Market Research
Reports, white papers, blogs, videos -- you name it and I've done it.... well!
I'm proficient in Analytics, Client Relations, Community Engagement, Consumer Behavior, Copy/Concept Testing, Customer Experience, Focus Groups, Global Research, In-Depth Interviews (IDIs), Millennial Marketing, Perceptual Mapping, Press Releases, Research Design & Management, Sensory/Taste Testing, Social-Media Listening, Staff Development, Writing/Editing
B2C and B2B Journalism
I've been an editor at Rolling Stone and Playboy, and have written features, articles, blogs for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago magazine, Maxim, ESPN the Magazine, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, Complex and American Way, among many more.
I've also written market-research-related blogs, press releases and syndicated write papers for Kantar Futures, Vision Critical (now Maru/Matchbox), Insights in Marketing, Ascendancy Research, 747 Insights and Kidscreen magazine, and others.
Millennial Expertise
Because there are just so darn many of them, Millennials matter. For nearly six years, I was a youth expert at TRU (now part of Kantar Futures), where I studied, interviewed, analyzed (both primary and secondary data) and wrote about Millennials from the time many weren't old enough to drive. From there I was the lead person on a five-person team responsible for ESPN's Millennial men-focused insights community while a Research Director at Vision Critical (now Maru/Matchbox). At VC, I created and curated their first-ever Facebook- and Twitter-only community offshoots, comprised entirely of Millennials.
About Me
Bio
I’ve been a professional writer/journalist for more than two decades, which is odd because I don’t look a day over 21 (please humor me). I fell into the world of market research in 2007, back when I thought people who said “quant” were merely mispronouncing “quan” from Jerry Maguire.
I began my career as an aspiring screenwriter-turn-actual journalist. I’ve written features for ESPN the Magazine and the Chicago Tribune, have been quoted in Sports Illustrated and USA Today.
I turned my attention toward market research at the urging of a former boss at Rolling Stone who, too, made the unconventional transition from grafs to graphs. My unique background affords me the ability to deliver to you high-quality insights and recommendations with compelling flair. Unlike many researchers who author “white papers,” I create deliverables with plenty of color.
As a market researcher, I’ve worked closely with an array of heavyweight clients, ranging from ESPN and NFL to Hillshire to Sears, where I was on the frontlines determining proper methodologies and tactics for both quantitative and qualitative learning streams.
I cut my market-research teeth focusing on Millennials at TRU (now part of Kantar Futures) for nearly six years. While at TRU, I conducted youth-related syndicated research with teens and young adults in 37 countries across five continents. From there I moved on to Vision Critical, where I was the online insight-community project lead for both the NFL and ESPN accounts. At VC, I spearheaded studies that featured a mix of quant and cutting-edge qual, passive-media monitoring, mobile diaries, screen shares and the first-ever interactive insights community on Facebook.
I earned a BS in Writing for Television, Radio and Film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. I grew up in the New York metro area but have lived in or near Chicago since 1998. My wife and I are the proud parents of an 17-year-old son, 14-year-old daughter, four cats (my wife is a fan), a rabbit (don’t ask) and a French and English Bulldog.
But, hey, enough of my yakkin’… whaddaya say, let’s boogie!
