Hyein Yoon from Korea shares how brands can approach Korea and Japan with stronger local insight and cultural context.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Hyein Yoon, founder of HY Marketing in Seoul.

Hyein works across Korean, Japanese and English speaking markets, helping global brands understand how to enter Korea and Japan with more relevant positioning, research and communication.

The conversation explores why Korea and Japan are often grouped together, but behave very differently in practice.

Hyein discusses Korean speed, trend sensitivity and value expectations, compared with Japan’s emphasis on trust, loyalty and service. She also explains how platforms such as Naver, KakaoTalk, LINE and X shape local research, social listening and brand strategy.

The episode also covers AI, local search behaviour, single person households and the importance of observing markets in person.

We also talk about Nunchi (눈치), pronounced noon-chee, the Korean "mind reading"superpower that literally translates to "eye-measure". It refers to the subtle art of listening, "reading the room," and gauging others' moods, emotions, and unspoken social cues to build harmony and adapt your behavior.

Episode Highlights:

• Why Korea and Japan require different research approaches despite being geographically close
• How Korean consumers respond to speed, trends, value for money and fast changing cultural signals
• Why Japanese market entry depends heavily on trust, loyalty, hospitality and long term relationship building
• The role of Naver, KakaoTalk, LINE, Yahoo Japan, Google and X in local insight gathering
• Why AI tools can help with market exploration, but should not replace local validation
• How Hyein uses observation, local meetups, search data and social listening to understand consumer behaviour

About the Guest

Hyein Yoon is the founder of HY Marketing, a boutique consultancy and market agency based in Seoul. She specialises in Korea and Japan market entry for global brands, working across Korean, Japanese and English speaking markets.

Her work focuses on local positioning, consumer behaviour, keyword strategy, content marketing and helping international companies understand the cultural context behind market decisions.

Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. They pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

The Insights from Elsewhere podcast is supported by:
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. We pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

Find out more about Glaut.

Rafael Cespedes from Chile discusses research culture, AI, data quality and the future of insights in Latin America.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Rafael Cespedes, CEO for Provokers in Santiago, Chile.

They talk about the realities of market research across Latin America. and Rafa reflects on how culture, contradictions and local context shape consumer behavior and research practices in the region.

The conversation explores common misunderstandings from global headquarters, the challenges of data quality and panel fraud, and the growing pressure on insights teams to deliver more with fewer resources.

Rafael also shares his perspective on AI, the changing relationship between agencies and clients, the future of research talent, and why understanding the right business question matters more than ever.

Episode Highlights:

• Why Latin America cannot be treated as a single market and how cultural nuances affect research interpretation
• Common mistakes global teams make when applying global frameworks to local markets
• How AI is changing the role of researchers, agencies and client side insights teams
• The growing importance of integrating research, business context and operational data
• Challenges around fraud, professional respondents and maintaining data quality in online research
• Why ethnography and conversational research remain essential for understanding real human behavior

About the Guest

Rafael Cespedes is a psychologist and market research leader with more than 30 years of experience in the insights industry across Latin America.

He is the CEO of Provokers in Chile and an active representative within ESOMAR. He is known for his work connecting cultural understanding, qualitative research and innovation in insights, with a strong focus on how local context shapes consumer behavior and business decisions.

Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. They pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

The Insights from Elsewhere podcast is supported by:
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. We pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

Find out more about Glaut.

This episode features Jessica Dua, Senior Qualitative Manager at Cultural Traits in New Delhi, India.

She shares her journey into market research and her experience leadingInsights for Impact Award – Qualitative Research 2025 award winning project focused on children in underserved communities in New Delhi.

The conversation explores how qualitative methods such as co-creation and ethnography can uncover real behavioral insights, even in complex environments. Jessica also shares the realities of conducting research across India, including regional diversity, digital access gaps, and cultural nuance.

The episode highlights how researchers adapt methodologies, balance technology with traditional approaches, and ensure meaningful outcomes for both participants and clients.

