The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast

In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie Vance and Molly Strawn-Carreño sit down with David Yin to explore what it takes to build a market research and consumer insights function from the ground up.

David has repeatedly stepped into organizations where research was either brand new or still struggling to establish its value. He explains why one of the first things researchers should assess is where the demand for research is coming from and what kinds of questions leadership is asking. Senior-level sponsorship can create the access and organizational momentum needed for a research function to develop credibility and influence.
The conversation also explores how researchers can move beyond being known as the “survey person.” David explains why researchers need to understand the problems their stakeholders are actually facing, get curious about how teams work, and translate those challenges into ways research can help. He calls this early relationship-building and problem discovery “the hustle.”

David also discusses the importance of timing. Proactive research can be valuable, but researchers can move too far ahead of the organization and produce work that nobody is ready to use. The goal is to understand when teams need information and make research useful in the moment.

The episode also looks at the changing role of researchers. David argues that researchers need to develop skills in facilitation, education, stakeholder management, and communication alongside research methodology. His advice for first-time insights hires is simple: be useful.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the source of a research request can determine how successfully a research function develops
• How senior leadership sponsorship can help research become part of organizational decision-making
• How researchers can move from being the “survey person” to a trusted consumer insights partner
• Why understanding stakeholder problems is critical to making research relevant
• How to balance proactive research with the timing of business decisions
• Why research needs to be managed for quality, clarity, and actionability
• How to translate research findings into decisions and business outcomes
• Why facilitation is an increasingly important skill for market researchers
• How repetition can help research insights become part of organizational knowledge
• Why researchers should understand the fundamentals of their methodology instead of outsourcing their judgment to vendors
• How research teams can create competitive advantage through deeper customer understanding
• What first-time insights leaders should prioritize when building a research function from scratch

About the Guest:David Yin is a fractional research and marketing leader who has built insights functions at companies including Fitbit, Ancestry, Eventbrite, and Poshmark. His work focuses on building research functions, understanding customers, translating research into business decisions, and helping organizations develop stronger research and consumer insights capabilities.

In this episode, David shares practical lessons from building research functions from scratch, including how to establish credibility, understand stakeholder needs, maintain research quality, facilitate the use of insights, and create a culture where research contributes to competitive advantage.

Episode Resources:

• David Yin on LinkedIn
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• Molly Strawn-Carreño on LinkedIn 
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube
  
  

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie and Molly sit down with Will Leach, founder and CEO of Mindstate Group, to explore how market researchers can move from producing insights to influencing behavioral change.

With more than 25 years of experience studying human decision-making and 15 years working inside major client organizations, Will shares what changed when he moved from the client side into consulting. He realized that research reports and recommendations were rarely the final thing clients needed. They wanted to know how behavioral science could help them make better decisions, change their marketing, and ultimately influence customer behavior.

The conversation explores the persistent say-do gap in market research and why brands still rely on asking consumers what they think about advertising despite knowing that stated preferences do not always predict real-world behavior. Will explains how the combination of behavioral science, data analytics, and AI is changing what researchers can measure and how accountable they are for business outcomes.

Will also introduces the idea of behavioral design and his Mind State Activation Blueprint, which translates behavioral insights into practical guidelines for messaging, visuals, brand positioning, personality, customer experience, and creative strategy.

Ultimately, Will argues that researchers need to move the finish line from owning insights to owning behavioral change, while building their own point of view on how human behavior works.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why research reports and recommendations are no longer enough for many organizations
• How the say-do gap continues to affect market research and advertising decisions
• Why behavioral science and data analytics need to work together
• How researchers are becoming more accountable for business and marketing outcomes
• What it means to become a behavioral designer
• How the Mind State Activation Blueprint turns behavioral research into actionable creative guidelines
• What psychological mind states and emotional processing can reveal about consumer behavior
• How behavioral science can give creatives more confidence in their instincts
• How to challenge founder intuition while respecting the experience behind it
• How AI can identify cultural patterns across multiple research studies
• Why empowerment emerged as a recurring motivation across 19 different studies
• Why researchers should build their own behavioral model and point of view
• How market researchers can future-proof their careers in an AI-driven industry
  
