Q&A with a client-side researcher
Editor's note: If you're an end-client researcher and interested in participating in a Q&A with Quirk's, please e-mail me at emilyk@quirks.com.
What inspires you as a researcher?
As a researcher, the biggest inspiration is simply people, and my never-ending curiosity about them. What motivates them, how they adapt and why they make the choices they do. Consumers are endlessly fascinating, and being able to spend my career trying to understand them truly feels like a privilege.
Working in such a dynamic industry as media – streaming in particular – only amplifies that sense of excitement. This is a sector where the world genuinely is constantly shifting – technology evolves, behaviors transform and expectations rise – and consumers adapt their habits almost in real time. Keeping our finger on the pulse of those changes is not just intellectually stimulating – it’s essential.
I love diving into how people view the world, what they need from their entertainment, how they perceive the products and services we offer and how they respond to our shows, movies, marketing and the product experience itself. Having spent years exploring audiences across age groups, life stages and generations, I’m continually energized by how quickly things evolve. The fact that I get to observe these changes, interpret them and help translate them into strategic decisions, offering thought leadership that shapes how we anticipate and respond to consumer shifts, is incredibly rewarding. Ultimately, helping colleagues see the world through the consumer’s eyes, ensuring their perspectives shape the direction of the business, feels like meaningful work. It’s a dream job because it’s both analytical and deeply human.
When looking ahead to the next five years, what will be the insight industry’s biggest challenge?
I believe the greatest challenge ahead for the insights industry to be how we maintain our credibility, reliability and influence in an environment where data quality is becoming increasingly fragile. We’re already grappling with significant fraud in research data, and that challenge will grow. Add the rise of synthetic data and AI-generated responses, which can both be valuable tools in certain contexts but are definitely not substitutes for real human insight, and the landscape becomes even more complex.
AI can provide an answer instantly, but speed does not guarantee accuracy, context or nuance. Not every answer is a good answer, and not all data is meaningful data. As researchers, we must safeguard the difference. Our role will increasingly involve ensuring that what we call “insight” is grounded in authentic human input, thoughtful analysis and sound methodology. We need to harness AI to enhance insights, not dilute them. That means defining what quality looks like, building better safeguards and educating stakeholders when directional guidance is enough and when it absolutely is not. In many ways, insights teams will become the guardians of truth, rigor and consumer authenticity.
What is the most rewarding part of working in the global streaming category?
In the streaming world, the most rewarding moments come from seeing your work come to life in ways that millions of people all around the world can experience. This can mean watching a show evolve from an idea tested in early concept research and throughout the development process into a fully realized series on the platform, knowing you helped that creative journey in a small way. It can mean seeing marketing campaigns launch after teams have iterated on them with consumer feedback or watching product improvements roll out following usability and feature testing.
But beyond these tangible outputs, what I also find incredibly fulfilling is the collaborative process and the opportunity to bring the consumer into the boardroom. Streaming is a global, fast-moving industry, and the decisions we make affect diverse audiences with diverse needs. Being able to represent their voice – accurately and confidently – at critical strategic moments is incredibly satisfying. Working with brilliant colleagues across functions to ensure that the consumer perspective isn’t just provided but meaningfully heard and has the chance to influence the direction of the business is one of the best parts of the job.