Episode Highlights:

• Designing a co-creation study with children to develop practical solutions for learning environments
• Managing research challenges in low literacy and low trust contexts
• Adapting methodologies to digital constraints such as device access and connectivity
• Understanding India as a set of diverse markets with linguistic, cultural, and climate differences
• Evaluating the role of AI in research, including its strengths in efficiency and limits in cultural interpretation
• Balancing technology adoption with traditional qualitative methods across urban and rural contexts

About the Guest

Jessica Dua is a Senior Qualitative Manager at Cultural Traits based in New Delhi, India. She specializes in qualitative research methods including in-depth interviews, ethnography, and online communities. Her work focuses on understanding human behavior and cultural context in the Indian market. She was recognized with the Insights for Impact Award 2026 for a project using research to support social outcomes through co-creation with children.

*The Insights for Impact Award is a initiative sponsored by Insight Platforms and Recollective where winner pitches receive resources to conduct an online qualitative research project for a charity, good cause or non-profit organisation.

**More details about the project execution are available in the on-demand webinar From Insight to Impact: Co-Creation with Young Minds from New Delhi.

Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. They pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

The Insights from Elsewhere podcast is supported by:
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. We pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

Find out more about Glaut.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Mitali Chowhan, Director General of the Market Research Society of India (MRSI), to explore the realities of market research in India and what global professionals can learn from it.

They discuss how India combines rigorous methodological foundations with rapid adoption of new technologies, including AI and mobile-first research. The conversation highlights the importance of demonstrating business impact, navigating client pressures, and maintaining research quality in a fast-changing environment.

Mitali also shares practical perspectives on working across cultures, managing complexity in diverse markets, and developing the next generation of researchers—balancing foundational knowledge with modern tools.

An experience-driven conversation on where the industry is heading and what must not be lost along the way.

Episode Highlights:

• Why Indian market research emphasizes strong fundamentals like sampling, heterogeneity, and statistical rigor.
• The challenge of proving business impact and how “impact awards” help shift the narrative.
• AI in research: where it delivers real efficiency vs. where risks and limitations remain.
• Cultural and operational nuances of conducting research in India, including language diversity and scale.
• The tension between shrinking budgets, automation, and maintaining research quality.
• Talent development: how to attract, train, and retain the next generation of insights professionals.

About the Guest

Mitali Chowhan is the Director General of the Market Research Society of India, based in Mumbai.

With nearly four decades of experience across both agency and client-side roles—including leadership positions at TNS and major telecom companies such as Vodafone—she brings a deep understanding of global and local research ecosystems.

Her work focuses on elevating the visibility, credibility, and impact of market research, while fostering high standards, responsible innovation, and talent development within the industry.

Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. They pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

The Insights from Elsewhere podcast is supported by:
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. We pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

Find out more about Glaut.

What does it really mean to be a “global citizen” in insights?

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal talks with Pratik Sharma, co-founder of Opsonomy. He was born in India and has spent the last 20 years living in Germany while working across Europe, the US, and APAC.

Pratik shares what he learned moving between cultures: how language, punctuality, communication styles, and business norms change from market to market, and why assumptions that “what works in the US will work anywhere” often fail.

They also explore how localization impacts research quality (from survey translation to cultural context), and where AI helps, or misleads, when it’s trained on predominantly Western examples.

Episode Highlights:

• Why Pratik calls himself a “global citizen” and what moving from India to Germany taught him about culture and work
• How small cultural cues (punctuality, directness, formality, “do’s and don’ts”) shape client relationships and project delivery
• The myth of “copy-paste research”: why methods, language, and expectations don’t transfer cleanly across markets
• Localization in practice: translation vs “tropicalization,” cultural references, and avoiding questions that can derail a study
• AI and bias: why large language models can feel “off” outside Western contexts and how that may change as inputs diversify
• Advice for newcomers: be bold, experiment, learn globally, and challenge established assumptions

About the Guest

Pratik Sharma is the co-founder of Opsonomy, a consultancy focused on unlocking growth opportunities and improving efficiency across company ecosystems.

Born in India and based in Germany for the past two decades, Pratik has worked with global research and business teams across Europe, the United States, and APAC.

His experience spans cross-cultural project delivery, client management across markets, and practical guidance on adapting research approaches to local realities.

Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. They pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

The Insights from Elsewhere podcast is supported by:
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. We pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

Find out more about Glaut.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Dave McCaughan, Sydney-born and Bangkok-based, about what it really takes to understand Asia beyond stereotypes and surface-level “localisation.”

Drawing on three decades of experience across Asia-Pacific in senior roles at McCann, Dave shares how he became a cultural translator for global brands: helping teams grasp the region’s deep differences in geography, religion, everyday habits, and even the sports preferences.

The conversation also explores why marketers should focus on people, not consumers and how AI and large language models could finally help insights teams synthesize knowledge at scale, turning accumulated learning into action instead of letting it sit in silos.

Episode Highlights:

• Dave’s unconventional route into insights: from children’s librarian to global strategy and research leadership
• Translating Asia for western HQs: why “one campaign for the region” often fails (and what to do instead)
• The “rice” story: using small cultural details to explain big differences that shape brand decisions
• Market research vs. insight: why most “insights” are just interesting findings—and what a real insight feels like
• People, not consumers: why the best brands win by understanding human motivations beyond category behavior
• AI’s real promise: synthesizing learning across reports, markets, and sources to uncover patterns that move strategy

About the Guest

Dave McCaughan is a Bangkok-based independent consultant with decades of experience across Asia-Pacific in strategic planning, cultural analysis, and brand research. Dave has also contributed to the insights industry through professional initiatives and speaking, and is known for his provocative, practical take on what “real insight” looks like and how AI can help the industry move beyond repetitive, siloed research.

Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. They pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

The Insights from Elsewhere podcast is supported by:
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. We pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

Find out more about Glaut.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, we talk to Irina Mukhametova, Advanced Nutrition Category Director for RG Brands in Kazakhstan. She brings her vast experience in various marketing and insights ecosystems in Central Asia, Caucasus, Russia, China and Mongolia.

Episode Highlights:

• Why research investment is growing: as markets consolidate and the “cost of mistakes” rises, brands are pushed to test more before launching.
• Why Central Asia can’t be treated as “one market”: language, religion, values, and local occasions vary sharply by country.
• Research nuance in practice: Kazakhstan’s polite “it’s ok” can mean rejection. Kyrgyzstan tends to be more direct. In Uzbekistan men often drive purchase decisions. And many other must know behaviours before investing in the region.
• What HQs often get wrong: reusing Russia-based strategies/ads across the region and missing cultural red lines (even small creative details can backfire).
• The reality of data availability: strong coverage in some markets (e.g., Kazakhstan) but major gaps elsewhere, making sizing and deep dives difficult.
• AI as a necessity (not a buzzword): used to combine imperfect sources (sales + syndicated + other inputs) and move faster under tight budgets and high ROI pressure.

About the Guest:

Irina Mukhametova is the Advanced Nutrition Category Director at RG Brands (now part of PepsiCo) in Kazakhstan.

With 20+ years spanning marketing, research, brand strategy, and growth across emerging markets. She has led insights work across Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia, China, and Mongolia.

She brings a pragmatic, business-driven view of how research and AI help reduce risk and drive growth in complex, fast-changing markets.

Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. They pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

The Insights from Elsewhere podcast is supported by:
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. We pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

Find out more about Glaut.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, we talk to Soufiane Alkhatiri, VP of the Moroccan Federation of Advertisers (GAM), about what truly shapes consumer understanding in Morocco and North Africa.

Soufiane explains that the country brings a mix of tradition, modernity, regional differences, and multiple dialects making real insights dependent on people who know how to listen.

In this context, experienced moderators play a crucial role in interpreting cultural and linguistic nuances — especially in a country where internet access is uneven and trust is often built face-to-face.

Although he works heavily with analytics, Soufiane is a strong believer in qualitative insight to uncover the “stories behind the numbers.

He is optimistic about AI improving speed and efficiency. But he reminds us that AI can’t replace the human ability to understand emotions, context, and culture, specially in diverse territories.

His core message is simple and powerful:
In Morocco, culture isn’t an accessory — it’s the strategy.

Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. They pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

The Insights from Elsewhere podcast is supported by:
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. We pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.

Find out more about Glaut.