  

About the Guest:

Will Leach is the founder and CEO of Mindstate Group, a behavioral research and design consultancy. He has more than 25 years of experience studying human decision-making, including 15 years working inside major organizations such as PepsiCo.
Will specializes in behavioral science, consumer psychology, behavioral design, and translating research insights into actionable marketing and creative strategies. His work focuses on helping organizations understand the psychological drivers behind consumer behavior and use those insights to influence real-world decisions.

He developed the Mind State Activation Blueprint, a framework designed to connect behavioral research with creative execution across areas such as messaging, positioning, brand personality, customer experience, and campaign strategy.

Episode Resources:

• William Leach on LinkedIn
• Mindstate Group Website
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• Molly Strawn-Carreño on LinkedIn
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube
  
  

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie Vance and Jonathan sit down with Karine Pepin to unpack what’s actually broken in data quality and why the problem is bigger than any individual survey.

Karine explains why researchers need to look beyond fraud detection tools and think about the wider ecosystem that produces their data. She shares how creating a “ground truth” can help researchers evaluate the quality of their sample, why fraud signals need to be interpreted in context, and what incidence rates can reveal before a project is complete.
The conversation also challenges some of the assumptions researchers make about online sampling, from impressive panel-size claims to the idea that every audience can be reached online.

Ultimately, the episode comes back to one bigger question: how do we move from securing our own “house” to fixing the “neighborhood” around it? For Karine, that means changing an ecosystem where volume is often rewarded more than quality.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why data quality is an ecosystem problem, not just a survey problem
• How to create a “ground truth” for evaluating your research data
• Why fraud detection tools alone can’t tell you whether a respondent is trustworthy
• How to interpret false positives and false negatives in context
• What incidence rates can reveal about the quality of your sample
• Why panel size doesn’t necessarily tell you anything about sample quality
• Why researchers need more transparency around where their sample comes from
• When low-incidence and niche audiences may not be realistic targets for online research
• How incentives around volume can contribute to ongoing data quality problems
• What researchers can do to improve the quality of their own work while the wider ecosystem changes
  
  

About the Guest:
Karine Pepin is a co-founder of The Research Heads and an advocate for better data quality and participant experiences in market research. With more than two decades of experience in research, Karine has worked across the industry with a particular focus on data quality, sampling, fraud, and the systems that shape the quality of research data.

Her work looks beyond individual tools and processes to examine the broader ecosystem around online research and how the industry can create better incentives for quality, transparency, and more reliable data.

Episode Resources:

• Karine Pepin on LinkedIn
• The Research Heads Website
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• Jonathan on LinkedIn 
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie Vance and Molly Strawn-Carreño sit down with strategic foresight practitioner Mina McBride to explore why valuable research often fails to translate into action. Mina explains how researchers can build credibility, understand their clients’ realities, and recognize resistance as a potential signal rather than a setback.

From taking calculated career risks to using small experiments and staying curious, Mina shares practical ways to create impact while continuing to grow in an evolving research industry. Ultimately, she encourages researchers to ask themselves a simple question: do you still love the work?

