Truth in Numbers

A podcast about what really drives audiences, from the people who study them

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Truth in Numbers podcast cover art with host Nicole Bergen

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What makes a brand stand out? An ad stick? A show take off?

For more than 25 years, SmithGeiger Group’s research has helped media companies and brands answer questions like these. Now, we’re bringing that expertise to the mic.

Join host Nicole Bergen and a lineup of industry experts as they tackle the real questions brands face today, sharing what they’ve learned and why it matters for your decisions.

Follow for new episodes every other week.

Because behind every number, there’s a human story worth understanding.
Nicole Bergen, host of Truth in Numbers

Meet Nicole Bergen

Your host

Nicole Bergen is the Chief Marketing Officer of SmithGeiger Group and the Founder and Chief Strategist of Elevate, though most people know her as “Bergie,” or simply the lady with the red glasses.

She’s a big believer in getting insights out of the slide deck and into the real world, which is why you’ll often find her on stage, on podcasts, and on LinkedIn breaking down what it all means for marketers.

When she’s off the clock, you’ll find her at hot yoga, driving her kids to water polo tournaments, or ordering a pistachio cold brew.

Let’s Keep the
Conversation Going

Have a question for our researchers, an idea for a future episode, or a business challenge you’d like to explore? We’d love to hear from you.

Start the Conversation

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New Revenue

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The media landscape and the revenue models within it continue to evolve at an almost exponential pace. As it transforms, opportunities to generate new revenue have never been greater or more complex. SmithGeiger delivers value on three primary levels: Increase Ad Sales: Our Elevate experts work directly with your ad sales team to deliver a proven process that increases your sales. Last year, our partners realized new revenues of $20M through our Elevate program with 100% client retention. These Elevate services (described below in detail) include a 3-day training session, 1-on-1 workshops, and best practices tool kit. I addition, we attend a pitch week working hand in hand with your sales experts as they meet clients and close deals. Relationship Revenue Workshops. We empower our partners and their sales teams by reimagining ways for them to fully leverage the content and the connections they already have. Our experts guide your team to new possibilities in creating revenue based on industry leading case studies, best practices and sales pitches. These workshops (7 in total) are action oriented, affordable and focused on key opportunities including On Air/Digital Content Revenue Optimization, Good Deeds and Public Service Revenue, Native and Branded Content Revenue, Social Media Revenue, Video and OTT Revenue, Contests and Sweepstakes Revenue, and Agency Services. Going beyond non-traditional revenue, these workshops give your team new partnership capabilities focused on your best local revenue opportunities. Research: Through surveys, focus groups, and testing, we evaluate brand awareness, lift, engagement and intent-to-purchase which empowers our partners to quantify success and increase ad buys.

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Digital

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We create the perfect storm around content development, discovery and distribution. Our digital optimization teams measurably increase brand awareness, engagement, ratings, and revenues. All screens. All platforms. All social media networks. Our services range from ½ and full day workshops to monthly consulting engagements. In all cases, our partners look to us for a host of deliverables: • Conversational choreography – efficiently message across all screens and social networks • Identify new revenue streams • Quantify digital brand awareness and provide insights and recommendations to gain mindshare • Understand and implement social triggers • Best practices to create and distribute video snackables • Develop digital content and content delivery strategies • Digital/website/app reinforcement • Influencer amplification - identify and leverage key influencers • Content enrichment (evolve different presentations for different screens and social networks) • Mobile micro moments

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On-Air

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From The Voice and The Weather Channel, to late night comedy, sports, reality TV, promotions, and the newsroom, our on-air consultants continue to launch and support award-winning channels and programs that dominate their markets. We combine comprehensive research (dial tests, focus groups, surveys, etc.) with over 30 years of industry expertise and work directly with producers to deliver concise recommendations that address everything from content, pacing, wardrobe, and talent, to engagement across platforms and the implications of simultaneous screen usage. We reveal the “why” behind audience behaviors, and detail and implement changes that boost ratings and drive viewer acquisition.

