I think one of the greatest tragedies in the world right now is where all the big brains are going. You see the big brands want to go put a man on the moon or created a nuclear bomb so they win the World War but now they’re all on Google, Facebook and TikTok trying to get the right ad in front of the right person at the right time. I think insights executives need to celebrate more what it is that we do, I mean without insights there’s nothing you can copy in the world if it doesn’t have an insight. I would say what we do is the most important profession in the whole entire world. I don’t know that if our executive celebrates that enough. You don’t meet many people that wanted to work in market research or insights but you get people that stumbled into it and they’re like this is amazing.
I’m understanding why people do the things they do and I’m helping brands create better products and services for those people. If you go into a supermarket every single thing on a shelf is based on insights. Turn on the TV, every ad you see is based on insight. Every successful company in the Fortune 1000 is based on insights. I don’t think the market research profession does a good enough job promoting that and getting people excited about what a career could look like. I will also say this, I work in advertising and I’ve got a media company. But those careers that those people have in advertising, I have incredible respect for them because it’s a tough life. For every 100 ads that you create or ideas, the clients are going to shoot down 95%. So you’re in this constant vicious cycle of denial, stress and anxiety versus in research. Because we get to test that stuff, we’re involved and we’re showing back the data. When you presenting a research deck, the clients hang on to every word and they are grateful that you’re there. You’re the voice of that consumer, you’re the voice of their customer, you’re going to reveal the insights that are going to help them build brands and build their own personal careers. I do think that executives could do a much better job celebrating and promoting the amazing work that we do and the impact that we have in the world.
