We pride ourselves on producing thought leadership that answers the big questions keeping our clients up at night. Our subject matter experts not only create think pieces that push boundaries, elevate the customer experience, and drive innovation, but they have the experience to back it up and put these ideas into action. From industry specific POVs to white papers backed by consumer research to thought provoking podcast episodes, we have something to fit everyone's needs.
Best In Show
Explore a few of our favorite think pieces.
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HealthWellnessGrowing Up Fast: Telehealth and the New Health Ecosystem
Healthcare has been facing some stark competition over the last decade on account of the increasing popularity of provider alternativesPoint of View -
Digital First – Why It’s Essential
Given the recent past, understand this; "Digital First" is not a buzz term. It's an edict. It's not a website, a department or even eCom. Digital First is how the customer thinks, and subsequently, it must also be how we think. Now. Today.Point of View -
Restaurants Rise Again: Time to Embrace a Portfolio Strategy
Every industry has been tested in ways they’ve never seen before and the restaurant industry has felt the brunt of it.Point of View -
WD Partners, Joanne Heyob: I’ll Take a Cheeseburger with a Side of Innovation, Please.
As the daughter of a restaurant operator, Joanne Heyob started off her extensive career in restaurants at the early age of 16. Her lifelong experience in restaurants and retail have been an integral part of the operations team here at WD.WDCast -
Malls are on Life Support: Not So Fast
The pandemic has been an accelerator, not a disruptor, especially for physical retail and mall stores. Consumers are now less inclined than ever to shop in person, so what comes next?Point of View -
Restaurant Mashup: 2’s Better than 1
Issue 53: What better way to discuss the latest drive-thru research than to invite the expert herself on to an episode of WDCast?! Drum roll please... we introduce SVP of Operations Strategy & Design at WD, Joanne Heyob.Wayfind
Point of View
There are thinkers and then there are thinkers that create POVs so relevant and forward-thinking that they must work at WD.
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HealthWellness5 Ways Healthcare is Changing Forever
Change is here, and healthcare will never be the same. -
Don’t Believe the Doubters; Retail is Winning
Reflecting on the last 20+ years, the start of the 21st Century looks like a crisis-to-crisis machine moving at high speed, ripping up the road as it goes. Yet amidst the whirlwind of chaos an unexpected success story has emerged--Retail. -
HealthWellnessHoming In on Outpatient Health
When you think of healthcare, the first image many have is of a towering hospital. However, fewer hospitals are being built and hospital admissions rates have declined, while outpatient visits have risen dramatically. -
HealthWellnessPrimary Pandemonium
While traditional healthcare providers are struggling with a pandemic, a new crop of primary care entrants are sweeping the nation and creating pandemonium! -
Drive-thru Break-Through
Recently, 3 story drive-under, AI operated, robot delivery, mega drive-thrus popped up all around the US. At last, some innovation. We think?? But our question (always) is, what does the consumer want from a drive-thru in this age of constant change?? -
The Amazing Evolution of the Retail World
From what we're seeing in our research, humans still love stores. At least some of them, some of the time, and in some of the places. So, not so fast, “New World”, let's not throw stores under the self-driving bus just yet.
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Wayfind Articles
Remember the pile of National Geographic magazines your parents had? This is like that, but better. Browse through dozens of past articles from our best Wayfind issues.
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The Truth Behind Greenwashing
Issue 55: What Consumers Told Us and How Brands Should Respond -
To Be Clear, It’s the Cars!
Issue 55: EVs Change the Game. A Journey of a Thousand Miles Starts with One Step, Not 50. -
Will Circular Commerce Drive Traffic to Stores?
Issue 55: Resale is enormously popular, and only growing more so; the US market is projected to be valued at over $353b by 2030, up 154% from 20201. -
EchoPark: A Case Study on a Sustainable Design & Build Approach
Issue 55: Climate change, a spotlight on EVs, and growing media coverage of such topics, have launched the topic of sustainability into the mainstream. -
WDCast – Meet the (WD) Agents for Meaningful Change
Issue 55: We decided to turn to some real experts—people who are walking the sustainability walk on the daily. -
HealthWellnessFrom Place to People: It’s Time to Reinvent Outpatient Specialty Health
Issue 54: When one thinks of healthcare, the first image many people have is the towering hospital – a landmark in many communities. In fact, that is also the first image many healthcare leaders have too, as it has traditionally been the driver of hospital revenue and profit.
