Host Kory Grushka catches up with long-time colleague, Jeremy Bolian, President of Four Peaks Brewing Company. They explore the invaluable lessons Jeremy learned while working at corporate giants, like McKinsey and Anheuser-Busch, in roles spanning from strategy to insights to sales. 

Jeremy recounts how his non-linear career has shaped his approach to business, marketing, and consumer understanding—and how he now applies them at a smaller scale in the craft beer industry at Four Peaks.

Jeremy breaks down how to get closer to the consumer, why simple and actionable insights matter, and why empathy is the key for successful cross-functional teams.

What You’ll Learn: 

• The best insights come from being out in the field

• Insights, marketing, and sales must work together to drive real business change

• Understanding your customers (and your team) leads to smarter decisions

• Small businesses must be scrappy with insights 

• Marketing needs to be fun and unexpected 

Jeremy’s Bio:

Jeremy is the President of Four Peaks Brewing Company. He worked for Anheuser-Busch across a variety of Global Strategy, Marketing Strategy & Insights, and Sales roles. Prior to Anheuser-Busch, Jeremy spent time as a consultant with ZS Associates and McKinsey & Company.

More from our guest: Jeremy Bolian

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Kory Grushka, Founder of Stories Bureau

Samrat Saran, Head of Client Solutions at Neuro-Insight

The role of insights teams is shifting and it begins with the mindset of industry professionals, says Kendra Speed, Director of Consumer Market Research at LinkedIn. 

Kendra discusses how insights professionals today must possess a diverse portfolio of skills, moving beyond traditional gatekeepers to become forward-thinking consultants. Discover how Kendra fosters a culture of collaboration within her LinkedIn team and across the company, ensuring that insights are not just delivered but are actionable and relevant.

We delve into the emerging function of foresight within insights teams, emphasizing the need to think about alternative futures and the strategic implications for brands.

Kendra shares her perspective on integrating AI into market research, highlighting the importance of experimentation and the potential for AI to enhance our capabilities while allowing us to focus on human-centric tasks.

Tune in for valuable insights that will inspire you to think bigger and push the boundaries of your role in the insights space.

What You’ll Learn:

• The need for diverse skills in insights 

• How to shift the mindset of insights professionals 

• Taking a long-term view for teams’ success

• Foresights as a core function

• AI integration in insights

Kendra’s Bio:

Marketing and strategy leader Kendra Speed excels in steering executive teams toward disruptive innovation. Kendra's collaborations with BET and P&G resulted in groundbreaking insights that fueled the Black Men Love campaign. She played a pivotal role in the foundational understanding that undergirds the national CROWN Act. She has ignited over $2 billion in product and marketing pipelines for brands like Dropbox, Toyota, Olay, and JM Smucker. Currently the global director of consumer insights at LinkedIn, she oversees an international team focused on consumer understanding for LinkedIn Flagship and Premium, Brand, Equity, Trust and Belonging.

More from our guest: Kendra Speed

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Stories Bureau, a creative agency focused on B2B marketing and internal corporate storytelling across media  

Kory Grushka, Founder of Stories Bureau

Samrat Saran, Head of Client Solutions at Neuro-Insight

This week, Samrat sits down with Todd Sussman, Chief Strategy Officer at FCB New York, to discuss the intersection of creative strategy and data-driven insights. From his early days in CRM strategy to his leadership roles at renowned agencies like Wunderman, Grey, and McCann, and culminating in his current position at FCB New York, Todd's reflections on the ever-evolving relationship between insights and creative teams offers real insight into how storytelling can bring data to life and influence brand growth.

What exactly is the importance of creativity, not just as an output but as an essential part of the strategic process? How can organizations harness audience data to drive creative breakthroughs? And how does one balance structure and messiness to foster innovation within teams? All that and more on this episode of Inspiring Insights.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to foster better collaboration between creative and insights teams
• The role of storytelling in driving brand strategy
• The balance between data, creativity, and intuition in marketing
• Navigating career transitions in the creative industry
• How FCB New York applies data creatively to drive brand growth

Mentioned in this Episode:

• The Hathaway Eyepatch Campaign
• FCB New York's work with Microsoft and Budweiser

About Todd:

Todd Sussman is the Chief Strategy Officer at FCB New York, where he leverages his extensive background in CRM, digital strategy, and brand planning to drive creative excellence. Over his career, Todd has worked at top agencies such as Wunderman, Grey, and McCann, collaborating with global clients like Intel, Microsoft, and Diageo. His passion for combining data with creative storytelling has helped transform brands and launch groundbreaking campaigns.

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Stories Bureau,  a creative agency focused on B2B marketing and internal corporate storytelling across media.

Kory Grushka, Founder of Stories Bureau

Samrat Saran, Head of Client Solutions at Neuro-Insight

Hosts Kory Grushka and Samrat Saran explore the intersection of insights, AI, and storytelling, and exchange views on the evolution of the insights industry.

