Customer story
When research becomes common ground.
From understanding New Jersey’s values to launching deernj.org—one connected research journey with EmpathixAI.
The challenge
When euphemisms wouldn’t work.
New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) wanted to advance effective, ethical deer-herd stewardship in New Jersey.
The issue meant very different things to hunters, landowners, animal advocates, and the general public. NJCF wanted to understand what people genuinely valued, where their worldviews diverged, and where meaningful common ground existed.
or don’t hunt
The approach
One journey from discovery to decision.
EmpathixAI supported NJCF through a connected sequence of behavioral discovery, instrument design, surveys, experimental testing, and analysis—all within one platform.
Hear what conventional research misses
NJCF began with CultureChat, EmpathixAI’s proprietary behavioral elicitation model, to surface the lived experiences, behaviors, motivations, and cultural meaning behind people’s stated views.
Begin with people’s experience
Each one-on-one interview started with concrete experience—questions as simple as, “When was the last time you saw a deer?”—rather than asking participants to defend an abstract position.
Turn behavioral evidence into a rigorous test
The CultureChat findings became the quantitative research instrument’s foundation, giving NJCF and its design and branding partner, Xhilarate, a shared body of audience knowledge from which to develop and evaluate creative ideas.
Pressure-test every part of the story
EmpathixAI’s Relay survey and experimentation platform compared 17 combinations of frames, messages, names, logos, taglines, and imagery across the audiences NJCF needed to reach.
Research and creative
The evidence did not stop at the report.
The research became a shared foundation for the decisions that followed.
Revealed what people valued—and tested what could bridge their worldviews.
EmpathixAI’s CultureChat, Relay, and unified analysis suite kept interviews, experiments, and conclusions connected to the underlying evidence.
- Four distinct audience studies
- Research-derived framing and audience messaging
- Connected qualitative and quantitative analysis
- Seventeen randomized creative combinations
Turned EmpathixAI’s findings into a public-facing identity.
Working from EmpathixAI’s research findings, research-derived messaging, and experimental testing, Xhilarate developed the brand strategy, name, visual identity, landing page, and launch plan for Deer New Jersey,
- Brand strategy and application of the research-derived messaging
- Name, tagline, and visual identity
- Digital experience and launch activation
EmpathixAI enabled us to learn empathy for people’s values. That empathy enabled us to bridge value systems and build a coalition that represents all of our values.
The outcome
The research became something real.
The outcome was Deer New Jersey, at deernj.org.
The public initiative brought NJCF’s research-backed decisions to life through its framing, name, messages, visual identity, imagery, and approach to building credibility across diverse audiences.
NJCF did not have to rely on intuition alone. It could launch knowing that the initiative’s identity had been shaped and tested with the people it needed to reach.
Deer
New Jersey,
Let’s find balance for our forests, farms, and families.
The impact
From research deliverables to a public coalition built on shared values.
Reframed the issue to replace opposition with an aspiration to collaborate.
Replaced assumptions with behavioral evidence.
Located both meaningful difference and genuine common ground.
Identified language and imagery that could create unnecessary resistance.
Made defensible decisions about the initiative’s name, messages, and visuals.
Turned a complex communications challenge into a tangible public initiative.
EmpathixAI
One platform. The right method at every stage. One public outcome.
EmpathixAI is a human-behavior company first. CultureChat helps organizations understand the experiences and values beneath stated opinions; Relay turns that understanding into structured measurement and experimentation; and a unified analysis environment keeps the evidence connected to the decisions it informs.
The result was not another research report. It was Deer New Jersey,
Let’s find balance for our forests, farms, and families.
Explore Deer New Jersey,