Insightful Inspiration

Data keeps multiplying, but the most valuable consumer insights still come from the moments marketers stop analyzing and start observing. That means getting face-to-face with the people they call their consumers.

As a marketing leader whose career spans some of Canada's most iconic brands (Bimbo, Labatt), Mike Bascom has a rare firsthand view of what makes the marketing-insights partnership work. Together, he and Isabelle Landreville discuss:

• Why a world of data can still leave you missing your most important consumer insight, and where the best ones come from

• How Mike's use of insights evolved from validating ideas to improving them

• Stories and learnings from big launches across some of Canada’s most recognized brands

This week on Insightful Inspiration, host Isabelle Landreville is joined by Katrina Noelle, founder of KNow Research and co-chair of IA Ignite, a gathering of entrepreneurs in the insights field.

At this year's IA Ignite, Katrina pointed out that small- to mid-sized research firms own a larger market share than the major players. In other words, these are the firms that are driving the industry. So what do they offer that's different from the big names?

On this episode, Isabelle and Katrina discuss what happens when the researcher is present for both the sale of the project and its execution, how smaller firms stay agile (with and without AI) and what that means for each project, and how founders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs operate differently in the research industry.

This week on Insightful Inspiration, host Isabelle Landreville is joined by Jon Crowley, Head of Strategy at FUSE Create. 

Jon’s career in strategy spans accounts as large as Rogers and Home Depot. He also helped shape consumer perception of McDonald’s with his work on McCafé. As an agency lead, he uses insights to anchor pitches and supercharge his creative teams. 

He’s also a bold thinker and a dynamic speaker who deftly manages and advocates for several stakeholders at once from project to project, even as the ad business continues to evolve. 

On today's episode, Isabelle and Jon discuss: 

• How the role of insights has changed within the agency ecosystem 

• How insights can create trust and safety for a creative team (instead of being a gatekeeper) 

• And what the ad business could use more of today amid all the evolution and change 

This episode imagines a world where creatives are inspired, not intimidated, by insights. It’s closer than you think! 

This week on Insightful Inspiration, host Isabelle Landreville is joined by Allison Howitt, Director of Nutrition Insights & Analytics at Mead Johnson Nutrition. 

After a decade apiece at Unilever and at Mead Johnson, it’s clear that Allison is the kind of insights leader who knows not just when an insight has truly landed, but when the business is ready for it. She also prizes collaboration, whether it’s with her own dynamic team or across Mead Johnson’s many global stakeholders. 

Importantly, Allison has helped steer teams through crises and opportunities alike: moments when business priorities and customer priorities appear at odds. The insights leader is the voice of the customer, but what happens when the business is forced to listen selectively? 

Together, Isabelle and Allison discuss: 

• When business realities force insights to take a backseat 

• How to set insights teams and stakeholders up for success (when they’re tasked with doing more with less) 

• What it means to be a “firestarter” as an insights leader 

Plus several revealing stories that show how insights leaders can make a case for prioritizing research when it matters most, even if other stakeholders can't see it right away.

This week on Insightful Inspiration, host Isabelle Landreville is joined by John Rocco, Chief Brand Officer at Scotiabank, one of Canada’s Big Five banks. With over three decades of brand-building across retail, insurance, and financial services — from Loblaw to Target to Sonett and now Scotiabank — John has led some of the most defining brand moments in Canadian marketing history. He's a storyteller at heart, and someone who has spent his career proving that the best brand decisions are grounded in deep human understanding. This conversation centers on what marketers are not only adapting to, but building towards — and how insights partners can help them set a new paradigm for marketing leadership.

Together, John and Isabelle explore:• How marketers’ core skills and responsibilities have changed — and stayed the same• The role of insights in marketers’ work today: what marketers need from insights leaders, how that has changed, and what quality looks like• Where trust matters most in the insights process, and how to earn itThat last is key for all brands, but especially brands like Scotiabank. When your customers’ earnings, savings, and investments are the business, the chain of trust runs all the way from the customer to the CEO. This episode is about keeping it strong for years to come.

This week on Insightful Inspiration, host Isabelle Landreville is joined by Kai Fuentes, President and Founder of Ebony Marketing Systems: a multilingual, multicultural market research firm dedicated to the needs of minority communities throughout the US. 

