Overview

Focused semiotic analysis, big picture cultural insight and bold strategic thinking to drive brand positioning, product innovation and creative development for some of the world’s biggest brands

Services

Hello! My name is Ashley and I'm a commercial semiotician and cultural analyst based in East London. I’ve been helping brands decode consumer culture and future-proof their place within it since 2010.

With a background in journalism, my practice is distinct for its emphasis on demystifying semiotics (no academic language here), producing clear, provocative and actionable strategic insight.

A seasoned freelancer, I've partnered with A LOT of different agencies - from proposal to presentation. Here's just some of what I do:

🤿 DETAIL DEEP DIVE - quick clear steer on consumer reactions to creative work
🥅 COMPETITOR CAPTURE - mapping competitor set and category evolution
🛠️ “ACB” (ADJACENT CATEGORY BORROWING) - identification of transferrable mechanisms
🧮 BRAND AUDIT - exposing damaging assumptions and inherited weaknesses to create a solid basis for innovation
🌌 FUTURE FORECASTING - going beyond “what” into “why” to map tangible evolutions for innovation
⚖️ PARADOXICAL POSITIONING - reconciling opposites to create powerful bridging codes
🔬 CULTURAL CLICHE CHALLENGE - unpacking “buzz” words to define target-relevant macro routes for comms
🤬 “SOCIAL” SEMIOTICS - extracting rich narratives and profound attitudinal shifts from the digital noise
☝ ELEVATE EVERYTHING - defining new premium languages for unexpected categories

About

ALWAYS available to talk how semiotics can add value - whether it's a speculative brief or you'd just like to know more about how it works, get in touch.

As a practitioner, I'm focused on cutting through the day-to-day noise of what and into the why to define more meaningful experiences for consumers.

I offer classical commercial semiotics techniques / frameworks and something a bit more agile / blended / ad hoc - an organic approach (defined by the question and the collaboration) invariably yields the most interesting and effective strategic results.

Category specialisation? I tend to spend a lot of time in luxury, F&B and fashion / personal care - but have produced significant work across everything from financial services to automative to media.

PET PEEVE: the language of "trends". Semiotics and cultural analysis methodically map innovation opportunities grounded in past > present > future trajectories - making sense of the noise, not drowning in it. And using the lens of "everyday" target demographics - not the elusive leading edge.

I have a Premiumnisation Fixation. With every other brand I work with wanting to "elevate", I've been doing the rounds as a premium expert for panels, articles and workshops.