Get to know Elliot!

Although data and market research take up a lot of my time, they aren't everything.

My girlfriend and I had our first child, our son Ember, in November 2023. In June 2026, our daughter Mallory joined us too. She's a great mum. She works in a nursery and has four young nephews, so she has far more experience with small children than I do. I'm still learning as we go!

I grew up in Binfield, Berkshire, and I'm lucky enough to have my parents and sister living nearby. Every Christmas, I meet up with the friends I grew up with and played football with at the Victoria Arms. We catch up, put the world to rights and generally try to work out how we all ended up with so many responsibilities.

My biggest passion is probably football. I support Reading FC, which has provided plenty of highs, lows and the occasional ill-fated trip to Huddersfield Town. I love watching Premier League football, World Cups and pretty much any important game I can find. I've also organised a fantasy football league with family & friends for more than 20 years, the automotive industry charity league (Ben FPL). Yes, you read that correctly. Twenty years. I also started an Insight League - feel free to join. My own footballing days are behind me but I turn up for the charity 5 a side tournament once a year in goal - great to get on a real pitch.

The Ben Automotive Industry Charity 5-a-side Tournament at The Hawthorns

I enjoy playing badminton and snooker too. I've watched Ronnie O'Sullivan at Alexandra Palace, which was a memorable experience, and I've also been to the World Darts Championship. Ally Pally transforms into the biggest and noisiest pub in the UK during the darts.

Outside of sport, I watch a lot of television. Recent watches include Owning Manhattan, The Hawk and The Mentalist. I also love a good BBQ food festival. I've been to Ascot's Smoke & Fire BBQ, FUME BBQ Festival at Twickenham and Wingfest in Bristol. The peach tea-glazed pork belly at FUME was sensational, and we also got to meet past winners of Netflix's BBQ Showdown.

The Peach Glazed Pork Belly - Best eat of any food festival I have been to

My family and I also enjoy visiting Lagoona Park, a beach in Reading. Yes, you read that correctly. A beach in Reading.

And finally, back to research.

I got into the research world almost by accident, as I suspect many researchers do. I completed a scholarship at the University of Winchester, working alongside Dr Karen Blakeley on 'Leadership in Tough Times'. This was before the pandemic, although the title became rather more relevant a few years later.

I worked on a literature review and quickly realised that I loved the research process. From there, my career was more or less decided.

Since then, I've worked for Alida, formerly Vision Critical, BVA BDRC, Global Radio, Maru Edr, Ben Automotive and Fern Insight. Along the way, I've completed the University of Winchester Apprenticeship Programme, the MRS Advanced Certificate and the LSE Advanced Career Data Accelerator. My research has also been published by Ben Automotive and the Radio Centre.

I love getting stuck into discussion guides, carrying out interviews, scripting surveys and getting lost in charting.

Anyway, enough about me. Back to work

Get in touch at elliot@ferninsight.com or tell me more about your project here