In this episode of Signal and Noise, hosts Brian Lamar and Andrew DeCilles sit down with Craig Alter, an experienced consumer insights leader at Perfetti Van Melle, to explore how consumer behavior, impulse buying, and innovation research intersect inside the world of candy, gum, and mints.

Craig shares his nontraditional path into market research, explaining how early experience in finance, marketing, and brand management shaped his ability to connect subtle consumer insights to measurable business outcomes. He discusses why many professionals discover research later in their careers and why diverse business backgrounds are a strength for the insights industry.

Craig also discusses innovation and product testing as one of the most rewarding areas of consumer research. He walks through central location tests, flavor development, texture evaluation, and how research can serve both product refinement and selling stories with retail buyers. Throughout the discussion, he highlights how qualitative and quantitative methods increasingly blend together to solve real business problems.

The episode concludes with a thoughtful discussion on the role of artificial intelligence in research. Craig offers a pragmatic perspective on where AI can add speed and efficiency, such as summarization and early screening, and where human nuance remains irreplaceable, particularly in humor, taste, emotion, and impulse-driven behavior.

Key Takeaways:

• Impulse-driven categories like candy are difficult to research because consumers often cannot explain why they buy in the moment.

• Observational and in-context research is critical for understanding real shopper behavior, especially at the shelf or checkout.

• Consumer behavior changes significantly by channel, so insights must be tailored for grocery, convenience, club, and digital environments.

• Innovation research works best when qualitative and quantitative methods are combined to refine products and tell compelling business stories.

• AI can improve efficiency in research, but human judgment is still essential for understanding emotion, taste, humor, and nuance.

If you loved the episode, have comments, or want to appear on the show, connect with us down below!

Connect with us:

• LinkedIn

• YouTube

• ROI Rocket

Connect with Craig Alter:

• LinkedIn

In this episode of Signal and Noise, hosts Brian Lamar and Andrew DeCilles welcome Ellen Houston and Jordan Harper from Qualtrics Edge, marking the first time the podcast has featured guests from Qualtrics. The conversation dives into the future of AI, synthetic data, and the evolution of modern research inside one of the most influential insights platforms in the world.

Ellen, who leads the Edge Center of Excellence, outlines how her team focuses on the intersection of market research and artificial intelligence, particularly in developing synthetic respondents and next-generation research tools. Jordan, a senior principal thought leader, brings a scientific and strategic perspective shaped by his background in astrophysics, engineering, technology, and agency leadership. Together, they explain how Qualtrics Edge is working across product, engineering, delivery, and customer teams to establish a rigorous foundation for AI in research.

Throughout the episode, the conversation highlights the opportunities and challenges of AI, including research design, niche audience modeling, accuracy signals, and the role of synthetic respondents in uncovering deeper truths and exposing issues in survey construction. Both guests share examples of experiments, such as priming tests and concept evaluations, that reveal how synthetic respondents behave compared to humans and how these differences can expand the insight landscape.

Key Takeaways:

• Qualtrics Edge is focused on using AI to advance market research, especially through synthetic respondents.

• Synthetic respondents are meant to support human research, not replace it.

• The Qualtrics model is trained on decades of real survey data, giving it a unique advantage.

• Synthetic respondents help reveal issues in survey design and respondent behavior that humans may hide or overlook.

• Future developments include niche synthetic audiences and expanded AI tools across the entire research process.

If you loved the episode, have comments, or want to appear on the show, connect with us down below!

Connect with us:

• LinkedIn

• YouTube

• ROI Rocket

Connect with Jordan Harper:

• LinkedIn

Connect with Ellen Houston:

• LinkedIn
  

In this episode of Signal and Noise, hosts Brian Lamar and Andrew DeCilles sit down with Brandon Richard, Senior Vice President at The Link Group and a long-time AI enthusiast who has been leading multiple AI initiatives across qualitative and quantitative research. Together, they unpack what is actually happening in the research industry as companies race to understand and apply artificial intelligence.

The episode also explores the limits of AI-generated synthesis, the need for trust and human verification, the challenges of capturing nuance in qualitative work, and why the industry must avoid falling into the trap of faster and cheaper at the expense of true insight. Brandon highlights the importance of friction in the research process, explaining that many of the valuable ideas and breakthroughs come from the messy and human parts of research, not simply the final deliverable.

Key Takeaways:

• Where AI synthesis supports analysts and where it still falls short

• Practical examples of AI being used before and after qualitative work

• A balanced view of synthetic samples, digital twins, and personas

• Why accurate forecasting and real-time insight remain difficult for AI

• The risks of creating research that is fast and cheap but not meaningful

• Why friction in research often produces the best insights

• What the future of human plus AI collaboration should look like

If you loved the episode, have comments, or want to appear on the show, connect with us down below!

Connect with us:

• LinkedIn

• YouTube

• ROI Rocket

Connect with Brandon Richard:

• LinkedIn

• The Link Group