This Blog Sits at the: Pattern recognition, pattern cognition

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March 27, 2008

Pattern recognition, pattern cognition

I presented this morning at the PSFK conference. My talk was called Pattern Recognition.

The talk is about how we use "intellectual appliances." You can find the entire presentation on line here at www.slideshare.net. (Thanks, Drew.)

Hope you like it. I would be grateful if you would leave comments here instead of there. Thanks!

Posted by Grant McCracken at 01:56 PM | Permalink

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Here's the specific url, for those looking: http://www.slideshare.net/grant27/pattern-cognition-psfk-presentation/

Posted by: Drew | Mar 27, 2008 3:13:28 PM

I did enjoy this especially since I am also in the business of pattern recognition. I am always seeking to share patterns with others, and cull them into film or art. I think there are patterns to pattern recognition. I also think there are advantages to losing those patterns to see more...kind of like shedding the ego....but I ramble...

um side note...I was thinking of you a few weeks ago after the Superbowl Sunsilk ad I was looking to see if you had written anything about it but couldn't find a post...and I wrote a little note about it here:

http://gnosticminx.blogspot.com/2008/02/their-hair-tells-their-story.html

Posted by: Candy Minx | Mar 28, 2008 4:26:18 AM

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In the First World, culture is constantly formed and reformed by commerce.

Back to school for the anthropologist: in my case, to economics and complexity theory. I hold a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago and I have taught at the Harvard Business School.

The places that culture and commerce, anthropology and economics meet most often: marketing in general, branding in particular, popular culture, Hollywood, advertising, television, magazines, and, increasingly, blogging. You can reach me at grant27@gmail.com. Grant McCracken

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For more biographical info, I refer you to this brief statement from my 10 year old nephew, Andrew, entitled "My Favorite Relative."

My favorite relative is my uncle, Grant McCracken. He married my Mom’s sister, Pam, last November. He is my favorite relative because he decided to have the wedding in Montreal, Canada. The wedding was on Saturday so I had to miss a day of school. He is funny because whenever we see him, he says “shake a paw”. I like him because he also likes Star Wars. He is a good listener and he always listens to what we have to say. My uncle is a writer, so he wants us to write well, and do well in school. He has published quite a few books about cultural anthropology. Some people hire him, so he travels around the country to interview people. I don’t know why, but he likes to shave his head. Grant also likes to read. Grant likes to take walks and jump in the pool with his clothes on. In conclusion, these are the reasons why my Uncle Grant is my favorite relative.

Consulting services

Hire me to speak

You can get a sense of my speaking style from this 2 minute clip on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdIH6DdygH8

I can talk about how to do ethnography. I have done this for the Campbell Soup Company, the Coca-Cola Company, Merck Pharmaceuticals, and Kimberly Clark. I will give you a sense of how the method works for marketing and innovation, and I will show the best strategies for managing it.

I can talk about different parts of contemporary culture: Millenials, social networking, the new branding, or chose some part of commerce and culture that interests you and I will give you the anthropological 411. I recently did something for someone who works in the Pharmaceutical industry (no, not Merck) and we talked about the trends that shape the way we think about wellness, the body, health, nutrition, medicine, new age trends and so on. Really interesting.

I can come do a "culture camp." This is usually a two-day session in which we talk about the aspect of culture that matters for a particular industry or corporation. In this case, we are talking about the trends that are shaping consumers, cultures and the marketplace.

Hire me in ferret mode. Someone recently I asked me to take a look at best practice in the world of website construction and engagement. I phone the experts. I talk to the consumers. A week later you have a detailed report.

Hire me to study an ethnographic, anthropological or marketing problem.

1) ethnographic research. Typically, someone gives me a problem like "will people embrace this new technology?" or "what are mothers thinking about meal time right now?" I talk to a small group of people, one to one, in home or office. The idea here is to give you. the client, a clear view of what is in the head and heart of the consumer. I have done this kind of work for many clients in the area of packaged goods, banks, mutual funds and capital markets, consumer technology, carbonated soft drinks, pharmacuticals, and range of other industries. My clients have included The Coca-Cola Company, Kimberly Clark, Diageo, Kodak, Unilever, Kraft, to name a few.

2) anthropological research. Typically, someone gives me a problem like "what are the cultural foundations and current trends that will shape this marketplace?" In this case, my job is to give an anthropological account of the factors and forces that will impinge on the understanding and adoption of a new product or technology. I have done this work for The Coca-Cola Company, Kodak, HP, Nokia and Microsoft. This research process is not interview intensive, because consumers have a hard time telling us how they will respond to something truly new.

3) culture coaching. Marketers live in turbulent world. Consumer taste and preference can turn on a time. Trends come and go. Creative destruction is the order of the day. Contemporary culture is a perfect storm. And who's in the wheel house? The CMO. There was a time when the CMO could wait to hear about new developments from the ad agency or the cool hunter. But now, I believe, he or she needs a deeper, more personal acquaintance. Hire me to give you a short course on contemporary culture, a comprehensive but incisive review of its foundations, current state and future trends. We do the course over a long weekend, complete with a tour of the most revealing parts of New York City. Or we can do it Friday afternoons over a month. The corporation will thank you. Your spouse will admire you. Your kids will thank you. Your career will flourish.

Drop me an email and let's talk. grant27@gmail.com

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