Digital Ethnography 2023

Abigail Plank, Digital Research Manager, 2CV
Abigail is an experienced qualitative researcher in 2CV’s Social Practice – working with a wide range of public sector clients to explore complex social issues. Her background in digital research methods means that she has expertise in running auto-ethnography and online community research projects and complements this with traditional qualitative methods by leading depth interviews, going on accompanied journeys, moderating focus groups and running large-scale deliberative events with the general public. Abigail has been at the forefront of making 2CV’s research methods as inclusive as possible – working with clients like RNIB and GWR to identify the most accessible digital tools for people living with physical, visual or hidden impairments.

Amy Kemp, Associate Director, RedBlue
As a Director at Redblue, Amy works closely with clients across multiple sectors (banking, telco, retail, etc.) Amy is a mixed methods researcher with a passion for understanding consumers, their behaviours and motivators, to help clients develop, tailor and target propositions for success. Digital ethnography is a core methodology in Redblue’s toolkit, helping us get closer to consumers over time and to an unrivalled level of detail.

Ana Claudia Alvare, Global Customer Insights, Sanofi
Ana is a Global Customer Insights Director at Sanofi. She has more than 25 years of market research experience and in this time has held several senior marketing and global insight positions at some of the biggest names in the industry.

Anthony Jones, Head of Research, Thinkbox
Following over 20-years’ leading insight functions in advertising and media agencies (Aegis Media, ZenithOptimedia, CIA MediaLab), Anthony spent 10-years providing advice and stewardship for media trade associations (AOP, Outdoor Media Centre), research businesses (On Device Research, Toluna) and media owners.
In late-2021, Anthony joined Thinkbox to look after day-to-day responsibility for the company’s research output.  Studies he has delivered since joining Thinkbox include:  ‘Giving attention a little attention’ (comparison of the commercial and academic approach to attention), ‘Media Mix Navigator’ (econometric powered tool to help budget allocation decisions), ‘Adnormal Behaviour’ (an updated picture of adland’s perceptions of media consumption) and ‘BVOD Almighty’ (exploration of BVOD revealing how and why BVOD advertising works).
In what little spare time he has left, Anthony is Manager of the Ladies 1 squad at Surbiton Hockey Club – current national champions.

Bec O’Brien, Partner, Antedote
A strategic and intuitive insight specialist with 20 years of experience in roles across the UK, Australia and the US. As well as living and working in those places, she's researched most markets in between!  This leaves her well-placed to help clients understand ways to capitalise on different cultural dynamics and market trends.
With a background in Psychology, Bec loves to dig into motivations, needs and behaviours to uncover insights that can identify opportunities for brands.  Whether that’s figuring out tensions and unmet needs we can address with innovation, or identifying ways to strengthen brand positioning and comms, her focus is on unlocking insights that can drive growth.  Integral to that is using innovative tools and methodologies that go deeper and discover new perspectives on an audience, category, product experience or brand.
Bec is a Partner at antedote: a multi-award winning innovation consultancy that discovers and unlocks growth for clients, helping them succeed today and in the future.

Ben Burbank, Research Manager, Chrysalis
Ben is a Research Manager for Chrysalis Research where he works on a variety of social research projects related to both children and adults. He also teaches a mixed methods module called ‘Mixing it Up’ at the University of Oxford. Ben holds a doctorate in education, the focus of which was a digital ethnographic study exploring children’s experiences/learning in museum spaces.

Caroline Whitehill, Co-founder & Strategist, Acacia Avenue
Caroline is a communications specialist with a background in advertising in Hong Kong, Canada and the US.  She is the only ever three-time winner of the Prosper Riley Smith Award for Research Effectiveness and three time winner of the Best Session at the MRS annual conference.  She’s passionate about advertising and communications, and has changed the shape of how creative development research is conducted.  She was also a judge of the 2018 IPA Effectiveness Awards. 

Cathy Rundle, Senior Manager, Inclusive Research, Open Inclusion
Cathy has over 2 decades of experience in the field of inclusive user research, design and innovation. Before joining Open Inclusion she worked at RNIB for many years leading their user research team and as a freelance consultant on several European-funded projects looking at new technology and how this can help people with disabilities.
Cathy believes in making products and services inclusive to enable everyone to participate to the level they wish to in society. She has previously worked on a number of very innovative and influential projects such as supporting the design of the first talking set-top box and the development of ATMs accessible to people with sight loss. She understands the importance of not just technical accessibility but also inclusive usability, and has worked with a team on guidelines combining these two perspectives that jointly create user experience.
Originally an engineer Cathy soon found her forte was in improving usability and moved quickly into this field building up a wealth of experience across digital, products and wayfinding.

