Any Insights Yet? with Chris Kocek
Any Insights Yet? with Chris Kocek reveals the secrets, stories, and surprising discoveries that have led to fresh insights, resulting in the world’s most memorable campaigns and breakthrough business ideas.
Episodes
What Brands Can Learn from Disengaged Teens with Rebecca Winthrop, Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution
This episode is a little different.Instead of talking with a Chief Creative Officer or a Chief Strategy Officer about a recent ad campaign, I sit down with Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and co-author of The Disengaged Teen.Together, we dive into the insights that emerged from her research with over 60,000 students, 25,000 teachers, and 6,000 parents, and we explore w
How to transform data into compelling narratives with James Addlestone, Head of Data Arts at Saatchi and Saatchi
Most brands use surface level data to market to superficial stereotypes.James Addlestone, on the other hand, uses data like a detective, reading between the lines of people’s survey responses and finding innovative ways to get to the truth behind their behaviors.With a background in behavioral economics and a deep appreciation for detective fiction (we talk quite a bit about Agatha Christie), Jame
Rewriting the Rules of Sport and Motherhood with Katie Dreke, Global Brand Strategy Consultant
Katie Dreke has always been a rough and tumble explorer, ever since she was a kid.From early childhood days, she wanted to do all the things the boys in her neighborhood were doing - jumping bikes off of ramps, playing in treehouses, reading science fiction - but she quickly realized that the world was always trying to steer her in another direction. Those childhood experiences led to a lifelong f
Transforming Olipop into a $2B Brand using The Happiness Advantage with Mark Lester from Squint
What do David Bowie lyrics, childhood memories of soda, and gut health all have in common? For Mark Lester, co-founder of the brand consultancy Squint, they’re part of a deeper exploration into how happiness shapes behavior and how brands can use that insight to grow.Prior to starting squint, Mark spent 15 years in the advertising industry, sharing his talents with R/GA, McGarryBowen and Dentsu, w
The Surprising Overlaps Between Toy Design and Brand Design with Assaf Eshet, Founder of Clixo Toys
What are the key characteristics of designing a great toy? It turns out, it’s many of the same characteristics that go into building a great brand.Playfulness. Imagination. A little bit of mischief. And joy.In this episode, I talk with Assaf Eshet, founder and award-winning toy designer at Clixo Toys.I met Assaf at the ISTE EdTech conference in San Antonio this summer and I was immediately drawn t
How Comedy and Cultural Sparks Drive Creativity with Tara Lawall at Rethink
Tara Lawall has worked at some of the biggest agencies in the world, earned a Cannes Titanium Lion, and her work has even landed a spot in MoMA’s permanent collection, but her sharpest insights might trace back to a comedy class she took at Miami Ad School.Today, Tara is Chief Creative Officer and Partner at Rethink’s New York office, and in this interview, Tara shares how her team uncovers powerf
Building Social-First Brands with Jason Mitchell, CEO of Movement
When Jason Mitchell realized his college professors were still teaching TV-first strategies while every student in the room was glued to Facebook, he saw an opportunity. That opportunity was the beginning of Movement, a social-first agency that has done award-winning work for brands like the NBA, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and more.In this episode, Jason shares the early bets and strategic philosophie
Making Boring Briefs Better with Ashley Rutstein, Copywriter, Influencer, and Creator of Stuff About Advertising
How do you help strategists transform boring briefs into better briefs so that creatives can do what they do best?That’s just one of many questions I ask Ashley Rutstein during our interview.Ashley is a copywriter-creative director, an Adweek Creative 100, and the founder of Stuff About Advertising - a multiplatform channel with hundreds of thousands of followers, where Ashley covers a wide range
Seeking Confessions, Not Just Observations with Mark Pollard, Author of Strategy Is Your Words
What’s the difference between a good observation and a real insight? According to Mark Pollard, one of the most sought-after strategy consultants and trainers in the industry, it often comes down to whether someone’s willing to confess something they’ve never said out loud before.As an Australian strategist, Mark brings a different voice to the podcast - literally and figuratively. You’ll notice
Feral Intelligence in a Data-Driven World with Kate Rush Sheehy, Chief Strategy Officer at GSD&M
Where do the best insights come from? For Kate Rush Sheehy, Chief Strategy Officer at GSD&M, it’s not always based on what people say or even what they do. Sometimes, it’s about what they don’t say or what they don’t do in certain situations.Sometimes, it’s about having a sixth sense or some feral intelligence.In this episode, Kate shares her unique approach to uncovering brand-defining insigh
