An insights strategist, a Research Director turned writer, and an ethnographic videographer walk into a studio…
Mark Whalley
A former Food & Drink Research Lead (GlobalData) and clientside Insight Controller (Greencore), it would be quicker to list the brands and grocery retailers that Mark hasn’t worked with than those he has.
His future-focused method of interpreting insight has led to him specialise in category visions and innovation pipelines - dreaming big and taking everyone with him. Which makes him perfect for helping clients tell their stories.
A strategy nut to the core, he can quote Richard Rumelt the way others quote The Simpsons. (To nobody’s delight.)
All EXPLNERS projects start with Mark hunting down the best narrative, crafting the angle, and setting the direction for production.
Most likely to bombard the EXPLNERS WhatsApp group when random thoughts occur at 6am.
Catch phrase: “So, I’ve been doodling on the whiteboard, and…”
Judith Rose FMRS
Judith has worked in research for more than 30 years, initially on the agency side. Her last job was as a Research Director at GfK, but for the last twelve years she’s been an insights storyteller, creating content strategy and writing copy and long-form content to help researchers bring insights to life so they land with a bang.
She’s been the invisible creator behind hundreds of client-side thought-leadership papers, agency blogs, articles in industry publications and winning awards entries - she’s won a couple of awards herself too.
Judith is our wordsmith. She knows just how to craft a script so it sings and to tell a story that grips the audience and won’t let go.
Most likely to be found with her nose in a book.
Catch phrase: “What do we actually mean here?”
Dan Parker-Smith
Dan is a professional film maker, accomplished researcher and many-time MRS ICG award runner up (one day, Dan). Combining his experience at multiple agencies and his film production knowledge, he understands how to balance research project goals with high-quality video storytelling.
Fusing customer-led content with documentary-style narrative and journalism, Dan ensures that there’s a great story at the heart of every video we make.
Dan’s the one we turn to when it’s time to work on the visuals and audio, to take the storyboard from static to living, and to push the boundaries of research deliverables way beyond where you thought they could go.
Most likely to be contemplating buying yet another even bigger screen.
Catch phrase: “I think we could do something really candid.”
Three different skillsets; one shared vision.
You could call it magic. Or at least, alchemy. We all bring something different to the mix and what happens when we get together, well, we think it’s pretty special.
We were three people working in the insights sector in very different ways. But we all had a belief that the great work done by researchers deserves more attention. And that stakeholders who don’t ‘get’ insights can’t make good decisions.
So we built EXPLNERS to make your insights shine a little brighter and live a little louder. And what’s magic is that it’s made us all shine just a little brighter too.