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Market researchers have the coolest backstories. Hear them here!
144 Episodes
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Paula Rosecky is both a true expert qualitative research practitioner and a tireless contributor to the insights industry through WiRE and her significant long-time involvement in the QRCA (a fantastic organization!). Her journey through the world of research is one-of-a-kind, encompassing several opportunities for cultural immersion and broadening experiences. Paula and I discuss her unique path with stops in Prague, Milwaukee, Dallas and Seattle. She also shares the story of rediscove...
Jeff Grant has had an enviable career in insights, first on the client-side where he rose to SVP Insights and Analytics for Time Warner, where he supported the Cartoon Network among others for 20 years. He then transitioned to the supplier side and now the agency world as VP Audience Strategy at Razorfish. But Jeff got bitten by the comic book bug as a wee lad and it turned into a lifelong passion. In this episode, Jeff shares his insights journey and then dives deep into his hobby inc...
Dr. Faith James and Stacy Graiko are founders of the insights-led marketing and strategy consultancy called The She Lab, where they apply their deep expertise to help clients win with women. They are also just about to release their second book, “Decoding She: How to Drive Growth by Understanding Women Consumers,” packed with insight and evidence on understanding and marketing to women. Faith and Stacy share their career foundations in advertising, personal brand consulting and insights and h...
After years of leading insights and analytics teams at great companies like Diageo, H&R Block, Supervalu and Best Buy, Dr. Ed Dobbles has recently joined the highly disruptive alcohol industry analytics start-up, Overproof, as Chief Analytics Officer. But for the past several years, Ed has been volunteering his precious spare time as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Ed shares some fun and hilarious stories about his career in analytics and as an EMT; the karma that accom...
Rachael Dimit is currently Sr. Manager of Global Consumer Insights at Foot Locker where she continuously uncovers fresh cultural trends that drive the business. In her spare time, Rachael also has a successful Instagram business (@pomodorapomodora) slinging custom pizzas to a rabid customer base in Chicago. She has very cleverly adapted the famous Foot Locker “sneaker drop” model to spur enthusiastic demand for her pizzas. Rachael discusses her journey through trend forecast...
Chris Hayward is a colleague and fellow Lead Client Partner at Mintel, but that is not all we have in common. Chris is also a drummer and quite a successful one at that! With his band The Samurai Seven, he released a full-length album, “Le Sport” in 2002. The band also recorded five “Peel Sessions” with legendary BBC Radio 1 DJ, John Peel, in the same studio where the Beatles recorded “Pop Goes the Beatles.” Chris has played gigs with members of Oasis, The Cult, The Alarm and more. &nbs...
Carley Hart has spent her career advising, mentoring and teaching customer discovery to entrepreneurs which she currently does as Director of Partnerships for Cornell Tech’s Runway Startups Program. Cool job! But Carley has also applied everything she’s learned along the way in launching her own lifestyle company, Ahhhsome Kids, with a mission to “equip young children with essential life skills through fun, engaging and tech-light activities.” We discuss Carley’s career journey, t...
Doug Keith started his career in public broadcasting, both as a producer and an on-air host. A grad program in communications led him to transition his career to insights. Today, Doug is 18 years into his research consultancy, was co-chair for the 2025 QRCA speaker committee and is a co-founder of the Insights Career Network. Doug shares his career journey and how qualitative research has become much more important to his practice over the years. He also dishes about his days as the bas...
Austin Harrison is the CEO of Northbeam, a marketing intelligence platform helping clients maximize the profitability of their marketing spend. Austin knows more about this space than anyone I know, having been involved in digital audience measurement and attribution since he helped build NetRatings’ first audience panel. In parallel, Austin has long been involved in the world of comics and animation. Through media and animation companies he’s led, Austin has developed award-winning graphic ...
Sabrina Brastad is one of those audacious insights pros with the conviction and drive to transform consumer insight into successful, award-winning products. After learning the ropes on the agency side with Ipsos, Hall & Partners and Vision Critical, Sabrina was hired by David Yin (episode 67) to help build out the initial insights function at Fitbit which was her first foray into new-to-the-world consumer technology. From there, she joined Amazon working within the revolutionary category ...
