Exploring cultures is what we do here at Square Holes – “We exist to inspire meaningful change through a deep understanding of people, place and culture. Square Holes delivers culturally grounded, data-driven research to help shape evolving narratives, flourishing communities, better products and relevant brands.”

But what do we mean when we say exploration of culture? And why is this the lens we apply to our research?

To understand culture, we must look beyond what is immediately visible. This is where Edward T. Hall’s ‘Cultural Iceberg Model’ offers powerful guidance to cultural understanding. This framework suggests that culture is like an iceberg, where only around 10% (e.g., language, dress, food, rituals, observable behaviours) is visible above the surface. The remaining 90% (e.g., values, beliefs, assumptions) sits below, hidden, driving visible actions.

What we see is only the expression. What lies beneath is the explanation.

And ultimately, it’s the submerged 90% that shapes how communities interpret the world.

The visible aspects of culture are often the easiest to identify. We can observe how people communicate, what they buy, how they behave in public spaces – but these surface signals, while important, are only a small segment of a much larger story. Beneath them are deeply held values about success, fairness, identity and belonging. There are assumptions about responsibility and community, histories and lived experiences that influence how people respond to change, brands and each other.

A pitfall many brands can fall into is not exploring their audience or the culture they operate within deep enough. Surface-level observations often lead to stereotypes or superficial conclusions. A behaviour might be noticed, but its meaning is misinterpreted, or a trend is recognised, but its underlying driver might be missed.

True understanding requires immersion and curiosity.

Source: Campfire – https://www.campfirewriting.com/learn/cultural-iceberg

This is the role research (such as the work we do at Square Holes) plays. We try to move beyond simply observing behaviours to uncovering the context behind them, because behaviours, attitudes and preferences make the most sense only when the context behind them is understood.

For us, cultural understanding is not passive observation, but rather aiming to entrench ourselves in the environments and people we are exploring. Through focus groups, ethnography, in-depth interviews, survey work and all our other research methodologies, this goal is to ask not just ‘what’ people do, but ‘why’ they do it. This depth of engagement helps to transform data into insight. Cultural insight refers to the values, traditions, behaviours, and social dynamics of people within the places they live and the businesses they interact with. For businesses looking to innovate, understand trends and shift narratives, cultural insight is fundamental.

Brands have access to more data than ever before, and it is helping smart organisations and people thrive. According to a HubSpot survey, 82 per cent of marketers say high-quality customer data is important to succeed in their roles. And while data can tell them what is happening, it can rarely explain why.

When you don’t understand the cultural drivers beneath the surface, strategies may become less impactful. Innovations may miss unmet needs. Communications may fail to resonate. Products may solve functional problems yet overlook emotional ones.

Cultural insight strengthens decision-making by revealing underlying motivations. It facilitates brands to position themselves authentically within the communities in which they deliver products/services. But most importantly, it allows organisations to create narratives that fit their consumers rather than responding to their needs.

At Square Holes, exploring culture means diving below the surface, recognising that what appears simple can often be complex, and appreciating that meaningful change begins with understanding. When we truly understand people, not just what they do but what drives them, that’s where truly great insights come from.

That is why we are so passionate about looking beneath the surface.