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Qualitative

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We never lose sight of the people behind the numbers and offer a multitude of ways to reveal a deep and personal understanding of what drives their behaviors and motivations. Our qualitative services include the acquisition of sample sources, moderator guides, moderator, facilities, incentives, and comprehensive presentations. We capture most sessions in high quality video, which we can stream to your location in real-time upon request. The unmatched quality of our sample and the timeliness with which we complete our studies are without equal. Services include: • Traditional focus groups • Dial tests (in-person/online) • Digital research panels • Ethnographies (in-home/peer groups) • Digital ethnographies (Virtual Tag Along) • Store intercept/secret shoppers • Moment-2-Moment digital life • Social networking applications • 1-on-1 online chats • Video diaries • Online message boards/forums • Usability tests/moderated usability sessions • Affinity groups/1-on-1 sessions

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Quantitative

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Unbiased. Comprehensive. Precise. Actionable. Timely. With over 4000 custom research projects to our name, SmithGeiger sets the benchmark for quantitative studies. We supply everything you need, including the acquisition of sample, questionnaire design, proprietary Flash Reports (one-click access to all data points of your study), analysis, and comprehensive actionable recommendations. The unmatched quality of our sample, the sophistication of our surveys, and the timeliness with which we complete our studies are without equal. Our services include: • online and mobile surveys • segmentation • brand tracking and analysis • price optimization • conjoint analysis • principle components • max/diff • multi-variant

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Sam Walton

Manager Strategic Research

Google

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As Manager of Strategic Research, Sam Walton is involved in all stages of research projects, including survey design, data analysis and insights, report building, and interfacing with clients. Since 2010, Sam has been an integral part of designing and implementing strategic research programs for our clients. He conveys complex concepts to business leaders and provides on-going counsel and insight allowing them to meet their business objectives.

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Prior to joining SmithGeiger, Sam worked as an Adjunct Professor of Physics at California Lutheran University teaching physics concepts in a lab-based environment to future educators. He has a love of research and turning findings into actionable outcomes.

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Sam and his wife live outside of Denver and have one child with plans for more. He holds a B.S. in Physics with an emphasis on Fluid Dynamics and an MBA with an emphasis on Small Business Consulting, both from California Lutheran University.

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Gilbert Quinonez

Director Analytics

Google

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For over a decade, Gilbert has managed the quality control process at SmithGeiger and oversees data analytics projects. Gilbert is responsible for SmithGeiger’s rigorous quality control process, which includes data integrity and quality, survey methodology and logic, and ensuring deliverables are held to a high standard for data accuracy, visualization and clarity.

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Gilbert specializes in big data projects, including modeling media consumption, mobile usage, ratings data , analyzing viewer responses to videos and testing study findings for statistical significance.

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Prior to SmithGeiger, Gilbert was an online editor for the Ventura County Star, where he helped create the newspaper’s first online high school football database. Gilbert has a B.S. in Statistics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Peter Lazaro

Manager Data Analytics

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Peter manages SmithGeiger’s data analytics team which conducts the day-to-day data operations including checking, validating and overseeing the processes of all survey data. He ensures data integrity for reporting and analysis and oversees the on-time delivery of proprietary client reports – an Excel-based dynamic reporting tool that employs SPSS tables as foundation. Peter also designs innovative optimizations and enhancements or our processes which translates to more efficient workflow and rapd report turnaround times.

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Prior to his 7 years at SmithGeiger, Peter was a research assistant at the Department of Statistics, Western Michigan University (WMU) – Kalamazoo, MI, where he also served 2 years as a teaching assistant. Preceding his tenure at WMU, he worked as a software engineer at Accenture, Inc in the Philippines.

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Peter has a Masters in Applied Statistics from WMU and a BS in Statistics from the University of the Philippines, Manila.

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Mishell Hyun Behrman

Director of Online Programming

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Mishell Behrman joined SmithGeiger in 2010. She is responsible for programing online surveys, managing sample vendors and conducting the fielding for all SmithGeiger's quantitative studies.

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She began her career at at SmithGeiger as project manager for operations and logistics for qualitative studies before transitioning to the quantitative research department.

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Prior to SmithGeiger, Mishell spent 5 years working for GlobalNet Data Services, a market research data processing company. Mishell graduated from UCLA with a double major in Psychology and Sociology.

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Emily Conklin

Director Research Production and Design

Google

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Emily has worked at SmithGeiger since 2011 and is currently the company’s Director of Research Production and Design. In this role, Emily utilizes her experience in statistical data analysis, artistic expertise, and her creativity to design and convert complex findings into powerful visualizations that are engaging and comprehensible. Previously, Emily worked as a Media Research Associate, where she refined her skills as a media and market researcher.

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Prior to joining SmithGeiger, Emily worked as a Research Assistant in the Kinesiology and Public Health Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she received her Bachelor's degree in Statistics.

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Robert Wendt

Senior Research Analyst

Google

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With over 15 years of broadcast experience and a proven track record of delivering results, Robert provides an in-depth understanding of the ongoing evolution of local news and advertising. He has wide-ranging experience in researching local news content and talent. Throughout his career he has been dedicated to understanding audiences and consumer behavior.

