Like most years, it feels like 2024 went by in a flash. It was a year of growth, connection, and exploration for Catapult Insights, and while we are quickly approaching the end of the year, we wanted to take a moment to pause and reflect on the experiences that made our 2024 a memorable year. Read on to hear from the Catapult Insights team as we look back at 2024 and the experiences, adventures, and risks we’ve taken together. 

If you had to pick a single word or phase to describe your 2024, what would it be?

Jill: Change. My family and Catapult Insights HQ relocated to Washington over the summer, and it was definitely an adventure. While my family loves our new home, and it has been wonderful to be so geographically close to many of our clients, the move hasn’t been without its challenges. From finding my way in a new town and adjusting to life as a Washingtonian after a decade in the desert, to navigating the world of moving a business from one state to another, I’ve experienced my share of surprises and speed bumps. But, with the support of the Catapult Insights team and my family, we’re now settled in and looking forward to a 2025 that doesn’t involve quite as many changes. 

Justin: Affirmation. We work with a lot of clients, but there are a few that have quickly amassed a body of work with us to support some big initiatives. This is particularly rewarding to me, because I love to see insights in action. It’s affirming to know that the consumer voices I’ve studied and represented are shaping our client’s view of the world. Our work is helping clients address needs of underserved markets, improve real people’s everyday lives, and making sustainability changes that will leave a mark that far exceeds my time on the planet. It’s what we set out to do when we started Catapult Insights years ago, and seeing it happen is a dream come true.

Andre: Adaptability. My son was born late last year (my second child), and this year was partly about learning how to juggle a budding baby and a toddler finding her emotions just outside of my home office door, while working on some really incredible and in-depth client work. Learning to become like water and move with the tides has really elevated the level of service I can provide to Catapult Insights’ clients (why pay for an army when you can hire a tactical team to achieve the same results?) and also allows me to be there for my family when they need it most.

What are you most looking forward to in 2025?

Andre: Growth (both personal and professional) – a new year to me represents endless possibilities. That’s the beauty of working for and supporting a company like Catapult Insights, there is an energy in the air where anything is possible and a new year totally encapsulates that. Growth and change are intertwined and the only thing you can control in those situations is your personal outlook. I can safely say that my personal outlook is positive and super charged; I’m ready to take on anything. 

Are there any trends you expect to emerge in 2025? Or others you expect (or hope) will disappear?

Justin: I often joke that research approaches are cyclical. One year I travel so much I hit status with airlines and hotels. The next we see a trend of virtual approaches (and I lose all my status). My hope for 2025 is that it be a year of balance. We believe in approach agnosticism and there’s such great potential to unlock when designing multi-method research, so here’s my wishcasting that 2025 is an exceptionally balanced year of reaching our research subjects in a multitude of ways.

Was there anything that surprised you in 2024?

Jill: The number of intercept interviews we did this year! Intercepts have always been a staple in our research methodology toolkit, but we saw a higher than usual demand for them in 2024. I think it was a combination of our clients feeling the squeeze in their budgets and timelines (do more with less, and faster!), and a need for insights into the customer/shopper experience that led to the increase in intercept interview projects.  I, personally, loved it as it is a great way to gather important information to help our clients make some big decisions without sucking up their entire budget and taking weeks or months to do. I hope this trend continues in 2025!

What was your favorite project in 2024?

Andre: A controversial choice, but my favorite project this year has been an ongoing employee experience tracker. 2024 has been an intense learning year with my kids (a baby and toddler) and working from home so the consistency and expectations that a tracker brings was a much-welcomed breath of fresh air in between all the new product development and brand-related work we’ve been doing over here. Plus, it always feels great to know that you are helping employees have a voice via research to their corporate office. 

Jill: There were so many great ones, it’s hard to choose! We worked on several new product development projects this year and they were all very interesting, challenging, and fun. Especially the ones that involved a combination of research methodologies – those really allowed us to contextualize the insights and help our clients make some important decisions with confidence. Plus, it is always exciting to know you were involved in the development of a new product that will soon be on store shelves, especially when you win a Quirks Award for your work like we did in 2024. 

Justin: A series of related projects focused on reinventing a symbol that is central to a brand’s public identity and CX. We’re several projects deep at this point and have a few left to go, but this is going to be a big and meaningful shift that will help reduce waste and help the environment. While that’s a positive and lofty goal, we’re helping our client make this move while remaining true to their brand identity and maintaining (or improving) CX. This is a brand that more than 9-in-10 of the people reading this are highly familiar with, so the stakes are high!

As we close out 2024 and venture into 2025, we’re feeling grateful, fulfilled, inspired, and excited for what the next year has in store for us and our wonderful client partners. Cheers to 2024!

THE CATAPULT INSIGHTS TEAM