The Past, Present and Future of Ethnography in Business

EPIC 2009 attendees will gather for a rich program of talks, demos, conversation and debate discussing recent developments and future advances around ethnographic praxis.

Over the past several years, anthropologists have transitioned from the halls of academia to the markets of business. This week we explore anthropology's new role and prepare for the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference (EPIC), Aug. 31 through Sept. 2 in Chicago.

Martha Cotton, co-chair of EPIC 2009 and associate partner at Gravitytank, joins The Brand Show to share her thoughts on:

• How ethnography has become a fixture in business.

• How anthropologists have risen through the business ranks.

• How an insight is only as good as its end product.

Plus, hear from our own Gavin Johnston, Two West Chief Anthropologist, who will lead the EPIC workshop “Ideate, Create, Change: From Insights to Innovation, Getting Internal Buy-in for Action.”




After the show, join us on our LinkedIn Group to continue the conversation and answer our latest question: What innovative research techniques does your business use to understand customers?

Be sure to join The Brand Show in the coming weeks for a full report from EPIC, including on-location interviews.

About EPIC: EPIC is the premier international forum bringing together artists, computer scientists, designers, social scientists, marketers, academics and advertisers. The EPIC theme for 2009 is Taking Care of Business: having an impact and staying relevant as ethnographers in today's economic climate. For more information or to register for the conference visit www.epic2009.com.