At the core of our company is the commitment to base everything we do on the reality of actual customer experience. We look at our clients from the outside in - from the vantage point of the people who buy from them, who recommend them, who distribute their products or services. We seek to understand specific customer experience at every point of contact - to go beyond attitudes and awareness to actual behavior - so that our communications programs reveal the powerful connection that our clients can provide to a customer with a need.

By itself, this perspective is not unusual. Many companies seek to take the customer point of view. Where we are unique is in our capability to discover and understand the customer experience. Through our Context-based Research Group, we have a network of 3,500 cultural anthropologists located throughout the United States (and everywhere else in the world) who are trained to observe and interact with people at home, work, or play, to understand the dynamics of complex buying decision and product usage behaviors.

When we develop advertising or interactive media or conduct a brand consulting assignment, this research and planning capability enables us to work faster and smarter than our competitors. It also allows us to make sure we are being faithful to the customer experience. From a creative development point of view, this in-house resource becomes a great asset to the creative teams, as they can function as if they have members of the target audience standing by at all times. It makes our work far more relevant and compelling, and helps our clients be more successful in the marketplace.

Carton Donofrio Partners is a member of Worldwide Partners, Inc., the world's largest network of independent marketing services firms.

Worldwide Partners is a collaborative network of marketing services firms, focused on middle-market businesses. We believe global excellence in marketing demands local effectiveness so we start from the bottom up. We customize the structure and approach for the specific needs of each client - across geography, category expertise and the full range of communication disciplines. Clients receive the personal attention of senior agency owner/operators to deliver relevant, actionable insights to help build global brands with a local touch. It's a new day and a new way of working. We are comprised of 83 agencies, in 43 countries, with 117 offices, and over 4,200 employees. Our US$3.3 billion in capitalized billings make us the 9th largest overall marketing communications organization in the world.