Linda Ong and Sarah Unger have joined forces to launch cultural insights and strategy venture, Cultique, which will craft custom cultural insights for forward-looking businesses. In this episode, Ong and Unger discuss their vision for the venture, which becomes its own boutique brand under the Civic umbrella.

“We’re in a cultural ‘perfect storm’ of events right now. The pandemic, racial injustice and economic catastrophe, along with political chaos and climate change, are each undergoing paradigm shifts which in turn intensify the others,” said Ong, CEO and founder of Cultique and formerly chief culture officer at Civic. “Our unique and proven approach to culture separates the signal from the noise to help brands align with the rapid pace of change to pivot, respond and optimize their businesses.”

“Our mission at Civic is to help our stakeholders do the work worth doing, especially at a time when society is demanding more from brands and business leaders. Increasingly, this requires a deeper understanding of culture and where it’s heading – that’s why we thought this was an important clarion call to elevate the cultural insights and strategy offering within our own brand. We’re proud to give Linda and Sarah a platform to expand their influence with Cultique,” said Nate Schreiber, Co-CEO, Civic.

Cultique’s team analyzes, decodes and translates culture to CEOs and senior leaders in research, development and marketing. Their outside-in approach complements the inside-out strategic thinking that typically narrows organizations’ vision.

With a new focus on “cultural crisis” consulting, concierge-style cultural services, futurecasting and curated private virtual salons, Ong and Unger build on their coveted in-depth analyses of content, audiences, genres and categories. Their actionable insights identify and amplify the relevance of content, marketing, social impact and brand extensions to give their clients a cultural advantage in their respective markets.

“We think of our clients as building rocket ships. Our job is to study the atmosphere, helping them calibrate in order to meet their brand, audience and business goals. That demands an unparalleled level of trust and responsibility we don’t take for granted. As cultural insights are now mission-critical for future-proofing businesses, we’re thrilled to chart a new course at the intersection of anthropology, business strategy, and cultural investigation,” says Sarah Unger, partner and co-founder, Cultique, who joined Civic in 2018 from Viacom’s corporate strategy group.

And heads up: to celebrate its launch, Cultique is offering a collab with Higgs’ 100% hemp (no THC) cigarettes to help calm the anxiety of the times. Sign up quick to get yours here and then listen to learn more about Ong and Unger’s new venture:

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Tags: civic entertainment cultique linda ong podcasts sarah unger the daily brief podcast


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