Rock n' Roll Research Podcast

As a huge hip-hop fan, how does an internship with legendary Def Jam Records lead you out of music and into advertising? Michael Schonfeld has a fascinating story about that!Since joining the ad agency world, Michael has worked with meaningful brands like Mars, Sandy Hook Promise and Reebok. Today, he is Senior Strategist on Michelob Ultra in NYC at the iconic FCB, winners of the 2019 Cannes Lion North American Creative Agency of the Year, the 2020 Adweek Global Agency of the Year and countless other awards over the past 148 years.In this podcast, Michael shares his journey, his take on the relationship of brands with consumers and how brands can better understand the people they serve.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

Today Jennie Finerty has a very successful career in insights as VP, Qualitative Research for Magid’s Global Media & Entertainment practice.But before her career in research, Jennie spent much of her life as a successful competitive athlete. She spent countless hours over many years with her twin sister in the pool training as an Artistic Swimmer (then known as Synchronized Swimming), where she excelled and eventually went on to make the US National Team and the US Training Squad for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.Jennie shares her journey on today’s podcast, including how she got started, what she has learned from her experience in athletics, how qualitative research has changed and the “inspirational pressure” of representing her country in international competition.For more really cool insights from Magid, go here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeuJSsivrUGht8ZimN7rLxATry 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

Alfonso de la Nuez traces his fascinating journey from a childhood dream of playing point guard in the NBA to helping lead the revolution of user experience research as founder and CEO of UserZoom. He shares the lessons he applied from basketball to the business world and how Google and others in the early days pushed his consulting business to do user experience research at scale. What started as a services business evolved into a SaaS business that became UserZoom.Along the way, he discusses what’s next for the evolution of user experience research, the influence of people like Ricky Rubio and Pau Gasol on Spanish basketball and the music that means the most to him.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

“Making Research Inspirational” is what Nikki Lavoie’s company, MindSpark, does on a professional level every day. Like me, many are personally inspired by Nikki, and grateful for the leadership, expertise and energy she contributes to the insights industry through organizations like ESOMAR, The AQR and more.What I *really* wanted to know is the backstory of how she came to launch and lead a global qualitative research agency based in France after starting her career in the US. Nikki shares this story and more, including the importance of respecting research participants, why she’s still a Belieber and why she suspects you are, too.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

My good friend and Chief Architect at a major financial firm, Mike Boyer, had the idea to put the host on the hot seat  in his aptly named "Turntable Episode."Mike gets me to share how I got into the field of market research, a self-deprecating jog through my  humbling side gigs in music and a way-too-long list of records I'd want 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

Jessica Gomez is one-of-a-kind in all the best ways. She is someone who takes initiative and makes the most of her opportunities. She turned an entry level position at a TV station in San Antonio into digital sales management positions in Dallas, New York City and now Houston at Audacy, Inc., the second largest radio company in the US.But . . . she also mighta, coulda, shoulda, woulda been a Flamenco dancer (she is a great dancer, I can attest!). Jessica shares that story along with insights about digital marketing during the pandemic, the role of data in the marketing mix and the music that means the most to her.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

Evan Dabbs made a bet that a deep background in music would translate well to a career in user experience design. I’m convinced he’s right.I met Evan on LinkedIn after reading his Medium article, “The UX of Music.” The pandemic led him to explore new paths beyond his career as a band director (can you imagine conducting a school orchestra over Zoom?).Evan shares keen insight into how similar the processes are for composing music and creating user-centered design. Have you ever thought about that brief moment of satisfaction between when a live performance ends and when the applause starts? Evan has and he is exploring what it could mean for designing satisfying experiences.Evan’s second career in UX may just be getting started but it couldn’t have been built on a better foundation.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

Alistair Vince traces his career path from Big Mac Constructor to CEO of Watch Me Think, an inventive ethnography and consumer empathy firm with offices in Australia, the UK and the US.He shares how a washing machine inspired the launch of the company and how it is ever guided by culture, people, ideas, stories and innovation.He also shares the lessons he’s learned from his passion project, 'The 100' newsletter, “A cheat-sheet way to stay on top of the world of market research,” which includes impartiality, “the rhythmic rule of 3” and the enduring appeal of PowerPoint.I won’t give away his desert island discs, but let’s just say that Alastair is Straight Outta Cliddesden. \m/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

You may know Orlando Wood as the Chief Innovation Officer at System1, a foremost thought leader on behavioral science and advertising, or the author of the acclaimed book on advertising, “Lemon: How the Advertising Brain Turned Sour.” For those who’ve enjoyed “Lemon,” he has another book due out this October.You may not know that Orlando is a studious and talented watercolorist. He draws keen, common lessons among the disciplines of research, advertising, writing and art (“It’s important to respect spontaneity . . . and mistakes that you think are mistakes but might actually turn into something really interesting.”).Orlando shares his insights on why advertising’s creative devices have changed in recent years, how art reflects broader societal trends and the authors, media and music that inspire him.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

By day, Elena Erofeeva is an accomplished software engineer working with big data applications and many more. Her interest in computers was sparked early, at age 4, when her father built one of the first computers in her hometown region in Russia.But before moving to the US in her teens, Elena also discovered metal (\m/). Now steeped in the arcane worlds of black metal, symphonic metal and myriad other taxonomic branches, she eventually found her way to the mic as an on-air radio DJ at KFAI Fresh Air Radio in Minneapolis.Elena became a host of the Root of All Evil radio show, the longest continually running metal radio show on the planet founded by the Twin Cities metal godfather, Earl Root (RIP). She has since also launched and hosts the show, Shadow Planet, from 2am-4am on Saturday mornings.You haven’t heard a story quite like Elena's! \m/ \m/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