Nearly three years ago today, a starving, flea-ridden, bruised, battered and raised for bait half boxer and half pit bull showed up in the yard of the SEEK office. The day she showed up I took her home. Cleaned her up. Fed her. Fed her some more. Loved on her. And after doing everything we could to make certain she was adoptable, she became one of us. She was skittish. Had issues. Still has issues. The skittishness only hinted at what was deep inside. But she is more than her issues.

We’ve been watching how COVID has shaped the way consumers celebrate over the last several months, and it has been so inspiring to see how brands and companies have stepped in to support their consumers’ efforts to create bright spots in an otherwise dark year. This month, Courtney PeGan Stevens, our Senior Vice President of Operations, shares her favorite holiday-themed innovations this season.

We noticed more consumer chatter about Christmas In July than usual this year, leaving us wondering: Why?

From seeking joy and predictability to cope with a pandemic to safeguarding against future out-of-stocks, read on to see what we learned.

Many people, especially parents of young children, are celebrating Christmas early as a way of bringing joy into their lives during a heavy time. As a family, this gives them all something to look forward to.

As the days get shorter, the air gets cooler, and the leaves transform into a symphony of color (at least in our neck of the woods!), Senior Vice President of Operations, Courtney PeGan Stevens, finds herself drawn to marketing and product innovations that evoke comfort and nostalgia.

This year officially marks the 100 year anniversary of the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment which gave the women the right to vote. 

While we’ve come so far as a society with equality for women, we still have a significant way to go. Less pay (made worse if you’re a women of color), pink tax, sexual assault/harassment, etc., etc. show the discrepancies that females in the United States face on a daily basis. 

As 2020 rages on, the truly innovative have been hard at work to help solve real problems that their consumers are facing during this pandemic. This month, our Senior Vice President of Operations, Courtney PeGan Stevens, shares how her favorite “Pandemic Innovations” are meeting consumers where they are … mostly at home.

George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. Their deaths have sparked a massive worldwide movement for racial justice and equality. Some of the most painful downfalls and shortcomings of our society have been thrust into the spotlight over the past few months, for all to see. People who have had the privilege of never experiencing systemic racism are beginning to see that it is not enough to simply not be racist. It is not enough to not be part of the problem. To enact true change in the world, we must be part of the solution. We must be anti-racist.

For SEEK’s 20th Anniversary this year, we asked a few of SEEK’s most loyal clients to share their favorite memories of working with SEEK over the years. We were honored and overjoyed to receive so many kind words and fond memories from our friend and long-time business partner Tiyale Hayes, Senior Vice President of Consumer Insights at BET.

You’ve probably heard that “failure is the mother of innovation,” but you may not be aware of just how many seemingly successful products or services almost missed the boat. Without an openness to learn and the ability to pivot, products like the JACUZZI, CHAMPAGNE, and POST-IT NOTES wouldn’t exist today.

It's month 5(ish) of navigating this pandemic, and it still feels like things are changing daily. We’re told what's the right way to act in social situations and what's the wrong way. What was right yesterday is wrong today. Numbers go up. Numbers go down. And everything feels completely out of our control.

For SEEK’s 20th Anniversary this year, we asked a few of SEEK’s pioneering alumni to share their favorite memories of working at SEEK. Christy Kennedy was a true pioneer in SEEK’s history, tackling many firsts along the way. Her story was just too good to be an Instagram post, so we’ve dedicated an entire blog post to Christy’s most beautiful memories of SEEK. We hope you enjoy!

I did not always fully believe in empathy.

In 2010, SEEK was just starting to peel back the layers on empathy. We knew we wanted to be able to connect in a more human-to-human way with our recruits, our clients, and one another, but I was not completely sold on empathy as the fix. We had some internal trainings and workshops, but I wondered how it would work on research - out in the real world.

With the 20 year anniversary of SEEK this year, my staff has asked me to write a blog post to describe the journey (in 1000 words or less...yeah right). I’m not quite sure how to do that, but what I can do is lean into what I know have been critical inflection points throughout the history of SEEK. 

As 2020 wears on, consumer wants and needs will change as their day to day needs change. During these times of rapid change, we love to see responsive innovation and messaging from different companies. For this month’s installment of Innovations We Love, Senior Vice President of Operations, Courtney PeGan Stevens, highlights some of her favorite responsive innovations this summer.

My home state, Ohio, is slowly opening its doors and attempting to reinvigorate our local economy following the first wave of COVID. While I anticipate facets of life to normalize again, I know that I’ve been fundamentally changed by the experience and will move forward with new knowledge and self-awareness that will inform how I reintegrate.

We are living in a strange time where very little feels “normal.” Yet, we are all trying to negotiate and navigate what the “next normal” is going to look like. We do not have any crystal balls here at SEEK, but there are a few innovations that we’ve noticed that could have some serious staying power. For this month’s installment of Innovations We Love, Senior Vice President of Operations, Courtney PeGan Stevens, highlights some of the innovations that she believes are shaping what we may consider “normal” going forward.

When I’m not being an IT guy, or helping SEEK consultants design digital research, one of my favorite things to be is a player of games. All kinds of games. Video. Pinball. Yard. Mind. Board and Card.

COVID-19 has been reshaping our world lately, affecting nearly everything we touch and see. Consumers are looking to companies to innovate and take the lead when resources are scarce. In particular, we want to highlight the brands that are shifting their core competencies and retrofitting their resources to help those most vulnerable to coronavirus. Take a look at what we’ve been noticing below…

Lauren Whitney, a mom of four was just one of billions of people experiencing her own range of difficult emotions this past week as she set out to buy diapers for her daughter. With an ex-military husband and having recently been demoted at her job, her family, like many, struggled to keep up when the panic buying set in.

The delivery landscape is constantly being redefined as players new and old try to keep up with consumer demand. Lately there’s been an emerging need for three key themes: safety, sustainability, and speed. This mini report will look at how a popular pizza chain handles delivery amidst safety concerns relating to COVID-19, a new zero-waste technology that will help alleviate environmentally harmful packaging, and a clothing store partnering with a popular food delivery app to offer same-day shipping.