Cultural insight agency
A cultural insight agency for brands that need to stay relevant.
Protein AGENCY has been helping globally recognised brands make sense of the world around them since 1997. Our approach has always been rooted in our proximity to culture and leveraging the collective knowledge of SEED CLUB — our decentralised research community of 500 independent strategists, journalists and curators.
Services
INSIGHT
Decoding the behaviours, tensions and shifts shaping people, culture and brands.
FORESIGHT
Predicting the signals, systems and movements set to shape what’s next.
STRATEGY
Translating insight + foresight into actionable recommendations that keep brands relevant.
Our cultural research process
1. SCAN
Review the cultural and category context surrounding a brief. Desk research, existing data, talking with experts, using our own SEED CLUB. We make sure there’s no wastage from previous research and sharpen our focus for any subsequent stages.
2. CAST
We cast over recruit. No professional respondents, just people best placed to articulate the answers to the questions we’re asking; people that have the ability to inspire teams internally because they actually have something they want to say. People we find via SEED CLUB and via our own global scouting network.
3. OBSERVE
Work with a carefully cast large group remotely. Use remote ethnographic techniques - diaries, journalistic creative tasks - and build a picture of behaviour in context (typically across a week). We keep moderation to a minimum, giving participants the space to express themselves naturally.
4. IMMERSE
Identify the most interesting people and spend time with them (in their home, work, or exploring their city). Use ethnography to observe behaviour first-hand, explore the role of place, relationships and routines, and build the trust needed to uncover deeper insights.
5. APPLY
Bring everything together through collaborative analysis, identifying key patterns, opportunities and implications from the research. Then focus on how those insights are shared across the business, using the right mix of outputs, content and experiences to ensure it’s all understood and applied.
Case studies
lululemon ·
Lifestyle Positioning
Helping lululemon understand the universe around their global casualwear positioning.
Read case study →XBox · 2026
Gen Z vs Gen Y
Created a global strategy to introduce a new generation of gamers to Halo, while sparking fun, cross-generational competition.
Read case study →lululemon ·
Yoga Positioning
Created a global strategy to maintain and defend the brand’s leadership in yoga.
Read case study →ON Running ·
Point2 Activation
Brought together running and creative communities through cultural programming and experiential events in Protein STUDIOS and in NYC - recreating the feeling of euphoria which accompanies running the marathon.
Read case study →Jägermeister ·
Night Embassy
Incepted and ran the global Night Embassy programme in Berlin, Bogotà, Johannesburg, Moscow, Nairobi, Paris, Sao Paulo and Tokyo.
Read case study →Adidas ·
Bad Bunny Partnership Strategy
Create a strategic vision and framework - grounded in authentic cultural insights - that will elevate the adidas x Bad Bunny partnership.
Read case study →
What clients say
“Protein are flexible, mega experts who are very easy to work with and super professional.”
“Seamless experience from ideation to final deliverables! Super happy with the team leading this project and looking forward to working together again.”
“The quality of insights were incredibly strong. You got the balance perfect between being interesting and provocative and also giving us material that we can practically apply on projects. Look forward to collaborating again!”
“We found the final deliverable to be at the right level of detail, and the storytelling was well done to create the narrative. You were also easy to work with and professional, delivering on time and with good communication.”
Work with us
Looking for a cultural insight agency? Tell us about your brand and the challenge you’re working on.