Touch of Whit In Action

The DECODER series — to which SEMIOVOX has invited our semiotician colleagues from around the world to contribute — explores fictional semiotician-esque action as depicted in books, movies, TV shows, etc.

The COLOR CODEX series — to which SEMIOVOX has invited our semiotician colleagues from around the world to contribute — explores the unexpected associations evoked for each of us by specific colors found in the material world.

A conversation with NYU MCC Alums on making Critical Theory work in the real world

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 Take a step out of your comfort zone to amass knowledge

👉 “…The past is necessary to understand where you’re going, and it helps you kind of contextualize why something might exist”

👉 Take a moment to ask yourself what you like doing and why you enjoy doing it. The answers you come up with have the potential to change your life

👉 Be receptive to feedback. Always find ways in which you might be wrong, have limited vision, or have a scope not broad enough for what you’re trying to create. Seek other people’s perspectives on what you're working on

👉 Challenge yourself

Whitney Dunlap-Fowler is the brilliant and indefatigable founder of Touch of Whit Creative, providing expert brand strategy consulting rooted in cultural insight.

In this episode, Whitney traces her circuitous route to a career in insights. From a child artist in South Carolina, to Chicago to pursue a career in advertising, to joining Kantar Added Value at the ground floor in New York City, to becoming an entrepreneur.

She offers shrewd insight for anyone currently navigating their career. Whitney also shares her fascinating take on how knowing the future of your category or brand starts with understanding the past. Along the way, we discuss the organization she founded called Insights in Color and her love of TV jingles, moody music and Game of Thrones.

In 2019, Whitney founded her own consultancy, A Touch of Whit. As an independent brand, cultural, and multicultural strategist, Whitney shares her research and insights with clients looking to sharpen their own business strategies in the midst of a frequently changing cultural and consumer landscape. We sat down with Whitney to learn more about her journey into the world of cultural insights, starting her own business, and how she’s working to ensure that diversity plays a larger role both within the industry and beyond.

This week, we speak with Whitney Dunlap-Fowler, semiotics expert, brand strategist and founder of A Touch of Whit Creative, to examine the history of culture, the differences between culture and multiculturalism, and how semiotics can be used by brands to get a more comprehensive narrative of consumer behavior.

Whitney Dunlap-Fowler, Cultural Insight Directory at Kelton Global, moderated a panel of beauty influencers & experts across a variety of specialties to demonstrate the importance of going beyond trends to understand the larger cultural picture.

Whitney Dunlap-Fowler, Cultural Insight Director at Kelton Global, spoke about the need of ensuring to consider the larger cultural picture when pursuing data-heavy research initiatives.

Past articles and publications by Whitney Dunlap-Fowler

Whitney Dunlap-Fowler shares her expertise in integrating cultural insights into consumer research. She discusses working with brands as a freelance strategist at Touch of Whit Creative, emphasizing the significance of understanding broad cultural forces and specific multicultural nuances influencing consumer behaviors and preferences. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by AI and the importance of gaining broad skillsets in the market research industry.

What makes a semiotician tick? SEMIOVOX’s Josh Glenn has invited his fellow practitioners in the field of commercial semiotics, from around the world, to answer a few revealing questions.

What exactly IS semiotics? Whitney Dunlap-Fowler joins us to walk us through what it is, how it's used, and where to learn more about it.

Whitney Dunlap-Fowler, Founder of Insights in Color, on how to Navigate a Successful Career in Market Research

My guest today is Whitney Dunlap-Fowler, founder of Insights in Color. Insights in Color, a community for multicultural market research & insights professionals, was founded in 2020.

Prior to starting Insights in Color, Whitney has held senior roles at Kelton as the Director of Cultural Insights and Added Value as Senior Brand & Cultural Insight Strategist.

In 2019, Touch of Whit Creative was approached to join a team of dynamic scholars, insights professionals and social justice brain trusts to assist Sephora in understanding and generating solutions for racial bias in retail. Learn more about the work and the journey here.

This week Srikar speaks to Whitney Dunlap-Fowler, brand strategist and founder of Touch of Whit Creative, about the importance of race in research. Srikar and Whitney explore how the market research sector needs to contend with its attitudes towards race, diversity, and inclusivity, and how having truly diverse research means better results for brands, and more trust from consumers. With a brief trip through the world of hip hop, they also look at how the next generation of young researchers are embracing their diversity as their strength, and what changes are needed to make sure that research truly reflects social reality.

Whitney Dunlap-Fowler, Cultural Insight Directory at Kelton Global, joined a panel discussion to provide cultural context around the state of the African American Millennial consumer today.

Whitney Dunlap-Fowler, Brand & Cultural Strategist And Intercultural Practice Lead, Kantar Added Value NY , presented ‘From Color Blind to Color Brave’ speaking with Valeria Piaggio of Kantar Futures. Brands must be brave about social issues that minorities care about.

For two years in a row, Whitney Dunlap-Fowler organized internal and external efforts at Kantar Added Value to create a networking space for research professionals color.