Rock n' Roll Research Podcast

Do surveys make good bedtime stories for kids? It worked for Kai Fuentes!Kai is a second-generation market researcher. While many of us were running around causing trouble as kids, Kai was helping her mom’s family business by stapling surveys and even intercepting respondents at the mall.Kai followed in her mother’s footsteps by founding Ebony Marketing Systems over 20 years ago, and today she is one of our industry’s foremost experts in conducting multicultural research.But she hasn’t stopped there. Kai has recently taken on the challenge of stand-up comedy. She shares her journey through insights, why stand-up is like qualitative research and the music she’d choose if stranded on a desert island.

London Brinkman is one year out of school as a Qualitative Market Research Analyst and my colleague at MarketVision Research. While working a project together, I learned she is also the lead singer for a notable cover band in Cincinnati. But not only that, she is an award-winning body builder!London discusses her decision to shift her career focus from musical theater to market research during the pandemic; the role of discipline in helping her excel in each of her passions; and the enduring importance of face-to-face research.I also kick off my new routine with Magic Mind, a mental performance shot that I’ve really been digging. Podcast listeners can use the code ROCKNROLL20 at https://www.magicmind.com/rocknroll to get 48% off an initial subscription or 20% off a one-time purchase. Highly recommend for staying focused, motivated and productive! \m/

Recorded live on the Purple Stage at the IIEX conference in Austin, TX on April 18!Nicholas Jayanty, Principal User Experience Researcher at IBM’s Red Hat, traces his path from making sketch comedy pilots on MTV to producing award-winning films to researching and designing digital user experiences.Nicholas contrasts the supply chains of the independent film industry and software design, discusses how UX can reduce its dependency on software engineering, the roadmap to a world without work and his love of the Austin music scene.

Wes Michael is the founder and CEO of Rare Patient Voice, a 10-year old firm who empowers patients and caregivers to share their voices with the companies working to better their lives with new products, devices, and treatments. [To date, RPV has paid out over $13M in incentives to patients and caregivers – wow!!]Wes started RPV after a successful research and brand management career at General Mills and McCormick and later with Kantar Health.He shares his novel approach to starting RPV and the mutual benefits of RPV to both patients and companies. He also discusses his quirky approach to marketing which has him singing customized lyrics set to familiar tunes like The Beverly Hillbillies theme and 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton. 

Sue Collin is one of those rare people who has spent her entire career with one organization. Her first job was with a research company called Directions for Decisions which was later acquired by RTi Research where she has been ever since. But while the company has remained the same, Sue’s career has done anything but. After years of applying her quantitative expertise, she expanded disciplines and is currently RTi’s SVP of Qualitative Research.Sue shares her career journey along with her lifelong passion as an artist which went from doing life drawing in Soho to mixed media art in her home studio. Along the way, we discuss why AI is like a microwave, the importance of integration / collaboration and the music that moves her.

On Episode #34, Priscilla McKinney from Little Bird Marketing shared her story of growing up in a family singing troupe. In this episode, we invite her back to the Rock n’ Roll Research Podcast to discuss her book, “Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards a Cross-Pollinating Hive Mind & How Not to Get Left Behind.” Priscilla and I dig deep into this highly useful guide on what collaboration *really* is, why it is so powerful and how to make it intentionally work for you - including several concrete examples from the market research industry. Of course, we finish with a little rock n’ roll, too. You can find the book on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats where it currently enjoys a 4.9/5.0 rating. Enjoy!

Mark Earls, The HERDmeister, shares his story of how he went from European tour guide to being labeled the market research industry’s “public enemy #1.”We have a wide-ranging conversation on how people really make decisions, the freedom to experiment in the insights world, predicting multiple futures, how brands grow, being clear in your terminology, making presentations into performances, how to do your own early research and the illusion of tradition.Mark also shares the story of his ska/punk band – over 30 years and still going strong – and the three records he’d want to keep him company on a desert island.

Jeffrey Porter will graduate from the UT Arlington MSMR program in December of this year. In addition to his studies, he is keeping extremely busy with an internship in financial data analysis with Lockheed Martin.But there’s more to Jeffrey than insights. He has maintained a nice side hustle of buying and selling vintage video games, timing the market perfectly by selling high during the pandemic. He’s also a shredding guitarist, crushing Jimi Hendrix and Red Hot Chili Peppers licks in his spare time.We discuss Jeffrey’s passion for insights and the discipline required to grow in all his pursuits. We also delve into a possible sci-fi future for data and consumer insights.

Kevin Lang is a recently minted Senior Sales Representative at the mighty research media company Greenbook, home of the GRIT Report, the IIEX conference series and “The Exchange” podcast with Lenny Murphy and Karen Lynch.While he got his start in the insights industry with Civicom, many people know Kevin from his involvement in the “MR Jam,” providing the backbeat for a who’s who of research industry musicians at Quirk’s conferences in New York and Chicago over the past few years.Kevin shares his experiences in research and his journey through music, from beating on pots to pans to playing in band to the MR Jam. Along the way, he shares his take on AI in market research, the drummer who most inspired him and we swap stories about Green Day, Dave Matthews and the Rolling Stones.

Dave McCaughan has long been a leading light on all things brand strategy, research and insights in Asia, having spent nearly 30 years in strategic planning and executive roles at McCann Worldwide all over the region. He has also long given his time back to the research industry through associations like ESOMAR and Greenbook among others.Dave shares his journey from children’s storyteller to advertising and from librarian to strategic planning leader in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand. With characteristic wit, Dave describes the groundbreaking work he led along the way and contrasts key findings with insights, the US with Asia, The Beatles with Taylor Swift, and generations with life stages. And would you believe that AC/DC played at Dave’s high school back in the day?