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Robert has a deep passion for helping companies grow through research and strategic action planning. He has consulted several top companies in a variety of categories including media, automotive, home services, real estate, healthcare and financial services.

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Prior to joining SmithGeiger he served as Research Director for Cox Media Group in Charlotte, North Carolina at WSOC-TV (ABC), WAXN-TV (IND) and Telemundo. During his time at Cox Media Group he was an innovator in data visualization identifying opportunities to grow market share and revenue for the company and its clients. He also served as chairman of the ABC Television Research Advisory Board.

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Robert began his career in media at KCNC-TV (CBS O&O) in Denver, CO where he served as account executive, market executive and eventually research director.

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Outside of work Robert enjoys spending time with his son and being active in the outdoors.

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Michelle Toy

Content Strategist

Google

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Michelle Toy plays a critical role at SmithGeiger in shaping and growing client initiatives around content creation and distribution, helping brands leverage their traditional strengths to bolster next-gen platform performance, and molding new workflows and organizational structures.

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She is an Emmy Award-winning producer who has played key roles in transforming newsrooms over the past 20 years.

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Michelle served as Director of Digital and Content at KTVU Channel 2 News, in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she led the complete re-design of the station’s website and mobile apps. She crafted the social media strategy for KTVU’s main brand and talent, while also leading the all-platform initiatives for the FOX Television Stations.

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Michelle has produced live broadcast events, held Executive Producer and Managing Editor posts, and produced a series of stories that changed law in California.

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She helped create a newsroom modernization and workflow re-design at KNTV, when the NBC-owned station moved into a state-of-the-art, all-digital facility in Silicon Valley in 2004.

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Michelle graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. A fourth-generation San Franciscan, she enjoys yoga, cooking, and traveling the world.

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Bill Seitzler

VP Media Strategies

Google  Google

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Providing clients with an expertise in station management, promotion, production, new media, marketing and news strategies, Bill joined SmithGeiger in 2006 after working 20 years at local television stations across the country.

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Before serving as News Director for television stations KXAN – NBC Austin, KJRH – NBC Tulsa, WHEC – NBC Rochester, KAMC – ABC Lubbock, Bill was a television and radio sportscaster for 10 years. As News Director, Bill led newsrooms that won multiple Emmy, Regional Murrow and Associated Press Awards for various newscast excellences.

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Bill used his passion for weather to develop innovative “Weather Lab” sets and presentations now used in many local television newsrooms. With a background in Storm Chasing and Marathon Severe Weather Coverage, Bill continues to channel his passion to develop innovative weather coverage ideas for SmithGeiger clients.

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Bill lives in Austin, Texas and serves on Texas Tech University’s School of Mass Communication’s Advisory Committee.

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Dan Reines

SVP Research

Google

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Dan Reines provides research analysis and strategic consulting to a broad range of SmithGeiger clients, from entertainment and media organizations to nonprofit and public organizations and trade groups. Recent project have included exensive work with CNBC, NBC, THe People's Choice Awards, Fox Sports, Google, Participant Media, AT&T U-verse and the Center For Disease Control (CDC).

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Dan has an extensive background in print journalism, having written and edited for national and local newspapers, magazines, and web publications for nearly two decades, and his writing on investing and PR has appeared in two textbooks.

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He has an MBA with a marketing emphasis from Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, and a BA in Mass Communications from the University of California at Berkeley.

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Jason Hyde

SVP Research

Google

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With over twenty years of client-side experience in the market research field, Jason has a proven track record of creating and socializing actionable research about traditional and digital media consumers, directly affecting key business metrics, ratings, and revenue.

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Jason has extensive experience testing nonfiction and lifestyle TV series, promotions and ad campaigns, website content and usability, brand health, and new product features and pricing at several top media companies.

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In his most recent position as VP at Discovery Communications, he led the research team for their flagship brand. In this role, he tested and influenced the development, production, and marketing of some of Cable’s highest-rated series, including Gold Rush, Bering Sea Gold, Moonshiners, Frozen Planet, Amish Mafia, Fast ‘N’ Loud, Deadliest Catch, Shark Week, and Naked and Afraid.

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Prior to Discovery, Jason was responsible for the research functions for Scripps Networks’ home category media brands, HGTV and DIY Network, where he helped develop and market several hit series, including Design Star, House Hunters, Holmes on Homes, and Property Brothers.

