Editor’s Note: The following interview features a GreenBook Future List honoree, Robyn Rouse. The GreenBook Future List recognizes leadership, professional growth, personal integrity, passion, and excellence in the next generation of consumer insights and marketing professionals within the first 10 years of their careers.
Introducing Robyn Rouse of Vital Findings
As Manager of Research and Design at Vital Findings, Robyn Rouse is breaking the mold of traditional qualitative research to create atmospheres and experiences that lead to truly authentic insights in the industry. She was a key researcher on an exploratory study about podcasts, where they created a podcast “episode” as an insights deliverable. This piece is often sited as an out of the box, engaging and non-traditional means of sharing insights.
Outside of insights, what are your passions and interests?
My greatest passion is traveling. Who doesn’t love to travel, am I right? I caught the travel bug when I was 17 years old and took my first solo trip to Panama after graduation. It opened an innate curiosity in me that I like to believe I carry through to all facets of my life, including my work. I am so fortunate to say I’ve had some amazing opportunities to see some wonderful places around our world. Among my favorites are Ghana, Iceland and the Philippines.
It’s become a ritual for me to spend New Years in a different place each year. This year I was shark cage diving in Hawaii, an amazing experience second only to my swim with manta rays in the open ocean. I’m also committed to visiting every continent within the next five years, and I’m happy to say that I have only Antarctica and South America left to go!
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from market research?
I think the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from market research is that of empathy. The core of our work is really getting to know and understand people who often come from seemingly very different worlds. It’s our job to dig below the surface to find that core human need, value or ideology that is the unifier and can be related back to our client’s business.
“Learn, experiment with, and tap into the power of new technologies but don’t sacrifice personal connection, intuition and purpose when you do.”
A lot of my focus is qualitative in nature, and I get to meet and speak with people every day that in my personal life I may not have ever encountered. In such a small window of time, we create a little ecosystem of our own, where we can just talk and relate. Even on the quantitative side, we are challenged to look beyond the data and consider the human experience, which is truly where I find the most fun in our work. It’s a unique opportunity to really see people as people.
What do you think the key characteristics or qualities of a leader are? How does this play into MRX?
The most effective leaders are those who listen first. They don’t jump immediately to problem-solving, and they don’t generate new ideas for the sake of doing so. They listen first, and they listen openly to all points-of-view. Only then, once they’ve come to understand the needs of the group, do they act. This leadership style not only cultivates trust and respect, but it cultivates an environment of idea sharing that ultimately creates the space for other leaders to emerge.
Listening first plays directly into the MRX space. It’s the root of what we do with insights. We approach business problems creatively but also with purpose and intent. And we generate insights from a place of deep understanding, listening and reading between the lines so that we can make connections between consumers and brands.
What challenges do you see facing newer MRX professionals as technology advances?
With advances in technologies and AI in particular (hello, ChatGPT!), the challenge I see for new MRX professionals, or perhaps the challenge to them, is to learn how to harness technology as a tool, but not to develop an over-reliance on it. The insights we’re looking for are human insights. Different technologies can help us mine larger sets of data in the pursuit of themes or broad points of differentiation, but this complements rather than replaces the heart of our work.
It’s a life lesson as much as a research one. Don’t develop an over-reliance on Zoom interactions in our post-COVID remote and hybrid workplaces. Connect with people in-person when you can. Don’t develop an over-reliance on social for your personal communities. Spend time, physically, with friends and family.
Learn, experiment with, and tap into the power of new technologies but don’t sacrifice personal connection, intuition and purpose when you do.