Taking the Piss and Turning LOLers into Dollars with Dave Harland, Chief Copywriter at Copy or Die
Dave Harland LOVES words. Big ones. Little ones. Silly ones. Serious ones.He has a talent for taking the world’s most boring categories and breathing new life into them with a few flourishes of his pen and some rat-tat-tat-clickety-clacks at his keyboard.During our conversation, we dig into all kinds of things, including the micro dignities of daily life that are threatened by automation and gener
Building Flywheels and Fandoms with Zoe Scaman at Bodacious
Zoe Scaman knows how to rebuild brands and fandoms from the ground up.Her work with brands like Nike, Netflix, and the NBA has allowed her to dig deep into consumer behavior and organizational structures, resulting in numerous aha moments around community building and how to encourage a culture of co-creation with brand superfans.Zoe builds a number of beautiful constellations during our conversat
Semiotics, Subtext, and Strutting with Joe Burns at Quality Meats Creative
Joe Burn has done a LOT of award-winning strategy work, including but not limited to brand strategy, creative strategy, communications strategy, and design strategy.And it’s these diverse experiences in strategy that have helped Joe connect the dots in the most interesting and unexpected ways for brands like KFC, Heineken, Samsung, Puma, Amnesty International, Benecol, Meta, and more.But Joe doesn
Why Chaos and Sarcasm Are Essential for Strategic Insights with Tracy Lovatt at Batten & Co
For over two decades, Tracy Lovatt has helped brands build transformative insights by challenging assumptions and embracing the chaos of tectonic cultural shifts. After starting her career at BBDO, where she guided brands like HBO, GE, Bank of America, Hyatt Hotels, PepsiCo and many others, Tracy eventually stepped away from advertising to start Batten & Co, where she now helps brands connect
Reading Between the Lines with Bob Morais, Business Anthropologist & Lecturer at Columbia Business School
Great research isn’t just about collecting answers. It’s about knowing which questions to ask and how to observe with all your senses to get to the truth of a situation.Bob Morais, business anthropologist, ethnographer, and lecturer at Columbia University’s Business School, knows how to read between the lines of what people say and what they actually do, and in this conversation, Bob shares his te
Why Data isn’t Truth: Finding Clarity in the Chaos with Tim Wilson & Valerie Kroll of facts & feelings
In a world obsessed with big data, robust dashboards, and faster answers, what if the real insight about insights has to do with slowing down and making real connections?That’s how Tim Wilson and Valerie Kroll approach each project, working with organizations to help them rethink their approach to data analytics and consumer insights. Over the years, their facts & feelings approach has made a
Bending Reality with Greg Hahn at Mischief @ No Fixed Address
Greg Hahn has built his career on reframing questions and seeing things just a little bit differently. Actually, that’s an understatement.Before launching Mischief, Greg spent almost 20 years at some of the biggest and most celebrated agencies in the business, including Fallon and BBDO, where he led creative for brands like Timberland, Citibank, HBO, eBay, FedEx, and more. Along the way, he helped
Connecting the Dots Between Marketing and Murder with Alina Burroughs, Forensic Expert from Crime Scene Confidential
What do forensic science and marketing have in common? More than you might think. Both require an ability to analyze evidence, challenge assumptions, and uncover hidden truths that are often hiding in plain sight.Alina Burroughs, a forensic expert and star of the hit show Crime Scene Confidential, has spent years piecing together clues to solve cases, and as it turns out, many of those same techni
Fighting Invisibility & Finding Emotional Truths with John Gibson, Head of Strategy at The Martin Agency
Despite the billions of dollars spent on advertising every year, most ads go completely unnoticed. In fact, 85% of them don’t even hit the minimum threshold for attention. So how do you make it into the 15% that actually break through?John Gibson, Head of Strategy at The Martin Agency, has spent his career answering that question, helping brands fight invisibility by uncovering complex emotional t
Going Cowboy and Being Bluntly Honest With Gordy Sang & Brian Siedband at Quality Meats Creative
The best work in advertising doesn’t just stand out—it challenges the status quo. And that’s exactly what Gordy Sang and Brian Siedband do with every client and every campaign at Quality Meats. Whether they’re working on a GoDaddy spot for the Big Game or a provocative box of chocolates for U by Kotex, Gordy and Brian (and their distributed team of strategists and creatives) always bring an unexpe
Transforming Challenger Brands into Category Leaders with Mark DiMassimo & Lesley Bielby at DiGo Brands
How do you take a challenger brand from number two and make it number one? And how do you do that with a relentless focus on positive behavior change?Those are the kinds of challenges that Mark DiMassimo and Lesley Bielby love to tackle at DiGo Brands, and over the past twenty years, they have elevated and re-energized numerous better-for-you brands, including Weight Watchers, Crunch Fitness, The
