Walking The Rainbow Bridge To Insights Asgard With OdinText: An Interview with Tom H. C. Anderson

Few folks in the market research are as well known as Tom Anderson. Whether through his role as the primary evangelist of text analytics in insights via OdinText, as the founder and moderator of the NGMR LinkedIn Group, or his frequent speaking engagements all over the world most everyone knows who he is. But knowing who he is and knowing what he is all about and the great work he is doing in helping to transform insights via the application of text analytics are two different things.

Over the years I have come to not only like and respect Tom, but to actually be in a bit of awe when it comes to the genius ways he combines technical and strategic thought leadership, personal passion, and marketing savvy.

Take a look at just a few of the recent posts from the OdinText blog for example:

TEXT ANALYTICS POLL: WHY WE UNFRIEND ON FACEBOOK

WHEN OPRAH IS PRESIDENT WE CAN CELEBRATE FAMILY DAY WHILE SKIING!

TEXT ANALYTICS PICKS THE 10 STRONGEST SUPER BOWLS ADS

WHAT AMERICANS REALLY THINK ABOUT TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION BAN AND WHY

ODINTEXT PREDICTS WHAT TELEVISION SHOWS YOU WILL LIKE

Not only are those all cool examples of use cases for text analytics as a primary insights generation tool, but they are also fun, topical content hooks to drive brand awareness. It’s a pretty perfect one-two punch for a young company out to change an industry.

Here is why all of this is important and I’ve chosen to highlight Tom. The insights industry is changing fast due to the forces of technology, new competitors, evolving business models and client demands. In that environment the secrets to success are:

• Having a great product that has demonstrable impact
• Delivering flawlessly
• Building a strong, differentiated brand
• Being a masterful marketer

Tom is pretty much the template for those attributes, and the rest of the industry should pay attention to him as such.

Now, lest we let my man crush get in the way of objectivity lets be clear; anyone who knows Tom also knows he is outspoken, has a wicked (and politically incorrect sense of humor) and like yours truly can sometimes be a bit too honest. Those are always struggles when a company has a dynamic CEO that is deeply integrated into the brand itself and sometimes it can backfire, so there is a lesson there as well to be careful not to let the personal brand eclipse the company brand.

I recently sat down with Tom and his new partner in crime Tim Lynch (who is also a major industry mover and shaker) to catch up on OdinText, the recent Insights Association CEO Summit, and his take on the future of the industry and what’s next for he and his company. Bearing in mind my lead in on this interview, I suggest you watch it and pay close attention: you’ll learn a lot from both he and Tim that could be important to your business, not least of which is that text analytics can do some pretty amazing stuff to enhance your insights capability.

Here is the interview. Enjoy!