“If you have too much VC funding and it’s just like ‘Margins! Margins! Margins!,’ you can’t start a revolution. You can’t be a pirate.” Adam Stephenson founded QuantifyAI last year after a successful business development career in the research sample space. He entirely self-funded the launch of his company, a DIY ethic that follows directly from his skate punk youth. By bootstrapping, staying focused and creating compelling guerilla marketing, QuantifyAI is off to a great start and grow...
Start with a UC Berkeley background in the hard sciences and some time working on the Valdez oil spill, take a turn toward data analytics, layer in some orchestral bassoon and tattoo artistry and then you start to understand what makes Bryson Cwick tick. Bryson is currently Business Development Manager at the research consultancy, Orchard, where they help their clients understand authentic consumer behavior. But on the weekends, you may find Bryson tattooing at a festival or popping in ...
Today’s episode is self-referential in the best of ways. We talk to Erik Peterson from Spotify who is currently the Director of Podcast Insights. An insights podcast with a podcast insights pro. Ha! Erik is really into his work and even once took a gig economy job to get a better first-hand understanding of consumer supply/demand dynamics. Erik shares his professional journey through insights, analytics and Spotify. Along the way, he offers a unique take on the future of research...
Tara Bosenick is a pioneer in user experience testing and measurement within human-centered design. She is the Managing Director (MD) of a holding company, ReSight Global, and also the MD of UIntent, which she first founded as SirValUse in 2000 and was later purchased by GfK. We discuss Tara’s journey through UX including her take on what the future of the space looks like. We also discuss her podcast (Beyond the Business), what she learned as the Head of Scouting in the city of Hambur...
Scott Tilford built an excellent career within Procter & Gamble. Over 17 years, he had worked on several categories culminating in his role as Sr. Director Analytics and Insights for North America Grooming. But after so many years in a corporate setting, Scott found another calling. The town of Morrow, Ohio and the city of Cincinnati are anxiously awaiting his launch of The Depot Brewing Company, opening this year in the town’s nearly 200-year-old train depot. Scott shares h...
Michael Nevski has a really cool job. He is the Director of Global Insights at Visa working with the company’s Chief Economist to add a consumer research and strategy lens to the economic insights and forecasts they provide to their clients. He is also on the TMRE Advisory Board which has long been the biggest annual conference event in the Insights industry. What you may not know is that Michael is likely the best table tennis player in your network. He trained intensively in college and has...
How does one go from art museum management to market research to DEI and storytelling consulting? Just ask Mary Hunter from Data Larks. Mary has always been one to question the status quo, and one of her core strengths is understanding context – history, society, culture, economy and more. It has helped her at every stage of her career which includes working for the Museum of Contemporary San Diego, Kantar, GfK and The Kaleidoscope Group before starting her own consultancy. Mary shares her un...
After considering careers in medicine and law, Suann Griffin took a statistics class and decided upon a career in market research. She has built a great career with roles on the client- and supplier-side, most recently as Sr. Director of Insights at Serta Simmons. She is a frequent and highly engaging speaker at industry conferences and is a University of Georgia MMR alum. Outside of work, Suann has long been a serious and competitive rower, starting the day early on the water with her crewma...
Experienced human researchers vs. AI. How does AI stand up right now, today? The results may surprise you like they did for me. In this special “Open Mic” episode of the Rock n’ Roll Research Podcast, our guests share the results research-on-research that address that very question. Julie Leonard and Brennan Held (colleagues of mine at MarketVision Research) conducted a live, robust study to determine the relative quality and efficiency of human analysis vs. employing AI. Is AI ready...
Once fairly traditional, the market research industry is now teeming with fresh thinking and ways to discover insight. Someone needs to help make sense of it all. Graeme Ford is leading the charge by bringing a punk rock ethos to the game with his new consultancy, PunkMRX. Prior to PunkMRX, Graeme had a ‘boomerang’ career at YouGov, returning as Global Head of Innovation after leaving to co-found a conversational tech company which YouGov later acquired. We discuss Graeme’s journe...
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