How do insight agencies keep up when tech companies and clients have access to more tools than they do? In Season 2, Episode 14, JT Turner sits down with John-William Awbrey, Head of Brand & Campaign Insights at Sky, to explore where agency value really sits as data becomes easier to access and analysis becomes faster to produce.

Together, they argue that data doesn’t create value; perspective does. Competitive advantage is shifting away from owning data toward interpretation, synthesis, and a point of view leaders trust

.They explore what the research agency of the future could, and should, look like: moving beyond static deliverables and slow, one-off projects to more embedded partnerships that combine human expertise, technology, and AI to deliver faster, more iterative, decision-ready insight for modern, always-on businesses.

AI and automation promise research that’s cheaper and faster. But is the output actually better? In this episode, JT talks with insights leader Tina Tonielli, former US Lead of Insights & Analytics at Haleon, about what “good” looks like when brands adopt AI at scale. They unpack the trade-offs between speed, cost and quality, how “always on” data can overwhelm teams, when decision cadence matters more than data cadence, and where procurement and onboarding slow things down. They also explore where AI truly helps in insight work, and the skills leaders need next: a growth mindset and the courage to experiment, fail fast and learn in public.

In this episode, JT sits down with Nick Graham, Founder of Vertemis and former Global Head of Insights at Mondelez, to explore why the insights function must reinvent itself for the AI era.

Nick argues that insights teams need to move beyond being data suppliers to become true decision drivers—owning the full “insights impact” chain and acting as co-pilots to business growth. Together, they discuss the courage required to let go of legacy approaches, the role of automation in freeing capacity for leadership, and how AI is more than an efficiency tool—it’s a catalyst for transformation.

Nick shares why the future of insights is less about the “what” and more about the “why” and “so what,” leveraging human empathy, curiosity, and storytelling to deliver real business impact.