Associate, Cultural Intelligence

Saatchi US; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 66,000 - 97,000; Full time

Job summary

Saatchi & Saatchi in the United States seeks an Associate to join its Cultural Intelligence group, focusing on research and insights. You will surface emerging cultural conversations, creators and communities, and contribute early ideas for agency teams to develop and implement.

Reporting to the Director of Cultural Intelligence and working with the Manager, you’ll conduct thoughtful research, connect developments across entertainment, art, design, sports, technology and digital spaces to

Qualifications

• 1–3 years of experience in cultural research, insights, editorial, journalism, social listening, or related fields.
• Able to evaluate sources, investigate a question and summarize findings clearly.
• Comfortable looking across different sources, noticing patterns and offering initial interpretation.
• Able to connect discoveries with possibilities for a brand, sharing rough ideas and references.
• Fluent in online culture and communities, familiar with social platforms and niche groups.
• Strong writing, organization, and the ability to manage multiple research requests.
• Willing to learn, take initiative, and seek guidance as needed.
• Demonstrates inclusive perspective and respectful approach to diverse communities.

Responsibilities

• Monitor emerging conversations, language, and communities across platforms relevant to Toyota.
• Investigate cultural signals, sources, and audiences to build accurate context.
• Synthesize findings into early insights and test thinking with the Manager.
• Propose rough ideas and collaborations to make findings tangible for creative teams.
• Support creator and community discovery with examples and sources.
• Maintain shared intelligence resources and archives for quick retrieval.

Skills

Cultural curiosity and attentiveness

Foundational research experience

Emerging ability to connect the dots

Creative curiosity and early idea

Fluency in online culture

Clear communication

Collaboration and willingness to learn

Cultural sensitivity and integrity

Job description

At Saatchi we believe in creating ideas that can live anywhere. And we believe that when we work as a team, nothing is impossible. We strive to bring out the best in each other and in ourselves and expect applicants to understand the value of close collaboration. We also believe that creating transformational work requires initiative, an entrepreneurial spirit and a bold commitment to achieving measurable results and business success for the Clients we service.

Company Description

At Saatchi we believe in creating ideas that can live anywhere. And we believe that when we work as a team, nothing is impossible. We strive to bring out the best in each other and in ourselves and expect applicants to understand the value of close collaboration. We also believe that creating transformational work requires initiative, an entrepreneurial spirit and a bold commitment to achieving measurable results and business success for the Clients we service.

Overview

Saatchi & Saatchi is looking for an Associate to join its Cultural Intelligence group, with a focus on research and insights. This role helps the team understand what’s happening across culture—surfacing emerging conversations, creators, communities and behaviors, investigating why they matter, and contributing first ideas that agency teams can develop and implement. The ideal candidate will have 2 to 3 years of experience in creative / strategy, with a track record of contributing impactful, culturally relevant work, and a deep passion for keeping up with a wide range of topics and trends that are shaping today’s cultural landscape.

Reporting to the Director of Cultural Intelligence, and working closely with the Manager, Cultural Intelligence, you’ll bring thoughtful research, useful references and early thinking into the group’s work. You’ll connect developments across entertainment, art, design, sports, technology and digital spaces to the audiences we’re trying to reach and the opportunities relevant to Toyota.

At the Associate level, you’ll take responsibility for assigned research, maintain shared intelligence resources and contribute to the group’s reports and recommendations. You’ll bring curiosity, initiative and a developing point of view, working with the Manager to strengthen your findings and shape promising opportunities.

Strong cultural intelligence begins with close observation, credible research and a willingness to ask better questions. This associate role will be at the frontlines of helping to create that foundation for Saatchi & Saatchi—allowing the group to recognize emerging shifts, understand them more fully and bring richer inputs into the work. By contributing research, early insights and first ideas, this role will support the Manager and Director in helping agency teams create work grounded in the people, conversations and communities shaping culture.

Responsibilities

The Associate helps build the understanding behind that participation. You’ll keep a close watch on culture, investigate where signals come from and connect observations into early insights that help the team understand what’s changing, who is shaping it and why it could matter. You’ll also bring creative possibilities alongside your research. That might mean suggesting a content format, identifying an unexpected collaborator or spotting a way for Toyota to contribute to a cultural moment. These don’t need to be finished concepts; they should be thoughtful starting points grounded in what you’ve discovered.

