If They’re Breathing, We Can Find Them | Signal & Noise Ep 26

In this episode of Signal and Noise, Brian and Andrew sit down with Tim Matthews, who heads up the in-person research and support team at ROI Rocket. Tim brings over 20 years of marketing experience, starting from tactical brand activations at the Winston Cup Series to building a research firm rooted in creative, human-centered consumer engagement.

The conversation centers on a growing challenge in the research industry: the erosion of trust in online quantitative data, the difficulty of reaching low-incidence and niche populations, and why in-person recruiting is anything but old-fashioned.

Tim reframes the concept of the "intercept" entirely. Forget the clipboard in the mall. His team operates more like a creative, agile engagement deployment squad, going where consumers live, work, shop, and play to find respondents that online panels simply cannot reach. From private golf clubs to luxury dinners at the Playboy Mansion, Tim shares the strategies and stories behind some of his most memorable and creatively ambitious recruiting projects.

The episode also features a live "Can You Find Them?" game, where Brian and Andrew throw out increasingly niche audience targets, and Tim explains how his network and methodology could actually reach them, from nuclear plant operators to doomsday bunker owners.

Key Takeaways:

• Why online panels fall short for low-incidence and hard-to-reach populations

• How Tim's team uses experiential incentives (not just cash) to recruit elusive respondents

• The value of storytelling over transactional survey-taking

• What the "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" has to do with finding niche research targets

• Why stated vs. actual behavior gaps make in-the-moment observation so powerful

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Connect with Tim:

• LinkedIn