Erik Winther Paisley
Applied anthropologist
I help my partners make informed decisions — about marketing, branding and corporate strategy, using 15 years of applied experience as a commercial researcher.
Other projects
Photography · writing · public speaking
My freelance offering
Market research
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Independently managing small-to- mid-sized projects in my key practise areas of B2B, technology, prosumer, enthusiast and luxury.
Qualitative and quantitative services available, in partnership with a survey panel provider or specialist recruiter for qualitative projects above a certain size.Covering:
Design and procurement;
Developing the brief, recommending methodologies, designing moderator guides and surveys (incl. conjoint and MaxDiff designs).
Fieldwork for qualitative projects: Full service for small to mid-size projects, partnering with an agency for recruitment and conducting interviews or moderating in person for English-language or Nordic projects.
For quantitative projects, Managing the panel or fieldwork provider; providing quality control and day-to-day oversight.
Reporting: Taking receipt of the data, processing, and delivering results that you can put to work.
Workshops and internal roll-out:
Handing over the results in in-person or online sessions, working through implications and kicking off creative, innovation or strategic processes to ensure a seamless transition from the research tolater phase.
For long-term recurring projects, you’ll want to work directly with a full-service agency, but I'll be there to get you there. -
Broad context and concise answers to pressing business questions:
Competitor and target company insights
- Comprehensive company profiles with deep history and current position
- Data collection from customer base, supply chain and opinion-leaders
- Leading brand valuation projects
Market fundamentals
- Comprehensive market landscape reports
- In-depth buyer profiles
- PEST analysis
Strategic planning meetings
- Long-term landscape reviews
- Key socio-cultural trends
- Out-of-industry analysis
Product development
- Competitor gap analysis
- Needs and use-cases analysis
- Naming and nomenclature -
Whether you’re pitching a project with a research phase or having to manage one, bringing an outside partner can help smooth the process and make sure you get your money's worth.
You're always in control of how much support you want, and what kind.Management services
Feasibility and methodology advice
Scoping and planning Vendor shortlisting
Ongoing management
QA and analysis
Internal roll-out
Insights and consulting
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I've spent the better part of a decade as a dedicated in-house researcher, partnering with strategists at those critical junctures to make sure that they have the information, inspiration and impartial advice they need to do their jobs.
What collaboration might look like:A fifteen minute phone call on a tricky brief
Prep and audience briefings to kick off an ideation workshop
Co-author and editing strategy documents based on your guidance and my findings
Embedding in the pitch team as an on-call researcher during the final weeks
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Corporate rebrands
Managing a major change to the brand can be a taxing time for any company.Bringing in a researcher during those crucial weeks will take pressure off both the team and the wider organisation, so you can focus on making the right call.
Brand architecture and naming
Get expert advice with experience on brand architectures from extensive cross-industry research in consumer and B2B categories, plus hands-on experience supporting naming projects in technology, health and leisure.
Long-term and big-picture projects
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Make sure you have the measurement tools for the job.
Experience from corporate giants as well as smaller clients or campaign-specific frameworks.
Offering:
Fresh marketing measurement frameworks
Audits and refinements to existing frameworks
Market research x analytics coordination
Expectation setting and communication
Third-party feedback and assistance with performance reviews
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Topical content and facilitation for offsites, lunch-and-learn meetings, conferences and webinars
Long-term content for e-learning resources, staff training, and onboarding
Advice on how to design and report brand insights in ways that support your real-life ways of working
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Content strategy
Define key themes, territories and topics, as well as the top channels to target for your publications.
Translate to a specific editorial calendar that works with the resouces you have and your goals.
Coaching and editing
I've worked with seasoned and beginning writers to develop their voice, style and clarify their thoughts.Get started on the calendar by working with an experienced writing coach who can get you past the horror of a blank page.
Original content and ghostwriting
When I have the sufficient subject matter expertise, I will take commissions to author full pieces, up to around 3,000 words.
Otherwise, this will be bundled in with a custom research project.Services in English and Danish.
My specialty areas
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B2B
— Industrial buying
— Customer relationships
— Channel partners
— Employer branding
— Corporate reputation -
Enterprise IT
— IT managers and buyers
— Data center and servers
— Semiconductors
— Cloud computing -
Consumer Tech
— Mobile computing
— Mobile phones
— Smart devices and wearables
— Console and PC gaming
— Virtual reality -
Enthusiast and HNW
— Adventure and luxury travel
— High-end timepieces
— Private banking
— Niche audiences
Tools of the trade
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Review your open sources first
Even a day of dedicated search and exploration of the available sources can save tremendous time and money by narrowing down the options to something that is cheaper and faster to survey.There are many ways to use open-source research:
Get the lay of the land, understand your competitor's recent activities, or create a catalog of ideas and examples from other industries.
Compare creative directions, product names, branding, the tone of voice of copy and messaging, or even in-store designs in a systematic and structured way.
Start your strategy off-site with a review of what's been happening in your key regions, suppliers' industries, or media. -
Quantitative survey research
— Questionnaire development
— Design and scripting
— In-house analysis and reporting
Qualitative research
— Interview guide development
— In-depth interviews
— Ethnographic fieldwork
— Video and site visits -
Extensive experience sourcing and engaging experts and key opinion leaders for in-depth, on and off-the-record conversations.
— Trade press
— Academics
— Industry bodies
— Current practitioners
— Commentators -
Turning inputs from :
TGI, GlobalWebindex, Euromonitor, Mintel; Talkwalker and Meltwater; Google Search and Google Analytics; official statistics;
Into reports and content in
Classic slide decks
Stand-alone visualizations
PowerBI or Tableau dashboards -
Custom content
Documentary writing
Onboarding and topical primers
Long-form prose
Webinar scripts
Guest posts
Ghostwriting and coauthorship
Thought leadership content
Articles for trade press
Blog posts
Research editing
Academic papers and theses
Market research reports
Partners and clients over the years
Bio
Born 1988 in St. Kitts to Danish and American parents, grew up between the US, Nordics and the Caribbean.
Originally envisioned a career in academia before a brief stint at a London media agency during grad school convinced me to pursue a commercial career.
These days, my spare time is dedicated to photography, amassing ever more art supplies, and other creative and writing projects.
Background
Clientside
— Advanced Micro Devices
Creative/media agencies
— Forpeople
— Brand & Deliver
— Digitas/Publicis
— Neo@Ogilvy/WPP
— 23red
— Havas LuxHub
— Havas RE:PURPOSE
Market research
— GlobalWebIndex
— The Nielsen Company
— Lindberg International
Credentials
— Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute
— M.Sc. Anthropology, Aarhus University
— B.Sc., Anthropology, Uni. Copenhagen