Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII

The Greenbook Podcast Network
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Marketing
  • Weekly

Data and insights have become the required superpowers of growth companies. No matter what peak or trough the economy is in, business leaders need actionable insights to grow markets, engage customers, and make smart strategic decisions. And research professionals need skills and insights to grow their strategic seat at the table. MRII’s Insights & Innovators talks to today’s top experts and innovators to chart a path for the role, the research methods of tomorrow, and the growing importance of the researcher to business success.

  1. 5d ago

    Why Great Research Software Isn't Enough with Charlie Butler

    When research tools all start to look the same, the real differentiator becomes the operating model that connects them and guides decisions. Charlie Butler, Co-Founder & C0-CEO at Bounce Insights, joins host Niels Schillewaert, Head of Research at Conveo.ai, to unpack why software alone hasn’t transformed insights as much as expected, even with generative AI. They discuss research as an emotional, high-stakes practice that requires confidence, context, and accountability, plus the limits of templated approaches for complex business questions. Charlie explains the idea of an “insights operating system” that unifies knowledge management and quant/qual workflows from business question to decision, improving speed and attribution. Real-world examples highlight how under-resourced insights teams are shifting away from self-serve tools toward integrated tech, expertise, and change management. 00:00 Sea of Sameness 00:26 Show Intro 00:55 Why Software Falls Short 03:08 Failing Upward Lessons 05:43 Custom Work and Accountability 08:01 Insights Operating System 10:22 Diet Coke Pricing Example 12:11 From Utopia to Bounce Approach 13:17 OS vs Dashboards 16:13 Client Case Studies 20:33 Next Gen Insights Company 24:37 Preparing for 2030 27:02 Career Advice and AI 28:59 AI and Critical Thinking 29:57 One Big Prediction 31:33 Closing Thanks Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/

    Why Great Research Software Isn't Enough with Charlie Butler

  2. Oct 22

    Can Synthetic Research Work in B2B with Sascha Eder

    High-quality B2B data is the make-or-break factor in building synthetic personas that can be trusted. Sascha Eder, CEO & Co-Founder, NewtonX, joins host Jon Last, President, Sports and Leisure Research Group, to discuss why synthetic research is uniquely challenging in B2B, where buyer decisions are made by committees and online data is limited. They clarify key approaches including synthetic boosting, synthetic modeling, digital twins, and B2B-trained synthetic personas, and outline where synthetic can add value today, such as pre-testing questionnaires, message testing, and concept refinement. The conversation also covers validation through A/B testing against independent real-buyer samples, transparency around data sources, and why synthetic should often complement, not replace, primary research to support more continuous, always-on insights. 00:00 Building Synthetic Personas 00:34 Podcast Intro and Topic 02:33 Why B2B Is Different 05:10 Data Scarcity in B2B 07:04 Four Synthetic Methods 11:05 Best Use Cases and Limits 13:33 How to Build Personas Right 15:18 Validation and Trust Tests 18:35 Always On Insights Workflow 20:13 NewtonX Approach and Moat 23:25 Market Adoption and Hype Cycle 26:43 Future Outlook and Wrap Up 28:29 Closing Thanks and Subscribe Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/

    Can Synthetic Research Work in B2B with Sascha Eder

  3. Oct 15

    Rediscovering The Value Proposition for Insights with Mary Beth Jowers

    AI may automate research execution, but the bigger opportunity is refocusing insights on its core job: shaping better business decisions through deeper consumer and market understanding. In this episode, Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, speaks with Mary Beth Jowers, VP, Consumer & Market Insights, Americas, The HEINEKEN Company, about how insights teams can “bring their own chair” by aligning work to how leaders make decisions, tailoring outputs to stakeholder needs, and learning from why insights don’t get used. They discuss partnering beyond marketing with finance and other functions, translating insights into decision-ready and financially relevant deliverables, and stepping into process, organizational, and technology stewardship roles. Mary Beth also outlines practical steps like auditing work products, mapping use cases, and building feasibility and viability fluency alongside desirability. 00:00 Bring Your Own Chair 00:42 AI And Insights Purpose 01:39 Meet Mary Beth Jowers 04:04 Right Business New Focus 06:21 Earning The Seat 10:38 Why Insights Get Ignored 13:08 Cheat Sheets And Influence 14:40 Friends With Finance 18:18 Insights As Change Agents 21:18 Tech Stewardship And Governance 23:37 Redrawing Boundaries 28:26 Accountability For Outcomes 30:15 Skills To Build Tomorrow 33:51 Closing Thanks And Subscribe Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/

