Robert Moïse is a cultural anthropologist who brings two decades of ethnographic research experience to bear on issues of how consumers understand and interact with products, services, and retail spaces. His years of research in the US, Europe, and Africa have enabled him to develop a rich repertoire of analytic tools which he uses to provide actionable insights for clients in the realms of communications, branding, product development, retail design, and strategic planning.
In carrying out consumer research, Robert employs various means of gathering data: in-home ethnographic interviews, participant-observation, videography, still photography, and consumer diaries. This data is interpreted in terms of various analytic tools developed over years of research: the core values of various consumer populations; broader American cultural notions (of technology, health, the home, leisure, etc.); symbolic processes in "modern" and "traditional"societies; and key issues in several industries - automotive, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, information technology, and others. By employing a strategy of "cross-fertilization," he draws on whatever analytic models are most useful for solving particular client problems.
These strategies have enabled Robert to provide actionable insights for clients in a range of industries for various business goals:
Based on the deeper symbolic meanings of four food categories, and the domestic politics surrounding their preparation, Robert helped a major food manufacturer develop new design concepts for store aisles in national supermarket chains.
By exploring consumer responses to the economic downturn, and how these are interpreted through the lens of enduring American values, he helped a major automobile manufacturer retool their brand to respond to the current "crisis of confidence"in the American automobile market.
By analyzing consumer practices surrounding salad preparation, and how these relate to symbolic processes in "traditional" societies, he helped a major food manufacturer develop a new communications strategy for a heritage brand of salad dressing with declining sales.
Clients that Robert has worked with include: Anheuser-Busch, Bic Corporation, Borders Books, Compaq, Cotton Inc., Del Monte, Evian, Farmer's Insurance, General Motors, Gerber, Glaxo-Smith-Klein, GNC, Heineken, Lipton, L'Oreal, Merck, New Belgium Brewing Company, The New York State Lottery, Nissan, Novartis, Pernod-Ricard, Porsche, Reflect.com, Sam's Club, Tanqueray, Unilever, United Distillers, USPS.
Robert has academic training in both cultural anthropology (MA, Ph.D. New York University) and the fine arts (BA, California State University, Sacramento and MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago).