Rock n' Roll Research Podcast

Alfonso de la Nuez traces his fascinating journey from a childhood dream of playing point guard in the NBA to helping lead the revolution of user experience research as founder and CEO of UserZoom. He shares the lessons he applied from basketball to the business world and how Google and others in the early days pushed his consulting business to do user experience research at scale. What started as a services business evolved into a SaaS business that became UserZoom.Along the way, he discusses what’s next for the evolution of user experience research, the influence of people like Ricky Rubio and Pau Gasol on Spanish basketball and the music that means the most to him.

“Making Research Inspirational” is what Nikki Lavoie’s company, MindSpark, does on a professional level every day. Like me, many are personally inspired by Nikki, and grateful for the leadership, expertise and energy she contributes to the insights industry through organizations like ESOMAR, The AQR and more.What I *really* wanted to know is the backstory of how she came to launch and lead a global qualitative research agency based in France after starting her career in the US. Nikki shares this story and more, including the importance of respecting research participants, why she’s still a Belieber and why she suspects you are, too.

My good friend and Chief Architect at a major financial firm, Mike Boyer, had the idea to put the host on the hot seat  in his aptly named "Turntable Episode."Mike gets me to share how I got into the field of market research, a self-deprecating jog through my  humbling side gigs in music and a way-too-long list of records I'd want on a desert island.

Jessica Gomez is one-of-a-kind in all the best ways. She is someone who takes initiative and makes the most of her opportunities. She turned an entry level position at a TV station in San Antonio into digital sales management positions in Dallas, New York City and now Houston at Audacy, Inc., the second largest radio company in the US.But . . . she also mighta, coulda, shoulda, woulda been a Flamenco dancer (she is a great dancer, I can attest!). Jessica shares that story along with insights about digital marketing during the pandemic, the role of data in the marketing mix and the music that means the most to her.

Evan Dabbs made a bet that a deep background in music would translate well to a career in user experience design. I’m convinced he’s right.I met Evan on LinkedIn after reading his Medium article, “The UX of Music.” The pandemic led him to explore new paths beyond his career as a band director (can you imagine conducting a school orchestra over Zoom?).Evan shares keen insight into how similar the processes are for composing music and creating user-centered design. Have you ever thought about that brief moment of satisfaction between when a live performance ends and when the applause starts? Evan has and he is exploring what it could mean for designing satisfying experiences.Evan’s second career in UX may just be getting started but it couldn’t have been built on a better foundation.

Alistair Vince traces his career path from Big Mac Constructor to CEO of Watch Me Think, an inventive ethnography and consumer empathy firm with offices in Australia, the UK and the US.He shares how a washing machine inspired the launch of the company and how it is ever guided by culture, people, ideas, stories and innovation.He also shares the lessons he’s learned from his passion project, 'The 100' newsletter, “A cheat-sheet way to stay on top of the world of market research,” which includes impartiality, “the rhythmic rule of 3” and the enduring appeal of PowerPoint.I won’t give away his desert island discs, but let’s just say that Alastair is Straight Outta Cliddesden. \m/

You may know Orlando Wood as the Chief Innovation Officer at System1, a foremost thought leader on behavioral science and advertising, or the author of the acclaimed book on advertising, “Lemon: How the Advertising Brain Turned Sour.” For those who’ve enjoyed “Lemon,” he has another book due out this October.You may not know that Orlando is a studious and talented watercolorist. He draws keen, common lessons among the disciplines of research, advertising, writing and art (“It’s important to respect spontaneity . . . and mistakes that you think are mistakes but might actually turn into something really interesting.”).Orlando shares his insights on why advertising’s creative devices have changed in recent years, how art reflects broader societal trends and the authors, media and music that inspire him.

By day, Elena Erofeeva is an accomplished software engineer working with big data applications and many more. Her interest in computers was sparked early, at age 4, when her father built one of the first computers in her hometown region in Russia.But before moving to the US in her teens, Elena also discovered metal (\m/). Now steeped in the arcane worlds of black metal, symphonic metal and myriad other taxonomic branches, she eventually found her way to the mic as an on-air radio DJ at KFAI Fresh Air Radio in Minneapolis.Elena became a host of the Root of All Evil radio show, the longest continually running metal radio show on the planet founded by the Twin Cities metal godfather, Earl Root (RIP). She has since also launched and hosts the show, Shadow Planet, from 2am-4am on Saturday mornings.You haven’t heard a story quite like Elena's! \m/ \m/

Where in the world is Samiyyah Williams today? She’s right here on the Rock n’ Roll Research Podcast! Spend a few minutes living vicariously through Samiyyah as she shares how her 18-month sabbatical from Ipsos, backpacking and motorbiking throughout Asia, transformed her lifestyle and awakened her soul.Follow Samiyyah’s continuing adventures on Instagram at @thewanderessadventure

Based in Chicago, Sarah Kotva has spent most of her career at Fieldwork, Inc. where she has risen to the role of EVP.  She is a highly organized and meticulous leader who loves to collaborate and interact with people.So perhaps it is not surprising that, inspired by Colin Cowie on Oprah, she originally set out to be a planner of fabulous parties. Fate eventually found her under the big tent of the market research industry where she discovered these two worlds are not so different as they may seem.Sarah shares her journey on today's podcast and discusses the enduring value of face-to-face consumer interaction, which snacks are most popular at focus groups and which hair metal record she'd listen to for all of eternity.