What You’ll Learn:

• How to make your research more likely to influence real decisions
• How to build trust and credibility with clients before presenting your insights
• How to navigate client resistance and uncover what it may be telling you
• How to use foresight to make better decisions when the future is uncertain
• How to filter industry trends and new technologies based on your priorities and strengths
• How to take meaningful career risks without having to bet everything at once
• How to stay motivated and keep learning by reconnecting with the work you genuinely enjoy
  
  

About the Guest:Mina McBride is a strategic foresight practitioner, consultant, speaker, and facilitator who specializes in helping organizations and individuals bridge the critical gap between insight and action. With expertise in foresight methodology and organizational decision-making, Mina has worked extensively with leaders to translate complex signals and research findings into practical, implementable strategies. Her work has helped countless organizations and professionals move beyond analysis paralysis to make decisive, forward-thinking decisions that create real business value.
Episode Resources:

• Mina Mcbride on LinkedIn
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• Molly Strawn-Carreño on LinkedIn
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube
  
  

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie Vance and Molly Strawn-Carreño sit down with Preeti Talwai to dive into the world of human-led anticipatory research. Being an advisor to technology development companies, Preeti’s love for research has contributed to the humanization of tools like Google Gemini. She shares how her architecture background drives her natural understanding of human needs.

Preeti emphasizes the importance of focusing on fundamental human needs rather than reactions to existing products. Humans have existed and had needs long before AI emerged. So, rather than develop AI as a technical achievement, tools should feel more human-driven, with thought and intentionality even before the prototypes exist. Preeti shares why we should think about AI as a material and not a solution to every problem.

She simplifies the practical framework for research on new technology, suggesting small digestible insights beginning with low-confidence deliverables before building up to workshops and activation playbooks. She calls this the ‘Sushi Conveyor Belt’ model for delivering insights. Ultimately, Preeti’s view is clear, research should be done in bite-size pieces and depth should be prioritized over speed.
What You’ll Learn:

• How to anchor research when the product does not exist yet
• Why human needs should drive research and development of new AI
• How to break down research processes into small bite-sized chunks using the ‘Sushi Conveyor Belt’ method
• How the impact of a new product can be measured even before it is launched
• Why depth in research should be prioritized over the length of time it takes to release a product
• How AI can be better harnessed when it is seen as a material and not a tool
  
  

About the Guest:Preeti Talwai is a UX Research Leader and Product Strategy Advisor specializing in human-centered AI, emerging technology, and early-stage product development. During more than nine years at Google, she led research across AI-driven products, including Search, Shopping Ads, YouTube Ads, and Gemini-related work. Today, she advises organizations on product strategy and helps teams connect new technological capabilities with enduring human needs. 

Episode Resources:

• Preeti Talwai on LinkedIn
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• Molly Strawn-Carreño on LinkedIn
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube
  
  

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Sasha Mitts joins Stephanie Vance and Molly Strawn-Carreño to explore how AI is changing research and why researchers need to be careful about what they hand over to machines. As an independent researcher, Sasha has seen firsthand how AI can accelerate analysis while quietly introducing errors, confirmation bias, and generic conclusions.

The conversation examines practical ways to build more rigorous AI-assisted research workflows. Sasha explains why researchers should document their assumptions before using AI, validate AI-generated coding across multiple models, and break complex analysis into discrete, repeatable steps. Rather than asking AI to interpret an entire dataset and deliver a conclusion, researchers can use it for tasks such as data cleaning, pattern recognition, coding, and statistical analysis while retaining responsibility for the bigger picture.

The episode also explores what AI cannot replace: storytelling, contextual awareness, emotional intelligence, and relationships with stakeholders. Ultimately, Sasha argues that the future of research belongs to those who use AI to amplify their perspective, not replace it.

What You Will Learn:

• How to prevent AI from becoming your default hypothesis
• The interrater reliability test for AI validation
• Why reproducibility and transparency are non-negotiable in AI-assisted research
• The dangerous seduction of persuasive AI output
• How to slot AI into workflows where it actually excels
• The irreplaceable human skill for an AI-driven future
  
  

About the Guest:
Sasha Mitts is an independent researcher, formerly a UX researcher at Meta, focused on the intersection of AI and human-centered research.  His work explores how to evaluate AI based on how people actually experience it, uncover where technology falls short, and turn powerful capabilities into meaningful value. He approaches AI as a stewardship challenge, emphasizing thoughtful design, critical questioning, and long-term human benefit.
Episode Resources:

• Sasha Mitts on LinkedIn
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• Molly Strawn-Carreño on LinkedIn
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube
  
  

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

In this episode of The Curiosity Current, Stephanie Vance and Molly Strawn-Carreño sit down with David Glaza to nerd out on the rapid rise of retail media. David is the founder and CEO of Digits Agency and he has been right at the center of this evolution since his days at Target. He shares some great stories from the early days of launching Target Cartwheel, including a time when a digital coupon performed so well it actually scared the merchants. It was an early sign that digital tools could influence the physical purchase journey in just a few hours.

