Cultural insight is empathy with real people beyond the category. No brand is an island, and how businesses create brands that fit with the cultural context will enhance relevance (and sales). Customer service better aligning to how people live, barriers to purchase, breaking the category status quo. New products better aligned to simple unmet needs.

Our work for alcohol group Lion Co centred on understanding how young people from across Asia, India and the Middle East socialise and celebrate with family and friends, towards creating new opportunities for cultural empathy, improved marketing and new product development to enable growth, and informed internal cultural diversity policy. Change happens from within.

Square Holes’ work for Cooper’s Home Brew explored the collision of pandemic hobby boom, cost of living pressures, changing alcohol attitudes and behaviours and a desire to better understand diverse market segments drivers and barriers.

Icon cordial brand Bickford’s was keen to discover new flavours to celebrate its 150th birthday. Square Holes was happy to help explore unmet demand and reactions to concepts and trends overseas in Australia across cordial and juice.

Our research for leading consumer metal detector brand Minelab explored in parallel the UK and UK markets for consistencies, differences, the core traditional market and emerging and wider growth opportunities overlooked by the category.

Square Holes’ research with first nations communities over two decades has helped understand complexities and opportunities to provide better government and community support and make social progress, including health promotion campaigns, education pathways and to overcome cultural gaps.

Square Holes worked with the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. to inform and monitor the ‘New State of Mind‘ campaign to shift the cultural narrative amongst young people and to drive population growth. In this era of remote working and seeking balance, the campaign successfully nudged under 40’s in Sydney and Melbourne a better life in South Australia.

Square Holes worked with critical partners Adelaide Oval, SACA, AFL, Government and other Adelaide Riverbank stakeholders over more than a decade to support this once in a life-time renewal. Our research worked closely with the Adelaide Oval and Skycity redevelopments and wider area rejuvenation.

Or deep multi-decade research in sectors such as education illustrate socio-economic, privilege and other divides and priories for leaders to make policy, budget, infrastructure investment and other critical changes to close the gaps that should not exist in such a wealthy country as Australia.