In this episode of Truth Revealed, our Head of Truth Futures Dr Bridget Dalton and Head of Quant Maria Antidormi make the case for a different way of thinking about futures research: one that starts with culture and ends with directional confidence.

They get into why casting the net wide produces fog rather than foresight, and why narrowing your focus is the move that actually works. Cultural semiotics and quantitative research, used together, can show where meaning is moving before it shows up in data.

From the hollowing out of premium value to the tension between everyday and luxury markets; this is a conversation about what it really means to size a future, and how to choose it wisely.

As part of the latest in our Truth Revealed series, Mark Thorpe spoke with Alex Hardy about insight, brands, AI and connecting with shoppers and consumer truths in a time of change. Alex has worked with some notable organisations; from the frozen food powerhouse that is Nomad Foods (where he led their global insights team), to luminaries such as Nestlé, Unilever and General Mills.

It was a great session, one that really got the Truth team thinking about the wonderful world of people, brands, insight and strategy. During the discussion, a range of topics were covered, not least of which was the challenges and opportunities of AI for commercial insight and strategy. Also covered were the changing brand, consumer and shopper landscapes and what this means for insight teams that have increasingly been tasked with doing more at pace.

Facing a rapidly changing ‘now’, and a future that none of us can predict, means focusing on the real and the tangible, while maintaining a keen view on the future scenarios that could come into play, is essential. As part of this pragmatic approach to insight is the strength to make hard choices: what to follow and what to ignore and what is likely to be important and what isn’t. It’s all too easy to be swept away on a sea of trends, seduced by their possibilities. Evaluation is key. As is experience – knowing when to walk away from a trend, idea, or manifestation.

Please do have a look/listen to the podcast with Alex Hardy. It has certainly encouraged our thinking, as well as reaffirming beliefs that are central to how we think and what we do. There’s a positive message in there that, despite all the challenges, the world of insights can still shine brightly. What’s not to like about that? #podcast #TruthRevealed

In this episode of Truth Revealed, Duart Rankin sits down with communications strategist Andrew Bruce Smith to tackle the questions market research and innovation professionals are actually asking about AI—beyond the hype and the awards case studies.

Andrew brings a unique perspective, having been involved with AI since the early 1980s at Edinburgh University's nascent AI department, and spending the last decade helping organizations understand AI's practical impact on communications, marketing, and research.

The conversation moves fast: from demystifying synthetic data (it's not just "making it up") to exposing what's really happening when you upload a spreadsheet to ChatGPT. They explore why individual AI adoption isn't translating to organizational transformation, the shift from prompt engineering to agentic AI systems, and the uncomfortable truth about what happens to billable hours when AI collapses timelines.

This isn't about whether AI will change your industry—it will. This is about understanding what breaks, what survives, and what clients will still pay you for when the old business models stop working.

If you're tired of AI panic and hungry for strategic thinking about what comes next, this conversation is for you.

Book mentioned in the podcast:

Repenning, N.P. and Kieffer, D.C. (2023) There's got to be a better way: how to deliver results and get rid of the stuff that gets in the way of real work. Kindle edition. New York.