sparks & honey Company Profile

Background

Founded in 2012, sparks & honey is a New York-based cultural intelligence consultancy that synchronizes brands with the evolving cultural landscape. The company's mission is to help organizations understand and leverage cultural shifts to drive business transformation and innovation. By integrating human insights with machine learning, sparks & honey identifies emerging trends and engages brands in authentic, meaningful conversations.

Key Strategic Focus

sparks & honey specializes in cultural intelligence, product and marketing innovation, content and brand storytelling, and social media strategies. The firm employs a proprietary AI-powered platform, Q™, to analyze cultural trends and provide actionable insights. Their primary markets include Fortune 500 companies across various industries, such as PepsiCo, AT&T, Unilever, Gerber, Humana, Visa, and Jarden.

Financials and Funding

As a subsidiary of Omnicom Group Inc., sparks & honey benefits from the financial backing of its parent company. Omnicom Group is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company, providing a stable financial foundation for sparks & honey's operations and growth initiatives.

Technological Platform and Innovation

sparks & honey's technological edge is anchored in its proprietary AI-driven cultural intelligence platform, Q™. This platform combines machine learning algorithms with human insights to identify and map emerging cultural trends. Q™ enables the company to structure data, score trends, and deliver real-time, culturally relevant creative experiences for brands.

Leadership Team

Terry Young: Founder and CEO. Prior to founding sparks & honey, Young served as Managing Director of RAPP New York and held positions at McKinsey & Co. and IPG's digital agency SixtyFootSpider.

Mark Newhouse: President and Chief Operating Officer. Newhouse oversees the integration of technology solutions and advisory services, focusing on building core strategy offerings and introducing new services in enablement and transformation.

Davianne Harris: Managing Partner and Chief Client Officer. Harris leads the firm's consulting organization and the Equitable Futures Practice, overseeing client relationships and strategic initiatives.

Hannah Hickman: Partner and Head of the Youth Culture Practice. Hickman focuses on understanding and engaging with youth culture trends to inform client strategies.

Robb Henzi: Partner and Head of Policy & Philanthropy Practice. Henzi specializes in guiding clients through policy and philanthropic initiatives to align with cultural shifts.

Leadership Changes

In April 2023, sparks & honey announced significant leadership changes to solidify its consultancy transformation. Mark Newhouse was promoted from Chief Operating Officer to President and COO. Davianne Harris was elevated to Managing Partner and Chief Client Officer. Additionally, Hannah Hickman and Robb Henzi were promoted to Partners, leading the Youth Culture Practice and Policy & Philanthropy Practice, respectively.

Competitor Profile

Market Insights and Dynamics

The cultural intelligence and consulting industry is experiencing growth as organizations recognize the importance of understanding and leveraging cultural trends. Companies in this sector provide insights that inform marketing strategies, product development, and organizational transformation.

Competitor Analysis

Yonder: Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Yonder operates in the professional services space, focusing on cultural intelligence.

Codec: Established in 2015 in London, England, Codec specializes in cultural intelligence and operates within the professional services sector.

DataRobot: Founded in 2012 and based in Boston, Massachusetts, DataRobot operates in the analytics industry, providing AI-driven insights.

Strategic Collaborations and Partnerships

sparks & honey has expanded its Advisory Board to include experts in emerging tastes and equitable futures. Notable additions include Jing Gao, CEO of Fly by Jing, and Dr. Becky Takeda-Tinker, Chief Education & Operations Innovation Officer at the Colorado State University System. These collaborations enhance the company's consulting capabilities across key categories, including education, employment, and multicultural consumer trends.

Operational Insights

sparks & honey differentiates itself through its AI-powered cultural intelligence platform, Q™, and a diverse team of cultural strategists, futurists, behavioral scientists, and creative technologists. This combination allows the company to deliver real-time, culturally relevant insights and strategies to clients, positioning it as a leader in the cultural intelligence consultancy space.

Strategic Opportunities and Future Directions

The company is focused on expanding its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) consulting practice. In October 2021, sparks & honey launched this practice with three distinct product offerings: Equity Forecast, Equity Space Analysis, and Diversity OS. These offerings aim to help organizations embed DE&I principles into their core business practices, reflecting the company's commitment to fostering inclusive transformation.