We help Fortune 500 companies, startups & non-profits solve brand, business & comms problems.
Clients call with questions like:
What new products should we create & innovate?
What is the future of my category?
How can we find & capture new customers?
We built something - how should we position it?
Can you help my team work more strategically?
We tackle these problems with tools like:
Brand Positioning & Architecture
Customer & Competitive Insights
Qualitative Research
(focus groups, in-home ethnographies, co-creation workshops, shop-alongs, etc...)
Quantitative Research
Business & Innovation Strategy
Internal Strategic Workshops
Below are some projects & clients.
Reach out for a full client list and work samples.
Recent Projects
Global research study of teenagers for the Nike Brand Innovation Lab
B2B sales strategy for Google Cloud Platform
National study & strategy about immigration for Unbound Philanthropy
New product development for Chobani
Brand architecture for Austin East Ciders
ROI analysis of a Formula 1 sponsorship
Internal strategy for Rockefeller Capital Management
Strategy for annual 'Year in Music’ execution by Spotify
In-Home ethnographies with die-hard basketball fans for the NBA
Strategic workshops with the in-house creative team at Spectrum
Digital innovation strategy for a P&G cosmetics brand
Clients
Michael Hastings-Black has run AskMHB since 2014.
Prior to AskMHB, Michael was in-house with Apple as a Creative Strategist. At Apple, he worked with both Sales and Product teams and lead a cultural and technological insights program.
Michael has taught a course about research at Parsons in their Masters of Strategic Design program and has spoken at academic and industry conferences.
Michael majored in English at Bowdoin College and studied urban planning with MIT while living in India, South Africa and Brazil.
He lives in Washington DC with his family. When not working, he can be found in cooking in the kitchen, picking vintage or planning an overseas adventure.
