Rock n' Roll Research Podcast

Isaac Rogers is the Chief Innovation Officer at Schlesinger Group, a global leader in data collection and research services and one of the industry's most respected firms.Isaac originally came from outside the research industry. Inspired by Jim Bryson’s vision to disrupt the industry through new technology, Isaac joined 20/20 Research as a newly minted MBA with limited exposure to research. He worked his way to CEO in under 8 years and served in that capacity for 5 more when 20/20 was acquired by Schlesinger.As comfortable as he has become in this industry as a sought after innovator and thought leader, he is just as comfortable at home tending to his bee colonies. Yes, Isaac is an avid beekeeper.In this episode, Isaac shares insights on his career, the importance of speaking the language of business and what can be learned by studying the unheralded life of bees.

Who better to lead a conversational journey through the rich history of market research than Steve Cohen, co-founder of In4mation Insights? From Buck Weaver’s automobile surveys at General Motors in the 1930’s to Paul E. Green at Wharton to the modern day, Steve covers it all with distinctive insight and wit.But Steve also opens the closet, so to speak, and shares his attachment to his shoe collection, including his favorite pair of Chelsea boots, too long sitting idle through the pandemic!Steve has had a Hall of Fame career in market research with many firsts: first commercial MRer to do CBCA, first menu-based conjoint model, first paper for latent class CBCA and he introduced MaxDiff to the market.He has been awarded several of the most prestigious awards in the field for innovation, lifetime achievement and courage, yet he remains on the vanguard delivering world-class, aspirational analytics to solve his clients’ business challenges.

Priscilla McKinney is the CEO and “Momma Bird” of Little Bird Marketing, helping clients soar by creating and executing highly effective marketing plans. She is also a tireless advocate for research industry collaboration and produces an outstanding podcast, Ponderings from the Perch.If you know Priscilla, you know she is relentlessly positive, energetic and curious. But what you didn’t know is that her curiosity was seeded early while traveling throughout Spain in a childhood singing troupe with her four sisters (in matching dresses, no less!).Priscilla shares her story and offers sage advice to research firms looking to tell their own stories.

You probably know Joel Rubinson as one of the great independent thinkers in marketing and market research. His ideas on digital data and attribution, in particular, helped shape my own thinking long before we met.But do you know the Joel Rubinson who:Sings and plays harmonica and guitar in bands on the side?Threw a mean fastball as a pitcher for NYU?Ran his own sabermetric analyses long before Bill James and Moneyball?With characteristic wit, Joel shares those experiences along with his take on the power of good marketing strategy+targeting and how he spent the pandemic hitting the books. Stick around to the end for his joke about economists!While Joel has already contributed so much to the profession, the data say his best work is ahead of him. 

Susan Griffin knows the intersection of marketing and research better than anyone. She was previously CMO at System1 (formerly BrainJuicer) and today puts her hard-won experience to work for her clients as Principal at Griffin + Skeggs Collaborative.Susan shares her journey including why research firms should “think like a baker,” why she took a late-career internship and details of her side gig helping talented theater creatives with the business side of their craft. She also speaks with pride about her daughter, Emily Skeggs, who was part of the “Fun Home” cast on Broadway that won the Tony Award the year before “Hamilton.”Equal parts informative and entertaining, make sure you tune in to the end where she gets me to turn in my metal salute for jazz hands!

Ivan Rocabado’s insights career started in Santiago, Chile with Nielsen. Five more cities later, he’s the SVP, North America for RepTrak, a world leader in corporate reputation management.Ivan discusses the gutsy risks he took on himself and his convictions that led to launching a modern Nielsen HomeScan panel in Chile. His resourcefulness, determination and belief in innovation have served him well in his career, but they were cultivated as a young DJ with an armful of records in his native Santiago.I have learned much from Ivan about telling data-supported stories that lead to winning business outcomes. He shares his fascinating journey and insights along the way on this podcast.

A trained chemist, Charlie Rader has spent over 26 years in Products Research at Procter & Gamble bringing new and improved products to consumers all over the world. In recent years, Charlie has played a leading industry role uncovering and developing digital capabilities that increase the quality, efficiency and scalability of research.But alongside corporate and industry roles, you can find Charlie in other roles like Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls or the Emcee in Cabaret.Charlie shares his acting stories and discusses P&G’s Products Research function, the importance of teamwork and the work yet to be done in consumer research.

Alisa Ben has spent a lot of time in the driver’s seat - from a tour van back in the day to leading the analytics function at the world’s second largest independent media agency.In college, she managed and mentored a band of ambitious high-schoolers, The All-American Rejects, who went on to write four top-20 hits and sell over 10 million records. That experience launched a brilliant career in the music industry, and today she is SVP, Head of Analytics at Canvas Worldwide, named in 2020 as AdWeek’s Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year.Alisa has carved a path that uniquely blends her passion and leadership in chart-topping music, media, branding and data analytics. In this podcast, she shares her journey, what connects her experiences and her view on where data and technology are taking us. May she inspire and entertain you as she did me.

As a Research Associate at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management, Patrick Adler studies the geography and curation of the music festival economy - where festivals are staged, where the acts come from and what that means for regional economies and urbanization.For example,  just 4-5 cities account for 40% of the acts that play large festivals like Coachella, SXSW and Lollapalooza. What are the economic implications for the host city? For the cities the acts come from?In this episode, Patrick shares fascinating highlights of his soon-to-be-published work and offers a geographer's perspective on what the post-pandemic future holds. \m/ \m/

“I’m essentially a historian and researcher.”Whitney Dunlap-Fowler is the brilliant and indefatigable founder of Touch of Whit Creative, providing expert brand strategy consulting rooted in cultural insight.In this episode, Whitney traces her circuitous route to a career in insights. From a child artist in South Carolina, to Chicago to pursue a career in advertising, to joining Kantar Added Value at the ground floor in New York City, to becoming an entrepreneur. She offers shrewd insight for anyone currently navigating their career.Whitney also shares her fascinating take on how knowing the future of your category or brand starts with understanding the past. Along the way, we discuss the organization she founded called Insights in Color and her love of TV jingles, moody music and Game of Thrones.