Think Outside the Focus Group Facility If you've spent any time in market or consumer research, you know the drill. Fluorescent lights humming overhead, a one-way mirror on the wall, a tray of cookies left out by the previous group, and participants who walked in already knowing they're being watched and studied. The traditional focus group facility has its place in qualitative research and consumer research focus groups, but somewhere between the third identical beige conf

This book helps us understand why life is a stage in which consumers are constantly performing for others, for brands, and for themselves.

Hiring experts to help me make decisions about things I didn’t fully understand made me think about my own work as a research partner.

There is a belief that persists in a lot of boardrooms, particularly in leaner times, that market research and consumer insights are nice-to-haves. Something you do when budgets are flush and cut when they're not. A line item that feels optional compared to media spend, product development, or sales headcount. That belief is expensive. And the evidence against it has been piling up for years. The brands that consistently outperform their categories, grow through downturns,

What fascinates me is what the tournament reveals about people, culture and connection. Because the World Cup has never just been about football.

If my company were a teenager living here in Los Angeles, it would be old enough to get its driver's permit. That that'll get you reflecting.

Three cities. Three stages. Three firsts. What several weeks on the road reminded me about the beauty of human interaction.

Brand health trackers measure how your brand lives in the minds of consumers over time. You should have one, now.

True, Los Angeles is not the most representative city. But representative and valuable are two different things. Come to LA to explore what's next for your brand.

On emotions and how anger is a force that hijacks judgment, distorts values, and leads people to act in ways misaligned with who they are.

Marketers don't need more data. They need clarity, guidance, and inspiration to turn the research they already have into strategy. Here's how we do it.

Consumer-centricity is a useful and well intentioned north star for brands. But it doesn't mean what you think it does.

This book helps us understand why human beings are so bad at being happy even when they're given everything they (supposedly) want.

When brands are swimming in dashboards and sentiment scores, embarking on a listening tour can be surprisingly powerful.

The Oscars still manage to gather us, perhaps at separate times and places, but enough to remind us that shared experiences still matter.

Every year, at the very beginning of our calendar, we make a deliberate decision to press pause. Not on the business itself, but on the distance between us.

Hiring a consumer insights agency should not feel like a leap of faith. Here is an agency fit checklist for your next project.

This book gives us an old lens to look at modern social dynamics. Whether in person or online, crowds change people more than they realize.

2026 does not feel like a clean slate. It feels more like a continuation of pressure. Here is what I feel will be increasingly unavoidable this year.

Every qualitative project begins with a sea of words. Getting to a safe shore of insights requires transcripts, frameworks, and an active voice.