Ben is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Spych, and has a strong passion for innovation and creativity, having quickly become known as a “true innovator” in the field of market research. He was nominated as one of the “Top 10 Youth Marketing Professionals” in 2010 and has been a featured speaker around the globe, including the ESOMAR Qualitative Summit in Morocco, the AQR/QRCA Global Summit in Prague, the MRA CEO Summit, South by Southwest Interactive, the Forrester Research Forum, and last year’s Future Midwest. His clients include names such as Coke, General Mills, Hallmark, GEICO, eBay, The American Cancer Society, Kroger, Ad Council, Pfizer, The National Guard and many more. When Be is not submersed in the world of research and business, he is living out his other passions of playing jazz saxophone, wakeboarding, snowboarding, baseball, travel, food and wine!
Turning Foresight Into Action
Learn how Hallmark is combining market research and social media to turn foresight into action. This discussion will explore their approach to advanced social analytics — moving from trends to transactions. Ben Smithee, Co-Founder at Spych and Josh Gunkel, Foresight Curator at Hallmark, will discuss business analytics and the various disciplines that Hallmark and their partners have executed to manage their present and prepare for the future.
As an attendee during this presentation, you will learn:
- Best practices for incorporating social media into market research and trend analysis
- How large corporations are preparing for the digital future
- How proper market research leads to transactions