Reframing Risk & Doing Scary Stuff with Andy Pearson, VP of Creative at Liquid Death
What is risk?For most people, a risky situation is one where you’re exposed to danger.Put another way, it’s the possibility of something bad happening.But for Andy Pearson, VP of Creative at Liquid Death, the definition of risk takes an interesting detour. For Andy, the real danger is not that something bad will happen, but that nothing will happen at all.No reaction. No learning. No breakthroughs
Looking for Anomalies & Opportunities in AI Focus Groups with Ed Cotton, Chief Strategist & Brand Consultant
Why should strategists do focus groups with real humans if AI-enabled synthetic focus groups can yield an equally powerful aha moment at a fraction of the cost?That’s one of several challenging questions I explore with Ed Cotton, brand consultant and former chief strategy officer from Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners (BSSP).For the past 25 years, Ed has been at the helm of strategic planning in
Why Context is Everything with Tim Malefyt, Business Anthropologist and Clinical Professor at Fordham Gabelli School of Business
Tim Malefyt has an amazing ability to make the familiar strange.He does this by doing deep, ethnographic research, helping brands uncover hidden consumer truths through a combination of carefully constructed activities and thoughtful conversation. As a business anthropologist, Tim’s research methodologies and key findings have helped re-energize a number of big name brands across multiple categori
Thinking Inside The Box More Creatively with Dan Cohen, Executive Creative Director at Saatchi New York
Dan Cohen loves a good challenge.Tell him he can’t say something in a campaign headline and he’ll find a creative way around it, to the delight of clients and customers alike.Over the past thirty years, Dan’s creative, collaborative approach has helped a wide variety of brands in commoditized categories, including Bounty (paper towels), Charmin (toilet paper), Pampers (diapers), Pepto-Bismol (dige
How to Add Magic To Your Next Campaign with Magician-Strategist Mike Jacobson from America’s Got Talent
A great magic trick, like a great creative briefing, begins long before everyone gathers in a room.To the general public, Mike Jacobson may be best known for his magic show performance on America’s Got Talent in 2023, but for the past decade in the business and advertising world, Mike has brought his unique methods to strategic briefings and creative campaigns for a wide range of clients, includin
How to Make the Invisible Visible With Sascha Mayer, Co-Founder at Mamava
Sascha Mayer knows what it’s like to be invisible. Like so many new moms nursing their children, if she wanted to nurse or pump when she was away from home, her options were often limited to a bathroom stall, an unattended room, or a parked car.But it was around Labor Day weekend in 2006 that an article in the New York Times and a confluence of other events inspired a question that would change he
Easy ways to Cut the Crap and Build Something Great With Alex M H Smith, Author of No Bullsh*t Strategy
There are a lot of strategy documents in the world. Briefs. Decks. White papers. Books. According to Alex M H Smith, most of them are full of shit. Impenetrable, calcified, piled-high bullsh*t.That’s because, despite all their words and charts and graphs, these so-called strategies fail to inspire action.And that’s what Alex wants to change in the world of strategy. With his book (No Bullsh*t Stra
Putting “What If” At the Center of the Creative Brief with Shobha Sairam, Chief Strategy Officer at 22 Squared Inc
For over two decades, Shobha Sairam has worked on a wide variety of brands at a number of agencies around the world, including Leo Burnett, Mother, Deutsch, and The Community among others. Most recently, Shobha has led strategy at 22 Squared Inc, based out of New York, where she and her team have breathed new life into brands like Baskin Robbins, Party City, Publix, and Toyota. Over the years, Sho
How Honor and Vengeance Can Grow Your Brand with Brent Vartan at Bullish Inc.
Most ad agencies have clients. That’s not exactly the case with Bullish Inc. Started in 2015 by Michael Duda and Brent Vartan, the co-founders of Bullish asked a provocative “what if” question that re-envisioned what an agency could be to help maximize a new brand’s success.Their question: “What if we invested in early stage brands by providing actual money along with world-class strategic and cre
Transforming Clients and Customers Into True Believers with Seth Gaffney & Marika Wiggan at Preacher
Curiosity, conviction, and a desire to get out of one’s comfort zone - these are just a few of the characteristics that Seth Gaffney and Marika Wiggan look for in strategic candidates at Preacher, and it’s this non-traditional approach to finding talent and building campaigns that has led to Preacher’s continued success, winning them Small Agency of the Year for four of the last five years.Some of
Any Insights Yet? Trailer
Introducing Any Insights Yet? with Chris Kocek.
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