In this episode of Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights, host Devora Rogers is joined by veteran marketer and strategist Brian Aucoin to explore how listening to the consumer drives massive brand growth. Brian shares the exact moment in 2007 when a surprising piece of data from a Pizza Hut pilot program (discovering that online ordering led to significantly larger ticket sizes) completely revolutionized the company's media strategy and shifted dollars to digital.

Beyond the big wins, Devora and Brian tackle the very real challenge brands face when sudden, meteoric growth (like the COVID-19 boom) begins to slow down. Drawing on his leadership experience at Gooder sunglasses, Mattel and Disney, Brian explains why the answer is always to "grow from your core." He breaks down consumer segmentation for the uninitiated, explaining how to find and leverage your "ride or die" super consumers.

The two also dive into today's biggest macro trends, discussing why brands must act as platforms for real-life community building in an era of low trust. Finally, they tackle the elephant in the room: AI. Brian explains why AI currently has a "brand problem" and why, as automation increases, authentic human connection will become a brand's ultimate premium offering.

About the Guest
Brian has worked directly with growth stage, start-ups and fortune 500 brands for over 25 years. Disney, Mattel, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Pizza Hut and XBOX are among the large brands that he's worked with directly. He is actively working with brands and organizations on adopting the AI Marketing Playbook to scale growth. Brian draws inspiration from solving the difficult marketing challenges. He specializes in consumer-led and data-driven strategic planning and execution of campaigns.

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

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On this episode of Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights, host Devora Rogers sits down with Rebecca Brooks to explore the growing "trust recession" reshaping consumer behavior. Drawing on years of Alter Agents consumer sentiment tracking research, Rebecca explains why shoppers are spending more time researching purchases, relying on peer validation, and approaching even routine buying decisions with skepticism.

The conversation explores how economic uncertainty, information overload, AI-generated content, and declining institutional trust are creating a new era of consumer decision-making. Rebecca shares what brands need to understand about today's cautious shoppers, why transparency matters more than ever, and how companies can rebuild trust in a world where consumers increasingly feel the burden of proving every purchase is worth the risk.

About the Guest
Rebecca Brooks is CEO and co-founder of Alter Agents, an award-winning market research consultancy that works with brands such as Snapchat, YouTube, Audacy, Viking River Cruises, Pinterest, and others to help them gain powerful, actionable insights. Named to Inc.’s Female Founders List, Rebecca established her company on the belief that research could be done differently. This disruptive, innovative mindset delivers high-quality insights to clients that bridge knowledge gaps and reveal key drivers of consumer behavior. She is co-author of the book, Influencing Shopper Decisions: Unleash the Power of Your Brand to Win Customers, which explains the forces that drive consumer decision-making, plus unveils key insights and strategies that marketers can use to maintain relevancy and grow engagement with consumers. Rebecca regularly shares her knowledge and original research on consumer behavior, the promiscuous shopper and brand alignment by speaking at national conferences and authoring feature articles for global publications.

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/devora-rogers

In this episode of Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights, Devora Rogers sits down with neuroscientist and researcher Vanessa Hensler to explore how neuroscience, emotion and human intuition continue to shape better decision-making in the age of AI. Vanessa shares lessons from her work at Google, Pinterest and Reddit, including the insight that helped reshape a company’s growth strategy, why mixed methodologies often reveal what traditional surveys miss and why human-led research matters more than ever. The conversation also dives into the future of neuroscience in market research, the rise of AI-generated insights and the methods that still uncover the deepest emotional truths behind consumer behavior.

About the Guest:

Vanessa Hensler, Ph.D. is the founder of Outsight Insights, which operates at the intersection of neuroscience, business strategy, and storytelling to uncover emotional truths that drive action. She is a neuroscientist with over two decades of academic and industry experience. Her Ph.D. under Dr. Antonio Damasio was focused on the role of emotions in decision making.

She has used her research expertise to develop new company-wide strategies grounded in data at Reddit, Google and Pinterest. She has partnered with C-suite, led teams across product, market and safety research and helped clients across verticals drive higher ROI.

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

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https://missionmatters.com/author/devora-rogers

In this episode of Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights, Devora Rogers sits down with Julia Berk, Senior Director of Global Insights, Analytics and Research at Smartly, to explore how research leaders are navigating the AI era without losing sight of quality, context and human insight. Julia reflects on the breakthrough Gen Z research she led at Snapchat, why visual communication transformed social platforms and how AI is changing the way organizations synthesize, reuse and operationalize research. The conversation also dives into stakeholder management, data ethics, synthetic audiences, insight repositories and why semiotics still plays a powerful role in modern research.

About the Guest

Julia Berk is a Senior Director of Global Analytics, Insights & Research at Smartly, where she leads marketing science, analytics, and research. She focuses on building AI-powered systems that connect customer engagement, creative performance, and marketing effectiveness into actionable insights, helping global brands and internal teams make smarter, faster decisions. She previously held insights leadership roles at Uber Ads and Snapchat. 

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/devora-rogers

In this episode of Change Agents, Devora Rogers sits down with Aarti Bhaskaran, global head of research and insights at Snapchat, to unpack the moment that shaped her career and why research remains a critical voice in business decisions. From early lessons in proving skeptics wrong to navigating AI’s growing role in the industry, the conversation explores what makes a great researcher, how to choose the right methodology and why human empathy and curiosity still sit at the center of meaningful insights.

