As part of the latest in our Truth Revealed series, Mark Thorpe spoke with Alex Hardy about insight, brands, AI and connecting with shoppers and consumer truths in a time of change. Alex has worked with some notable organisations; from the frozen food powerhouse that is Nomad Foods (where he led their global insights team), to luminaries such as Nestlé, Unilever and General Mills.
It was a great session, one that really got the Truth team thinking about the wonderful world of people, brands, insight and strategy. During the discussion, a range of topics were covered, not least of which was the challenges and opportunities of AI for commercial insight and strategy. Also covered were the changing brand, consumer and shopper landscapes and what this means for insight teams that have increasingly been tasked with doing more at pace.
Facing a rapidly changing ‘now’, and a future that none of us can predict, means focusing on the real and the tangible, while maintaining a keen view on the future scenarios that could come into play, is essential. As part of this pragmatic approach to insight is the strength to make hard choices: what to follow and what to ignore and what is likely to be important and what isn’t. It’s all too easy to be swept away on a sea of trends, seduced by their possibilities. Evaluation is key. As is experience – knowing when to walk away from a trend, idea, or manifestation.
Please do have a look/listen to the podcast with Alex Hardy. It has certainly encouraged our thinking, as well as reaffirming beliefs that are central to how we think and what we do. There’s a positive message in there that, despite all the challenges, the world of insights can still shine brightly. What’s not to like about that?
#podcast #TruthRevealed
