Client Side Voices at IIeX

Over on the IIeX North America 2015 website we’ve been doing a series of interviews previewing some of the diverse voices you’ll be hearing at IIeX June 15-17 in Atlanta.

One of the things we’re proudest of about IIeX is the strong representation from the client side of the equation, in addition to research companies and startups.

Here we present interviews from 4 strong client-side voices: Kelsy Saulsbury of Hallmark, Ryan Patel of Pinkberry, Carlos Fonseca of Coca-Cola and Sarah Snudden of Keurig Green Mountain.

Enjoy!

What are you going to be talking about at IIeX?

KS: I’ll be joining Julie Wittes Schlack from Communispace to talk Life’s a Journey not a Survey around mobile ethnography with consumers & provide some examples of work Hallmark has done with mobile ethnography with our community.

I’ll also be talking about From Selfies to Insight – Is Big Data Photo Ready?  Looking at the potential role of photos and images in big data.

What are some takeaways from your session?

KS: That there is so much opportunity for us to gain insights from photo and videos – whether it’s a mobile ethnography done by a few consumers on their smart phones revealing intimate details about something in their lives or looking at the billions of photos posted on-line each day.

In terms of big data, specifically, however, there are also a lot of challenges for us to overcome as an industry before we can really get to the rich insights that are hiding out there in plain sight.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

KS: I’m endlessly curious about the world.  I’m insanely fortunate to get to do things like research Christmas for a living.  When is the last time you got to attend a meeting on snowmen or research the elves at the North Pole?  I’m passionate about telling the consumer story in ways that matter to my business partners.  It’s in my DNA to constantly be thinking about what could be better.

What are you hoping to get out of IIeX?

KS: New ideas, new friends, new possibilities,

What are you most looking forward to at the event?

KS: This is my first time attending IIeX so the whole experience should be an adventure!

What are you going to be talking about at IIeX?

RP: I have been asked to talk on the “Startup Mindset.” I will share my experiences and lessons learned in not just growing startups but taking it globally.  As well as drawing differences and similarities in my experiences at some of the large public companies that has had an influence on my mindset and leadership.

What are some takeaways from your session?

RP: Some of the takeaways that I will be focusing on will be how to protect your brand while growing, dealing with decisions that included compromises, thinking globally, building individuals not just teams and how brands use data.  

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

RP: I am the Vice President of Global Development for Pinkberry.  The company has gone from less than 95 stores to over 260 stores in 23 countries during my tenure.  When I started, it definitely was a startup and still has that startup feel to this day.  I have also been fortunate in being a part of some great companies in the past from BJ’s Restaurants, Jamba Juice, Wet Seal Retail, Inc to Panda Express.    

What are you hoping to get out of IIeX?

RP: I have heard so many great things about this event.  When I was invited to this event, I took it as an opportunity to interact with attendees and meet some of the great up and coming innovators that are out there. 

What are you most looking forward to at the event?

RP: I am very excited in being one of the judges at the Insight Innovation Competition where the winner walks away with $25,000.  I know the exposure and capital can single handily change the trajectory of one of these finalists.  I am happy that I will be a part of their journey.   

What are you going to be talking about at IIeX?

CF: I am going to be talking about Coca-Cola’s progress and partnerships to understand better our consumers given the diversity of the markets and stakeholders we interact with. We operate across 100+ key markets and we are modernizing the way we listen, interact, capture and analyze market information.

What are some takeaways from your session?

CF: Market dynamics and consumer behavior makes the shelf life of our tools limited. Flexibility is key both in terms of methodologies and our talent deployment / service model. We are  diversifying our skills set to continue making knowledge and insights part of our competitive edge. We are going to be discussing the practical challenges and lessons learned Coca-Cola is acting on.  In particular how the use of technology will provide our stakeholders with better tools and gives them the time & space to think

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

CF: About my job: I head the Knowledge and Insights function for Coca-Cola Worldwide. I lead a multidisciplinary team distributed around the world. We are responsible for generating and activating industry and stakeholder knowledge via tools and models that improve business decisions/outcomes in areas that include: investment and communicational optimization, brand dynamics and performance tracking, consumer proximity and commercial execution. This is a fascinating job that requires very dynamic responses to serve a wide set of stakeholders across geographies. About me: I was born in Colombia and I have lived in places as diverse as India, Brazil and Australia working for CPG and Financial Services companies. In my free time I enjoy kayaking and running triathlons.

What are you hoping to get out of IIeX?

CF: This is an space for collaboration and co-creation. I am looking for opportunities to disrupt and oxygenate our industry and my company. A forum like this is an opportunity to see what is next and to reinforce a network that should recognize that consumer don’t have separate “brand or brain hemispheres” for each of our categories – in fact our best opportunity is to share knowledge and best practices to develop a holistic understanding of individuals and markets.

What are you most looking forward to at the event?

CF: I am looking for disruptive ideas with scale potential.

What are you going to be talking about at IIeX?

SS: I’ll be speaking about the emerging dynamics of supplier partnership. I’ll be part of a panel with other clients called “Becoming Partners in Business Impact.”

What are some takeaways from your session?

SS: At all levels of service, it’s increasingly important to bring both strategic thinking and client empathy to the table.  As a supplier, it helps to have a clear point of difference (or clear differentiation)—and it’s also critical to have strong ‘old school’ skills for presentation and enabling client momentum (that’s where the empathy comes in).

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

SS: I would love nothing more than for the insights world to become increasingly nimble and predictive.  I’m also quite excited for summer in Vermont.

What are you hoping to get out of IIeX?

SS: Exposure to new people and ideas—broader perspective on all the smart work that’s happening—and a glimmer of what the next big things to watch for will be.

What are you most looking forward to at the event?

SS: Really everything I mentioned—wrapped in the fast-paced camaraderie that is IIeX.  Every time I come away from IIeX, it’s like my batteries are charged for several months with all the new ideas to process and innovative thinking to explore.

You can also check out our interviews with these industry leaders:

Annie Pettit, Peanut Labs
Mark Earls, HERD
Joel Rubinson, Rubinson & Partners
Jeff Reynolds, LRW
Dave McCaughan, Bibliosexual
Kristin Luck, Kristin Luck Consulting
Vesselin Popov, University of Cambridge Pscyhometrics Centre
Tom H. C. Anderson, OdinText
Reg Baker, MRII
Jim Chastain, RealityCheck
Kris Hull, TNS Global