Cultural Studies, ethnography, sociology, insights production… Whatever you call it, cultural analysis has become an essential tool for decision-makers. After 8 years exploring, documenting and analysing the cultures that shape our Culture, Obv was built to bring all these services together in one place.
Obv builds cultural studies that help brands understand their audience before they act: their habits, their beliefs, the way identity works for them. Insights you can use the next day.
In interviews or via a questionnaire, over video or in the street, for fashion, sport or entertainment brands, Obv has one ambition: making the complex legible.
And the culture obvious.
Each study is an exploration of a cultural territory. Click to read the details or get in touch to learn more about our expertise.

In Paris, everyone's into running. But no one takes the time to ask the questions you need to understand why.
What motivates young Parisians to start running? How does this activity strengthen their identity? We went and spoke with runners. And we explored their world: running practices, races, running clubs, and influences. More than just trends, our findings reveal profound cultural shifts and provide tools to track them: the Running Maturity Score, a classification of 10 different types of runners, and a playbook for brands in the industry.

Why do French youth march every Sunday for the planet while the same generation wears Shein?
The paradoxes of the eco-conscious generation in 12,193 responses. 98% of 13-28 year-olds say they care about the environment. And yet: they buy fast, buy a lot, and dress according to hype cycles that keep accelerating into the absurd. We set out to understand this blockage and to offer 6 ways to get out of it. For brands, for individuals, for the whole industry.
« Why should we be the ones to limit ourselves, when older generations did whatever they wanted for years? »
« Sometimes you buy a piece and by the time it arrives, you've forgotten you ordered it and you wonder if you even wanted it. »
« Being eco is hard. It just doesn't feel good. »
Qualitative to understand in depth, quantitative to validate at scale. Both combined in every study, that's how we get
at the truth of people.
One-hour semi-structured interviews, in person or remote. Targeted recruitment. We talk, we listen, we understand, we dig.
Fast recruitment · Paris & across FranceParticipant observation and focus groups of 4 to 8 people. When the subject calls for it, we bring in professionals: researchers, doers, voices from the culture. But honestly, our community is our favorite expert to talk to.
In-field immersion · formats tailored to the brief1,131 active respondents you can talk to on any given subject. Targeting by age, city, interests and cultural profile. This is where we pressure-test our intuitions and generate data that feeds our analysis.
Proprietary panel · built and maintained in-houseA close collaboration from the briefing call to the final debrief. Obv studies can be designed to inform an internal strategic decision or a YouTube video that becomes a PR push. Your call. Obv does both.

Rafael has been producing cultural analysis for eight years. Campaigns, activations, communities built and run… But above all, thousands of hours listening, asking questions, digging.
What's driven him from the start: everyone has something interesting in them. You just have to know how to find it. obv.studio is for those who want clarity in the present. Intelligence in how we experience this world.
“What I love is talking to people. Because anyone has something worth surfacing if you know where to look.”
We take the time to understand your question before anything else. First conversation free, no commitment, no sales deck.