Bianca Johnston Customer Research

Independent Customer Research Consultant

Shopify

Integrated Campaigns Lead

Senior Market Researcher

LoyaltyOne

Market Research Manager, AIR MILES Reward Program

Market Research Consultant, AIR MILES Reward Program

Market Research Specialist, AIR MILES Reward Program

Espresso

Espresso is  an integrated brand agency that drives media-agnostic thinking in brand strategy, marcom, advertising, and custom technology products.

Account Supervisor

I help you do research right and become a more customer-centric marketer | 🇺🇦 🇨🇦

🤔 Making decisions based on gut rather than data? 
😕 Marketing efforts not giving you the ROI you’d hoped for? 
🤪 Trying to do your own customer research and feeling out of your element? 

Ask any successful marketer and they’ll tell you the key to growth is to know your customers. But from there the advice gets a little…well, fluffy.

I share tactical, no-fluff tips on how to do customer research right, so you can: 

- Uncover customer truths 💡
- Optimize your marketing and content ⚙️
- Drive business growth 📈

I have 13 years’ experience in market research and marketing roles, across industries and customer segments. I’m a big believer in no-BS marketing and love sharing actionable advice on how to do research right so you can quit winging it and start winning! 🚀

Bianca Johnston 🔮✨

La-Z-Boy Incorporated

Envision, design, and execute the Consumer Insights vision across the organization, fostering a transformative consumer mindset.

Play a pivotal role in steering the transformation and rejuvenation of the La-Z-Boy brand.

Establish an insights ecosystem to facilitate the effective socialization and democratization of insights throughout the organization.

Gain a profound understanding of our core consumers and identify new growth targets for achieving sustainable, long-term growth.

Internalize cutting-edge technology, prioritizing agility and flexibility to conduct impactful research that meets aggressive deadlines.

Delve deeply into the intricacies of the consumer journey within the industry to ignite the creation of an exceptional consumer experience.

Director of Insights

Michigan State University

#1 Master's Program in Marketing Research.  

As an advisory board member, I provide strategic guidance, offer objective advice, and leverage my vast network and connections for the benefit of the program and students. I'm also delighted to share my expertise and experiences from top organizations to help students be prepared to be successful in organizations, Insights functions and the real world.  I also facilitate valuable connections and opportunities for students and the program.

MSMR Advisory Board Member

Amway

As Leader of Global CMI function, I transformed and modernized the function to meet dynamic changes in global marketing and sales. My focus was driving insights to action across a complex brand portfolio, including Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements, Skincare, Home Care, Personal Care, and Wellness Devices. 

I achieved results such as identifying portfolio synergies, executing strategic competitive deep dives, operationalizing consumer insights capabilities, establishing Global Consumer and Market Insights as a Center of Excellence, and identifying the "Role of Beauty" within the Amway portfolio. 

My leadership style focused on creating an environment where people were excited to come to work, felt safe contributing ideas and taking risks, and felt fulfilled by their contributions.

Global Head of Market Consumer Insights

Clorox Corporation

Global Insights Leadership and New Markets Expansion:
As Head of Global Insights, Multicultural Insights, and Car Care Division, I successfully expanded our global insights organization, driving international expansion in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. This strategic move not only opened new opportunities but also shaped our organization's growth trajectory on a global scale.

Revenue Growth and Market Influence:
With a focus on impactful outcomes, I oversaw insights generation for product launches in key markets like China, APAC, and SEA. Collaborating closely with McKinsey China, we strategically influenced mergers and acquisitions, solidifying our position as industry leaders. Notably, the successful development and global commercialization of Green Works exceeded sales expectations by five times, generating $450MM in revenue.

Strategic Planning and Brand Standardization:
Through the design and execution of a comprehensive research plan for Clorox Bleach in Eastern Europe, we identified an emerging consumer target and strategically positioned Clorox for long-term growth. Additionally, by collaborating with a new global advertising agency, I played a crucial role in standardizing brand messaging across the top ten Clorox markets. This effort resulted in a cohesive brand image, significantly enhancing our market influence and strengthening our presence.

Director, Global Consumer Insights

General Mills

Innovation and New Product Development:
Responsible for driving innovation, trend identification, and new product development. Conducted market research and in-market tests to evaluate product success probabilities. Explored platforms to identify consumer needs and developed concepts for commercialization. Challenged brand elements and assisted in developing new brand architecture.

Strategic Direction and Brand Building:
Provided strategic direction for short and long-term planning. Built brand equity through marketing programs and developed consumer programs based on new brand architecture and essence. Explored platforms for various brands to identify unmet consumer needs, such as health concerns and dietary preferences.

Process Improvement and Analysis:
Participated in CI Offsite Steering Committee and provided a cohesive vision for the CI function. Recommended consumer segmentation strategies for the cereal category, leading to a more balanced cereal portfolio. Implemented a new Speed-to-Market model for faster commercialization. Contributed to a comprehensive analysis of the company's New Product Development strategy and developed a strategic model for risk minimization in line extensions.

Consumer Insights Manager

Kraft Foods

Portfolio Expansion and Brand Positioning:
Strengthened Kraft Macaroni and Cheese portfolio, driving a substantial volume increase of 20 million pounds and $70 million revenue growth.
Repositioned Velveeta Shells & Cheese strategically within the Dinners product portfolio based on consumer insights, presenting findings at a prestigious industry conference.

Multicultural Marketing Excellence and Industry Recongnition:
Implemented cohesive multicultural marketing approaches, establishing local GO teams in key Hispanic markets and achieving a 4-point market share increase with 30% incremental volume growth.
Transformed the multicultural marketing group into a recognized "Center of Expertise," earning industry recognition through media features (Crain's Magazines, WSJ, LA Times).

Consumer Insights and Strategy Manager

Jorge is a mission-driven leader with over 20 years of experience in unlocking the potential of people and organizations. He has a proven track record in visionary leadership, stakeholder engagement, global expansion, risk mitigation, new market creation, and consumer innovation.

He is a leader in the industry, pushing organizations to shift from customer/consumer-centric to human-centric. His strategic thinking in global consumer insights has helped top companies such as La-Z-Boy, Amway, Clorox, General Mills, and Kraft Foods launch successful campaigns worldwide. Jorge has introduced more than 40 brands globally and has consulted for P&G, Unilever, Nissan, General Motors, Nestle, PepsiCo, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He has been featured in Advertising Age, Wall Street Journal, American Demographics, and other business publications.

Jorge's contributions are noted in business books, including "Marketing to American Latinos" and "The Observational Research Handbook." He is a world humanologist who focuses on the future of humans and society to envision a better world.

Jorge's expertise includes transforming and building consumer insights functions, competitive intelligence, and innovation. He excels in segmentations, omnichannel customer journey mapping, and the creation of CX hubs. He believes in engaging customer experiences that create value and drive business growth. Jorge is passionate about identifying where an organization has the right to play and, more importantly, the right to win.

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Bianca Johnston 🔮✨

Jorge Calvachi

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