Yael Cardwell
Research Consultant & Freelance Project Director
I'm a seasoned Director of Research and Consumer Insights with over ten years of experience leading and executing qualitative and quantitative research projects.
I'm a pro at delivering insights that drive growth and optimization for brand strategy, creative testing, consumer personas, ROI, product development, user experience, and e-commerce evaluation.
​
I love understanding consumer needs and wants through market data, consumer segmentation, competitive analysis, and trend watching.
I thrive when I receive opportunities to leverage my skills and expertise in Consumer Insights for organizations that values innovation and collaboration.
​
Learn more about my professional experience below!
My passion is research...
Nothing is more rewarding than seeing a project or product I work on hit the market. Whenever I see a Kia Niro, Ford Mustang Mach E, Karma Revero, hear someone sing Living Spa-ces, or see a silly TikTok video dance to the Microsoft Teams ringtone, I feel the proud satisfaction of being a part of a team that helped those products come to market with the best research possible behind them. Whether it's feature priority, unmet needs, customer satisfaction, conjoint analysis or even segmentations, all research makes my heart sing! I not only love being the voice of the consumer, I love being the one that companies trust to execute the best methodology for their products, customers, and brand.
A Product Timeline according to my Market Research experience...
Microsoft Launches Microsoft Teams Premium
I led the research team that determined which features to monetize
Microsoft Launches Microsoft Teams
I'm apart of the research team uncovering unmet needs and gap research.
Living Spaces launches it's first intercept Customer Satisfaction Test in Dallas and Pflugerville Stores
I'm onsite leading the team and collecting realtime brand NPS scores
Karma launches the reenvisioned Revero
I'm apart of the team that does the Competitive Market Research
Ford Eco-Sport is introduced to the U.S. Market
I'm apart of the research team that does the Market and Design clinic test
Ford Sync 3 User Interface Released
I'm apart of the team who tested the UX/UI on racetracks with real customers
Microsoft Azure sneaks up on AWS as the leading Cloud Platform
I'm apart of the research team that uncovers customer sentiment, improvements, and unmet needs.
Living Spaces Retests and Confirms the Jingle is IT!
I'm the insights manager that re-validates the power of easily recognizable branding
Living Spaces launches it's first consumer insights community
I'm the manager who built the panel from the ground up! They have access to consumer insights during one of the most pivotal economic events in recent history (COVID-19)
The New Toyota Venza Reappears
I lead the research team that conducts the final Market Design clinic test
Ford Mustang Mach E Debuts
I'm the moderator interviewing EV owners about the sounds and UI for this visionary sports addition to EV
Research Director, Emerald Research Group
Manage market research projects from start to finish, including proposal development, questionnaire design, fieldwork management, data synthesis, and report creation. Lead and mentor research analysts, ensure project deadlines are met, and act as a trusted client consultant. Own projects throughout their lifecycle, take responsibility for their success and report results in a straightforward, strategic, and actionable manner.
Consumer Insights Manager, Living Spaces (Feb 2020 - May 2021)
Owning all stages of consumer research, survey design, data analysis, and presentation of recommendations. Leading qualitative research projects and managing vendors. Conducting surveys and developing questionnaires. Analyzing ongoing measures of market awareness. Leveraging data to create recommendations. Implementing new research tools and mentoring team members. Managing two direct reports for media analytics and data sources.
Project Director, Escalent Market Research (March 2014 - May 2020)
Consumer panel management, online survey design and analysis, usability/UX questionnaire design, onsite design clinics, large auto-show event planning, quantitative and qualitative research, focus group recruiting, and onsite intercept data collection.
Experience Matters
I have worked with the industry's best market research tools and top companies.
Here are some of the many tools I work with, the methodologies I specialize in, and companies who have trusted me to research on their behalf. Rest assured, your project is in capable hands.
Education and Affliation
University of Michigan
Bachelor of Arts - Sociology
Sept 2007 - May 2011
My Favorite Market Research Tools To Use
These are the Companies that Trust ME with their Research
Microsoft
Toyota/Lexus
Hyundai
Whirlpool
Nissan
Mazda
Adobe
Karma Automotive
Living Spaces Furniture
​
Contact Me
Interested in hiring me for a project?
Please send me a note! I'd love to see how we can work together.