Ponderings From The Perch

Fledgling. Novice. Greenhorn. Tenderfoot. Noob. We have a lot of words for people who are trying things for the first time, and generally, the more words there are to describe a thing, the more prevalent and complex that thing is. This issue presents itself in two common ways in the market research industry: 1. A steady stream of new researchers entering the field, and 2. A continually shifting landscape full of new methodology, new technology, new objectives and new(ly reduced) budgets. Researchers everywhere are being asked to do more with less, and for many, the prospect of doing everything themselves seems like the only option. But it's not. Meet Edward Staples, Senior Director of Business Development at Prodege. Edward has been in the insights industry since 2006, and has worked in both qualitative and quantitative research, including trackers, concept testing, in-person and online across a broad client base including finance, travel, CPG, QSR, apparel, retail and more. At Prodege, he helps leading brand

It’s no surprise there has been a scramble recently as companies adapt to economic conditions and ever-changing consumer behaviors. Rapid inflation has meant that consumers are becoming more critical of their spending– putting pressure on companies both big and small. So what can brands do to adapt and ensure the best shopper experience and most effective brand strategy moving forward? We’re LIVE from IIEX Austin with a familiar face, Anne Stephenson, shopper insights expert and founding partner at Explorer Research. Anne sits down with Momma Bird, Priscilla McKinney, to discuss the future of retail in the face of the largest inflationary increase in 40 years. They dive into the different forces and factors that brands need to take into consideration when trying to navigate these unstable times and shopper behaviors. Listen in as we take a look into how shopper insights can help brands navigate the future of retail. "With inflation, brand loyalty is really being tested as far as where the breaking point is fo

Writing a book is hard, luckily, you don't have to do it alone. CEO of Scribe Media, Jevon McCormick sits down with Momma Bird, Priscilla McKinney to discuss what it takes to move forward on your path to authorship. Whether you need coaching, a ghostwriter, or marketing to spread your message, Scribe is there to assist you along the way. Listen in as we (hopefully) convince you to take that leap and finally write that book you've always dreamt of.

Research is great. Consumer insights are great too. But at the end of the day, if those insights aren’t being leveraged strategically to create lasting business and consumer impact, what’s the point? With consumer needs continually shifting, it’s become more important than ever to be mindful and strategic when it comes to consumer behavior research. "In order to make insights more impactful and make projects last, we need to be more mindful and strategic in the work we're doing." Scott Sabin Joining Priscilla on the Perch is Scott Sabin, Senior Manager of Customer Loyalty and Insights of Health & Wellness at Walgreens. Whew, that was a mouthful. The point? He's an expert worth listening to.  Through his years in the insights industry, one thing has remained the same– his mantra to ensure that the consumer and customer’s needs remain at the heart of everything he does. So how does Scott execute this customer-centric mindset to drive impact for both the business and the consumer? Tune in to discover Scott’s

Joy /joi/noun: a feeling of great pleasure and happiness In the last few years, it’s been hard for many to “find the joy” in life. Given the pandemic has put the stability of every sector of our lives to the test, it’s not hard to see why. But what if we told you there’s a science behind living a more joy-filled life?  Joy connoisseurs Debby Schlesinger-Hellman and Andrew Cannon join Priscilla on the Perch to discuss all things “joy.” Debby and Andrew are on a mission to inspire and empower people to live more joy-filled lives. So much so that they’ve built an entire brand around “The Art and Science of Joy.” You’re in for a treat with this episode as they explore the recipe for joy and how it impacts company culture, self-empowerment and our overall outlook on life. Looking for more joy-filled content? Check out The Art and Science of Joy Podcast!

Grab the balloons! Pop the champagne! It’s time for a mindset shift about LinkedIn, and it’s a FUN one. Long gone are the days when you viewed LinkedIn like it’s a ho-hum social media platform. It’s a fabulous cocktail party! And you’re invited! CEO and Little Bird Momma Priscilla McKinney is here to help you make a vital mindset shift about LinkedIn. Get ready to take a BIG step toward building social influence in a way that is meaningful for your business goals and your career objectives.  All too often, people engage with others on LinkedIn in a manner that is atrocious and completely inappropriate. How many times has someone sneakily tried to enter your LinkedIn life by hiding their intentions: “Hey’ I’m just trying to expand my network,” and then BAM! They’re moving in for a hardcore sale. That’s the equivalent of someone walking into a party and shouting from the door: “Hey! I’m over here! Who wants to sleep with me?” When you consider LinkedIn a cocktail party, you can better spot and avoid faux pas

There is always a risk of becoming obsolete when it comes to the market research industry or any industry for that matter. The truth is that things are constantly changing, and that includes consumer preferences and the shopper journey. Hence, the importance of being adaptable. And adaptability is a skill that Roseanne Luth is no stranger to. A true representation of women in research, Priscilla is joined on the Perch by the founder and president of Luth Research, Roseanne Luth. Roseanne brings with her more than 45 years of industry experience to discuss the various shifts and research technology innovations her firm has implemented to provide businesses with specific consumer insights. They explore how Luth Research has navigated the evolution of market research and leveraged these changes as growth opportunities. Tune in to hear how Roseanne and Luth Research have navigated and adapted to the ebbs and flows of the ever-changing market research world! Check out SurveySavvy!

