Curio Research Quarterly Vol. 32

If you didn’t know, April is Earth Month, and here at Curio Research, we make a point of celebrating by renewing our 1% for the Planet commitment, going outside to enjoy the cherry blossoms, and volunteering with a conservation organization. How do you plan to celebrate Earth Month or Earth Day?

Business

Work

Since our last installment, I have finished the subcontracting project for CMB. For that project, I interviewed 25 business decision-makers, both in-house and agency-side growth marketers, about how their roles are evolving with advancements in AI and economic uncertainty. We then gauged their reactions to a new product concept. The findings were very revealing. Growth marketers are highly technically skilled professionals who no longer see AI as a special feature. They also struggle between the desire for simplicity in their tool stack and the need for the best-in-class tool for the job. While this news was a blow to the client’s original concept, it was also a great opportunity to be the tool that solves growth marketers’ one persistent problem and then expand to take on more post-adoption work.

Now I’m working on a project for Kalamuna to evaluate a site intended to help people who assist new immigrants to settle into their new lives here in Canada. I’ll be working with a friend from Quebec because the research will be in both English and French. After the qualitative is complete, we’ll conduct an online intercept survey to establish satisfaction and engagement benchmarks for the site, so the organization can statistically demonstrate that the resulting improvements helped fulfill its purpose.

While that’s happening, I’ll be reporting on the general population survey results for the municipal party I’m volunteering with. I sent the survey to the panel provider last week, and I’m just waiting to hear how data collection is progressing.

After that, my dance card is clear. Get in touch if you have a project you could use my help with.

Conferences

WebSummit is on the horizon. It’s a huge tech conference held in multiple locations around the world, and it's in Vancouver in early May. I had to miss most of the conference last year because I was moderating in-person focus groups for TikTok, and the day I did go, I just parked myself at the green technology stage and didn’t move for the rest of the day. I’ll probably do much the same this year, but I plan to make more time for auxiliary events and will work the floor to meet fresh-faced entrepreneurs to see if I can help them grow their businesses.

Will I see you there? Reach out so we can make time to connect. 

Are you thinking about going? Here’s a 20% discount on your ticket.

Speaking

Last month, I spoke at Northeastern University’s Vancouver campus on the state of research in 2026. I talked about how research technology has overtaken research services in terms of revenue, enabling more research to be done in-house, and about the impact of AI on the research profession and how best to harness it for accuracy and efficiency.

The other week, I gave an online presentation to Women’s Business Enterprise Canada on business metrics, how to choose them, how to calculate them, and how to build a dashboard. I advised them to start small. Choose three metrics they eventually want to populate their dashboard with, start with one, get that humming, and then try another. Rinse and repeat. I also gave them a cheat sheet with the metrics formulas that you can download for yourself.

I will also be reprising the talk I gave to the QRCA on reducing the carbon impact of research operations at IIeX West in San Francisco in October.

Business and Sustainability

According to a recent GlobeScan study, 48% of people worldwide, regardless of economic status, believe that economic prosperity and environmental growth are not mutually exclusive. This is a massive jump from the 16% of people who thought so in 2017. A 300% increase increase in less than 10 years is HUGE. More and more people expect governments and businesses to walk and chew gum at the same time when it comes to providing them a decent living, social mobility, and ensuring the world they live in is protected for future generations. 

The questions are: how do you deliver both, and how do you message both? That’s where research comes in. We can help you understand your customers' expectations and how to best exceed them, giving you a competitive advantage over competitors who think simply having a well-functioning product is enough. As the climate crisis advances, that’s just table stakes. Let us help you get ahead of the curve.

Personal

Travel

My husband and I took advantage of the spring long weekend to head to Salt Spring Island. Salt Spring is known as a hippie farming community off the interior coast of Vancouver Island. We opted not to rent a car and got around mostly by walking and renting ebikes to tour further afield from the main town. We visited a few ciderhouses and a brewery, a goat dairy and cheese-making operation, and stumbled on a gallery hosting a special exhibition on a World War 2 effort to reproduce Canadian masterworks from the Group of Seven and other contemporaries using early silk-screen techniques because soldiers abroad preferred seeing images that reminded them of home over nationalistic propaganda. We’re looking forward to going back one day.

Media

Did you know I was into swing dancing back in the day? I’ve since left it behind, but some horns and a swinging 8th note still get my attention. Enter British vocalist, Raye. This woman can SING, and while there’s definitely a retro Amy Winehouse (but less messy) vibe to her, she is also clearly influenced by hip hop. It makes for a very fun listen and impressive vocal teamwork by her and her backup singers.

And now for my latest video binge recommendations:

• Peacemaker was a show I purposely avoided. I was biased. I thought it would just be a weird take on wrestlers flexing their muscles or something like that. I burned through the first two seasons and am now a John Cena fan. He’s a good comedic actor. There, I said it. Are you happy now?

• Send Help was a fun watch and an interesting take on merit perceptions. Rachel McAdams plays an extremely competent but uncharismatic and unappreciated middle manager who gets stranded on a deserted island with her entitled boss and comes into her own (with a touch of psychosis). It’s directed by Sam Raimi, so it gets weird.

I also want to give a little love to some Canadian content (CanCon). You should definitely watch Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story. It’s a documentary series in only the loosest, cheekiest sense. It definitely delves into the system that exists to passively encourage, and in some cases enable, doping in athletic competition, but in a very non-serious way that makes you question how much is exaggerated. The entire story structure is hilarious and very Canadian.

Giving Back

Over the past three months, I’ve continued my volunteer work with the OneCity Data Committee and the Election Planning Committee to help the party make informed decisions in the run-up to the city election in October. I also turned in my paperwork for my 1% for the Planet Certification and was approved. Now I’m thinking about what else I can do for Earth Month. I have a little volunteering planned, which I’ll share in my next installment.

That’s all for now. Get out there and do some good.

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