
Reveal behaviours and opinions they may never share in a room full of strangers.

Friendship groups are often smaller, looser and more conversational than traditional focus groups. They can take place in homes, cafés or relaxed environments where people behave more like themselves.

They’re particularly useful when exploring youth culture, hospitality, entertainment, lifestyle, identity and socially influenced behaviour.

Sometimes it feels less like research and more like culture unfolding in front of you.

PERSON

I heard the word ethnography. What does it actually mean?

SQUARE HOLES

Ethnography is really about understanding behaviour in real life rather than relying only on what people say afterwards.

Because what people say they do and what they actually do are often very different things.

Ethnographic research can involve in-home interviews, accompanied shopping, workplace observation, mobile diaries, video tasks or extended immersion within communities and environments.

Once you spend time with people in the real world, you start noticing routines, frustrations, shortcuts, workarounds and unmet needs people themselves may barely notice anymore.

Often the smallest behaviours reveal the biggest opportunities.

Some of our strongest insights over the years have come from things participants never consciously mentioned at all.

PERSON

And you still run surveys and quantitative studies?

SQUARE HOLES

Of course.

Quantitative research helps separate isolated opinions from genuine patterns.

It helps answer questions like:

• Is this behaviour niche or widespread?
• Is sentiment shifting?
• How do different groups compare?
• Is a campaign actually changing perception over time?

Some studies involve a few hundred participants.
Others involve thousands over multiple years through longitudinal tracking programs.

But numbers alone rarely explain behaviour completely.

We’re often less interested in the percentage itself than what is driving it.

What tensions sit beneath the surface?
What wider cultural forces are influencing decisions?
What is changing over time — and why?

That’s where mixed-method exploration becomes powerful.

PERSON

You mention behavioural and human data. What does that actually involve?

SQUARE HOLES

Behavioural data helps reveal what people actually do — not simply what they report.

Depending on the project, this can include digital behaviour, visitation patterns, customer pathways, participation data, engagement trends or broader behavioural signals over time.

Increasingly, the interesting part is comparing:

• what people say
• what people do
• what culture is normalising around them

The gaps between those things are often where the best opportunities sit.

PERSON

Semiotics sounds academic. What is it really?

SQUARE HOLES

Semiotics helps explain why one brand suddenly feels culturally relevant while another starts feeling dated — often before people can properly articulate why.

It explores how symbols, language, aesthetics, stories and cultural codes shape perception and behaviour, often subconsciously.

Why does a category suddenly change visually?
Why does a campaign feel culturally “off”?
Why do behaviours begin shifting before the data fully catches up?

Semiotic analysis helps decode the hidden cultural signals and meaning systems shaping how people interpret brands, products, issues and experiences.

It’s particularly useful when exploring positioning, communication strategy, innovation and emerging cultural trends.

PERSON

Do you analyse social and cultural sentiment as well?

SQUARE HOLES

Yes.

Social and sentiment analysis helps track reactions, concerns, emotional signals and emerging conversations across digital environments and public discussion.

This can include campaign monitoring, issue tracking, brand sentiment analysis, trend observation and broader cultural listening across platforms and communities.

It provides an important real-time layer of cultural understanding — particularly around reputation, behaviour change and emerging social expectations.

But online conversation alone is never the full picture.

What people publicly perform online and what they privately believe are not always the same thing.

That’s why broader context and mixed-method exploration still matter.

PERSON

Do you run workshops and co-design sessions too?

SQUARE HOLES

Often.

Research is most valuable when it helps organisations move from insight into action.

Co-design workshops bring together stakeholders, customers, communities or teams to collectively explore ideas, tensions, opportunities and future directions.

Sometimes the role of the workshop is strategic alignment.
Sometimes it’s innovation.
Sometimes it’s helping organisations rethink the problem entirely.

The best workshops feel less like presentations and more like shared exploration.

PERSON

So who’s actually involved in all of this?

SQUARE HOLES

Like a design or film studio, we assemble the right mix of people for each project.

That can include researchers, strategists, facilitators, cultural analysts, behavioural specialists, creatives and sector experts depending on the challenge.

Different perspectives help interrogate problems more deeply.

That flexibility is a big part of the studio model.

PERSON

And I’m guessing AI is now part of the process too?

SQUARE HOLES

Yes — thoughtfully.

AI is incredibly useful for helping identify patterns across large and complex datasets, accelerate synthesis and surface relationships across studies.

It can help analyse large volumes of transcripts, open-ended feedback, behavioural information and longitudinal data far more efficiently than ever before.

But patterns alone are not insight.

Human interpretation, cultural context and strategic judgement still matter enormously.

People are nuanced.
Contradictory.
Emotional.
Contextual.

AI helps support understanding.
It doesn’t replace it.

PERSON

So what actually turns research into cultural insight?

SQUARE HOLES

Cultural insight rarely comes from a single methodology or isolated data point.

It comes from connecting:

• behaviour
• context
• emotion
• observation
• culture
• longitudinal understanding
• and wider societal shifts

The real value often sits in the patterns between things.

A focus group alone is not cultural insight.
A survey alone is not cultural insight.
Social listening alone is not cultural insight.

Insight emerges when multiple perspectives are triangulated together to understand not just what is happening — but why.

We often describe the process as moving wide before going narrow.

First, we explore broadly — looking beyond the obvious, interrogating assumptions, examining wider cultural context and bringing together multiple methodologies and perspectives.

That divergent thinking phase helps uncover signals, tensions, behaviours and opportunities others may overlook.

Then we converge.

We synthesise patterns, triangulate evidence and distil complexity into the clearest strategic insight and opportunity.

That’s where deeper strategic understanding begins.

PERSON

How do you decide which methodologies are right for a project?

SQUARE HOLES

We start with the decision — not the methodology.

Some projects require rapid feedback and directional clarity.
Others require deeper exploration and observation.
Some need broad measurement.
Others need emotional depth, behavioural understanding or cultural context.

The goal is never methodology for methodology’s sake.

The goal is helping organisations make smarter decisions, reduce uncertainty and identify opportunities others may miss.

The methodology should fit the complexity of the question.

Not the other way around.

PERSON

A lot of your clients seem to stay with you for years. Why?

SQUARE HOLES

Because understanding people and culture is rarely a one-off exercise.

The longer you explore behaviour over time, the easier it becomes to spot meaningful shifts, separate trends from noise and build deeper strategic confidence.

Over 20+ years, Square Holes has accumulated insight across brands, government and key sectors — helping clients connect patterns across categories and changing cultural contexts.

Longitudinal understanding changes the quality of decision-making.

PERSON

So what makes Square Holes different from a traditional research agency?

SQUARE HOLES

Traditional market research often focuses on what people think and do.

Square Holes goes further — exploring the wider cultural context shaping why behaviour is changing and what those shifts may mean next.

We bring together multiple methodologies, diverse perspectives and accumulated understanding to triangulate evidence, connect patterns and uncover opportunities others may miss.

That’s why our work combines:
Explore > Test > Monitor

Helping organisations build deeper strategic understanding over time — not simply isolated pieces of research.