Founded by Leading Cultural Advisors Linda Ong and Sarah Unger to Guide Clients in Fast-Changing World

LOS ANGELES – Today, CIVIC announced a new cultural insights and strategy venture – CULTIQUE – a boutique offering that crafts bespoke cultural insights for forward-looking businesses. Founded by leading cultural advisors Linda Ong and Sarah Unger, the agile consultancy maximizes the impact of brands, content and products to work faster, better and smarter in a world of constant change.

“We’re in a cultural ‘perfect storm’ of events right now. The pandemic, racial injustice and economic catastrophe, along with political chaos and climate change, are each undergoing paradigm shifts which in turn intensify the others,” says Linda Ong, CEO + Founder, CULTIQUE. “Our unique and proven approach to culture separates the signal from the noise to help brands align with the rapid pace of change to pivot, respond and optimize their businesses.”

“Our mission at CIVIC is to help our stakeholders do the work worth doing, especially at a time when society is demanding more from brands and business leaders. Increasingly, this requires a deeper understanding of culture and where it’s heading – that’s why we thought this was an important clarion call to elevate the Cultural Insights and Strategy offering within our own brand. We’re proud to give Linda and Sarah a platform to expand their influence with CULTIQUE,” says Nate Schreiber, Co-CEO, CIVIC. 

Building on the entrepreneurial spirit of CIVIC, this move is recognition of the duo’s tremendous growth and proven success as cultural leaders in the media and entertainment industry, having advised some of the most forward-thinking and high-profile brands in the space. With CULTIQUE, Ong and Unger expand their team’s might with a distributed cultural coalition of thought leaders, creatives, journalists, analysts, strategists, experts, and clients they gather to meet each moment.

CULTIQUE’s team analyzes, decodes and translates culture to top CEOs and senior leaders in research, development, and marketing. Their outside-in approach complements the inside-out strategic thinking that typically narrows the vision of organizations.

With a new focus on “cultural crisis” consulting, concierge-style cultural services, futurecasting and curated private virtual salons, Ong and Unger build on their coveted in-depth analyses of content, audiences, genres and categories. Their actionable insights identify and amplify the relevance of content, marketing, social impact and brand extensions to give their clients a cultural advantage in their respective markets.

“We think of our clients as building rocket ships. Our job is to study the atmosphere, helping them calibrate in order to meet their brand, audience and business goals. That demands an unparalleled level of trust and responsibility we don’t take for granted. As cultural insights are now mission-critical for future-proofing businesses, we’re thrilled to chart a new course at the intersection of anthropology, business strategy, and cultural investigation,” says Sarah Unger, Partner + Co-Founder, CULTIQUE.

In 2016, Ong joined CIVIC as Chief Culture Officer after helming her own shop Truth Co., where she pioneered the discipline of cultural insights and strategy in the entertainment industry. Along with Unger, who joined in 2018 from VIACOM’s corporate strategy group, they’ve added a growing list of premiere media, tech and consumer brands to the company’s roster of clients.

See what the team has been up to at Cultique.co