In short: you’ll help the group see clearly, find useful connections and bring informed first ideas into the creative process.

• Keep a close read on culture: Monitor emerging conversations, language, behaviors, creators and communities across social platforms, entertainment, art, design, sports, technology and the wider web. Track developments relevant to Toyota and flag signals that deserve a closer look.
• Research and validate cultural signals: Investigate where conversations started, who is shaping them, how they are evolving and which audiences they matter to. Combine desk research, social listening, audience information and primary sources to build an accurate picture of the cultural context.
• Connect findings into early insights: Look for patterns across your research and explain what they might reveal about people’s interests, motivations and behaviors. Develop clear summaries and initial observations, working with the Manager to test your thinking and distinguish meaningful opportunities from passing noise.
• Contribute references and first ideas: Bring rough ideas, unexpected connections and possible creative responses alongside your findings. Use examples and references to make them tangible—whether that’s a content idea, a creator collaboration or an opportunity for community participation. Work with the Manager to develop promising starting points for agency teams to build on.
• Support creator and community discovery: Research relevant creators, communities, partners and cultural spaces. Gather examples of their work, understand the audiences they connect with and explain their potential relevance to an idea. Provide the context and source material that help the Manager develop informed recommendations.
• Maintain shared intelligence resources: Organize signals, sources, reports, cultural moments, creators and references in a clear, searchable system. Keep calendars, trackers and archives current so the group can follow developments over time and quickly retrieve useful information.
• Help prepare outputs and capture learning: Contribute to cultural updates, research summaries, reports, creator shortlists and internal sessions. Check sources, gather examples and respond to research requests. Track how conversations evolve and help document audience and community responses to work after it launches.

Qualifications

• Cultural curiosity and attentiveness. Genuinely curious about art, music, design, sports, technology, fashion, entertainment and digital culture. You notice new voices, behaviors and ideas—and want to understand where they came from and why people care.
• Foundational research experience. 1–3 years of experience in cultural research, insights, editorial, journalism, social listening, media, community work or a related field. Able to evaluate sources, investigate a question and summarize findings clearly.
• An emerging ability to connect the dots. Comfortable looking across different sources, noticing patterns and offering an initial interpretation. You can explain the evidence behind an observation and recognize where more investigation is needed.
• Creative curiosity and early idea development. Able to connect what you discover with possibilities for what a brand could make or do. Comfortable sharing rough ideas, bringing useful references and developing your thinking with others.
• Fluency in online culture and communities. Comfortable navigating social platforms, creator ecosystems, niche communities and emerging digital spaces. You understand that cultural signals often begin beyond the mainstream and know how to investigate beyond the first post or headline.
• Clear communication and strong organization. A thoughtful writer who can make research accessible without exaggerating its importance. Able to manage assigned research requests, maintain accurate trackers and deliver well-organized materials on time.
• Collaboration and willingness to learn. Open to feedback, willing to ask questions and comfortable working with colleagues across disciplines. You take initiative while knowing when to seek guidance, and you’re motivated to develop stronger research skills and cultural judgment.
• Cultural sensitivity and integrity. Brings an inclusive perspective, respects diverse communities and understands the importance of context, attribution and representation. Approaches unfamiliar spaces with curiosity and care rather than assumption.

Requirements

• You are deeply passionate about studying and understanding culture in all its forms and manifestations.
• Experience in providing support for audience identification and monitoring.
• An understanding how brands can effectively connect to cultural touchpoints in ways that are meaningful to their audiences.
• Comfortable conducting both qualitative and quantitative research.
• For quantitative research, hands on experience using key research platforms such as MRI, GWI, and Social Listening tools (i.e. Brandwatch, Audiense, Pulsar etc) to help identify and define audiences and confirm relevant trends.
• For qualitative research, a strong ability to synthesize multiple inputs and sources into relevant cultural signals, and decipher why these impactful to audience and brand.
• Strong deck building skills, with an ability to own slides and key sections from start to finish.
• Comfortable with using best in class AI tools to streamline workflows, and make more productive and impactful work.
• Bonus points: You have read and own a copy of McLuhan’s Medium is the Massage.

Additional Information

Our Publicis Groupe motto “Viva La Différence” means we’re better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.

Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact [e-mail].

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Compensation Range: USD $66,120.00 - USD $97,440.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third‑party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 11/2/2026.