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During his tenure at The Weather Channel and weather.com, Jason played a key role in introducing program pilot testing to the network, leading to the launch of TWC’s successful long-form series Storm Stories and It Could Happen Tomorrow. He also integrated market research into all of TWC’s interactive ventures, including weather.com and the fledging TWC Mobile businesses.

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Jason has also held research positions at Turner Broadcasting and Atlanta’s Fox affiliate, WAGA-TV. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in Media Communications.

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Andrew Finlayson

VP Digital Media Strategies and Innovation

Google  Google

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Andrew Finlayson serves as the senior consultant regarding leading digital media issues spanning social media, news apps, streaming video and mobile news consumption.

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He joined SmithGeiger after completing the John S. Knight Fellowship at Stanford University where he studied emerging media technologies and concepts with a special emphasis on mobile, social, and location based news concepts.

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Andrew has served as Director of Online Content and Business Development for the Fox Television Stations and has been a news director in Nashville for Meredith’s WSMV, where he led the newsroom to number one ratings in four out of five newscasts.

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As the news director at Cox’s San Francisco/Oakland KTVU, he led the station to the market leader in all dayparts and was honored by the Project for Excellence in Journalism for the highest quality local newscast in the country.

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John Culliton

SVP Media Strategies

Google

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John Culliton, through his 20 years of experience as a major market TV general manager, news director, and a new media entrepreneur, brings a multi-dimensional expertise to SmithGeiger clients.

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He served as VP and GM of KCBS in Los Angeles, the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, and one of the nation’s most noted TV stations, WCCO in Minneapolis. He received national attention for being bold, colorful, and successful—balancing the entertainment qualities of television with relevant, award-winning content.

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In addition, he led broadcasters into new media at the turn of the century—co-founding the nation’s largest Internet Company for broadcasters, Internet Broadcasting (IB) based in Minneapolis and New York. IB co-owns, manages, and operates websites for the NBC owned stations, Hearst-Argyle Television, Post-Newsweek stations, McGraw-Hill, Cox Broadcasting, Lin Broadcasting.

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Simultaneously, John co-founded Digital Cyclone—an online and mobile weather company which developed a weather forecasting and radar which pinpoints exact latitude/longitude locations. The company sold in 2007 to GPS navigation company, Garmin.

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In his current role with SmithGeiger, Culliton consults across many platforms-working closely with major media executives to enhance audience growth. Culliton has been with SmithGeiger since May of 2005.

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Mark Briggs

VP Digital Media Strategies and Innovation

Google  Google

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Mark Briggs has spent his career focused on digital strategy, business development, workplace transformation, audience and revenue building, teaching and collaboration. He has started two companies, worked in senior management for three others and written three books.

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Having served as SmithGeiger’s primary statistician for over 10 years, Tim is also responsible for conducting multivariate data analysis focusing on customer segmentations, key drivers, Principal Components Analysis among other analytical techniques to uncover deeper-level storylines within the data structures.

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Most recently Briggs has served as the director of digital media and innovation for KING 5 in Seattle from 2010-2017 and served as a Ford Fellow in Entrepreneurial Journalism at The Poynter Institute from 2010-2012. Previously, he co-founded Serra Media, a Seattle-based technology company, and spent nine years running newspaper websites in Everett and Tacoma, Wash.

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Briggs is the author of Entrepreneurial Journalism, a book about the rise of journalism startups and how to start your own journalism business. It was published by CQPress and released in October 2011.Briggs is also the author of Journalism 2.0: How to survive and thrive in the digital age which was published by J-Lab and the Knight Citizen News Network in 2007 and downloaded as a PDF more than 200,000 times in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

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That book lead to Journalism Next, which was published by CQPress in December 2009. A second edition was published in Nov. 2012 and a third edition hit the shelves (and Kindles) in 2015 and is available at Amazon.com. (A French translation was also released in late 2013.)

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As part of his mission to help journalists transform in the digital age and leverage the power of digital/social/mobile media, Mark has served as a speaker, trainer and consultant for various projects around the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. He spoke at SXSW Interactive in Austin in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In May 2010 he was named one of 20 Journalists to Follow by Quill, the magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists.

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Tim Talley

VP Operations and Data Analytics

Google

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Tim is responsible for research methodologies, data hygiene, reporting deliverables and the custom data analytic functions at SmithGeiger. Tim leads a team of data analysts who build cutting-edge, powerful reporting tools allowing SmithGeiger clients to visualize their survey results in a streamlined and intuitive format.