David explains why retailers are basically turning into media businesses by using first party data to close the loop on sales. Marketers are moving away from the black box of traditional advertising because they can finally track a customer from a digital ad all the way to a physical register. The group also talks about the challenges of fragmentation as more regional grocers launch their own networks. 

David shares why it is so important for brands to stick to their guns on ad relevance to keep the customer experience high quality. To wrap up, he gives some advice on why brands need to move fast and prioritize putting content out there rather than waiting for everything to be perfect.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why retail media has evolved from traditional in store slotting fees to digital tactics
• How first party data is the key to measuring actual sales outcomes from digital ads
• What the success of Target Cartwheel revealed about consumer willingness to engage with brands
• The impact of first party audiences on tracking omnichannel shopping journeys
• How new channels like in store audio are developing specific attribution models
• The challenges brands face when managing multiple fragmented retail media networks
• Why technology integrations and APIs are necessary for regional grocers to compete
• How to balance promotional needs with a high quality user experience
• Why brands should prioritize consistent content production over perfection
  
  

About the Guest:
David Glaza is the founder and CEO of Digits Agency and he has spent years at the center of the evolution of retail media. David previously worked at Target where he was part of the team that launched Target Cartwheel. He has extensive experience in merchandising, media loyalty, ecommerce, and personalization. Today he leads Digits Agency in helping regional grocers and brands build and manage retail media strategies.
Episode Resources:

• David Glaza on LinkedIn
• DIGITS Agency, DIGITS LLC Website
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• Molly Strawn-Carreño on LinkedIn
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube
  
  

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Tom Rich has spent nearly thirty years conducting thousands of focus groups and interviews. In this conversation with Stephanie Vance and Molly Strawn-Carreño, he shares his view on how technology is impacting knowledge workers and why he calls himself a carbon-based researcher in an automated world.

Tom explains that machines excel at finding patterns in large data sets but struggle to connect seemingly unrelated ideas. He details his methods for finding real meaning through intentional disruption and unconventional influences like moral philosophy and the interrogation tactics of psychics. Tom describes how moral mindsets like self-sufficiency or responsibility act as lenses for consumer decision-making. He also demonstrates how calibrated vagueness can lead to more honest participant responses. 

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the pace of technological change is a differentiator in the current market
• How to distinguish between probabilistic analysis and human meaning-making
• Why the research journey provides more value to a brand than the final report alone
• How playing games with data visualization can spark unexpected insights
• Why morality functions as the most powerful mindset in consumer behavior
• What researchers can learn from the questioning techniques used by psychics
• Why ranking questions often fail to capture how people actually feel
• How research objectives serve as a North Star for successful projects
  
  

About the Guest:
Tom Rich is the President of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association and the founder of Thomas M. Rich & Associates. Since 1996, he has led thousands of focus groups, interviews, and shop-along studies across various industries like food and technology. His approach combines brand management experience with insights from psychology and behavioral economics. Tom is an expert in retail strategy and uses creative techniques to help clients understand complex marketing challenges. 

Episode Resources:

• Tom Rich on LinkedIn
• Thomas M. Rich & Associates Website 
• Molly Strawn-Carreño on LinkedIn
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube
  
  

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Andrew Embry, Senior Director of Insights Innovation and Capabilities at Eli Lilly, brings a storyteller’s perspective to the complex world of pharmaceutical research. He describes himself as a poetry spitting nerd who uses his creative background to find new ways of working within strict regulatory bounds. This conversation covers how Eli Lilly implements enterprise level AI initiatives by treating change management like an internal brand campaign. 

