Biography

Robert J. Morais has experience as a marketing researcher, advertising executive, business owner, and business anthropologist, and has published widely in both academic and business venues. He began his career at Grey Advertising and spent 25 years with advertising agencies, rising to Chief Strategic Officer. In 2006, he became a Principal at the marketing research firm Weinman Schnee Morais, serving in that position for over 10 years. He has worked with Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, WD-40, Coca-Cola, Post Foods, Danone, StarKist, Johnson & Johnson, Hain Celestial, Benjamin Moore, Safeway, Sabra, Pinnacle Foods, Sunny Delight, Dentsply Sirona, Prestige Brands, Wyeth (now Pfizer), Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel, Hills Pet Nutrition, and Boehringer Ingelheim, among many other corporations. Morais holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh, a certificate from NYU's Stern School of Business, and was a Fulbright Scholar, National Science Foundation Grantee, and Mellon Fellow.

His books include Advertising and Anthropology: Ethnographic Practice and Cultural Perspectives (co-author), Ethics in the Anthropology of Business: Explorations in Theory, Practice and Pedagogy (co-editor), The Language of Branding: Theory, Strategies, and Tactics (co-author), Refocusing Focus Groups: A Practical Guide (author), and Social Relations in a Philippine Town (author). Morais is a Fellow of The Society for Applied Anthropology, on the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Business Anthropology, and is a mentor for the National Association for the Practice of Anthropology. He is a founder of the Business Anthropology Community (businessanthro.com) and has been a guest speaker at numerous universities and conferences.  

His areas of specialization include qualitative marketing research, hybrid anthropological/psychological methodologies, ethnography, advertising and marketing strategy, product innovation, organizational culture, ideation, and business ethics.