In this special New Year episode of Signal and Noise, Brian Lamar and Andrew DeCilles return with a candid conversation about what 2026 may hold for the market research and insights industry. Drawing from months of conversations with researchers, technology leaders, and clients, the hosts share a grounded but optimistic view of an industry entering a period of economic repositioning, technological acceleration, and rising expectations for data quality.

The discussion opens with reflections on personal and professional goals before shifting into a wide-ranging outlook on volatility, global and political uncertainty, and how those forces shape research budgets and decision-making. Brian and Andrew explore why market research is well positioned to benefit from artificial intelligence, even as pricing pressure, consolidation, and competition continue to intensify.

Key Takeaways:

• The economic and political factors shaping research budgets in 2026

• Why artificial intelligence may reduce cost and time while raising expectations for quality

• The rising importance of verified and high-quality online samples

• The growth of synthetic data and hybrid research approaches

• How the role of the researcher is shifting toward insight and strategy

• Industry consolidation and what it means for agencies and panels

• Why innovation and experimentation will define competitive advantage in 2026

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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.

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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.

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