Rock n' Roll Research Podcast

Over the past 16 years, Annie McDannald has risen through the ranks at Civicom to her current role as Global VP of Marketing Research Services. Chances are you’ve used Civicom at some point for their myriad of useful technologies and services supporting the market research process.What you might not know is Annie has been a performer since a young age - from supporting the family’s carnival puppet show business to being a professional runway model to singing. In fact, she is a vet of the Quirk’s MR Jam Session which she will reprise at Quirk’s NYC in July.Annie and I discuss her journey through her research career, her carnie life growing up, how the pandemic changed the future of research and getting the Led out.

Rob Volpe left a successful career in promotional marketing, got a certification from RIVA and found his calling as a qualitative researcher. In 2011, he founded a thriving insights consultancy, Ignite 360, on the principles of curiosity and empathy.Through his personal experiences, activism and engagement with people and customers, Rob learned how empathy can be a powerful force for good yet is, sadly, in short supply. He has helped fill the void by writing his award-winning book, “Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time.”Rob shares his personal and professional journey, his philosophy on insights and some fun and heartfelt stories along the way.

Torsten Mueller-Klockmann is the Marketing Science Lead for the DACH region at Meta where he has been for the past 7 years. Before Meta, Torsten was an entrepreneur and pioneer in the user experience research tech space having founded SirValUse which was purchased and integrated into GfK.That’s not all, though. Torsten was a shredding guitar player in a band called The Crunch who played their brand of pop punk/metal/funk-inspired jams around Hamburg, Germany.Torsten shares his journey through analytics+music, his take on the future of research panels and the records he’d take with him if stranded on a desert island.

If you watched VH1's "Best Week Ever," The WB, Discovery or CNN in the aughts, you might know Leigh Kessler from his hilarious pop culture commentary.Or you might know Leigh as the VP of Client Solutions for Mercury Analytics, an insights agency developing and employing cutting-edge research technology.Leigh shares his improbable path from comedian to researcher, the necessity of human observation to both disciplines and the comics who do it best. He also discusses his recent foray into music.

Chris Connolly has one of those great stories of starting in research as a phone interviewer and steadily expanding his career over time. Today he is Vice President at the Logit Group, one of the very best research execution companies when it comes to cutting-edge, efficient and reliable operational support.He also has a great story of becoming a lifelong jobbing musician (a REALLY good one, too!) which involves a riotous episode of lip-synching in a high school talent show.Chris shares his journey in research, the challenges ahead for researchers and a tour through being a long-time musician in the Denver/Boulder area.

I recently saw Nancy Cox’s article in Quirk’s about Frankie Lipinski’s roller derby exploits and I just had to learn more!Frankie (she/they) is an Insights Analyst at Escalent, one of the best data analytics/insight advisory firms in the business. She is also a proud grad of the prestigious MSMR program at Michigan State. On top of that, she skates for the Chicago-Style Roller Derby Team, a passion through which she has learned deep lessons about entrepreneurship, community, diversity and themselves.Frankie discusses their fascinating journey from Girls Rock Chicago to roller derby to research. She also shares the good works she is contributing to with the Insights Association’s IDEA Council and the QRCA’s Emeritus group.

Guitarists know Marc Huzansky as the co-host of the YouTube show, Tone-Talk. With over 22K subscribers, a partner like David Friedman from Friedman Amplification and guests from bands like Pantera, Stone Temple Pilots, Jane’s Addiction, Ozzy Osbourne, Toto and many others, it has become quite successful in its own right.Researchers know Marc as a long-time expert in healthcare research as VP at Cerner Enviza (formerly Kantar Health) for over 16 years. Cerner Enviza is a leader in data, insights and consulting for healthcare and the life sciences and is now part of Oracle via the 2022 acquisition of Cerner.Marc discusses his insights career, the future of healthcare research and his improbable journey of becoming a YouTube personality, including his favorite and most infamous interviews.

You probably know Eric Dolan as the Director, Consumer Business & Intelligence for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health helping drive global strategy for iconic brands like Listerine, Neutrogena and Band-Aid. He’s also ex-P&G and a proud grad of the University of Wisconsin’s revered MBA program which has trained many a senior leader in marketing, insights and analytics.You may not know that Eric spent years writing music and playing clubs in and around Boston (including the legendary Middle East!) with groovy and catchy rock/pop bands like Scram and The Union Jacks. The lessons learned from creating and performing music have served him well professionally.We discuss Eric’s journeys through research and music, the importance of “resonance” and the future of insights. 

Anh Tran is a grad student in the University of Texas at Arlington MSMR program graduating in May. Hers is one of the fresh voices of sharp, creative researchers who will steward the next chapter of the insights industry. Anh has long cultivated her considerable skill as a photographer. Her penchant for careful observation, empathy and curiosity serve her well in both her research and creative endeavors. We discuss ChatGPT’s potential applications, openness to unexpected outcomes and a little bit of jazz and Motown.

Growing up near NYC in Maplewood, New Jersey, Joel Primer initially eschewed the academic route of his parents and brother and decided to rock n’ roll. He was playing in bands from middle school onward, and he even played with Nick Clemons and his father, Clarence Clemons, from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.Seeking a more stable life in his early 30s, Joel found the world of market research. After living through the series of mergers that started with UK-based Research Now through to Dynata, Joel is now in a Strategic Operations role at the mighty Kantar, one of the world’s largest data, insights and consulting firms.Joel recounts his journey and what he’s learned along the way. He also explains why we need to “bring something good” to the respondents that fuel the research industry.