Driving growth in Pepsico through multicultural empathy

Global brands will be gathering at the MRMW North America 2022 conference on June 15-16 in Atlanta. Our speakers will share the latest trends and developments with the market research community through thought leadership presentations and case studies. This week, we had the chance to interview Ramiro Davila, Director – Head of Insights Analytics South at PepsiCo for his upcoming presentation. Ramiro leads a team dedicated to delivering cutting edge consumer insights and analytics for PepsiCo’s cornerstone brands. He will be sharing the stage with two colleagues to discuss about inclusivity research – driving growth in Pepsico through multicultural consumer empathy.

MRMW: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Ramiro: Firstly, our core message is about inclusivity within the research we do as organizations. It includes highlighting the importance of diversity within our industry to gather the best insights possible. Secondly, the commitment from PepsiCo to build consumer empathy without the company – we can’t win in the marketplace if our people do not know our consumers.

MRMW: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Ramiro: We kicked this work off in 2020, in the midst of a very turbulent year. Diversity and inclusivity were hot topics not only within our company but across the nation. Therefore, those conversations got us talking internally about our role in addressing those issues. Are we meeting the needs of Black consumers? Are we being empathetic towards our Black employees and partner agencies? How can we be better as a business to address those concerns? At the heart of those conversations, a common theme kept coming up – who are our Black consumers? Not what are they drinking, how do they shop but who are they as people? Understanding their motivations gets us closer to them as consumers and helps our teams build human empathy. Impossible to win with consumers when you don’t know them…AFAM is a driver of growth in our category.

MRMW: What motivates you to join MRMW NA 2022 and what are your expectations?

Ramiro: Our industry is rapidly growing and changing. Like any good researcher, we are here to share information and learn from my peers, at the same time, soak up new information and ways of working.

MRMW: How do you see the future of MR/Insights? What  would you like to see?

Ramiro: We’ve been seeing a shift towards a lot of tools that make our jobs easier, which is great. However, I’d like to see our industry take a brief pause and look inwardly:

• Rigor vs Speed vs Quality – Is it possible to have all these three variables with the current tools available in the market. What are the best case scenarios for DIY tools vs traditional research?
• Are we addressing diversity and inclusivity enough from both the researcher perspective but also the respondents we speak to that make up our data? Do we have enough representation within panels to provide the insights companies are looking for? Do we have enough diverse researchers to provide their perspective on these topics? I’d like to see the industry address that with a top-down approach.

MRMW: Ramiro, thank you very much! We look forward to your presentation at MRMW!

Do you want to hear about the latest innovations, trends, and techniques in market research? Join Ramiro Davila and speakers from Warner Media, eBay, Coca-Cola, Twitter, Meta, Whatsapp, Google, Visa, Microsoft, Mars, Johnson & Johnson and many more top-of-the-line companies at MRMW North America 2022.

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