The insights industry in London was buzzing last week as Quirk’s London took over the city on the 7th and 8th of May – right after the bank holiday Monday. As the newest member of Team Mustard, I had the chance to dive headfirst into the event on the first day, surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the world of insights.
Now that we’ve all had a moment to catch up on emails and come back down to earth, I wanted to take a moment to reflect. As a marketer who’s new to both the Quirk’s experience (my very first conference!) and the insights industry more broadly, I came in with fresh eyes and ears, ready to soak it all in.
Going all out
That morning, I headed to Quirk’s London expecting the usual corporate conference humdrum – grey suits, quiet nods, maybe a few branded pens. But to my surprise, I was met with an energetic crowd ready to learn, mingle, and – most importantly – have fun. The atmosphere was lively, the conversations buzzing, and the swag? Next level.
Of course, there were the expected sweet treats and branded notebooks (and more pens), but some exhibitors truly raised the bar. Personal highlights included:
- Kantar’s cappuccino booth printing your face on the foam
- PureSpectrum’s full-on Build-a-Bear station
- Reckitt turning attendees into fantasy-style Top Trump cards
- And Cambri, who were giving away an Oura Ring (yes, really!)
If there’s one thing I learned, it’s this: conferences are far from boring – and to stand out, you’ve got to go all in. Yes, people are there to learn, network, and talk business – but they’re also people who want to be surprised, delighted, and engaged. The best brands know how to do both.
And while the prizes, swag, and unlimited coffee were definite highlights, what stayed with me most were the bigger themes being explored – so let’s get into the serious stuff.
AI: The coolest toy on the playground
As anyone who went can testify, it was impossible to miss the overwhelming buzz around AI and emerging tech – it’s clearly the most talked-about new toy on the playground, and every company wants a turn. A huge chunk of the presentations focused on it – some a little, most a lot.
There’s no doubt that AI is proving to be a powerful tool for researchers on both the client and supply side – offering efficiencies we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. But after sitting through several talks, the presentations started to blur together – many sounding like a pitch with similar promises of faster turnarounds, higher accuracy, and leaner workflows.
That’s why Manny Rodriguez from Forsta made a point that cut through the noise: truth and accuracy are not the same thing. “Garbage in, garbage out,” he reminded the packed Room 5. The message was clear “The future is still human” – AI might be transforming research, but it’s still the people behind it who make the work matter.
This stuck with me throughout the event. As a marketer working in the market research space, it’s clear that the trust, transparency, and expertise you believe in – whether in a brand or a piece of work – doesn’t come from the tool itself, but from the people using it.
A Mustard favourite: thought-leadership
It’s no surprise that one of our favourite topics at Keen as Mustard is long-term brand building – and thought leadership is one of the most powerful ways for businesses to deliver on that. The team at Vodafone Business summed this up brilliantly during their presentation, ‘Creating Authentic B2B Thought Leadership’. They explained that great thought leadership builds trust, proves value, and nudges potential B2B buyers into action by challenging them to rethink their business problems – while also positioning you as an expert worth listening to.
For Vodafone Business, what started as an internal document tracking trends, quickly evolved into something much bigger. Once they realised it could offer genuine value to their customers – not just to internal sales team – they flipped it outward. The results? Transforming it into thought-leadership that is truly useful to businesses, built on a robust framework that assesses businesses for future-readiness. Businesses will always have follow-up questions, and your campaign needs to be ready to answer them.
So, what made it work?
The key is simple: great thought-leadership – backed by solid research – must offer real value and lasting credibility to keep your audience engaged. That means identifying pain points and offering meaningful, actionable solutions – directly addressing customer questions and creating ongoing value.
What really matters beyond the stage
As valuable as the sessions were, Quirk’s London wasn’t just about the talks and tech – it was about the people. For me, it was a chance to learn, laugh, and (yes) discover who’s surprisingly tall in real life – all part of a fascinating first step into this buzzing, brilliant insights community. From chatting between sessions and finally putting faces to familiar names, to sharing dinner and debriefing over drinks: it was a reminder that, at the end of the day, the insights industry is built on real human connections.