    Rediscovering The Value Proposition for Insights with Mary Beth Jowers

  4. Oct 1

    How Great Insights Teams Make Every Study Count with Daniel Graff-Radford

    The opportunity has never been better for insights teams to earn a meaningful seat at the strategy table by reducing busy work and focusing on the key data that drives decisions. In this episode, Daniel Graff-Radford, CEO, Discuss, joins host Pavi Gupta, Founder, The Insights Exchange, to discuss how researchers can shift from being “traffic cops” to building librarian-like systems that make organizational knowledge accessible and reusable. They explore the risks of partners uploading research into off-the-shelf LLMs, the need for traceability and repeatability, and how to avoid “insight slop” from either excessive questions or generic outputs. Daniel frames AI interviewing as a fast in-between method bridging surveys and live moderated qual, stressing guardrails and using the right tool for the decision’s risk and complexity. 00:00 Why Insights Matter Now 00:36 Meet the Host and Guest 01:44 Cutting Busy Work 03:11 From Traffic Cop to Enabler 04:57 The Librarian Mindset 07:36 Humans Plus AI Guardrails 11:26 Avoiding Insight Slop 14:16 Traceability and Trust 18:23 AI Interviews as the Middle 21:40 Choosing Methods by Risk 23:22 Key Takeaways and Wrap Up Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/

    How Great Insights Teams Make Every Study Count with Daniel Graff-Radford

  5. Sep 24

    The Redesign of the Insights Industry with Jim Whaley

    The insights industry isn’t in decline, it’s being redesigned, and AI is accelerating that shift. In this episode, Jim Whaley, CEO OvationMR, joins host Jon Last, President, Sports and Leisure Research Group, to reframe what AI is really disrupting in market research: tasks like fast fielding, charting, and basic summaries, not the core purpose of insight. They explore why organizations confuse activity with value, how the “kindergarten” moment of AI creates excitement and anxiety, and why fluent answers aren’t always true answers. Jim outlines the risks of “synthetic certainty,” the need for inclusive leadership when adopting AI, and why younger researchers should focus less on producing outputs and more on helping people learn and make better decisions. 00:00 Define Yourself by Impact 00:26 Podcast Intro and AI Redesign 02:10 Decline Versus Redesign 03:54 Tasks Disrupted Not Insight 05:33 Kindergarten AI Metaphor 08:32 We Have Been Here Before 12:53 Loud Voices and Governance 15:46 Insights as Learning Systems 18:39 Fluency Versus Truth 22:43 Synthetic Certainty Tradeoffs 25:31 Leadership Skills for Researchers 29:08 Optimism and Domain Expertise 33:06 Closing Thanks and Subscribe Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/

