What We Do
Practica projects, large and small, draw from years of experience working in myriad categories — automotive, technology, manufacturing, banking, CPG, healthcare, public policy, pet care, airlines, retail, spirits, fashion…to name a few. We bring that analytic strength and panoramic vision to all of our work.
We operate at our best working with client partners to advance broad strategic goals whether in product and service innovation, customer experience, B2B, brand positioning, retail or package design.
We want you to contact us when you have deeper questions lying at the heart of critical business decisions. In our view there are always larger questions lurking in smaller ones — so call us!
Our Services
Anthropology & Ethnography: We help clients envision the wider cultural landscape that must be navigated for their businesses to thrive. By attending to what happens in everyday life, online and offline, ethnography and cultural analysis provide key insights for strategy, design, programming and policy, brand and portfolio management, new product development, and communications.
Semiotics: Semiotics decodes the meanings in cultural texts, (e.g., advertising, websites, online chat, packaging). Not “consumer-driven”, semiotics relies on our ability as anthropologists to identify and interpret pertinent symbols (e.g., through imagery, tonality, etc.) and to evaluate the relevance of this symbolism in broader cultural context.
Health: Healthcare research can be a minefield of complexity, navigating interactions among patients, caregivers, providers and payers. We have the breadth and depth of experience across therapeutic categories and qualitative methods to address this complexity. Whether you need to understand these interactions in homes, offices, pharmacies or hospitals, we know the players and how they play.
Public Institutions: Projects in the public sector move to a different rhythm than our corporate projects, often with longer timelines and a wider range of stakeholder interests, across all stages. And while there is much that we leverage from our work with consumers, customers, users, and decision makers, the public must be engaged with a different lens and different sensibilities. We find our work in this space often taps into personal passions. We also find our deep experience in business, especially B2B, marketing and design thinking, can contribute a rigor and an awareness that seem increasingly in demand in this sector.
Technology/Industrial Markets: We’ve been researching the newest technologies and technical/industrial markets for 20 years. We’re up to date with what’s current and know a lot about what’s yet to come. And we understand how technical decision-makers think. That means we’ve got the experience it takes to understand your technology, to find and talk with your business decision-makers in their own language – and to sort out the issues you face. We’ve witnessed the birth of tech markets, their growth and evolution, and replacement with “what’s next”. We can help you position yourself optimally to take advantage of these cycles rather than be ruled by them.
B2B executive interviewing: If you’ve worked in this area, you know that executive interviewing requires a very different set of skills and experience compared to consumer interviewing. We’ve 25 years experience working with all levels (from manager through C-level), and translating their voices into actionable insights for your markets.