Employee News

13 Jan

Posted at 07:37h in Children, Content, Employee News, Qualitative Research, Research

January 13, 2023 (New York, NY) – Fluent Research, a data and insights-driven strategic consulting firm, announced today that Tiffany Salone has been promoted to Senior Researcher. In this role, Tiffany will oversee a wide range of global research studies, informing the development of educational products and programs that benefit children, youth, and families.

“Tiffany excels at managing complex research projects, and she is an expert quantitative and qualitative analyst,” said Nellie Gregorian, Founder and President of Fluent Research. “Tiffany’s promotion acknowledges her contribution to our success and continuing growth.”

Tiffany has a deep background in technology and education. She is passionate about designing and conducting research that supports increased and equitable accessibility to education and technology, especially for young learners and their families. No matter what type of project she is working on, she is a consistent advocate for users, particularly those who are low-income or live in underserved communities around the world.

Prior to joining Fluent, Tiffany worked as a researcher in educational media and technology. Before working as a researcher, she spent eight years as a video producer, videographer, and editor of short documentaries and feature films.

About Fluent Research
Fluent Research is a data and insights-driven strategic consulting firm. Since 2006 Fluent has leveraged understanding of human behavior to help the world’s best-known brands and organizations advance worthy causes, innovate transformational products, and successfully navigate change. Fluent’s work centers around three practice areas: thought leadership research, formative research and evaluation, and social impact assessment. Fluent has applied rigorous and innovative research solutions in service of promoting children’s access to and quality of education, and gender equality in the U.S. and in over 70 countries around the world. Fluent’s creative arm, Fluent Productions, is an award-winning producer of original documentary content that harnesses the power of visual storytelling to bring attention to important issues facing our society, to build empathy and inspire action.

Contact: Stefanie Cousins
[email protected]

 

11 Jan

Posted at 07:00h in Employee News, Market Research, Research

January 11, 2023 (New York, NY) – Fluent Research, a data and insights-driven strategic consulting firm, announced today that Sofia Polo has been promoted to Director, Research Strategy. In this role, Sofia will work with the senior executive team on advancing the company’s mission and strategic direction.

“Sofia has been a valuable member of our team and a mentor to many of our colleagues. I am thrilled that in her new role she will take on more management and leadership responsibilities,” said Nellie Gregorian, Founder and President of Fluent Research.

Sofia has a strong interest in leveraging research to promote education, health and mental health of children, youth, and families. A native Spanish speaker, Sofia is committed to amplifying the voices of the Latinx communities and advocating an equitable approach to research practices.

Prior to joining Fluent, Sofia worked as a health research training consultant at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

About Fluent Research
Fluent Research is a data and insights-driven strategic consulting firm. Since 2006 Fluent has leveraged understanding of human behavior to help the world’s best-known brands and organizations advance worthy causes, innovate transformational products, and successfully navigate change. Fluent’s work centers around three practice areas: thought leadership research, formative research and evaluation, and social impact assessment. Fluent has applied rigorous and innovative research solutions in service of promoting children’s access to and quality of education, and gender equality in the U.S. and in over 70 countries around the world. Fluent’s creative arm, Fluent Productions, is an award-winning producer of original documentary content that harnesses the power of visual storytelling to bring attention to important issues facing our society, to build empathy and inspire action.

Contact: Stefanie Cousins
[email protected]

24 Aug

Posted at 19:08h in Education, Employee News, Interns, Market Research

This summer, we have been working with three talented interns, offering them the chance to learn more about the world of data and insights-driven strategic consulting and helping them to hone their research skills.

We’ve also been sharing short interviews with each intern where we’ve chatted about their experiences working with us and what they’ve learned. In this third and final interview, we’re speaking with psychology major Emma Clarke who is studying at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Fluent: What made you want to intern at Fluent Research?

Emma: As a psychology major, there are many different paths that I could take after graduation. I was really interested in figuring out what path I’d like to take, so I wanted to explore what doing a type of research would be like. I also have a relative who is a client of Fluent Research. Seeing how well respected Fluent is by them and the research Fluent has done for them made me very interested as well.

Fluent: What have you learned so far?

Emma: I have learned many different skills so far! I think the most important thing that I have learned is that it is crucial to be firm and confident in your findings for a client. I also have learned the many different ways that research can be conducted and how to guide an interview through observing projects.

Fluent: What has been the most interesting thing you have done?

Emma: The most interesting thing that I have done is gone through interviews of military spouses who were widowed by suicide. Although the interviews were very emotional and sad, their stories were touching and they had very unique perspectives that allowed them to contribute to interesting research.

Fluent: What do you hope to do after college?

Emma: While I am still not 100% sure what I’d like to do after college, I am leaning towards doing research similar to the market research conducted by Fluent. Alternatively, I might be interested in doing more general psychology research. Either way, I will probably be going to graduate school after college to pursue a master’s or a Ph.D.