    The Redesign of the Insights Industry with Jim Whaley

  6. Sep 17

    Agentic Shopping and AI-Mediated Consumer Behavior with Steve Phillips

    When AI agents can research products in depth and make tailored recommendations, the traditional role of brand as a trust shortcut may shrink. In this episode, Steve Phillips, Founder, Chair and Chief Innovation Officer at Zappi, joins host Niels Schillewaert, Head of Research, Conveo.ai, to unpack “agentic shopping” and how AI-mediated decisions could reshape marketing and insights. Steve shares a real example of using Claude to choose a car, frames agent-driven choice as “system three” (system two on steroids), and explains why agents may prioritize specifics like ingredients, reviews, and scientific evidence over symbolism and advertising. They discuss category differences, how research may shift toward deeper human understanding and human-agent interaction, early experiments like surveying agents, and why insights leaders should lean into AI and lead organizational change. 00:00 Brand Collapses With Agents 00:42 Podcast Intro And Guest 01:44 What Is Agentic Shopping 02:32 Car Buying With Claude 05:12 System Three Decision Making 07:04 Why Brands Lose Power 09:42 Category Differences And Grocery 11:35 What Researchers Study Now 12:44 Agent Behavior And Discoverability 15:22 How To Experiment And Innovate 18:41 New Service Line For Insights 21:09 Skills And Industry Opportunity 24:31 One Thing To Do Tomorrow 25:05 Closing And Subscribe Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/

    Agentic Shopping and AI-Mediated Consumer Behavior with Steve Phillips

  7. Sep 3

    Key Consumer Attitudes Toward AI with Idil Cakim

    Four out of five US adults don’t trust an AI-generated ad, AI-driven product, or service, and that gap between business adoption and consumer acceptance is growing. In this episode, Idil Cakim, Founder & CEO, Iris Flex, joins host Jon Last, President, Sports and Leisure Research Group, to unpack what brands often miss about consumer attitudes toward AI. They discuss why AI usage doesn’t always equal trust, how gender and age shape adoption, and Idil’s AI Proximity framework (exposure, control, delegation, and context) for measuring readiness. The conversation covers audience segments from avoiders to power users, where power users convert more in categories like financial services, auto, and wearable health. They also explore common rollout mistakes, the need for pre-testing and longitudinal tracking, and why human support still matters in sensitive decisions. 00:00 Power Users Payoff 00:52 AI Adoption Trust Gap 02:28 Why Study Consumers 04:09 Gender and Age Nuance 07:44 Usage Doesnt Mean Trust 08:59 AI Proximity Framework 12:32 Segments From Avoiders 14:13 Brand Mistakes and Fixes 18:40 Measuring Trust Over Time 22:34 Future Attitudes and Governance 24:55 Human Touch Still Matters 27:35 Wrap Up and Book Info Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/

    Key Consumer Attitudes Toward AI with Idil Cakim

  8. Aug 27

    AI-Empowered Insights: Charting a Course as a Strategic Copilot with Ricardo Dalmas

    The old “commission research, present findings, move on” model is breaking as growth fragments, media splinters, and AI accelerate decisions. Ricardo Dalmas, Global VP of Insights & Analytics at Kimberly-Clark, joins host Nick Graham, Founder of Vertemis, to explain why insights must shift from calibration and testing toward defining strategic growth choices: where to play and how to win. They discuss balancing scale with precision, listening and observing behavior before asking survey questions, and prioritizing timely 70% answers over perfection. Ricardo outlines how AI can automate tasks, spot patterns and early trends, and free insights teams to iterate faster, experiment more, and partner closely with decision-makers. He also shares why emotionally resonant storytelling matters in intimate categories and offers career advice on industry passion, following up on impact, and mentorship. 00:00 Why Insights Must Evolve 01:34 Meet Ricardo Dalmas 03:52 Fragmented Growth Reality 07:54 Speed Over Perfection 09:23 From Research to Strategy 13:50 Will Insights Still Exist 18:07 Data Precision and Experimentation 20:46 AI Changes and Human Empathy 25:19 Emotional Storytelling Wins 28:19 Mentorship and Leadership Growth 31:35 Future Proof Career Advice 34:56 Closing and Subscribe Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/

    AI-Empowered Insights: Charting a Course as a Strategic Copilot with Ricardo Dalmas
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5
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About

Data and insights have become the required superpowers of growth companies. No matter what peak or trough the economy is in, business leaders need actionable insights to grow markets, engage customers, and make smart strategic decisions. And research professionals need skills and insights to grow their strategic seat at the table. MRII’s Insights & Innovators talks to today’s top experts and innovators to chart a path for the role, the research methods of tomorrow, and the growing importance of the researcher to business success.

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