Episode 7: The Future of Insights and Innovation with Tiffany McNeil

In this episode, Pebble Presents Tiffany McNeil, a brand and innovation strategist and insights executive. Together, Emelia and Tiffany discuss Tiffany's journey into the field, the critical role of insights in driving innovation, and the balance between research and business realities. Tiffany shares her experiences in various organizations, emphasizing the importance of understanding consumer needs and the evolving landscape of research methodologies, including the impact of AI. The discussion also touches on the skepticism surrounding research in organizations and the need for a balanced approach to insights and strategy.

If you want to innovate in your industry, and aren’t sure what the next best step is…listen in to today’s episode!

Emelia Rallapalli is the founder of Pebble - a brand strategy and marketing research consultancy. With decades of experience in global brand planning, strategy, and research, Pebble has helped shape businesses of all kinds, from ambitious start-ups to global Fortune 100 companies. 

Tiffany McNeil is a consumer-driven strategist with over 20 years of experience building human-centered brands and products. She has worked in both large organizations and startups and, in 2018, started Oaktown Strategy, an insights-led strategy & innovation firm where she remains the CEO and lead strategist.

Welcome to Pebble Presents.

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Show Notes 

0:23 - Emelia introduces Tiffany, today’s special guest

1:34 - Tiffany shares the path she took to get to her current profession

10:28 - Tiffany recalls when she determined that her area of expertise was insights and research for innovation

14:05 - Tiffany outlines skills and capabilities a good insights person should possess if they are supporting or collaborating with innovation teams

18:02 - Tiffany explains how she has negotiated and managed situations where a consumer product idea isn’t feasible, or the company ignores the consumer research to do what they want

26:36 - Tiffany explains the dynamics and conditions that allow a company to embrace research, and provides examples of previous projects

34:53 - Tiffany shares the “best practices” she learned at Del Monte and throughout her career that she has carried forward to help companies grow today

44:56 - Tiffany shares what qualitative insights she likes to begin with, to inform the work she is about to do, as well as quantitative insightsthat she finds valuable at the back end of the research

49:02 - Tiffany shares what, in many situations, could be more important than consumer research for product development 

52:34 - Looking forward, Tiffany divulges what she is excited about in the field of innovation and insights

1:00:37 - Emelia wraps up the episode

Episode Credits

Executive Produced & Hosted by Emelia Rallapalli

Produced by Stephanie Watanabe 

Editing and Post Produced by Erin Zimmerman

Artwork and Design by Liisa Turan-Walters