Smarty Pants was thrilled to add Insights Brainiac Jennifer Ginelli to its roster in late 2021. Jennifer came to the organization with more than 20 years of experience as a primary researcher, strategic planner, marketer and business owner. She is an ambidextrous practitioner of both quant and qual research who can author a complex questionnaire as fluidly as she can moderate a live focus group. Her research skills are complemented by a great consumer insights gut and a keen eye for design that yields stellar end deliverables.
As an Insights Brainiac, Jennifer plays a vital role in the fieldwork, analysis, storytelling and insights application of custom research initiatives. Her work spans Smarty Pants’ top healthcare, toy & game and food & beverage clients—across consumer segments, generations and lifestages.
Jennifer began her impressive market research career at Kantar in Fairfield, CT, where she specialized in advertising testing and brand tracking studies. She moved on to New York City-based research firm Newman-Stein, adding custom research as well as concept and product testing to her methods repertoire. Her supplier side roles afforded her cross-category experience in retail, beverage, financial services, CPG, personal care, pharmaceuticals and more.
Jennifer transitioned to the advertising agency side of research when she joined BBDO Worldwide. There, she expanded her creative testing and marketing skills as she studied consumer trends and honed her campaign messaging savvy. Jen ultimately became SVP at Bates Worldwide where she inspired brand strategy and creative work with consumer insights gleaned from traditional and non-traditional methods.
For the four years preceding Smarty Pants, Jennifer led her own marketing consultancy, jc nimble. From brand identity development to content creation for cross-platform marketing, Jennifer guided small businesses on how best to position, communicate and engage with target consumers.
Jennifer’s passion for connecting with people sparked while she was in college. She graduated cum laude with dual degrees in Advertising and Anthropology from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. (She didn’t make it past the letter A as she scoured the course catalog in search of her calling.) As a lifelong learner, Jennifer went on to earn certifications in digital marketing, Google Ads and writing for children. Most recently, she received a certification in full-stack web development from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jennifer is based outside of Philadelphia in Malvern, Pennsylvania. When not uncovering insights, she enjoys RVing (23 states and counting!), crafting, watching superhero movies and a good nap.