Charlotte Vicary, Director, The Customer Closeness Company
Charlotte is a Founding Director of The Customer Closeness Company who won AURA’s Best Small Agency 2020 & 2021, and their Insight Impact Award in 2022 for their galvanizing work with BT.
The Customer Closeness Company helps clients succeed by building customer into their commercial world – strategy, decision-making, and culture – in fast, powerful ways. Her ‘squiggly’ career has taken her through marketing to brand consultancy and then on into consumer insight and customer-centric business change. She has recently spoken at conferences on the gap between business’ customer-centric intention and action, and the transformative power of customer curiosity.

Eugene Murphy, CEO, Indeemo

Harriet Bird, Senior Insight Analyst, RNIB

James Bartlett, Head of Insight, Sony Music Entertainment

James Hamilton, Senior Planner, Channel 4

James Sallows Global Head of Transformation & Capability, Consumer & Business Insights & Analytics, Haleon

Joe Goldberg, Brand Strategy Lead, Santander

Kelly Charles, Senior Insight Consultant, Lampada Digital Solutions (University of Hull)
Market Research and Insight professional with over 20 years of insight and consultancy experience delivering complexed research projects both client and agency side. Kelly has a track record in embedding and integrating insight into organisational decision making and strategic processes as well as exploring how new techniques and technologies can complement traditional research methods.

Konrad Collao, Founder, Craft
After holding senior positions at big award-winning agencies, Konrad co-founded Craft in 2011. Craft is a multi award-winning strategic insight collective specialising in the media, sport and entertainment sectors. Craft specialises in helping its clients design growth strategies through a combination of cultural insight, audience understanding and content development work. In 2022 Konrad won the MRS Award for Independent Consultants, having previously been shortlisted in the New Consumer Insights, Best Innovation and Inclusive Research categories. Digital ethnography and the use of innovative filming techniques form a key plank of Craft's data collection offer.

Le Ho-Everiste, Project Lead, Motability
As project lead on Motability’s (the charity) innovation team, Le worked alongside BritainThinks to research how experiences of travel and transport have changed for disabled people since the Covid-19 pandemic began and what this might mean for access to transport in the future.

Lucy Neiland, Director - Ethnography, Ipsos

Maisie Bowes, Customer Strategy Executive, East West Rail
Maisie Bowes is a service designer working to make places and systems more human-centred. She applies this through her role as a Customer Strategy Executive at East West Railway Company, where she blends research projects with service design to inform strategies & processes and ultimately design and operation. She’s interested in bridging the gap between insights and implementation, to enable a step change in customer experience within the railway as part of the new connection for communities between Oxford and Cambridge.
She has previously consulted on a broad range of projects in sectors such as finance (debt advice & pensions), infrastructure, wayfinding, health care and education.
East West Rail (EWR) is a new direct connection between Oxford and Cambridge, and beyond. Serving communities across the area, it will bring faster journey times and lower transport costs as well as easing pressure on local roads. It is an ambitious project that brings back into use a section of railway that was closed to passengers in the 1960s, refurbishes existing railway lines between Bletchley and Bedford, and builds brand new railway infrastructure between Bedford and Cambridge.

Mandira Karr, Ethnography Director, Research Partnership
Mandira Karr is a Qualitative Research Director at Research Partnership. Mandira is an expert in ethnography with over 15 years’ experience in market research. She has previously worked in a wide range of research industries including consumer and digital and has experience in many global markets, especially emerging markets, having lived and worked for a number of years in India.

Matt Blowers, Insight Lead, NatWest
Matt Blowers is an Insight Lead at NatWest Group.  With over 20 years of international experience across financial services, he is currently working on the Bank’s strategic Customer Closeness programme, enabling Senior Leadership to listen to and act upon customers’ experiences and views.  In previous roles Matt has specialised in CX and proposition insight related to commercial banking, mortgages and operations management, working at brands including Virgin Money, Aviva, Ulster Bank and First Active.  Matt is also a qualified people coach; passionate about supporting and developing his team to achieve their potential.  Outside of work, Matt is a teacher of Krav Maga self-defence and busy father of two.

Matt Hill, Director of Research & Planning, Thinkbox 

Meaka Edwards, Director of Strategy & Insight - Strategic Planning & Business Intelligence Service, University of Hull
With 20+ years market research experience both agency & client side, Meaka has worked across various industries within both public and private sector and is experienced in combining data & insight disciplines to help businesses align commercial gains with great customer outcomes.
She is currently working on the universities growth strategy and is very passionate about advocating an insight led culture within organisations.

 Oliver Sweet, Head of Ethnography, Ipsos

Talia Coroniti, Associate Director, Thinks Insight & Strategy
Talia is an experienced qualitative and quantitative research, with particular expertise in conducting research on sensitive issues and with hard to reach audiences. Talia’s background working with disabled and older people, added to her extensive research experience with victims and perpetrators of crime, means that she is able to confidently establish trust with audiences who might at first be unwilling or struggle to speak frankly about their thoughts, behaviours or challenges. Talia leads Thinks Insight’s internal workstream on conducting research with those living in vulnerable circumstances and has a particular specialism in designing accessible research materials.