Grounding Global Strategy in Local Reality

When a global biopharmaceutical leader prepares for a cross-disciplinary summit, they need more than data; they need context. Our client’s objective was to understand the complex circumstances of adolescent health within a high-density regional market in Japan.
The challenge was to provide the "connective tissue" that would allow a summit of experts to accurately compare health behaviors across different nations. They needed to move beyond clinical charts and into the living rooms where health habits really take shape.

Designing for Depth and Discretion

Sensitive topics demand a high level of intimacy and longitudinal observation. We designed a two-part ethnographic approach that prioritized participant comfort while maximizing depth:

• The Remote Diary Journey: We began with a multi-day remote diary study. This allowed us to observe the cadence of daily life in the participants' own words, without the intrusion of a physical researcher.‍
• Contextual In-Home Observation: The diary data revealed specific cultural friction points. We followed up with 90-minute in-home interviews, observing participants in their natural environments to validate and expand upon the initial findings.

Bridging Fieldwork and Global Strategy

Our focus was on translating these lived experiences into strategic assets for the client. We moved beyond standard healthcare statistics to explore how families, communities, and local institutions shape health attitudes.

To meet the demand for speed and clarity, we bypassed the traditional long-form report in favor of high-impact deliverables: Participant One-Pagers, Video Evidence, and In-Field Synthesis Workshops. This ensured the findings were immediately actionable for the client’s global strategy.

The Bottom Line

This research informed an international dialogue on global health, presented at a summit alongside findings from other countries. In an era where many seek to automate the research process, this project reminds us: you cannot just scratch the surface of a culture. Diving deep to understand context is the difference that allows research that changes lives. To build inclusive healthcare solutions, you must be present in the lives of the people you serve.

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