Dominic Hay

As an Insights Manager, I led the development and delivery of data-driven insights and story telling that inform and inspire the editorial, commercial, strategic, creative and marketing teams. With over 10 years of experience in research, I have a passion for understanding consumer behaviors, media consumption, and trends across diverse audiences and platforms across the globe, as well as analyzing multiple complex data sets to uncover actionable insights.

I leverage my MSc in Psychological Research Methods and BSc(H) in Psychology to design and execute innovative and impactful studies, interviews, surveys, and reports that provide actionable insights and recommendations for clients. I manage and coach junior team members and also collaborate with senior internal and external senior stakeholders to communicate and present insights and stories in engaging and compelling ways.

VML, UK – Insights Manager (March 2024 – Present)

• Part of the Insights & Effectiveness team, working with multiple international brands across the agency, on new business pitches, proposals, response to briefs, research, insight generation, data storytelling and client presentations, working on every stage of the research process.
• Working with an array of research methods, with key focuses on quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, audience profiling and segmentation to generate insights.
• Utilising advanced quantitative research methods including segmentation, working with big data sets, and combing data from multiple data sources (e.g., TGI, YouGov, GWI, Mintel, Canvas8, Statista, Euromonitor, Forrester) to create relevant narratives.
• Using primary and secondary data, leading on fieldwork, collaborating with senior stakeholders, across teams including Data Strategy, Data Science, Strategy, Experience, Creative, Accounts, New Business, and liaising with all third-party suppliers.

LADbible Group, UK – Research & Insights Manager (June 2021 – January 2024)

• Part of the Data, Intelligence & Panel team, working with multiple brands, leading on projects from proposals and brief responses to client delivery.
• Working on multiple briefs and pitches using techniques including campaign effectiveness, brand uplift studies, paid social media surveys, social media listening (Brandwatch), quick polls, longitudinal research, interviews, panel research, audience profiling and segmentation (TGI, YouGov), brand tracking, web analytics, platform analytics, search, campaign and content performance, audience monitoring and data auditing. 
• Utilising advanced quantitative research methods including MaxDiff analysis, and reporting/visualisation tools such as DisplayR.
• Being the marketing and communications data lead, for all PR and communication needs, providing data for internal and external articles both proactively and reactively for newsletters, web, client needs, LinkedIn, social media, YouTube, and OOH.
• Being the finance and legal go-to for all data needs and auditing, as well as supporting the development of the UNILAD brand into a new market across the US.
• Using primary and secondary data resources, collaborating with senior stakeholders and teams across the business, including marketing, data science, analytics, client solutions, studio team, editorial, legal, finance, programmatic and creative team, as well as third-party suppliers.
• Providing training and onboarding new colleagues, upskilling all members of the team, as well as being the voice of the team across the rest of the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA.

Wunderman Thompson, UK – Insights Lead / Senior Research Analyst / Analyst (June 2018 – June 2021)

• Part of the Digital Performance team working on multiple global brands across the agency, from research proposals and response to briefs, through to data storytelling, insight generation and delivery.
• Working on multiple client projects and business pitches using an array of research methods, including quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, audience profiling and segmentation (TGI, YouGov, GWI, Telmar), brand tracking, social listening (Netbase), social performance (Unmetric) and influencer analysis (SocialRank), content analysis (Quid) and working with data to support CX and UX journeys. Also touching on competitor and owned web analytics and SEO and technical web audits for insights generation.
• Using primary and secondary data, collaborating with senior stakeholders and teams including Data Strategy, Data Science, Strategy, CX, UX, Creative, Accounts, New Business, and liaising with third-party suppliers.
• Managing the company research resource database, acting as the go-to for new training and upskilling across the business, as well as promoting our team offering to senior leads across EMEA.
• Fundraising support for the company charity, co-leading the company social and culture committee, co-leading the company football team, and being the promotions lead for the data department.

BBC – Research Executive (January 2018 – June 2018)

• Working in the Brand Insight Team across all BBC brands, managing the Marketing Impact Tracker; a weekly tracker tracking all BBC and competitor marketing campaigns to discover the short and long-term impact on its audiences, leading future marketing strategies.
• Managing the day-to-day process, including liaising with all the BBC stakeholders, designing research briefs and proposals, organising the quarterly schedules, meeting with marketing teams to plan for their needs and being the first point of contact for our research agency.
• Managing the BBC Brand Tracker and delivering annual reports and presentations to radio and music brands and support on ad hoc projects including a radio effectiveness study and a high-impact campaign recall and attribution study.
• Using Tableau to create dashboards for data visualization and stakeholders to review performance.

Virgin Management Limited – Research Executive (September 2016 – September 2017)

• Working in the global brand team across all Virgin brands as the in-house researcher.
• Working on a major research project to demonstrate the value of the Virgin brand to existing and potential licensees, to increase revenue from brand licensing and measure the influence of the Virgin brand on consumer behaviour.
• Working on a project investigating younger consumers perceptions of the Virgin brand, being the data manager for the biannual brand board meetings to record figures in our database and performing ad hoc desk research for the investment team measuring the potential for future investment opportunities.
• Managing the brand tracker and being the main contact with external agencies investigating Virgin brands and their influence across multiple global markets and creating social media reports (Crimson Hexagon) related to all things Virgin and Richard Branson, delivered to the UK and US.

Reed Exhibitions – Research Executive (March 2014 – June 2015)

• Deliver customer insights for over 40 international B2B and Travel events globally, to support strategic development of events and services and measure their level of success.
• Designing on site and post show survey methodologies to generate quantitative and qualitative data to build post show research reports to share insights across a portfolio of events, using Tableau to create dashboards for data visualization.

YouGov / SMG Insight – Research Executive (October 2013 – February 2014). 

• Delivering leading edge B2B and B2C research and consulting solutions enabling world leading sport’s governing bodies, sponsors, and investors to meet their strategic goals and objectives.
• Working with quantitative data, looking at brand valuations, sponsorship analysis and advertising. 

Ebiquity – Account Executive (December 2011 – October 2013). 

• Planning and managing multiple client accounts in the media evaluation team, from developing projects to delivery, managing a team of analysts based in Europe, Asia, USA, and Oceania.
• Being involved in all stages of the projects, including analysis, production, writing, editing and quality controlling, delivering presentations to clients. 

MSc Psychological Research Methods - Nottingham Trent University (2009 – 2010)

Modules: Advanced Statistics with SPSS, Quantitative & Qualitative Research Design & Analysis, Mixed Research Methods, Psychometrics, Research & Professional Skills, Observational Methods, Psychology Post Graduate Research Project: Sex Addiction.

BSc (H) Psychology - Nottingham Trent University (2006 – 2009)

Modules: Qualitative Research Approaches to Social Problems, Personal Relationships, Psychology of Identity and the Material World, Criminological Psychology, Professional Practice in Psychology, Psychology Research Project: Exploring Career Decisions