Ponderings From The Perch

Can synthetic data truly replace the messy, uncomfortable truths that real humans reveal about your brand? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest and Senior Manager of Brand Insights at Ricard Pernod, Kira Greenberg, about the critical balance between innovative research methodologies and traditional human-centered approaches. They explore why customer insights derived from actual human experiences remain irreplaceable, even as AI and synthetic data promise faster, cleaner answers to business questions. They discuss how the best innovations emerge from contradictions and tensions in consumer behavior rather than sanitized data. Greenberg explains that while quick research methods have their place, deeper qualitative approaches often prevent companies from needing to revisit the same questions repeatedly. The conversation reveals how insight professionals must sit in the messiness of human behavior and translate it for