So the story goes, a neuroscientist and an insights strategist walk into a bar. Well, that's not exactly how it went, but the interaction resulted in a unique collaboration with the goal of helping brands better understand human behavior using neuroscience. Priscilla is joined on the Perch by a good friend and colleague, Hunter Thurman, to discuss the behavioral psychology behind consumer behavior. Hunter is the founder and president of Alpha-Diver – the unique insights consultancy leveraging neuroscience to model, measure, explain and predict consumer behavior. He’s the author of the innovation book, Brand Be Nimble, and has been in the insights and strategy industry for over 20 years. Tune in to learn how leveraging neuroscience can provide deeper consumer insights and discover what it truly means to be "consumer-centric". Priscilla even gets Hunter to offer up his best tips and insights into the process of writing your own book.   Hunter's book, Brand be Nimble ushers in a new era of brand innovation! Yo

Insights and marketing professionals are under a lot of pressure.  Mmm num ba de Dum bum ba be Doo buh dum ba beh beh   How quickly can that campaign get out? How quickly can you generate more leads? Increase revenue! Optimize your team! Um ba ba be Um ba ba be De day da Ee day da, that's okay Jenn Vogel, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Voxpopme joins us with more than ten years of market research experience, providing knowledge on the ins and outs of corporate researchers. Jenn and Priscilla are discussing initiatives, tricky situations in marketing and emerging challenges for marketing for the insights industry in this episode of Ponderings from the Perch.  This is ourselves under pressure.  In this episode, you’ll find insights into quantitative versus qualitative research AND Banana Dancing! Yes. Banana Dancing. By the time you've finished this podcast, you’ll be fully equipped to Cut through the noise and better understand marketing for the insights industry. While you’re here — check out th

Time to get in shape.  Relax. We aren’t talking about the “running a mile for gym class” in shape. We’re actually talking about practicing and building up your empathy skills. Make empathy your new superpower and change the way you work and live. Joining Priscilla on The Perch is Rob Volpe, CEO and Empathy Activist at Ignite360. Rob is sharing the most impactful way forward with insight into his book, Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time.  Plain and simple, no one has a hankering for an apathetic friend, employee, boss, partner — the list goes on. Now, just because you aren’t practicing and strengthening your empathy skills now does not mean you’re inherently apathetic. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to set yourself on a path towards better connections and experiences. With empathy, we can all learn and understand more than we ever imagined possible.  Tune in to hear how Rob Volpe is solving the empathy crisis one conversation at a time. Grab your copy of

Does your company or team (marketing, sales or dodgeball) take part in the crucial practice of briefing and debriefing? If not, please see the definition of “crucial” and then continue reading to learn how to Be Vigilant! Many companies have undergone major changes due to recent global events, this we all know, but what we often don’t consider is if these blindside adjustments were due to an issue rooted far deeper in strategy and day-to-day operations. Enter, complacency.  com·​pla·​cen·​cy | \ kəm-ˈplā-sᵊn(t)-sē, noun: self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies “If you ask most people in business, whether they debrief things today, most likely they'll say yes, but most people do it when things go wrong and it becomes a blame game. What we don't do, a lot of the time, is self-reflection. Debrief when things are going right. The reality is that so much of complacency is bred in success.”  - Len Herstein, Author of Be Vigilant! In this episode of Pondering

COVID-19 put the insights industry on an accelerated path to digitalization, much like every other industry impacted by the pandemic. Before COVID, the research industry relied heavily on in-person interviews—and they likely won’t go away—however, research has changed.  The Research Technology industry, nicknamed ResTech, quickly identified the need for insights that were fast, scalable AND affordable. Now, high-quality data can be available in a matter of seconds, helping businesses make the right decisions at the right time.  Joining Priscilla McKinney on the Perch is ResTech expert Marc Hubbard. Marc has 20 years of research experience from Analyst to Country Manager with various research firms and tech firms including Nielsen and Google. We told you he’s an expert, right? Living and working in the UK and US on domestic and international projects throughout his research career only elevates his status as a thought leader in the industry.  Tune in to hear more about what “staying curious” means for business

Make clients unignorable. That’s a pretty good basis for working in the marketing industry, right? We think so, and so does our guest on this episode of Ponderings from the Perch. Introducing thought-leader Peter Levitan, Owner, Peter Levitan & Co. So, put on those headphones, plug into your aux cord or play it over Bluetooth for your daily commute — either way, don’t miss this intriguing discussion between Peter and Priscilla on B2B marketing in the 21st century.  “What in fact is that 'ideal client work' for your experience and skill set? Who would be interested in talking to you? Write down that criteria list because you can't do direct marketing of any sort without knowing who it is that you want to direct market to." -Peter Levitan With expertise working alongside the world's most recognizable brands, Peter is lending us his insight to discuss where brands fall short when it comes to working with marketing companies. Peter provides advice, coaching, and kick-ass, actionable business development strategie

