The debate over insight is becoming heated, particularly at Research-Live, although I think most of the differences are semantic.  Nick Johnson first proclaimed that “insight is dead”, and I agree that the word is overused.  However, his (very accurate) description of research outcomes with two hour and 80 page powerpoint decks, is about data and not insight, and his plea to look beyond the immediate data is absolutely on the mark.  In his response to this, Anthony Tasgal defends “insight” as the currency of consumer understanding, and argues that insight is a process and not an object, and most importantly that insight always includes a creative element, and is always actionable (and actioned).  He is right to argue that insight is about replacing the 80 page deck with an action oriented debrief process.

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Dan Ariely’s work in behavioural economics is famous (and profound) in terms of breaking down the minutiae of human behaviour, through elegant experiments which measure what people really do in specific contexts, as opposed to what we all believe we do (which is often very different).  Many of his findings are stark and counter-intuitive: for instance, that bigger bonuses actually reduce performance rather than improve it!

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Mad Men is an American dramatic television series set in the 1960s, at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City. Mad Men depicts parts of American society and culture of the 1960s, highlighting cigarette smoking, drinking, sexism, adultery, homophobia, anti-Semitism and racism. Themes of alienation, social mobility and ruthlessness underpin the thematic tone of the show.

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