Learning from those you train

It was my privilege last week to train a baker’s dozen of some the brightest and best in market research. A new client for me, a household name well beyond the industry, and in a sector I’m really only now just starting to explore. As I have before with market researchers, I found a very […]
I’ve seen the future of learning – and I like it

Through persistence, making enquiries at the right time, and a healthy dose of good luck, I was privileged to attend last month’s RSA President’s Lecture. I was pleased to do so in this, the first year of my Fellowship of this most excellent organisation. The address was given by Simon Nelson, Founder of FutureLearn. He […]
3 clues that Big Data might be Old News #SmallDataForum

I had the very great pleasure of co-hosting a roundtable on data and insight for LexisNexis yesterday with one of pioneers of podcasting and all things digital, Neville Hobson, @jangles, now an integral part of IBM’s social consulting team. Refreshingly in a world where we’re routinely made to feel insignificant and overwhelmed by the very […]
The art of marketing has a scientific chip on its shoulder

Modern marketers are increasingly turning to science to give their art the legitimacy they clearly believe it’s lacking. It’s a rare client briefing these days that doesn’t include a perspective from a behavioural economist, an econometrician or a cognitive neuroscientist. To make evidence-based decisions, brands need to wrangle data into insights that can inspire fact-driven […]
The geek shall inherit

Few companies have done more over the past 20 years – and frankly ever – to turn Big Data into insights that inspire evidence-based action than dunnhumby. Before they helped Tesco create its Clubcard and methodically predict customer shopping behaviour, Sainsbury’s was the UK’s biggest supermarket. Within a few years, the insights developed by dunnhumby […]