One of the key events that the MREF puts on every year is called the “MREF Race Around the World.” Last year, we raised close to $75,000 that was distributed to several schools and education programs worldwide during the Covid Crisis. This year’s event is all about providing for children affected by the war in Ukraine. As refugees flee the country, we will be racing to raise money for those most affected by this event and making sure they have their basic needs met.

The trend cycle rolls on … this time, it’s the return of disco! As a backlash to the minimalism of the last decade, I’ve been seeing the signals of a return to maximalist decadence. From HBO’s Euphoria Aesthetics to the resurgence of Paris Hilton’s popularity, it’s clear that the pop culture vibe is shifting from “millennial pink” to something more … over the top?

I know I’m not the only one taking notice! I look to Pinterest Trends for indications of what consumers are planning or what they aspire to do next, and interest in Disco Parties and Aesthetics rose 2-3X in the past 12 months, with an interesting spike in Q1 2022.

Last week, Dominique Irvin and Fred Cox of SEEK attended the Insights Association Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A fellow Black researcher, Kai Fuentes was one of the organizers for this years’ conference and made it her mission to see more of Black researchers both on the conference floor and on the stage. We walked away with so much to bring back to our team, and wanted to share five takeaways that demonstrate why the Insights Association matters.

This month, the trend that has piqued my curiosity is the growth of the Non-Alcoholic (NA) adult beverage category. Consumer interest in low alcohol and NA beverage options has been on the rise for several years now, but now seeing so much chatter about pandemic drinking and sobriety trends, I wonder if the NA category is about to explode. 

As we gradually emerge from the isolation of Covid, we find ourselves experiencing a changed world on many fronts. While it would be easy to look back and rehash all that we went through over the last two + years, I would rather look toward what is now in front of us and the opportunities we have as humans to reset and relaunch and create meaningful connection and impact on the world. While I often write to business leaders, I would like this to be a personal challenge to anyone who is reading—business leader or otherwise.

I did something this weekend that I haven’t done in YEARS … I watched the Super Bowl and all of its commercials LIVE! The advent of YouTube meant that I haven’t actually had to watch the game in order to keep up with all the advertising fun, and I didn’t realize until this past Sunday how much I’ve been missing by skipping the big event. Looking at the ads together through the lens of consumer trend watching, there were some clear themes I spotted that I’m going to continue to keep a pulse on this year. 

To showcase our Crowd Canvas methodology and demonstrate how easy it is to get the richness of qualitative insights backed by the confidence of quantitative-leaning sample sizes, we ran a Demo in early January asking consumers questions about how they are feeling and thinking about 2022.

During my time working in qualitative research, I’ve walked into several homes and sat on several couches to speak with folks of various backgrounds and lived experiences. Of the many people I’ve had the honor of learning from, I’ve had the honor to speak with several people like myself who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community.

When I interview queer people like myself, there is a kinship in experiencing both the joys of being a part of the LGBTQ+ community as well as the hardships that come with it. And oftentimes, a common tension of those hardships revolves around the lack of representation felt by those who don’t fall into a category – specifically, gender binaries.

As a qualitative researcher, I spend a majority of my day connecting with the people brands serve. My goal is to make the person feel listened to, valued for their thoughts and opinions, and to connect with them on a personal level. Only when this is accomplished do I get to hear what they really think. But as critical as these listening skills are, they’re rarely taught in business school. Luckily they are taught in improv school.

Celebrating this past Thanksgiving gave me a chance to reflect on the importance of gratitude and the value it has in strengthening relationships. Black Friday, of course, made me think about how gratitude can strengthen relationships that brands have with their customers. If gratitude brings people closer and leads us to be more invested in our relationships, what can brands do to get closer to their customers and encourage them to be more invested in their brand?

Nostalgia is a powerful human phenomenon. The word is derived from a Greek compound; consisting of nóstos, meaning "homecoming", and álgos meaning "pain" or "ache". A longing for home or homesickness. This was once believed to be a serious mental condition, one that was considered potentially fatal…

In January, the 23 employees in the qualitative division of the market research company we work for were asked if we would choose a month and a topic and submit a blog post. Well, that is only mostly true. It is true that we were asked to choose a month. And it is true that we were asked to choose a topic. As far as the writing of blog posts, it was less of an ask and more of an encouragement to write. To put our thoughts and ideas out into the universe and see if we can make connections, spark conversations, or turn up our volume in an increasingly noisy world.

This month, Courtney is featuring Halloween-centric brand boosting strategies that she’s found to be light-hearted and perhaps just a little off-the-wall.

Historically, companies have fallen short when connecting with African-American consumers. Obviously, this is not true for all companies. Some companies have failed to consider Black consumers at all. Others have attempted to consider Black consumers but may have done so using an incorrect lens. 

This month, I am featuring a strategic partnership that I believe solves real human needs. My ongoing disclaimer continues to be that I do NOT have any insider knowledge of these strategies. I’ve just been around the business block and seen enough to make educated guesses on how these strategies are working to address real human needs. 

Those of us who work in the healthcare space get to see the practitioners and front-line workers who show up every day, driven by passion to heal and willing to face risk and daunting challenges. With the ever-increasing burden on the system, the shortages and outages, and the increasing feeling that practitioners are having their “hands tied” by insurance and access, one has to wonder: what keeps them in it every day? Why do they fight so hard against a system that just seems to make life harder for them?

The big news and brand strategies that caught my attention this month are both brilliant examples of initiatives that highlight and reinforce company values. While I don’t have any insider knowledge of these strategies, I have been around the business block and seen enough to make educated guesses on how these strategies are addressing real human needs.

Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees? Democrat or Republican? Vegetarian or Meat-eater? Tupac or Biggie? Dogs or Cats?

Conflict surrounds us daily. We see it in our news headlines, food choices, government laws, and politicians. But if you’re anything like me, my biggest conflict often comes from engaging with other people. It feels like the more we have progressed as a society, the more we have regressed at addressing conflict. Because of this, we have lost the ability to connect with other people (or things) simply because we have a different opinion or belief. So, how do we navigate loving someone that we may not agree with or may have even hurt us?

From ideas that seem like slam dunks to those with big hurdles to overcome, I am featuring unique empathic marketing & innovation strategies that caught my attention this month.  While I don’t have any insider knowledge of these strategies, I have been around the business block and seen enough to make educated guesses on how these strategies are addressing real human needs.

When was the last time you checked in with yourself? As researchers we spend a lot of time trying to connect with consumers on a human-to-human level. Personally, we put tons of effort into connecting with the people in our lives, but how much time do we spend trying to connect with ourselves? I’d say sometimes, not nearly enough.