The emergence of AI as a tool for synthesizing vast amounts of data comes with opportunities and challenges. While AI has the potential to revolutionize consumer analysis and generate new insights, there are concerns about data privacy, governance and the ethical implications of AI integration.

Kory and Samrat share why you should prioritize vision and invest time in developing a clear direction for leveraging AI in the rapid landscape of market research.

What You’ll Learn: 

• How AI is reshaping the insights industry
• How far AI can go in the near future—and its limitations
• The importance of storytelling

Mentioned in this Episode: 

“ARF Attention Phase 2 Report Overturns Widely Held Assumptions” article by MediaVillage, 5/22/24

ARF Attention Measurement Validation Initiative: Phase 2 Report (2nd Edition) by the Advertising Research Foundation, 6/24/24

Kory’s Bio:

Kory is the Founder and Creative Director of Stories Bureau, a creative agency that works extensively with consumer insights. At Stories Bureau, he has led a variety of projects (presentations, videos, newsletters, events, etc) for dozens of insights teams at companies like Dropbox, PepsiCo and McDonald’s. 

While it was quite the grueling experience, his prior life as a lawyer turned out to be a crash course in analytical and critical thinking. That, in turn, allowed Kory to deeply understand the work product of his insights industry clients. 

This combination of analytical and creative skills is what truly differentiates both Kory’s work and the Stories Bureau team, and he’s super excited to now share his observations from his work as an outsider—and data storyteller—in the insights industry.

Samrat’s Bio:

A 10-plus year veteran of the insights industry and former Head of Insight at Anheuser-Busch InBev, Samrat leads Neuro-Insight’s client delivery team across the US and Europe.

An early advocate of neurosciences in developing breakthrough campaigns, Samrat has spearheaded the transition of his insights teams to next-generation techniques to drive consumer-centric thinking and business results.  

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Stories Bureau, a creative agency focused on B2B marketing and internal corporate storytelling across media  

Kory Grushka, Founder of Stories Bureau

Samrat Saran, Head of Client Solutions at Neuro-Insight

CX leader Alex Genov shares the best lessons he’s learned from his 20-plus years in a variety of industries, including insurance, personal finance, and most recently in retail, as the Head of Customer Research and Marketing Insights at Zappos.

Alex spent nearly a decade at Zappos, where he introduced mindset segmentation and created the voice of the customer program—initiatives that helped the online shoe retailer improve its above-and-beyond customer service. 

We chat about the importance of customer centricity and hospitality in business. Throughout the episode, Alex provides powerful anecdotes on how understanding consumer needs and emotions can humanize business to build strong relationships and drive long-term success.

“We need more humanity in business and to soften that technology edge a little bit,” says Alex, co-author of Forget the Customer, See the Person.

What You’ll Learn: 

• Zappos approach to customer service
• The psychology of consumers
• The future of customer centricity with AI 
• Applying customer service to the digital experience
• How to uncover insights to understand customers

Mentioned in this Episode:

Forget the Customer, See the Person: A Business Guide to Deeper Customer Empathy in Uncertain Times and Beyond by Alex Genov, James Alford and Fernando Cabestany

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer

Alex’s Bio:

Alex Genov is an experienced customer research professional and CX leader, who applies his Experimental Social Psychology background and his passion for research, design, and innovation to solving important customer and business problems. 

Alex’s professional career spans 20+ years in different industries ranging from insurance (State Farm) to personal finance (Intuit/Turbotax) to B2B (Active Network) to retail (Zappos). 

As a keynote speaker, Alex has delivered over 100 presentations, panel discussions, and workshops—both virtual and in person. He has presented at events on six out of the seven continents ... still waiting to be invited to present in Antarctica. His goal is to help teams create remarkable products and services, which make people's lives easier and more enjoyable.

More from our guest: Alex Genov

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Stories Bureau, a creative agency focused on B2B marketing and internal corporate storytelling across media  

Kory Grushka, Founder of Stories Bureau

Samrat Saran, Head of Client Solutions at Neuro-Insight

In the fast-paced world of tech, insights is still in its infancy. We chat with Betsy Aristud about building an insights function as the Head of Market & Customer Insights at Zapier, the cloud-integration software company.

Betsy spent a decade at Procter & Gamble, the CPG behemoth that has been at the forefront of consumer insights for the past 100 years. She’s now applying her expertise to tech and shares the challenges the industry faces—and what can be done.

“Once [tech companies] buy into the fact that, in order to move their product development and innovation forward, you need insights from market research, that’s when the magic happens,” says Betsy. 

What You’ll Learn: 

• Do tech companies understand the value of insights?
• Why insights need to be a priority from the start
• How to improve insights in tech
• Which companies do insights right
• Best practices for insights

Betsy’s Bio:

Betsy Aristud started her career as a chemical/process developer engineer for Procter & Gamble, but quickly realized she was more interested in why people wanted their products the way we were making them. So, she switched to product design/product research and the rest was history. 

