Stories of Market Research: The Insightrix Podcast is back again with a brand-new episode to get you through those summer days. In our latest podcast episode, Market Research & Prototype Testing, Duncan is joined by our Research Director, Lang McGilp, as co-host to speak with episode guest, Ben Jacobson. Ben is a partner at Conifer Research, a design research consultancy in Chicago that does has worked in prototype testing with brands that include Samsung, Pepsi, Nestle Purina and BP. On the episode, Duncan, Ben and Lang look into just what the practice to prototype testing is all about, Ben tells some stories and relates some of his experiences when it comes to the do’s and don’ts of prototype testing and looks forward to give his ideas of when the practice of prototype testing, and market research in general, is going in the future. If you’d like to learn more about Conifer Research and the work they do, check out their website. There, you’ll find a link to the Research RX tool that was described in the episode. Insightrix Research releases new content regularly! Check out the Insightrix blog roll for informative articles about everything and anything market research related. You can follow Insightrix on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to make sure you never miss a video. You can also access Stories of Market Research: The Insightrix Podcast on your favourite podcast player app, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and YouTube. Make sure to subscribe to be notified the moment a new episode is published! Episode Transcript [EPISODE INTRODUCTION] [DUNCAN] Prototype testing is a valuable step in the product or service development process. Whether it’s through co-ideation in development, or to align a product or service with the needs of their users, or to discover and define business opportunities for existing services or products, prototype testing can help companies learn a lot about how real users interact with products and services in real-world situations. Hello, my name is Duncan McGregor, Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Insightrix Research in Saskatoon, Canada, and your podcast host. On today’s episode, we’re joined by Ben Jacobson, partner at Conifer Research – a design research consultancy in Chicago, USA. Conifer Research is a company that works heavily in prototype testing – having worked across a wide swath of industries with the design and innovation teams from companies like BP, McDonald’s, Nestle Purina, Pepsi and Samsung. In the episode, Ben shares some of his experiences in prototype testing, how it has benefitted Conifer Research’s clients and the ways it has helped them – and – Ben relates some of the techniques his company has employed in the past to get their clients the insight they need. Ben also talks about where he thinks the field of prototype testing, and market research in general, is heading and offers some suggestions for anyone looking to dive into the field. And for this episode of the podcast, Insightrix own Research Director, Lang McGilp, sits in as co-host, lending his experience and research acumen to the discussion. Do’s and don’ts of prototype research, observational research vs. big data and humanizing top box scores – all that and more, in this episode of Stories of Market Research: The Insightrix Podcast. [THEME MUSIC] [INTERVIEW PT.1 BEGINNING] [DUNCAN] Hello. We’ve got Ben Jacobson, from Conifer Research from out of Chicago on the phone. How’s it going Ben? [BEN] I’m doing great, thanks. How are you? [DUNCAN] I’m doing great. Thanks for coming on. I’ve also got our own… [BEN] Thanks for having me. [DUNCAN] Oh no, it’s a pleasure. I’ve also got our own Research Director here at Insightrix, Lang McGilp, on the phone to co-host. So, thanks for going us. So, Ben is a