research that moves you
At Field Trip Research, every project gives you the opportunity to explore the spaces, the stories and everyday moments that shape human behavior and the culture we live in.
Field Trip Research is built on a simple idea:
Research should move you.
Move you into the neighborhoods, tattoo shops, sweaty gyms, quiet dinner table conversations, cultish subreddits, underground music scenes, chaotic college dorm rooms and anywhere else where life and culture unfolds, is made, and comes alive.
Move you to tears, to anger, to exhilarating clarity, to feel something deeply and empathetically that you can’t shake.
And move you confidently towards the right decisions for your organization.
my name is
jess hoffman :
a two-namer.
question-asker.
fun-haver.
I’m obsessed with understanding why people feel, act, and do the things they do—and I will go the distance to get there.
My expertise is in designing and running cultural research projects and research field trips from start to finish. And I’m committed to doing it in a way that is exciting, unexpected, and pulls in perspectives from all kinds of experts and real humans: my recent call logs include Atlanta rappers, Toronto chefs, Stanford professors, sex therapists, WNBA journalists, and ASMR content creators.
With every project, I make sure my clients always:
Discover something new
Feel more connected to the people they’re serving
Walk away with actionable steps for their work
Feel a little mischievous along the way
my work has inspired:
Brand strategies for REI, Hair Club, and Tostitos
Creative strategies for Dave’s Killer Bread, McCain, and a
new ABInBev drinkA national healthcare summit convening top leaders
Communications strategy and segmentation for The Truth
Initiative’s anti-vaping effortsInnovation blueprint for Colgate and Smartfood
A long-term vision for youth basketball in the U.S. and the
Balkans for the Luka Dončić FoundationA rap song
Community music events in places like LA K-Town and Brampton, Canada
And perhaps a crowning achievement…a new Doritos flavor
and it’s brought me to:
Strangers' dinner tables
Slovenian basketball courts
Canadian iceberg lookouts
Indigenous drum circles
Farms across North America
The dressing rooms of drag queens
Atlanta music studios
Newfoundland screech-in ceremonies (yes, that is me kissing a cod fish)
what I do
We (your team and I) design bespoke research — qualitative, quantitative, or both — to give you a true pulse on a subculture, business topic, or research question.
Whether it’s a quick sprint for a pitch deck, ongoing cultural tracking, a subculture deep dive or a large-scale study to fuel creative, brand strategy, or innovation, I deliver insights from the hearts, minds, and everyday lives of the people who matter.
full-service cultural research
I design experiences to help your team meet real people on their turf to see, taste, and feel culture firsthand.
From ice baths with biohackers in Oregon, to flavor-hunting food tours across North America, to studio sessions with musicians and streetwear designers, these immersive trips give teams an ethnographic understanding of their audience that you can’t get from a deck.
These Field Trips have inspired award-winning creative campaigns, innovation pipelines, community engagements, and new business partnerships for Fortune 500 companies.
Plus, they’re not just eye-opening — they’re team-building. Shared experiences in unfamiliar settings spark deeper conversations, strengthen collaboration, and create lasting bonds that carry over into the work.
research field trips
recruitment for subcultures and experts
Want insider access to the people who really know their stuff? I specialize in finding and connecting brands with subcultures, niche communities, and hyper-specialized experts. Whether you’re looking for trendsetters, underground creatives, or hidden authorities in a field, I track down the people who matter, so your projects get real insight straight from the source.
Maybe you just need extra firepower and want someone with camp counselor energy (in a good way). I can plug into your team to plan ethnographies, run workshops, moderate focus groups, or deliver cultural desk research— flexible support wherever you need it most.
freelance
moments to reach out:
Your research is uncovering the same thing year after year and isn’t moving
your businessYour organization feels a bit
out of touch with how real
people think, feel, and behaveYour brand strategy feels
generic and not rooted in real life
You want research that feels
more curated to actual
business needsYou have an exciting
innovation project that needs
to be in touch with cultureYou want a compelling POV
for your next pitch or thought leadership