CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY: ETHNOGRAPHER
work
work
■New York Lottery: New Yorkers Through
Six Lenses
What Brought Me In
The creative team was struggling to connect with the research findings provided by the New York Lottery. We launched an ethnographic study across the state of New York to bring more dimension and nuance to the data and spark better creative ideas.
Agency: McCann
The Approach
Through a mix of in-person interviews and digital diaries, we explored the personalities, backgrounds, social connections, and lifestyles of New Yorkers from every corner of the state. To uncover the unique threads that tie each group to leisure and entertainment and of course the New York Lottery.
What Emerged
Across every segment we spoke to, one thing rang true: New Yorkers saw the Lottery as a ticket to freedom, flexibility, and more of what they love.
Our challenge was to make the numbers human. By anchoring data in cultural insight, we turned pages of raw stats into vivid, behaviorally rich portraits—showing teams how each audience actually thinks, speaks, and moves through the world.
We decoded what a “New York state of mind” really looks like and how it shapes people’s perceptions and motivations around playing the Lottery. That clarity sparked a shift in messaging strategy—and ultimately, a creative pivot in both draw and scratch-off campaigns.
So every touchpoint had that New Yorker energy.
reach me
My expertise has been applied to commercial advertising, corporate brand marketing, and various creative projects.