Translating Anthropology

Timothy Malefyt of BusinessAnthro.com wrote an article for the Anthropology Career Readiness Network, detailing his journey from advertising to academia through a unique application of anthropological principles. Malefyt shared how he leveraged his experience in consumer research to offer a lecture at Fordham Business School, demonstrating the role of anthropology in uncovering profound consumer insights. He provided a detailed case study of his work for Mobile One synthetic motor oil at BBDO, highlighting how his team used anthropological methods to understand people’s deep emotional relationships with their cars. This approach not only helped craft a successful ad campaign but also demonstrated the value of anthropology in business contexts, leading to his position at Fordham teaching Consumer Insights.