Jennifer Hanson, CEO, Realsight
Jen Hanson is driven by a passion for changing the way marketers view consumers and conduct research. She’s spent her entire career identifying growth opportunities and developing ideas that others miss by questioning the status quo, pushing the boundaries and reinventing commoditized innovation practices and techniques.
In 2006 her passionate beliefs, as well as her frustrations with the decreasing quality of traditional research methods, led her to found Realsight and develop a breakthrough approach to innovation research. Recognized as a pioneer in her industry, Jen was recently named a finalist for the Connecticut Technology Council’s Women of Innovation Award in the Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership category.
Before founding Realsight, Jen held positions leading innovation strategies,
solutions and marketing for Kraft Foods, PepsiCo and Diageo. She began her career
as a consultant for marketing companies working in the consumer goods, financial
services and health care industries. She earned an MBA from New York University
Stern School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Mt. Holyoke College.
About Realsight
Realsight provides the next generation in innovation research, helping companies uncover innovation opportunities faster and more accurately than traditional research methods, saving time and money in the development pipeline while increasing success in the marketplace.
Realsight’s patent-pending research approach and technology system, Quantitative Anthropology, opens the door to innovation opportunities that generate new products, builds competitive advantage, strengthens brand relevance and earns consumer loyalty. We show companies how consumers really behave, how they really see products, how they really use products, what a product is really competing against at the real moment of truth – usage.
Unlike self-reporting, which relies on people remembering what they do, or short-term observation, which relies on a mere snapshot of consumer behavior, Realsight uses video cameras to observe everyday behavior over an extended period of time, putting companies inside the real daily lies of consumers for thousands of real usage situations. Comparing these observations with participants’ interactive online diaries, and then applying proprietary scientific and anthropological methods to quantify the patterns hidden in the thousands of qualitative observations of common everyday behavior, Realsight uncovers patterns that connect intentions with actions.
Realsight delivers real, actionable and profitable insights into product, packaging and positioning opportunities for companies like Kraft, Sara Lee, Nestle, Avon and Cadbury Adams.
The Realsight™ Quantitative Anthropology video tracking system from Realsight has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2009 Edison Best New Product Awards™. The awards are among the most elite accolades honoring excellence in new product development, marketing, and innovation.
Other finalists in the 10 categories include Apple's iPhone and Macbook Air, Procter & Gamble's Tide to Go and Olay® Regenerist facial care, Nintendo's WiiFit and Speedo's LZR Racer™. Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will be announced at an Awards Gala on April 1, 2009 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. For more information on The Edison Awards and a complete list of finalists, go to www.edisonawards.com.
Additionally, Realsight Chief Experience Officer Jennifer Hanson was a finalist for the Connecticut Technology Council's Women of Innovation Award in the Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership category.