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Having served as SmithGeiger’s primary statistician for over 10 years, Tim is also responsible for conducting multivariate data analysis focusing on customer segmentations, key drivers, Principal Components Analysis among other analytical techniques to uncover deeper-level storylines within the data structures.

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Prior to joining SmithGeiger, Tim was a research manager at BizRate.com where he was involved in analyzing the trends and key satisfaction metrics for more than 2,000 online retailers and providing client management to several key accounts. He also mined relational databases for use in consumer segmentation modeling and actively supported BizRate.com’s sales team by helping to provide research solutions to specific marketing-related problems.

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Before working at Bizrate.com, Tim was a project director at Maritz Marketing Research, a large custom marketing research firm based in St. Louis. Tim directed all aspects of project management from sampling, fielding, tabulation and data analysis for projects in a variety of industries including hi-tech firms, financial institutions, public utilities, gasoline companies, and newspaper syndicates.

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Chris Lang

Partner and EVP Research

Google

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Chris has worked with SmithGeiger for over a decade and specializes in a host of strategic areas, including marketing, pricing, promotions, distribution, and development. He serves a range of media and entertainment clients across the broadcast, cable, satellite, technology, and digital arenas, including ABC, NBC, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Universal Studios, T-Mobile, CTAM, NFL Network, TV Land, DTS, and many local TV stations.

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Prior to joining SmithGeiger, Mr. Lang served as Director of Consulting for BizRate.com (working closely with clients such as Nokia and Buy.com) and before that as Senior Research Consultant for Frank N. Magid Associates in Los Angeles.

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Chris began his career in media as a writer for KFOR-TV, the NBC affiliate in Oklahoma City, OK. He holds an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA where graduated as a member of the Anderson Business Honor Society. He graduated with honors from Northwestern University, majoring in Communication Studies and Economics.

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Barbara Breest

CFO

Google

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Barbara oversees all financial, accounting and HR functions and has been an integral part of the SmithGeiger team since 2001. Prior to SmithGeiger, she was Vice President of Finance for Creative Domain, a firm focused on marketing for the movie industry. Creative Domain specialized in the production of trailers and TV commercials and served all major studios including Sony, Walt Disney, DreamWorks, Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Universal.

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Barbara is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California, a member of the AICPA and the California Society of CPA’s. She has a business degree from the University of Michigan.

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Chris Archer

Partner and EVP Media Strategies

Google  Google

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Chris Archer joined SmithGeiger in 2010 after serving key newsroom roles for almost 20 years.

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As News Director, Chris led the unprecedented combination of the CBS, NBC, and Independent television stations as part of the Hawaii Shared Services Agreement in late 2009 – a model that would then be used in various other markets around the country. In just 60 days, he redeployed the news staff and all-platform workflow to seamlessly produce more than 40 hours of content per week from one newsroom.

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Before his success in Hawaii, Chris spent nearly a decade at KRON-TV in San Francisco, starting during its NBC era. With the internet in its infancy, he helped the station transition away from its long-time NBC affiliation by creating, producing, and then managing San Francisco’s first 9 p.m. newscast, and pioneering several early digital initiatives. Chris then led his team through one of the industry’s first video journalist deployments, training his large staff to work in what has become a model for other newsrooms across the country.

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When not traveling for work, Chris loves spending time with his two daughters in his native San Francisco Bay Area. Chris graduated from the University of California at Berkeley.

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Seth Geiger

President and Co-Founder

Google

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Dr. Seth Geiger directs the development of strategic research partnerships and oversees research innovation and product engineering. He has consulted with clients across the broadcast, cable, satellite, digital platforms, syndicated television, telecom and web industries, including: ABC, AT&T Broadband, CNN, DIRECTV, Discovery Networks, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NBC, Raycom, Scripps Networks, Sinclair, TiVo, Visa, Warner Bros., among others.

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Prior to forming SmithGeiger, Dr. Geiger served as Vice President of Professional and E-Commerce Services for BizRate.com, the leading supplier of e-commerce research and intelligence, and the largest B2C shopping marketplace on the web. Dr. Geiger set strategy, built research partnerships and oversaw the development of real-time, integrated web-based research reporting tools.

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Before joining BizRate.com, Dr. Geiger worked for Frank N. Magid Associates, where he established the company’s strategic research direction and designed research initiatives in new media and television convergence. Dr. Geiger joined Magid from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. His academic research is recognized internationally in the fields of media processing, research design and mass media effects.

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Dr. Geiger holds a Ph.D. and Master's degree in Communication Research from Stanford University and a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from Cornell University.

