Insights, Marketing & Data: Secrets of Success from Industry Leaders

Send us Fan Mail Delighted to have on Charlie Butler, co-founder and CEO of Bounce. Having started the business while still at university, Charlie and his team have built one of the fastest-growing companies in the insights sector, working with organisations including Coca-Cola, Diageo, Pernod Ricard and Tesco. We discuss everything from mental health and entrepreneurship through to AI, knowledge...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with Janani Venkataraman about how AI is changing market research, from sample sizes and synthetic augmentation to the skills that still matter when automation accelerates the basics. We also challenge the old divide between UX research and consumer insights and argue for “insight systems” that triangulate signals across the organisation. We coverL • Janani’s path from sof...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Sam Clough, Global Strategic Insight Director at SuperAwesome, to unpack how brands can reach under-18s safely and effectively across YouTube, TikTok, CTV, gaming, and audio. We explore how teens decide what to trust, why talkability beats old word of mouth. Among other areas we cover:  • Teens’ scepticism, AI fatigue, and platform-native creative • SuperAwesome’s...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder why your “representative” online sample may feel brittle, noisy, or oddly familiar? Well, there's no one better than J.D. Deitch to provide a highly knowledgeable - and objective - perspective on why this may be.  Alongside other issues we get into: - How the programmatic sample market rewards speed and completions, not care and candour.  - We map the real supply...

Send us Fan Mail Delighted to have on J.D. Deitch, the ex COO of Cint, esteemed research sector analyst and adviser. In part 1 of this interviews, we go from cheese caves in Paris to  the  terraces at Old Trafford, then into the guts of how insights work really gets done. Among other areas, in part 1 we cover • Judging cheese and the risk of palate fatigue • Becoming a Manchester United fan and th...

Send us Fan Mail In a world like sports  - where a clean number can seal a deal, but a fuzzy story can sink it - how do you ensure data fidelity and really robust conclusions? And what's the data behind the scenes that moves investment?  Well, I can't think of anyone better to explain that balance than the  fantastic  Nicole Pike, Global Head of Sport for YouGov (and formerly head of vid...

Send us Fan Mail If you’ve just raised $20m for an insights business is that a win? Or are you just taking on debt and potentially unrealistic expectations around business model?  Just a couple of the subjects we get into in part 2 of the opening interview of the new FutureView series with Jonathan Williams of One Strategy Studio. In part 1 we explored Jonathan’s entrepreneurial journey thought th...

Send us Fan Mail Delighted to talk to Jonathan Williams, successful founder of multiple agencies who has consistently pushed the boundaries of strategic insight...and how technology can help.   Among other areas we cover: Thinking about the creative process in music and writing Jonathan's journey and learning having successfully launched and sold  Clear Ideas (to M&C Saatchi), MASH (to Ka...

Send us Fan Mail What a pleasure to welcome on Catherine Willis of IHG Hotels and Resorts onto the podcast. Catherine is a font of knowledge and brings to bear amazing perspective.   In addition to our chat about the importance of beige food and darkened rooms (qual researchers, you’ll understand), some highlights from our conversation: How to uncover true consumer motivations Identifying and addr...

Send us Fan Mail Delighted to have on Steve Phillips, the Founder, former CEO and now Chief Innovation Officer of Zappi. Steve is one  the foremost thinkers and entrepreneurs in consumer insights, marketing and innovation,  a veteran of several  start ups and the driving force behind Zappi, who took on a $170m investment from Sumeru Equity  Partners in December 2022 to drive further innovation.  ...

Send us Fan Mail Is brand tracking totally broken?  Or just boring? Well, maybe it’s neither. I’m delighted to chat to James Turner (JT) who is the founder and CEO of Delineate, the pioneering firm challenging the status quo in a critical sector. Drawing on experience and learnings from Circana, BT, Black Swan and Edelman, JT is great company and offers a unique perspective. Among other areas, we...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever thought about how environmental principles could translate into consumer insight? Not necessarily in the sense of more sustainable approach to the practice of market research, (although that is clearly very important) but evaluating how we can take learnings from the interaction of natural ecosystems and apply those to understandings of businesses and their interacti...