He details the use of synthetic respondents to answer qualitative questions in thirty minutes and help teams do smarter primary research. He argues that the future of the industry depends on researchers evolving from reactive order takers into proactive business partners. By automating repetitive tasks like screener creation and secondary research, teams can focus on higher level strategy.  Even so, Andrew emphasizes that judgment and discernment are the skills that matter most when reviewing AI outputs. 

What You’ll Learn:

• Why regulatory walls can make creativity and innovation more exciting
• How to treat change management as a methodical internal brand campaign
• The benefit of using synthetic respondents to narrow down concept ideas quickly
• Why secondary research should be the starting point for every business question
• How a tool belt approach helps teams match specific tools to business problems
• The importance of being objectively skeptical about every output from AI
• Why judgment and discernment are the most critical skills for future researchers
• How agents in an agentic ecosystem will handle repeat tasks to free up time
• Why researchers should stop being order takers and get in the mud with business teams
  
  

About the Guest:Andrew Embry is the Senior Director of Insights Innovation and Capabilities for Global Core Market Research at Eli Lilly and Company. He leads enterprise initiatives that help teams rethink workflows and adopt new technologies in a responsible way. Andrew blends creative storytelling with strategic thinking to solve problems in the heavily regulated pharmaceutical industry. His career at Eli Lilly spans roles in marketing, communications, and sales. He is also a spoken word poet and an obstacle course racer who believes in embracing challenges with confidence.

Episode Resources:

• Andrew Embry on LinkedIn
• Eli Lilly and Company Website
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• Molly Strawn-Carreño on LinkedIn
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Martin Eichholz and Katie Buckley join Stephanie Vance and Molly Strawn-Carreño to share their perspectives on the role of custom research in an AI-heavy world. As Managing Partners of the US consumer practice at Basis Research, they represent a yin and yang partnership of quantitative and qualitative expertise. They explain why clients still value a strategic brain trust over standardized platforms, emphasizing that you cannot automate how people change, learn, or make choices.

The group examines the age of distrust where consumers no longer take brand narratives at face value. Martin and Katie suggest that brands must work harder to earn relevance by getting out of the office and into real-world environments. They challenge traditional views on linear consumer journeys, arguing that modern behavior is more like a swirl of touchpoints. Finally, they address the risks to the apprenticeship model in research suggesting that as AI takes over technical tasks, junior researchers must focus on developing business acumen and building strong stakeholder relationships to secure their future in the industry.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why standardized AI platforms cannot replace a strategic brain trust
• The reason real life and human decision-making remain impossible to automate
• How custom research acts as the fuel for automation engines
• Ways brands can navigate the rising age of consumer distrust
• Why getting executives in front of real people changes decision outcomes
• The change from linear consumer journeys to a swirl of touchpoints
• How junior researchers can adapt as AI absorbs entry-level work
• The vital role of mentoring in protecting the future of strategic insights
  
  

About the Guests:
Martin Eichholz is a Managing Partner for the US consumer practice at Basis Research. He brings a quantitative and segmentation-driven background to his work, combining business thinking with data expertise. He focuses on translating the challenges of a changing industry into strategic opportunities.

Katie Buckley is a Managing Partner for the US consumer practice at Basis Research with a background in qualitative strategy and cultural understanding. She specializes in building genuine connections and uncovering why people act the way they do. Her goal is to help clients care about their consumers through immersive research.
Episode Resources:

• Martin Eichholz on LinkedIn
• Katie Buckley on LinkedIn
• Basis Website
• Stephanie Vance on LinkedIn
• Molly Strawn-Carreño on LinkedIn
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on Spotify
• The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast on YouTube
  
  

 The Curiosity Current: A Market Research Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so