Episode 84: What’s Insight’s role in modern marketing?
In our second episode of season 12, James talks to Rhea Fox, Marketing Director at Moonpig Gift Experiences, former Insight Director at eBay and Aviva, and long-time Insight forum participant. Rhea shares her journey through 15 years in Insight roles, emphasising that research only delivers value when effectively embedded within business decision-making. She advocates for Insight teams to move beyond seeing Insight as a separate function and focus on becoming integral partners across departments, building strong stakeholder relationships that ensure research directly influences organisational strategy.
Ria's transition from traditional Insight roles into marketing and digital positions demonstrates how embracing broader responsibilities can amplify an Insight professional's influence and impact.
She highlights how marketing budgets face intense scrutiny, requiring Insight professionals to demonstrate tangible commercial value using language that resonates with senior leadership rather than traditional research terminology. This shift demands that Insight teams reframe their work to clearly articulate business impact and ROI.
James and Rhea also talk about AI's transformative effect on the Insight profession, with Rhea urging professionals to adapt and embrace these technologies rather than ever resist them. In her view, while AI enhances productivity and efficiency, it cannot replace the critical thinking, relationship-building, and strategic interpretation that human insight professionals provide. It’s a message that serves as a call-to-action for Insight professionals to redefine their roles, demonstrate clear commercial value, and remain relevant in an evolving landscape where traditional research functions are need to evolve.
Please listen to find out more!
Topics Discussed
- Philosophy of Insight and team impact (2.02)
- The changing nature of Insight roles(5.13)
- Current role at Moonpig Gift Experiences (8.23)
- Challenges of budgeting for Insight (12.37)
- Language and framing in Insight communication (15.42)
- The future of Insight in organisations(19.30)
This is episode 84 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 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams and their leaders, as outlined in James Wycherley’s books, Transforming Insight and The Insight Leader’s Playbook, 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 Bank from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA).
He published his first book, Transforming Insight, in 2020, and his second, The Insight Leader’s Playbook, in 2025, and he hosts the Insight forums and the Transforming Insight podcast.
An entertaining keynote speaker, he has presented over 50 times at Quirk’s events, a global record, and has provided thought leadership in the UK, USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, India and the Middle East.
The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming corporate Insight teams, and its vision is to inspire and support every Insight leader to transform the impact of Insight in their organisation.
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
Disclaimer
The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.