Send us Fan Mail Very topical this week for all you WICKED fans - we have on Owen Myles of Universal Pictures, explaining how film studios adjust their marketing in relation to a film’s likely performance. Owen also adds in some great lessons from his time at other brands and agencies, as well as a refreshing twist on what makes a good brand/ agency relationship.  Among other areas we cover: Lesso...

Send us Fan Mail A real pleasure to have Fiona Blades, Founder and Chief Experience Officer of Mesh  Experience on the podcast.  It’s a great conversation, incorporating:  What you can learn from the indie music scene in Manchester Lessons for founders  The importance of experience metrics and correlation with market share The (hitherto hidden) impact of retail media on brand equity and advocacy S...

Send us Fan Mail So delighted to have on Stefanie Zammit of Bang & Olufsen, formerly of  Marks and Spencer, and Starbucks. There’s so much fantastic perspective and insight from Stefanie in this episode….not least do’s and don’ts of work in the Middle East, learning how to socialize research at M&S, and researching at Starbucks during the pandemic. You’ll also learn about Stefanie’s uninte...

Send us Fan Mail Unlock the secrets of neuromarketing with Marco Baldocchi, a trailblazer in the field of neuroscience and marketing. Ever wondered how the brain determines which brands we remember and which we forget? This episode promises to reveal how engaging key components of the brain such as the hippocampus and limbic system can transform fleeting impressions into lasting brand loyalty.  Ma...

Send us Fan Mail Get an insider’s perspective on Warner Brothers Discovery's corporate strategy team, focusing on insights and analytics that drive business operations across movies, TV shows, streaming services, and games. Vera delves into the importance of consumer behavior and trends in optimizing current practices and identifies future opportunities in emerging technologies.  Among other...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine you’re buying a new bike….you’ve been to multiple websites, you’ve seen several ads, you’ve clicked on some but not others, read reviews on different sites and…eventually you buy the bike.  However, how does the bike seller understand the contribution of each marketing channel?  And where should they invest next for other customers? This is just one of the questions, which...

Send us Fan Mail What if the stereotypes we hold about different generations are completely misguided? What if we don't know how to define them properly? Or if we're making up generations that simply haven't (yet) been properly defined? Well, Sharalyn Orr of The Estee Lauder Companies is coming to the rescue with part 2 of our interview.... Join us as we debunk the myth that Baby Bo...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for the season four premiere of FutureView, where we sit down with Sharlyn Orr, Executive Director of Global Marketing Innovation at Estee Lauder Companies. Sharalyn takes us through her fascinating shift from journalism to consumer insights to marketing and the crucial role of subject matter experts in managing information overload within large organizations.  Among other...

Send us Fan Mail A pleasure to have Amy Cashman on this week’s podcast.  Amy is the CEO of Kantar’s Insights Division for the UK and Ireland.  Obviously Kantar is one of the best known and biggest names in the insights industry but a lot’s changed in recent year. So, we get into all that and more, including  Understanding how Kantar has evolved Balancing corporate responsibilities with staying in...

Send us Fan Mail A pleasure to have on Sarah Beachler in a really great chat.  At the time of recording Sarah  was Senior Director of Consumer Insights at Nike and formerly at Meta as Global Head of Marketing Research for Reality Labs, at Google as Head of Global Consumer Insights for Hardware, Retail and Gaming and Head of Market Research and Consumer Insights at Sephora. So, a fantastic foundati...

Send us Fan Mail So, how do influencers really contribute to marketing campaigns?  How do you measure that impact and compare with other forms of media? Enter the perfect person to get under the skin of these issues…. Gaz Alushi, President of Measurement and Analytics at Whalar, one of the leading agencies in the creators space. Gaz is formerly of Meta, Pinterest and Snap and his work has shown ev...

Send us Fan Mail What are the practical ways AI is going to change research - not just in the future, but in the here and now? Arguably, there’s no one better to talk to on that front than Kathryn Topp, the CEO and co-founder of Yabble. As Kathryn describes, she and and her co-founder, Rachel O’Shea, introduced their first generative AI tool in 2020 with Open AI since ADD and I was lucky enough to...

Send us Fan Mail From stingrays and hot coals (listen to find out) to building one of the leading companies in facial coding, emotion AI and behavioral leading models, Matt Celuszak of Element Human has had quite a journey. Matt’s always astute, engaging and  in this interview  we get into the issues above and more, including  Strengths and weakness of facial coding data Evaluating the intersectio...