'Tis the season to see your local Girl Scouts posted up at your favorite grocery store. It only makes sense to talk about cookies in this episode — well, maybe not those types of cookies (though a Little Bird Marketing fan favorite is Thin Mints... in the freezer). Priscilla McKinney and Ashley LeBlanc are back on the Perch to give you 3 strategies to leverage for success on social media.  With the advent of cookies, the marketing world shifted. But not like "getting comfy on the couch" shifted, more like "San Andreas fault line" shifted. And behold — targeted ads that work, and are arguably better on both ends. With Google phasing out cookies by 2023, what does the future of advertising look like? What do we, as marketers, stand to lose? What do we stand to gain?  Call it a strategy or simply a business practice, either way, corporate social responsibility has rooted itself into every industry. Should you be leveraging CSR into a social media strategy? Yes. Why? You'll just have to tune it to find out.  L

A celebration is in order for our friends at InnovateMR! They have received a significant investment from CIVC Partners, a Chicago-based middle-market private equity firm focused on investments in the business services sector.  “The big takeaway when you are looking to raise investment is to take your time and find the right partner. And I think we've really done that with CIVC their terrific company. They are a terrific group of folks that are already adding a tremendous amount of value to our business.” -Lisa Wilding-Brown, CEO On this episode, Priscilla shares a laugh and gets real about investing in growth with Lisa Wilding-Brown, CEO of InnovateMR. Lisa shares insights into her success as the recently-appointed CEO of InnovateMR. They both discuss plans for business development and growth through new investment opportunities in the fast-growing market research industry. Lisa provides priceless insight into how CEOs should guide their companies to ensure every team member maintains their purpose. Lisa Wil

Most people can appreciate the importance of core values, but often, core values are overlooked or poorly implemented into the foundation of an organization.  Though a business can change over time, core values remain constant, a sturdy backbone helping us to stay rooted and true to our beliefs. For the KJT Group, core values are always top of mind. How are you consciously and unconsciously showing up? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, Priscilla sits down with her good friend Michaela Gascon, President and CEO of the KJT Group, to talk about company core values, what leadership means and Michaela's new passion project, 20 Deep Winery.  Someone cue infomercial king, Ron Popeil because— Wait! There's more! Priscilla and Michaela discuss everything from contagious culture to Enneagram results (and yes, the peeps at Little Bird Marketing are Enneagram advocates). Michaela shares that she is particularly looking forward to the first half of next year—tightening screws a little bit, committing to the co

Market Research is no longer solely focused on measurement but has grown to include prediction and optimization of the impact of marketing. On today's episode, Priscilla talks with Emmanuel Probst, a brand health tracker for Ipsos and author of Brand Hacks: How to Build Brands by Fulfilling the Human Quest for Meaning. Emmanuel has a long-running background that combines over 16 years of market research and marketing experience with strong academic achievements. Together they pull back the curtain and reveal how brands are expecting future-proof marketing and consumers just want a little comfort in the buying process. Tune in to learn how small brands and big brands alike can harness the power of first-party data to foster one on one relationships with their clients, even when the budget is limited. You can find Emmanuel’s book here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58941508-brand-hacks

On today's episode, Momma Bird, Priscilla McKinney, and her guest, Cheskie Rosenzweig discuss a topic that often gets talked about but never seems to get resolved: Data quality. Cheskie is a Senior Research and Product Scientist at CloudResearch where his work centers around improving data quality in online research. He is also a Doctoral Candidate in clinical psychology at Columbia University. I mean, talk about being an expert in your field. Together, they discuss concepts that include the importance of blending both behavioral technical aspects of data in order to combat fraud and low-quality feedback in responses. A lot has changed since the first survey was conducted with the use of computer-aided statistical tools in 1890.  One of the tools being used to combat data quality issues is SENTRY™. You can check it out here.  SENTRY™ is a product that can be applied to any supplier and essentially performs an interview for each participant before they take part in a client survey. It applies both technologica

There's been a tradition in some aspects of the humanities and social science academic world of using narrative research to listen to people and discover unheard messages and ideas. Now that has crossed over into the quantitative research world. Leigh Caldwell, Partner at Irrational Agency, joins Priscilla McKinney in this episode of Ponderings from the Perch to dive deep into narrative research as it relates to behavioral science. So how does narrative research collectively bring a better understanding of consumers to the table?

Are soft skills going to be more important in the future than hard skills? Are you spending too much time networking with people who echo your own views? And what does all this have to do with networking? Find out in the episode of Ponderings from the Perch with Kingsley Aikins, CEO of The Networking Institute, and Priscilla McKinney.  The Networking Institute has worked with over 100 companies, in 30 countries, non-profits and governments as they seek to embed Networking as a core competency and an essential life skill to achieve their goals.