Organizations exist because they solve problems for people. And solving those problems requires a deep understanding of the underlying needs, as well as the ability to translate them into business impact. Achieving this outcome requires a multitude of factors working together in harmony – and insights are the bridge that connects everything together. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Märta Eriksson, Senior Manager of Consumer Insights and Analytics at Marshall Group.

True consumer insights are rare. To uncover them, you need a combination of logic, intuition, and expertise, as well as the determination to separate bias from truth. Leveraging multiple techniques and new technologies can help you triangulate to true insights that will lead to better decisions and propel the business forward.

Research is a creative art, but inefficiency can prevent that creativity from blossoming. In order to make time for the brainpower that leads to business impact, it’s essential to prioritize efficiency in your approach to insights work. In this first-ever live episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast recorded at IIeX North America 2023, Thor is joined by Miranda Patton, Director of Strategic Insights at AT&T.

You’re probably familiar with the idea of a “win-win” outcome, but what about a “win-win-win” outcome? Market and consumer insights play a central role in ensuring that consumers, retailers, and brands all win. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Emilia Simonin, Head of Global Market Intelligence at Moët Hennessy.

What are the differences between B2B and B2C insights? And what can these two areas learn from each other? While group dynamics can add layers of complexity to B2B insights work, it all comes down to people at the end of the day. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Tzachi Ben-Sasson, Head of Global Voice of the Customer at Amdocs.

Strong brands build communities around their products; iconic brands build products for communities. But how do you identify and understand those communities? Social intelligence is a powerful tool to gain an understanding of your consumers that’s otherwise difficult to achieve through traditional research methods, and AI can help you make sense of it efficiently. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Andi Govindia, CEO & Co-Founder of Riviter.

Who will your consumers be 10 years from now? How will they change? How will they stay the same? Answering these questions isn’t easy, but combining insight, foresight, and empathy can take you a long way – no crystal ball needed. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Kerry-Ellen Schwartz, Director of Consumer Insights - Predictive Intelligence & Platform Innovation at PepsiCo Foods North America.

Are you actually solving your consumers’ problems? Or are you just solving the problems you think you should be solving? Impactful insights need context, and in order to create that context, you need to stay close to your consumers. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Hemant Mehta, an author, advisor, mentor, farmer, entrepreneur, and former Managing Director of the Insights division, as well as Chief Strategy Officer for South Asia, at Kantar.

The interfaces between insights teams and businesses are ever-evolving. But what role should artificial intelligence play in those dynamics? As an insights professional, you need to continue on a path of learning, relearning, and unlearning in order to stay relevant and to stay ahead. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Bhaskar Roy, Client Partner, APAC at Fractal.

Change is a constant in the world of insights. Advances in technology have transformed and continue to transform methodologies, data collection, analysis, and application of insights. But one thing that hasn’t changed are the fundamental questions you need to answer. To set yourself, your team, and your organization up for success, you need to ensure that you’re asking the right questions to connect with consumers and move the business forward. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Joanna Dumont, VP of Strategy, Insights, and Innovation at Danone.

Are you paying attention to who your customers are? Or are you only paying attention to what they are? While demographics have a purpose, they can’t give you a deep understanding of what really drives people. And that’s where the role of values comes in. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by human values expert David Allison, Founder of Valuegraphics and author of The Death of Demographics and We Are All the Same Age Now.

Insights come in all shapes and sizes. Whether they’re big, small, or somewhere in between, there’s one thing that doesn’t change: the fundamental value they bring to businesses. What matters most are the outcomes they lead to and how they help to align organizations to move together in the right direction. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Greg Ambrose, Vice President of Consumer Marketing at Cineplex.

Data can point you to an opportunity, but it can’t tell you how to approach it. That’s where insight comes in. Uncovering that deeper “why” is what enables you to uncover a problem, identify an opportunity for growth, or drive category disruption. However, to drive business impact, interesting isn’t enough. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Elizabeth Oates, Senior Director of Consumer Insights at Ulta Beauty, who shares how to transform interesting insights into impactful ones.

A single insight can serve as a springboard to a wealth of ideas. However, not all insights are created equal. To generate impactful insights, you need to take a holistic approach. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Kristof De Wulf, Co-Founder & CEO of InSites Consulting.

Knowledge is power – that’s never changed. But the way to use that power has. Gone are the days where insights should be locked in a vault. Today, it’s essential to democratize insights for stronger relationships with your stakeholders and consumers. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Jorge Calvachi, Director of Insights at La-Z-Boy Incorporated, who shares how insights leaders today can create more consumer-centric cultures.

In order to succeed, brands need to transform us, as well as the world we live in. And insights are essential to doing that in a meaningful way. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Dr. Emmanuel Probst, Global Lead: Brand Thought-Leadership at Ipsos and Wall Street Journal best-selling author.