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Dave Smith

CEO and Founder



Google

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David Smith directs the development of strategic consulting partnerships, oversees all consulting relationships, and is responsible for marketing and cultivating client relationships. During his 20-year consulting career, he has consulted with ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, UPN, WB, Lifetime, USA Networks, A&E, Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, Microsoft, MSNBC, CNBC, Hearst, COX, AOL and many other clients.   

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Prior to forming SmithGeiger, Mr. Smith opened the Entertainment Practice in Los Angeles and New York for Frank N. Magid Associates. As President of Entertainment, Mr. Smith presided over the largest growth in the firm’s long history and served as a senior consultant to virtually all of the major studios and production companies in the industry. He consulted on all facets of his clients' business, including: brand identity, format development, talent evaluation and performance, distribution, marketing, and promotion. Before creating the Entertainment Division, Mr. Smith held key management positions in Magid's television station practice, consulting with prominent broadcasters around the world.

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Mr. Smith began his career in media as a journalist, reporting and anchoring in television stations across the country. Later he served as an Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where he received undergraduate and graduate degrees.

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Depth Of Experience

We have conducted over 4000 proprietary studies and have had a seat at the table at every major transition from broadcast, to digital, to mobile, to today’s continuing evolution of multi-screen and multi-platform technology, including OTT and virtual reality. We set the benchmark for understanding, evaluating, and delivering actionable recommendations in this highly complex digital landscape. Our forward thinking provides roadmaps for our clients to choreograph their programs and messaging across all social networks, transform disruption into opportunity, and develop new and innovative revenue streams. We do not limit our services to research. We are instrumental in helping our clients apply the insights and learnings surfaced in the data. The media landscape continues to evolve at an exponential rate. In order to help our clients anticipate trends and adapt at the speed of digital, we offer ongoing consulting services. Our teams support both on-air and digital initiatives, and we choreograph efforts across all screens and social media platforms. We consult with over 100 stations in the US, a host of media companies and provide research based guidance for all aspects of brand, product, and program development.

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Deliverables:

We never leave our clients with an indecipherable data dump. While we do deliver comprehensive data and analyses, we decode that information and provide insights and actionable recommendations designed to meet our client’s core objectives. We interpret the date and provide clear roadmaps for success. Additionally, we deliver our raw data (in addition to any data formats requested) in the form of our proprietary Flash Reports. These reports enable our clients to access any cut of the data with a single click. We obviate the need for any additional time and expense that other firms require to process those additional data cuts.

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Timelines:

We have a reputation within the industry of delivering the fastest turn-around times on even the most complex segmentation studies.

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Methodology:

Unlike many more traditional research firms, we are not wed or limited to any specific methodology. We deliver a broad and innovative range of quantitative and qualitative services and will deploy whatever service or combination of services best meets our client’s marketing objectives. These include online and mobile surveys, digital panels, online and in-person dial tests, focus groups, affinity sessions, proprietary digital ethnographies, eye tracking, Emotient Analytics (facial Coding), on site and in-store interviews.

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Innovation:

We move at the speed of digital and are market leaders in innovating research technology and methodologies. Our Virtual Tag Along® sets the benchmark for digital ethnographies, and our current work with Stanford University, ShareRocket, and Vertical Knowledge enable us to deliver 1) Moment-to-Moment immersive digital monitoring, 2) real-time social equity scores, and 3) a digital monitoring system capturing sentiment, content, interactions, transactional behavior and trends with real time reporting and dashboards.

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Sampling Methods:

By design, we rely on a number of different sample sources in order to meet the needs of each project and offer a deeper sample base than most.

  • All members of our panels are recruited exclusively using double opt-in permission-based techniques and have expressed interest in participating in online market research.
  • We DO NOT use unsolicited email or spam in our recruiting.
  • Using multiple suppliers ensures that we minimize any bias that might occur when utilizing a single source for sample.
  • In the process of fielding the study, panel respondents are checked against each other, thus preventing the respondents from taking the survey more than once.

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Quality Control:

The emphasis we place on quality control is unmatched in the industry. We monitor and clean the data several different ways:

  • Look for patterns in the data (i.e. straightliner analysis and inconsistent answers)
  • Review the open-ended questions to verify that the respondents are giving cogent, valid responses
  • We also verify based on length (time spent) of interview (speed trap)
  • Scrub out by locality based on zip code and/or IP address coming from “out of the region”
  • Many of our surveys also include “attention” questions which ask the respondent to answer a particular way in order to make sure they are paying attention.