Episode 56: Transforming Insight at Google
Episode 56 of the IMA's Transforming Insight podcast is now available. In this extended episode, James along with co-host Roy Hammond chat with Laura Roberts, Head of Brand and Marketing Insights at Google EMEA.
Laura takes us on her career journey from music marketing to her impactful role at Google, emphasizing the blend of qualitative insights with quantitative data. This riveting conversation reveals how Google's insight teams operate in an agency-like setting, turning vast amounts of data into actionable strategies while maintaining stringent data usage controls.
In this episode, we examine the evolution of Google's approach to insights and prioritization, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Laura sheds light on how AI is being integrated into Google's processes, balancing immediate business needs with future requirements. Laura and Roy discuss the iterative process of aligning insights with global and product perspectives, and how AI is scaling insights, speeding up project timelines, and transforming traditional research methodologies.
In the final segments, we dive into the practical applications of AI within Google's Insight teams, including the development of an AI-powered Insights chatbot. This tool enhances desk research and decision-making processes by acting as a central repository for synthesizing answers from various sources. Laura and Roy explore the broader implications of AI adoption, how it could reshape team structures and the evolving landscape of Insight teams.
Topics Discussed
- Insight-Driven Organizations - (00:09)
- AI Adoption and Insight Prioritization Evolution - (07:32)
- AI Integration in Insight Teams - (14:06)
- Evolution of Insight Teams - (25:07)
- Insight Teams and AI Adoption - (29:48)
Highlights
- “It wasn't by design, it was, as I think I'm sure most people's journeys take, a kind of windy path. So I actually started in marketing. I worked in music marketing, so quite different to where I am now interesting and analytical and creative force, that was felt like my home”(05:08)
- “We're 20% shooting ahead and thinking about what the business will need but don't realize they need yet, and that's always been quite a good rule of thumb, and that's another thing that's been part of the setup since we started as a team.” (10:27)
- “We have run training sessions and, you know, launches all to our stakeholders as well, and I think we've definitely found that there are some people who lean in harder and use it on a more regular basis, others who kind of would perhaps want us to bring the insights and have the discussion rather than go seek them out themselves, and I think that's kind of an interesting new discovery.” (16:03)
- “So qual at scale, I think is really really interesting. When we wouldn't have been able to interview a thousand people qualitatively and synthesize the output, it's just too much to be able to fathom. So AI techniques allow us to do that and that's fascinating and new that we wouldn't have been able to do before” (20:06)
- “so generative AI is very kind of text-based and at the moment, you know, the language is pretty, pretty good, but I'm assuming it can go even further and also we'll get better. Everybody will get better at writing prompts and how to use it. At the moment, you know there's a big difference between somebody writing a prompt that is, six words long in the way that you might use in a search term, to writing a proper prompt which is actually going to give you really interesting results.” (25:04)
- “I think one of the things that shocked me because I've obviously had the benefit of being agency side and client side I think one of the things that I really missed when I moved to client side was the amount that you get out and about when you're client side. You spend so much time in your company and I don't know if that's particularly healthy. I was so used to seeing different people from the agency side, I'd be in multiple different businesses.” (27:32)
This is episode 56 of the Transforming Insight podcast.
If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.
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About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight
James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.
The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.
Resources:
If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org
Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com
Disclaimer
The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.
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