19 Aug

Posted at 18:35h in Education, Employee News, Interns, Market Research

We’re lucky enough to have three stellar interns working with us at Fluent Research who have all been impressing us with their tenacity and work ethic.

Last week, we shared an interview with Markos Stroumbakis, a rising sophomore at Hunter College in New York City. This week, we’re getting to know Elizabeth Anna Mintusova, a student at Saint Louis University in Missouri.

Fluent: What made you want to intern at Fluent Research?

One of the main reasons I dreamed about being an intern at Fluent Research is because I believe that here I can perfectly apply and combine my passion for psychology and business at the same time. In addition to that, working at this company gives me a great opportunity to collaborate with people from different backgrounds so I can learn something new all the time.

Fluent: What have you learned so far?

Elizabeth: So far, I have learned to work on completely unique projects every day, where all of them require certain skills in different areas. I have also learned how to manage my time schedule correctly, multitask, welcome clients, and be fast and efficient in terms of cooperation with the members of the Fluent Research team who work remotely.

Fluent: What has been the most interesting thing you have done? 

Elizabeth: I think that the most interesting thing that I have done so far during my internship is testing future surveys and questionnaires. It is very exciting to take the polls by yourself and try to detect any possible errors to fix them. Another awesome part of that work is applying the roles of different people to yourself so you can detect errors that show up in different scenarios.

Fluent: What do you hope to do after college? 

Elizabeth: I am not sure about what I want to do after graduating from the university, but I am definitely planning to work in a company that is related to psychology and human resources where I could work and communicate with people, while also having responsibilities that are related to business administration and finance.

 

12 Aug

Posted at 18:49h in Employee News, Interns, Market Research, Research

We’re so excited to have three talented interns working with our Fluent Research team this summer. Discovering and nurturing new talent is something we’re passionate about at Fluent, and we have no doubt that this cohort of interns will go on to do great things in their careers.

In the coming weeks, we’ll bring you brief interviews with each of our interns where they will share their background, what they’ve learned during their time with us, and what they hope to achieve in the future.

First up is Marko Stroumbakis, a rising sophomore at Hunter College in New York City.

Fluent: What made you want to intern at Fluent Research?

Marko: My initial internship search was for professional experience in the world of marketing, but being such a vast field, I quickly narrowed it to market research. As I explored my social network, I came across Fluent’s Founder and President Nellie Gregorian through a common contact. When doing research on the Fluent website, I was immediately intrigued by the variety of practice areas and services. Fluent is based in the heart of NYC, my home city, which was a huge plus for me. From there, I knew Fluent would be the best place to begin my professional career.

Fluent: What have you learned so far?

Marko: I have learned several skills during my time at Fluent. First, I have enhanced my professional communication, both verbal and non-verbal. I have also improved some technical skills in software such as Excel. Most importantly, I have gained a breadth of knowledge and experience in market research and business development. Checking both qualitative and quantitative data and working on survey testing as well as translating subject responses from Spanish to English has been valuable in understanding how data is used to inform insights.

Fluent: What has been the most interesting thing you have done? 

Marko: The assignment that has interested me the most so far was conducting secondary research in the preliminary steps of a new client project. As I uncovered more resources, I was captivated by the plethora of information and data on such a recent market trend.

Fluent: What do you hope to do after college? 

Marko: After I graduate from college, I hope to obtain my MBA in Marketing from Duke University, NYU, or USC. Throughout the rest of my academic career, I aim to gain several experiences and broad knowledge in the field of marketing, with a particular emphasis on brand management.

24 Jul

Posted at 19:58h in Conferences, Employee News, Kids

Last week Allison Caplovitz and Stefanie Cousins traveled to Miami to attend the Kidscreen Summit, one of the most important events for the kids’ entertainment industry. Attendees from all over the world return year after year to engage in critical conversations affecting the industry, conduct business meetings, and participate in key networking opportunities.

The week kicked off with a keynote by New York Times best-selling author and Newbery Award winner Kwame Alexander about the power of yes, specifically saying yes to creativity, saying yes to thinking outside the box, and saying yes to every opportunity. It was an impactful event, setting a positive tone for the rest of the week.

Streaming platforms, networks, production companies, animators, writers, and researchers were well represented on the stage and in the crowd last week. While not all sessions focused on COVID, several of the sessions Stefanie and Allison attended looked at kids’ content through that lens. Here are a few of their takeaways:

• A panel of kids’ content experts from Sesame Workshop, Warner Brothers Discovery, Duolingo, and Crandall Consulting discussed Lessons in Social Emotional Learning. They emphasized that infusing positive psychology, human-centric learning, and social-emotional learning into kids’ content is more critical than ever for kids to overcome the adversity they experienced during COVID. All panelists emphasized that soft skills, like resilience, collaboration, cooperation, and communication must be the nutrition we pack into programming.

• In their session, Coming out of COVID, experts from Dubit looked at the toll the pandemic has taken on kids, specifically their relationship with media. Dubit found that familiar, low risk, interactive, and comforting entertainment brands bring stability to kids and families now.

