Rock n' Roll Research Podcast

When Tron Smith joined Suzy in 2020, she was stepping not just into a new company but a new industry. The market research learning curve can be steep and the esoterica daunting.To meet the challenge, Tron found a mentor. She became involved in the Insights Association and joined the Board. She has embraced the insights industry and is helping to make it better. She has rapidly become a valued contributor to Suzy’s explosive growth as one of the most disruptive and buzzworthy companies in the industry.Tron discusses her journey and dishes on her passion project, an LLC delivering staging services to AirBnB hosts. She also shares her fresh and honest observations of the insights industry, her love for Judge Judy and the music she’d choose if stranded on a deserted island.Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT

Larry Cheng was a mechanical engineer working to design a new baby stroller when he nearly tipped his own child out of a stroller at the airport. It changed his conception of the problem from one rooted in a series of calculations to one much more human-centered.Since that time, research has played a part in all of Larry’s roles from designer and project lead at IDEO, to experience design, strategy and innovation at Intuit and, currently, design research and insights within Intuit’s Small Business & Self-Employed Group.Larry discusses his journey and the role that creativity and curiosity have played throughout, including his days as lead vocalist of a really cool punk rock band in college called The Skullmen. He shares how “Design for Delight” drew him to Intuit and offers his take on the dynamics of doing user experience research in the world of digital products.Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT

As the founder of OdinAnswers and StoryHub, Tom Anderson has done much to advance the veracity and application of text analytics, AI and big data within the disciplines of customer experience, insights and business strategy. But he also vaulted the market research industry into the modern world by creating Next Gen Market Research, enabling a network of tens of thousands of researchers to discuss important research topics with peers across the globe. He stimulated discussions, often passionate and contentious ones, and Tom has never been known to shy away from a good debate.Tom discusses how he got interested in analytics, his experience with NGMR and where analytics is taking him now. He also shares his take on missed opportunities for corporate researchers and the persistent research problem yet to be solved. I wish for nothing more than to be singing Karaoke at an industry conference with Tom, but a podcast is the next best thing!Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT

Greg Park is in his third week as Director, Market Strategy and Understanding at Ipsos, the world’s foremost leader in understanding society, markets and people. Consumer Insights has been the focus of his entire career including 6+ years on the client side at Giant Food/Ahold.But in parallel to developing his research chops, Greg spent several years guitar-shredding for an East Coast prog/hardcore/punk/metal band called Pandas, performing regularly and putting out an album. I know these genres well and I have never heard anything quite like Pandas! Greg and I discuss the ins and outs of his research career and what he’s learned along the way. He also shares some great stories about his band and his (very metal!) music choices if stranded on a desert island.Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT

Bianca Pryor is Vice President at BET leading their content optimization team and a Board Member of the Insights Association. Consumer Behavior is a long time passion but there is so much more to her than that. I am grateful to Bianca for bringing her whole self to the Rock n’ Roll Research Podcast.Bianca discusses her career, what she learned along the way from TNS Kantar and System 1/Brainjuicer and what the future of research and insights looks like. She generously shares her deeply personal story that has led to her taking action about black maternal health by co-founding Dr. Shalon’s Maternal Action Project. Finally, Bianca reveals the BET show she most recommends, the music that nurtures her soul and the record shop in the Bronx where she finds the best vinyl.Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT

Ben Doepke never accepts the norms and standards of research as gospel. In his work as Principal of IX Strategy, he takes all the givens and the best practices, interrogates them and usually subverts them in the service of more meaningful, reverent, and human connections and insights. If you’ve worked closely with Ben, you’ve surely learned to see your work in ways you’ve never before thought of.In this episode, Ben shares his unique perspective on insights, consumer brands and our deep responsibility to the humans who volunteer their experiences under the auspices of research. He traces his unconventional upbringing growing up on a goat farm without a television, to years on the road as a musician/songwriter with the band Homunculus, to the present day with fascinating and formative stories along the way.Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT

It may sound like a leap to go from aerospace and operational physiology to overseeing user experience research for a major financial services company, but Jeff Scott explains just how much these worlds have in common.Jeff shares his unique and fascinating journey from the US Air Force to Director of User Experience Research at Charles Schwab. He shows how each step along the way built upon the previous to make him perfectly suited for his role.Along the way, Jeff discusses what call center work shares in common with flying a fighter jet, the military lessons he applies every day at Schwab and how good vs. bad data can literally save lives. He also throws me for a loop with his desert island music choices!Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT

“I live alone in a forest of likes,” a telling Instagram quote about the media context for brands in Emmanuel Probst’s best-selling book, “Brand Hacks: How to Build Brands by Fulfilling the Consumer Quest for Meaning.”Emmanuel is like a physician for brands. I couldn’t get enough of his ideas in our talk and we continued our conversation long after the podcast ended. Emmanuel began his research career humbly and has become one of the most trusted advisors for growing brands. Today he is Global Lead: Brand Thought Leadership for Brand Tracking at Ipsos. He is also a contributor to Forbes and Media Post, a reviewer for the Journal of Advertising Research and adjunct faculty at UCLA Extension.We dive deep into why and how brands must create meaning with consumers. We also discuss the power of nostalgia in branding and the appeal of Pink Floyd and Brittany Spears as a student learning English.Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT

As a professor of Cognitive Psychology, Leib Litman was a pioneer in using the Internet for academic research. He met and tackled data quality challenges and has since become a trusted leader in ensuring online data quality at the firm he co-founded, Cloud Research.Leib takes us on a journey into the world of survey participants, both genuine and bogus, identifying the scope and nature of the problems and how a blend of technology and cognitive psychology can help ensure high quality survey data.Leib also shares the records (highly approved by the host!) that he would want to keep him company on a desert island.Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT

Dyna Boen has spent most of her career helping lead start-ups to success, including her own. She has seen it all, done it all and inspired many along the way.Yet, she has always made time to help others. Seven years ago, she and Heidi Dickert had an idea to create an offsite for executive women in research to share experiences and learn from each other. They saw it through and it became the WIRexec Leadership Summit which she has continued to help lead.Dyna discusses the early days of ResTech with MarketTools, her journey in research and what she has learned and applied along the way.Try the Magic Mind mental performance shot! You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RNRLT at checkout You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RNRLT