Truth Revealed

Inside Insight: Brands, People and Sticky Messaging

As part of the latest in our Truth Revealed series, Mark Thorpe spoke with Alex Hardy about insight, brands, AI and connecting with shoppers and consumer truths in a time of change.  Alex has worked with some notable organisations; from the frozen food powerhouse that is Nomad Foods (where he led their global insights team), to luminaries such as Nestlé, Unilever and General Mills. 
It was a great session, one that really got the Truth team thinking about the wonderful world of people, brands, insight and strategy.  During the discussion, a range of topics were covered, not least of which was the challenges and opportunities of AI for commercial insight and strategy.  Also covered were the changing brand, consumer and shopper landscapes and what this means for insight teams that have increasingly been tasked with doing more at pace. 
Facing a rapidly changing ‘now’, and a future that none of us can predict, means focusing on the real and the tangible, while maintaining a keen view on the future scenarios that could come into play, is essential.  As part of this pragmatic approach to insight is the strength to make hard choices: what to follow and what to ignore and what is likely to be important and what isn’t.  It’s all too easy to be swept away on a sea of trends, seduced by their possibilities.  Evaluation is key.  As is experience – knowing when to walk away from a trend, idea, or manifestation. 
Please do have a look/listen to the podcast with Alex Hardy.  It has certainly encouraged our thinking, as well as reaffirming beliefs that are central to how we think and what we do.  There’s a positive message in there that, despite all the challenges, the world of insights can still shine brightly.  What’s not to like about that? #podcast #TruthRevealed

When AI Breaks Your Business Model - What comes next for Consultancies

In this episode of Truth Revealed, Duart Rankin sits down with communications strategist Andrew Bruce Smith to tackle the questions market research and innovation professionals are actually asking about AI—beyond the hype and the awards case studies.
Andrew brings a unique perspective, having been involved with AI since the early 1980s at Edinburgh University's nascent AI department, and spending the last decade helping organizations understand AI's practical impact on communications, marketing, and research.
The conversation moves fast: from demystifying synthetic data (it's not just "making it up") to exposing what's really happening when you upload a spreadsheet to ChatGPT. They explore why individual AI adoption isn't translating to organizational transformation, the shift from prompt engineering to agentic AI systems, and the uncomfortable truth about what happens to billable hours when AI collapses timelines.
This isn't about whether AI will change your industry—it will. This is about understanding what breaks, what survives, and what clients will still pay you for when the old business models stop working.
If you're tired of AI panic and hungry for strategic thinking about what comes next, this conversation is for you.
Book mentioned in the podcast:
Repenning, N.P. and Kieffer, D.C. (2023) There's got to be a better way: how to deliver results and get rid of the stuff that gets in the way of real work. Kindle edition. New York.

Truth Revealed: Why the Future Belongs to Changemakers

Six months ago, we launched Truth X Changemakers, a collaboration between Truth Consulting and Ashoka, the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs. It’s a partnership that’s quietly reshaping how we — and our clients — think about the future. In the latest episode of Truth Revealed, Dr Bridget Dalton, Head of Truth Futures, sits down with Janine Buzali, leader at Ashoka Changemaker Companies, to talk about what happens when the worlds of commerce and social impact collide — and why that collision might just hold the key to building future-ready businesses.

New ways of creating value in an age of AI

Eddie & Mark discuss how the research and insights sector can re-think the way it creates and delivers value to clients in the age AI.

The Big Shake Up: AI and the 'third era' of research and insight

Eddie & Mark discuss Eddie’s vision for how the research and insights sector should move forward to succeed in a very different world, one that will be transformed by AI.

Changemakers in Focus - A Conversation with Bob Bharij from Foundation for Change

In the first of the series Changemakers in Focus, Dr Mark Thorpe interviews Bob Bharij, founder and CEO of Foundation for Change - a charity transforming the lives of people recovery from addiction

Dr Matilda & Dr Bridget's Dyslexia Revolution

Two PhDs, Two senior women in insights, Two stories about the impact of dyslexia at work and in life. Matilda and Bridget talks about their experience, what's helped and what's hindered. They want to see more awareness, support and a recognition of the gift dyslexia brings to insights and strategy. 

Working Well Together & Making the Switch to Clientside

In the last episode of Series 1 of the Working Well Together Podcast, our host Mark Thorpe talks to Bethan Blakeley from Simplisafe, who recently moved from insight agency to a clientside role:- Great relationships lead to better results, because it makes the most of the different perspectives- Explaining to agency partners how you as a client like to work can be a great place to start- Being honest if you need a sounding board, rather than being ready to brief a project, can lead to some great support

Live Podcast: Can AI solve conflict in an Age of Rage? - live from SXSW London

Simon Horton and Dr Mark Thorpe in conversation with Dr Matilda Andersson explore how rage shapes our world, what Al could do to help, and what all this means for brands and businesses.

Live Podcast: Brands and Branding in an Era of Disruptions – live from SXSW London

Our second podcast recorded live at Disruptive Futures at SXSW London is now out for you to watch and/or listen to. In the session, Mark Thorpe (Head of Thought Leadership at Truth) and Laura Barber (Founder of The Ripple Impact and who has held leadership roles in a range of blue-chip organisations) discussed how brands need to show up in a world rippling with 'nervous systems' and radical uncertainty.  Our current situation is much more than a perma-crisis; it is a fundamental disruption of all the major pillars that govern the lives we lead.