• Nickelodeon presented research in Mind the Gap, about “bridge” programs, which are geared toward 4-7-year-old, between preschool and big kid age groups. Bridge shows are just the right mix of comfort and excitement and are more like preschool programming than programs for big kids. Bluey, Gaby’s Dollhouse, and Wild Kratts are all examples of bridge programs. In our post-COVID world, bridge shows are thought to be more supportive of children in both age groups.

• The session, Pandemic Education Fallout: How COVID-19 Has Changed Everything, featured Sesame Workshop and The Family Room sharing research about the shifting learning priorities parents have for their preschoolers since the onset of the pandemic and how content creators can use this new information to impact their educational programming. Sesame Street, for example, has used this research in the development of its content for next season, focusing on curiosity (I wonder…) creative thinking (What if…), and task persistence (Let’s try…).

The next KidScreen Summit returns to Miami in February 2023 and we’re looking forward to another powerful week. See you there!

27 Jun

Posted at 14:52h in Children, Content, Education, Employee News, Kids, Research

Next month Fluent’s Director of Content & Evaluation, Dr. Allison Caplovitz, will be returning to Miami to attend the Kidscreen Summit after the conference’s two-year hiatus due to COVID. Allison’s favorite meeting of the year, the Kidscreen Summit is known as the most important annual event in the kids media industry.

Allison’s background includes deep experience informing the development of children’s television programs, evaluating curriculum development, and conducting summative research. She has advised 9 Story, Highlights for Children, Meta, Netflix, PBS Kids, Sesame Workshop, Warner Media, and YouTube Kids, and was instrumental to the success of the iconic children’s media property Blue’s Clues. Read all about Allison here and be sure to connect with her in Miami.

21 Jun

Posted at 15:08h in Employee News, Market Research, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research

We’re excited to welcome two new team members to Fluent Research. Amber Gonzalez is a Quantitative Researcher and Charlotte Beatty is a User Experience Researcher.

Prior to joining Fluent, Amber worked at EDC’s Center for Children and Technology as a field researcher and at NYU School of Medicine’s Student Health Service, where she leveraged data-driven insights to expand mental health services for medical students.

Charlotte recently graduated from Boston University, where she studied the anthropology of health and medicine. For her undergraduate academic research, Charlotte designed and conducted an investigation into aspirations for marriage and family among Gen Z young adults. Check out Amber and Charlotte’s full bios on our website.

15 Jun

Posted at 15:00h in Documentary Films, Employee News, Technology

Award-winning filmmaker and Fluent Productions head Heath Cozens, landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil earlier this month where he began the first leg of a seven-country adventure around the globe filming a documentary for a tech client. We’ll be posting Heath’s postcards throughout the summer on our social media channels so make sure to check in to find out #WhereHeathIsNow?

18 May

Posted at 00:01h in Employee News, Market Research, Quantitative Research

May 18, 2022 (New York, NY) – Fluent Research, a data and insights-driven strategic consulting firm, announced today that Mary Meyn has joined the company in the role of Director, Research. In her new position, Mary will manage public opinion and market research studies for some of the world’s best-known brands and organizations.

“Mary joins Fluent after a distinguished career in political polling, public opinion and market research,” said Nellie Gregorian, Founder and President of Fluent Research. “Mary’s outstanding analytical skills and her deep commitment to the professional standards of public opinion research will further improve the caliber of our work. We could not be more thrilled for Mary to join Fluent Research and help us advance our mission of leveraging data and insights in service of making a positive impact on the lives of children, youth, and families.”

Prior to Fluent, Mary was Vice President at Edison Research, where she spent 16 years supporting the national Election Day exit polls, providing critical and time-sensitive data about who Americans voted for and what issues were important to voters. Mary has also worked with major companies in media and policy, including AMC Theatres, The Brookings Institution, ESPN, NPR, Marketplace, and Univision, among many others.

Mary has been an active member of the American Association of Public Opinion Researchers (AAPOR) community, serving for many years on the Executive Council of the Pennsylvania/New Jersey chapter, including serving as President in 2019.

Mary is a graduate of Binghamton University and has a master’s degree in Politics and Public Affairs from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.

About Fluent Research
Fluent Research is a data and insights-driven strategic consulting firm. Since 2006 Fluent has leveraged understanding of human behavior to help the world’s best-known brands and organizations advance worthy causes, innovate transformational products, and successfully navigate change. Fluent’s work centers around three practice areas: thought leadership research, formative research and evaluation, and social impact assessment. Fluent has applied rigorous and innovative research solutions in service of promoting children’s access to and quality of education, and gender equality in the U.S. and in over 70 countries around the world. Fluent’s creative arm, Fluent Productions, is an award-winning producer of original documentary content that harnesses the power of visual storytelling to bring attention to important issues facing our society, to build empathy and inspire action.

Contact: Stefanie Cousins
[email protected]