About the Guest:

Aarti is a storyteller, strategic thinker and insights leader with nearly 20 years of experience in consumer insights. She currently leads global research & insights at Snapchat. In her role, she manages a global team to produce thought leadership to educate the advertising industry and marketing community on new ad formats, audiences and platforms through data-driven insights and empirical evidence. Her team also manages measurement relationships with Global Media Holding companies and media partners.

Prior to joining Snap, she was a client leader at Kantar managing a portfolio that included Microsoft, LinkedIn, Visa, TikTok and Snapchat. Before that, she built the Insights and Analytics practice at MediaCom Canada. Here she launched Canada-specific solutions to measure media performance to drive business for MediaCom’s clients. Prior to that, she was located in Singapore, where she was the Asia Pacific lead on brand performance and creative development research for PepsiCo and Friesland Campina.

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

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In this episode of Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights, Devora Rogers sits down with Vita Molis, head of editorial at the B2B Institute at LinkedIn, to explore how thought leadership and research can drive real business impact. Drawing on her experience building the global insights function at TikTok, Vita shares how insights teams can move beyond reporting to become true orchestrators of strategy across organizations.

The conversation covers LinkedIn’s “drip effect” approach to brand building, the surprising role of curiosity in AI adoption and why B2B growth depends on long-term thinking, employee voices and multi-method research. It’s a practical look at how marketers and researchers can challenge conventional wisdom and make smarter, more confident decisions.

About the Guest

Vita Molis is the Head of Editorial for B2B Institute at LinkedIn, where she drives thought leadership and strategic research to shape the future of B2B marketing. She brings nearly 15 years of experience delivering data‑driven insights, shaping marketing strategies, and leading high‑performing teams across media and entertainment.

Previously, she built and led the global research and insights function at TikTok, partnering with top brands and major holding companies. Her work has been featured at Cannes Lions, SXSW, and Ad Week, and is recognized for blending analytical rigor with creative strategy. She also serves on industry boards and committees focused on elevating strategic thinking in marketing and advertising.

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/devora-rogers

In this episode of Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights, host Devora Rogers talks with Alter Agents founder and CEO Rebecca Brooks about new longitudinal consumer research tracking how Americans’ outlook has shifted since 2019. What began as a study of growing anxiety became a powerful lens on the social and economic shocks of the last several years, from COVID and racial unrest to political upheaval and rising financial strain. Rebecca shares the striking insight that first reshaped her thinking: the dramatic gap between how moms and dads experienced the pandemic. She also reveals one of the study’s most sobering findings today: optimism about the future has fallen sharply across every generation. The conversation explores what that emotional decline means for brands, researchers and anyone trying to understand modern consumer behavior, especially as shopping becomes less deliberate, less joyful and far more driven by stress and immediacy.

About the Guest
Rebecca Brooks is CEO and co-founder of Alter Agents, an award-winning market research consultancy that works with brands such as Snapchat, YouTube, Audacy, Viking River Cruises, Pinterest, and others to help them gain powerful, actionable insights. Named to Inc.’s Female Founders List, Rebecca established her company on the belief that research could be done differently. This disruptive, innovative mindset delivers high-quality insights to clients that bridge knowledge gaps and reveal key drivers of consumer behavior. She is co-author of the book, Influencing Shopper Decisions: Unleash the Power of Your Brand to Win Customers, which explains the forces that drive consumer decision-making, plus unveils key insights and strategies that marketers can use to maintain relevancy and grow engagement with consumers. Rebecca regularly shares her knowledge and original research on consumer behavior, the promiscuous shopper and brand alignment by speaking at national conferences and authoring feature articles for global publications.

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/devora-rogers

In this episode of Devora Rogers’ Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights podcast, Devora sits down with colleague Megan French to demystify market research and “insights” in plain language. Together they unpack how brands learn what people really think and do (from surveys and focus groups to modern mobile ethnography), why the work can get messy, and how a single insight can reshape products, messaging and strategy.

About the Guest

Megan French, Sales Enablement Specialist at Alter Agents

Megan French is a Sales Enablement professional at Alter Agents with five years of experience helping sales teams thrive. A former English teacher, her background in communication and writing gives her a unique perspective in the field. A proud wife and mother, Megan is always chasing her next learning opportunity.

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/devora-rogers

In the premiere of Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights, host Devora Rogers shares the personal moment that sparked the show: an unexpected MS diagnosis, a hospital stay, and a surprising obsession with one simple question: who decided warm blankets should always be available? From “blanket microwaves” to busted assumptions in market research (including a tuna brand growth story no one saw coming), Devora introduces the kind of curiosity-led insights that can reshape strategy, challenge myths, and change everything.

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/devora-rogers

What actually drives change?

In this trailer for Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights, host Devora Rogers, Chief Strategy Officer at Alter Agents, introduces a podcast that goes behind the scenes of the insights that reshape brands, challenge assumptions, and reveal what really drives human behavior.

Through conversations with insight leaders from companies like TikTok, LinkedIn, Uber, and more, the show explores the research breakthroughs, unexpected discoveries, and strategic moments that force organizations to rethink what they thought they knew.

Because real change doesn’t happen by accident.
It starts with insight.

Follow Change Agents: Inside Modern Insights and join us wherever you listen to podcasts. 🎙️

To learn more, visit:
https://alteragents.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/devora-rogers