In the second episode, Jem Fawcus—co-founder and CEO of FIREFISH—walks through three trends in the insights industry that he laments enough to banish forever. He describes each of the three and offers guidance toward how we could actually solve these cultural problems. The main pet peeves Jem describes are: 1) the use of the word “consumer” to describe people, 2) the siloing of different research methodologies, and 3) the resistance for companies to move toward renewable energy. For each of the three pet peeves, Jem describes his own experience and suggests some solutions. He believes brands can be more successful and make more sense of their customer bases by thinking about: who “the consumer” is as a person, how to bring research interests together, and how to prioritize running businesses in a healthier world.

Key Quotes:

• “I’ve always believed that your job and your life are not separate, and if you can balance them and make them work for each other, you’re in a much better and happier place.” (9:25)
• “I hate ‘the consumer.’ I call it ‘the C-word.’” (11:45)
• “I believe that all businesses should enrich the totality of human life, not just themselves. And to do that, we need to understand people as people.” (16:10)
• “What we need is polymaths—we need people who understand a little bit of everything.” (19:45)
• “You shine the light from different perspectives and you will get the full picture.” (23:15)
• “Most people would not want to willfully destroy the planet.” (26:50)
• “The climate conversation and the business conversation are not separate.” (31:45)

Key Topics:

• Jem describes how he got into the insights industry. (2:05)
• Landing an advertising gig at Glastonbury. (7:00)
• The difficulty of becoming a “work person”—and why that’s wrong. (9:45)
• Throwing the term “the consumer” into Room 101. (11:00)
• Banishing the siloing of different research methodologies. (17:25)
• Banishing the current hesitance to put climate strategy at the heart of business strategy. (25:00)
• Encouraging business owners to move to renewables. (28:30)
• A compromise with two things going into Room 101?! (35:30)

About - Jem Fawcus:

Jem Fawcus is the co-founder and CEO of FIREFISH, a UK-based insights agency. He is an expert in using insights to drive brand purpose, communication developments, and innovation. When not moving the needle for the best brands in the world, Jem enjoys fly fishing, football, and his chickens.

Relevant Links:

• Day One Strategy
• Narrative by Numbers, by Sam Knowles
• How to Be Insightful, by Sam Knowles