Hi, we’re Tom and Corissa from Crown & Reach, and this is Tentacles.
With over 100 episodes behind us, this might just be the best bad podcast out there. Unfiltered, unedited, and deeply curious.
We talk strategy, sense-making, and the blurry edges between work and the rest of life — because sometimes, the only way through the fog is to feel your way forward, limbs outstretched.
While we're migrating podcasts across, you can find all the goodness from our first 100 or so episodes here: https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hi, we’re Tom and Corissa from Crown & Reach, and this is Tentacles.
With over 100 episodes behind us, this might just be the best bad podcast out there. Unfiltered, unedited, and deeply curious.
We talk strategy, sense-making, and the blurry edges between work and the rest of life — because sometimes, the only way through the fog is to feel your way forward, limbs outstretched.
While we're migrating podcasts across, you can find all the goodness from our first 100 or so episodes here: https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Can "insights" be pre-packaged? Should they be?
In this one, we wade into the murky distinction between polished agency deliverables and raw, messy data exposure. From a bank that knew what it wanted (and just needed to show due diligence) to clients who fundamentally changed direction after reading customer transcripts, we explore when different approaches can actually work.
Along the way we talk about how the iconic Rowan Atkinson Barclaycard campaign (UK only, we think) had absolutely nothing to do with the original brief – and how frequently that's the story of projects and innovation. We also mention AI because that's still a thing, and we reference "decision-based evidence-making" and how it's more common than you might think.
This one's for anyone who's sat through a glossy presentation questioning whether the conveniently self-serving story is justified, and for anyone who's tried to synthesise insights for others and been left wondering why it doesn't seem to make a dent.
Including but not limited to:
● How a beloved Barclaycard ad campaign was thrown together in a last minute panic after the pitched idea fell apart
● Gary Klein's chef's kiss definition of insight: "an unexpected jump to a new story you can't unsee"
● The cost of pre-packaged, pre-masticated insights – if it's too easy to swallow there's no chewing needed
● Why you can't know what counts as an insight in someone else's company
● Decision-based evidence-making vs. evidence-based decision-making
● The intense 7 hours of workshopping that "changed everything" for our client
● How we use AI to clean transcripts (take out the ums and ahs) but not to generate insights ... because it can't
● Why "disintermediation" might be the most important move in strategic research, though it's not an easy one to pull off
● When glossy agency work actually serves the purpose perfectly
● The opportunity cost that isn't about money, and why senior teams avoid the hard work
Links & references
Questions, stories, or strongly-held opinions about research methods? Pop us a message: tentacles@crownandreach.com
Find out more about us and our work at crownandreach.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.