With over 20 years in insights, Kai has built a career around the groups that the industry has historically struggled to reach, earning her the distinction of laureate of the Insights Association for her contributions to the profession.

Multicultural research sits at the heart of what Isabelle and her team do at Sylvestre & Co, as does listening. That shared foundation makes this conversation especially rich. But so do the big differences in what multicultural research looks like between these two regions, from the language-based biculturalism of Quebec, to the layered racial diversity of the US. Together, Isabelle and Kai explore:

• What inspired Kai to leave consumer research and build a firm centered entirely on underserved communities, and the challenges she set out to solve

• Why qualitative research has historically struggled to recruit participants from communities of color, and what research looks like when it reaches them

• The biggest language challenges facing clients working across multicultural markets: what's been cracked, and what's still unsolved

• What fieldwork looks like in real-world, cross-cultural settings, including extensive work within the transit systems of the Northeastern US and Canada

• Where traditional qual methodologies succeed in capturing multicultural nuance, and where they fall short

Qual is about getting the right people in the room — and listening to them. How do you earn the trust of communities that have long been overlooked, and what does it mean to hear people who haven’t had the chance to share their perspectives? This conversation explores what it takes to do both.

This week on Insightful Inspiration, host Isabelle Landreville is joined by Brian Monschein, a market research veteran who has spent twenty years client-side at major brands before making the leap to independent consulting, and who now helps insights teams do a lot more than run projects.

Today’s insights professionals don’t just lead studies. More and more, we’re called to speak the language of CEOs and recommend actions. In this episode, Isabelle and Brian explore what it actually takes to lead as an insights professional, whether you manage a team of one or twenty.

Together, they unpack:

• Why so many insights teams are stuck in a support role, and what it takes to earn a seat at the table

• The leadership skills that are essential for insights professionals in today’s landscape

• How to speak the language of the CEO when your world is methodology and audiences

• What makes a natural leader, and what leadership skills can be learned

This episode is for anyone who's ever wondered: "I have the expertise… so why aren't people listening?"

This week on Insightful Inspiration, host Isabelle Landreville is joined by Deidre Sullivan, a rare blend of strategist, writer, poet, and performer, and an advocate for the power of the how in research. 

Too often, good research dies on a slide. In this episode, Isabelle and Deidre explore why it’s not enough to uncover insights. We also have to present them in ways that people feel, remember, and act on. 

Together, they unpack: 

• The overlooked importance of presentation in insights work 

• How researchers can borrow from poets, comics, and performers to increase engagement 

• What makes a story stick in a boardroom 

• And how to balance clarity, simplicity, and narrative without losing rigor 

This episode is for anyone who’s ever thought: “We had the right insight… why didn’t it go anywhere?” 

Insightful Inspiration welcomes Grant Feller, renowned storytelling strategist and founder of Every Rung, whose clients range from GSK and Siemens to the World Economic Forum. A lifelong journalist turned narrative advisor, Grant helps brands and leaders turn complexity into clarity, and data into meaning. 

In this episode, host Isabelle Landreville explores the emotional backbone of influence: why even the most rigorous research falls flat without story, and how storytellers like Grant help insight teams bring their work to life. Together, they dig into why influence requires emotion, what separates a report from a story, and how insights professionals can become better narrative architects. 

Whether you're sharing findings with stakeholders or trying to land a message in a 30-second window, this conversation is sure to be packed with practical guidance (and creative inspiration) on the power of story to make insights matter more. 

This week on Insightful Inspiration, host Isabelle Landreville welcomes Karen Krishfield, a longtime research leader with experience spanning the agency side at Lieberman Research Worldwide, now Material, as well as the client-side at Hulu. With over 30 years in the industry, Karen shares what it takes to keep showing up with curiosity, creativity, and impact, especially in the face of career reinvention. 

In this honest and reflective episode, Karen and Isabelle unpack the importance of staying adaptable in an industry that’s always changing, lessons learned along the way, and why sustaining a career is just as impressive as starting one. 

Whether you're mid-career, navigating a transition, or mentoring someone who is, Karen’s story reminds us that reinvention doesn't require starting over, just starting fresh.