This new path naturally took Betsy into the customer insights/market research field. After 13 years with P&G, she decided to take a chance and switch from CPG to tech, working for companies like Logitech, Dropbox and now Zapier.

More from our guest: Betsy Aristud

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Stories Bureau, a creative agency focused on B2B marketing and internal corporate storytelling across media  

Kory Grushka, Founder of Stories Bureau

Samrat Saran, Head of Client Solutions at Neuro-Insight

We dive into the impact of augmented reality (AR) and cultural nuances on storytelling for a digital age with Aarti Bhaskaran, Global Head of Research & Insights at Snap, during this live recording at IIEX North America.

Aarti shares the innovative storytelling and communication tactics that Snapchat employs to engage their users. Using her vast global experience in insights, she unpacks the intricacies of connecting with a demographic that's as diverse in age as it is in geography.

We also venture into the realm of AR, where Snapchat is revolutionizing immersive consumer experiences. We explore the frontiers AR is pushing, from influencing buyer behavior to reimagining consumer engagement across industries.

Discover how a Snapchat AR study launched at a client event became an unexpected viral sensation, emphasizing the power of blending interactive tech with traditional research dissemination.

What You’ll Learn: 

• How to manage insights data in different markets across cultures
• Why storytelling is becoming more fast-paced
• How to know your audience
• How to communicate the research
• Ways AR is influencing buyer behavior

Aarti’s Bio:

Aarti Bhaskaran is a storyteller, strategic thinker and insights leader with over 15 years of  experience in consumer insights. She currently leads global research and insights at Snapchat. 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.

Aarti’s career has taken her across four countries and two continents. Prior to joining Snap, she was a client leader at Kantar managing a portfolio that included Microsoft, LinkedIn, Visa, TikTok and Snapchat. 

Before that, Aarti built the insights and analytics practice at MediaCom Canada. While there, she launched Canada-specific solutions to measure media performance to drive business for MediaCom’s clients. 

Prior to that, Aarti was located in Singapore, where she was the Asia Pacific lead on brand  performance and creative development research for PepsiCo and Friesland Campina. 

Aarti received her Masters in Economics from Stella Maris College affiliated with the University of Madras in India.

More from our guest: Aarti Bhaskaran

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Stories Bureau, a creative agency focused on B2B marketing and internal corporate storytelling across media  

Kory Grushka, Founder of Stories Bureau

Samrat Saran, Head of Client Solutions at Neuro-Insight

Welcome to Inspiring Insights! In our premiere episode, hosts Kory Grushka and Samrat Saran are joined by Stefania Gvillo, Chief Analytics and Insights Officer at Domino’s, the largest pizza company in the world.

Stefania is a wealth of knowledge with 20-plus years of experience in insights for top global brands, including PepsiCo, Mondelēz International (Oreo, Cadbury), the dot-com and now Domino’s. 

We chat with Stefania about driving decisions—the barometer she uses to maximize insights. “Make sure you’re thinking in terms of what is going to have the most impact rather than what’s going to be the most informative,” she says. 

Stefania also shares her strategy to develop trust with business partners and how she empowers her insights team at Domino’s. 

Get ready to be inspired! 

What You’ll Learn: 

• How to develop young talent

• 3 steps to get the most impact from insights

• The language you use is important

• Why research, analysis and insights are inputs, not outputs

• How to be a journalist, not a novelist, when it comes to storytelling

• A great way to get feedback to improve your insights presentations

• How to empower your insights team

Stefania’s Bio:

Stefania Gvillo has served as Domino's Senior Vice President, Chief Analytics and Insights Officer since joining the company in September 2020.

Prior to joining Domino's, Stefania was the global head of strategic insights and analytics at Mondelēz International, where she and her team steered decisions on iconic brands like Oreo, Cadbury and belVita.

Stefania is passionate about building high performance teams as well as fueling business decisions by intersecting hard data with human empathy and cultural trends. She is influential in transforming brands, increasing consumer value and driving sustainable growth.

Stefania previously spent 15 years at PepsiCo in progressive roles and ultimately served as vice president of portfolio strategy and consumer insights for the North America beverages division. 

Prior to PepsiCo, she held various insights and analytics roles at Clorox, Ralston Purina and in the dot-com industry.

Stefania holds an MBA from Washington University, with a concentration in marketing.

More from our guest: Stefania Gvillo

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Stories Bureau,  a creative agency focused on B2B marketing and internal corporate storytelling across media.

Kory Grushka, Founder of Stories Bureau

Samrat Saran, Head of Client Solutions at Neuro-Insight

Kory Grushka is the founder of Stories Bureau, a creative agency specializing in all things insights. Samrat Saran is a marketing expert with over 15 years experience in helping the biggest brands create true memories. Samrat is an insider, while Kory is an outsider in the Insights space, but they're coming together to chat with luminaries inside and outside the field of Insights to inspire bigger, broader, and more creative thinking that helps you go beyond the job description.