Working with consumer insights is both an art and a science, no matter what vertical you’re in. But the most skilled insights professionals take it a step further; they make it look like magic. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Laura Eddy, VP, of Research and Insights at Realtor.com.

What’s the difference between an insights professional and a consumer? Context. Sometimes a fresh perspective and a reminder of our common humanity are all we need. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Priscilla McKinney, CEO at Little Bird Marketing.

If yIf you’re looking at a problem from your customers’ point-of-view and your competitors are looking at those problems from their own point-of-view, then you’ve got a breakthrough. And if you’ve got a breakthrough, you’ve got an advantage. And that’s just one of the reasons why insights are so important. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Dr. Graham Kenny, Managing Director at Strategic Factors, renowned author, and regular Harvard Business Review contributor.

How do you balance agility and precision when making insights-led decisions? And how can you walk that line while learning to do more with less? There are no easy answers. But living in today’s world of probabilities, it’s essential for insights leaders to stay close to their consumers, their stakeholders, and most importantly, to not be afraid of taking calculated risks. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Anup Pradhan, VP - Head, User Research, Insights, and Behavior Science at Swiggy.

You’re not just competing with other brands for consumers’ attention anymore. And the windows of opportunity to capture their attention are shorter than ever. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Dennis Wakabayashi, Chief Collaboration Officer at Team Wakabayashi.

Not all data leads to insights, and not all insights make an impact. The deciding factor is the human touch. Uncovering the nuggets of truth that lead to deeper understanding and better decisions requires human expertise, empathy, thoughtful questions, and a willingness to listen. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Nikki Lavoie, EVP of Global Experience Strategy at Savanta.

The only thing certain is change – even more so in today’s current macro climate. And that’s why there’s never been a greater need for data and insights professionals to help business leaders understand how to prepare and react. But to achieve this, it’s essential to build meaningful connections and to truly dig deep into what matters to stakeholders and customers. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Dan Kellett, Chief Data Officer at Capital One.

As organizations grow, so does the importance of well-researched decisions. But how can you ensure that insights continue to make an impact, as the stakes and complexity increase? Digging deeper into the problem space, honing your sense of intuition, and maintaining conviction are all key for continuously turning insights into action. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Rogier Verhulst, Head of Market Research at LinkedIn and author of The Business of Marketing Research.

How do you turn consumer-centric vision into impact? And more importantly, how do you build a consumer-centric culture for the whole organization, especially when you’re working with limited resources? The right priorities, an open mind, a clear road map, and an appreciation for nuance can go a long way. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Ashley Hopkins, Head of Brand Strategy and Product Marketing at Wayfair.

“When you’re telling data stories, you’re affecting people’s lives.” Data is generated constantly in today’s digital world. But to truly get value from that data, it needs to be turned into actionable insights that foster meaningful engagements with both stakeholders and consumers. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Gilad Barash, VP of Analytics at Dstillery.

How easily can you see the point of view of other people? Empathy is critical to both society and business, and it often requires us to dig deeper — to not just ask “why”, but to truly understand “why”. It’s a tall order, and luckily Rob Volpe, CEO of Ignite 360 and author of “Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time”, is here to help. In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, Rob joins Thor to discuss how empathy can unlock deeper insights and help to create more meaningful stories.

In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Mike Bartels, Senior Director of Enterprise Research at Tobii. They discuss how eye tracking can play a powerful role in generating real-world insights that fuel innovation and competitive advantage.

Big players in market research today seem to be losing control of the space as new businesses emerge with innovative solutions. But it's no longer about being bigger, faster, and less expensive. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, new data sources, and analytics tools all have the potential to open up unique insights and opportunities for development. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Yogesh Chavda, Head of Insights at WSAudiology and Founder of Y2S Consulting.

Understanding the exact wants, needs, and desires of consumers is one of the hardest tasks in business. By mixing quantitative and qualitative data with human understanding, organizations can identify meaningful insights that present big opportunities to accelerate business growth. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Kyle Papanikolas, Global Insights Sr Director at McDonald’s.

Nielsen research estimates 85% of new CPG product launches fail within a year of launch. To avoid this, businesses need to ensure every innovation is grounded in insights. By doing so, and positioning insights as a strategic function rather than a service function, organizations can achieve long-term and sustainable growth. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Edwin Taborda, Global Head of Insights at Electrolux.

The only thing certain is change. From evolving trends to market landscapes, everything is dynamic. The ability to adapt to changing circumstances is a major factor in determining a company's long-term success. And that’s why market research is essential in order to keep up with trends and make more informed decisions. In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Annie Pettit, Chief Research Officer, NA, at E2E Research Services.

Welcome to The Consumer Insights Podcast. Every episode, we speak with an insights leader from one of the world’s leading brands to hear how they’re integrating consumer insights into strategy to move the business forward.