White Papers
Humble brag time. Did you know we've talked to nearly 25,000 consumers and published over 15 white papers in the last 10 years? Okay, maybe a not so humble brag.
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Retail Supernova
The pandemic accelerated everything already in acceleration. -
The Store of the Future is Not a Store
People don’t have to go to stores anymore, they have to want to go to stores. -
Amazon Won, Now What?
The battle is over: what can we learn from the victor? -
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of 2020
11,000 consumers. The top 100 brands. -
Healthcare: Who Survives?
Primary care, urgent care and retail clinics are on notice. -
Defining the 21st Century Store
The old prototype store model is obsolete. Are you still using this dated approach of one-size fits all? Don’t be stranded with anomaly stores that aren’t scalable.
WDCast
Would you rather listen to thought leadership instead of reading it? We have that too! Our podcast features WD experts chatting with industry experts about a variety of relevant business topics.
Disruption is the name of the game these days and it appears that no business or industry is safe. From consumers shifting demands, new competitors popping up on the daily, and those tiny computers in our pocket giving us 24/7 access to all our hearts' desires… times they are a-changing.
Join Lee Peterson, retail veteran and consumer expert, as he discusses super relevant business topics with equally relevant and interesting guests.
Subscribe and listen to WDCast through any of the following providers:
We’ve been talking with the best of the best, so many we lost count!
Check out all of our episodes below.
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Brian Bucher, Kari Engen & Mike Magee, WD Partners Sustainability ExpertsJuly 12, 2022Driving Real Change Through Sustainable Design
With sustainability so top of mind these days, we wanted to turn to some real experts on the topic. -
Kenny Endermuhle, Manager of Shopper Innovation and Experience (SI&E) at Nestlé PurinaJune 28, 2022QR codes and NFC tags, DTC products in CPG, VR and AR... there are plentiful acronyms to navigate when it comes to talk of modern technology in the consumer experience.
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Jodi Krangle, Voice Actor: Helping Brands Find Their VoiceMay 10, 2022This week’s podcast sounds a little different (literally!) as we invited on voiceover talent, Jodi Krangle, to discuss her journey into finding her voice and using it to help build an identity for the brands she works with.
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Clayton Mitchell, SVP of Real Estate and Facilities at Jefferson Health: Improve Lives While Healthcare ThrivesApril 19, 2022In this episode, Dan & Mitch open up the conversation to critical, and often overlooked topics in the industry including its changing footprint, rethinking its structure, and how other industries can help inform it.
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EVP, Creative at WD Partners, Jay Highland: A Creative CatalystFebruary 22, 2022Activating ideas, experiencing spaces, imagining the new, and pushing innovative solutions partially covers a day in the life of a creative. Brands are constantly facing new challenges given a hybrid environment and a changed (but not dead) retail world.
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WD Partners, Joanne Heyob: I’ll Take a Cheeseburger with a Side of Innovation, Please.February 1, 2022As the daughter of a restaurant operator, Joanne Heyob started off her extensive career in restaurants at the early age of 16. Her lifelong experience in restaurants and retail have been an integral part of the operations team here at WD.
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Speakers
Last but definitely not least, our highly esteemed speakers. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen one of these experts on a stage.
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Dan Stanek
Executive Vice President
As a noted authority in consumer trends and consumer behavior, Dan's areas of expertise include experience strategy, brand strategy, market positioning strategy, consumer insights, and new concept development. Dan has over 30 years of experience in consumer marketing and customer experience innovation for Fortune 500 companies. -
Jay Highland
EVP, Creative
Jay's work has been recognized by numerous industry publications, including Fast Company, Design:Retail, Interior Design, and VMSD, and he has led teams to two "Store of the Year" awards. -
Joanne Heyob
SVP, Operations Strategy & Design
While throughputs, labor assessments and peak capacity are operations-focused terms, as a speaker, Joanne makes operations easy to understand and delivers insights attendees are excited to bring back to their offices. As SVP, Operations Strategy & Design at WD Partners, Joanne brings 20 years of experience rooted in retail and store operations. -
Lee Peterson
EVP, Thought Leadership
Lee has more than 30 years of collective experience as a retailer, a strategist, a public speaker and as a leading voice in the future of retail. He brings an innovative approach to modern retail by understanding cultural trends, consumer demographics, and buying behavior across multiple industries.