When Gogglebox meets the boardroom

We bring decision-makers face-to-face with the people they serve.

Deceptively simple.

Absolutely genius.

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The best, most useful 90 minutes I have spent this year.

Head of Development

Global Media Organisation

FIND OUT YOUR MEET THE PEOPLE SCORE

take our free 3-min quiz

WHAT IS MEET THE PEOPLE?

We bring together carefully selected participants for a live discussion (usually online) and invite decision-makers to watch, listen and learn.

Instead of reading a report weeks later, leaders and teams hear directly from customers, audiences or service users as the conversation unfolds in real time.

The result? Honest conversations, memorable moments and practical actions teams can start working on straight away.

AND WHO ARE THE PARTICIPANTS?

Over the last six years we’ve met over 3,800 members of the public.

Eight-year-olds in Ilfracombe. Eighty-year-olds in Shetland.

Families of all shapes and sizes.

People in villages, towns, suburbs and cities.

Homeowners, renters, entrepreneurs and shift workers.

Different lives. Different realities. Different voices.

Every Meet the People session starts with the right people - we find them, so you get to meet them.

WHY I CREATED MEET THE PEOPLE

Black-and-white portrait of a smiling woman with long wavy hair, seated at a wooden table with hands folded against a brick wall; warm, confident mood.
Black-and-white portrait of a smiling woman with long wavy hair, seated at a wooden table with hands folded against a brick wall; warm, confident mood.

Nicola Crowther

Founder, Meet the People

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During my career, I have sat in thousands of meetings where colleagues discussed customers, audiences and service users who weren't actually in the room.

We had reports. Dashboards. Presentations. Research summaries.

But the most powerful insights never came from slides or charts.

They came from hearing real people talk about their lives in their own words, many of whom I still remember clearly and can quote years later.

That belief led me to create the largest audience engagement initiative in the history of a global media organisation, involving hundreds of sessions and thousands of people.

I've seen firsthand what happens when organisations stop talking about customers and start listening to them directly. Assumptions are challenged. Opportunities emerge. Understanding deepens.

That's why I built Meet the People: to bring decision-makers closer to the people behind the data.

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A first-class professional who has created a step change in the culture of customer engagement.

Director of Marketing

book a 30-min discovery call

HOW WILL MEET THE PEOPLE HELP MY BUSINESS?

Make decisions with a deeper understanding of the people you serve.

LEADERS & EXECUTIVES

Reduce the risk of building products people don't want.

PRODUCT & SERVICES

Identify pain points, improve journeys and create better experiences.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Create messages that resonate because they’re grounded in real lives.

SALES & MARKETING

Discover what people connect with, remember and share.

CONTENT & CREATIVES

Understand how change is experienced before asking people to embrace it.

CHANGE & TRANSFORMATION

If you're making decisions about people, shouldn't you hear from them first?

WHY MEET THE PEOPLE MATTERS

AI can summarise

Dashboards can quantify

Reports can explain

But none of them can replace hearing a real person describe their life in their own words

That's where assumptions are challenged

That's where opportunities emerge

That's where understanding deepens

Most organisations have unintentionally built layers between themselves and the people they serve

PEOPLE FORGET REPORTS

PEOPLE FORGET POWERPOINTS

PEOPLE REMEMBER STORIES

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It sounds obvious, but meeting people who don't have the same habits and tastes (and lives) as me has been eye-opening, fascinating, humbling - and sometimes heart-breaking.

C‍reative Planner

Television

EACH LAYER IS USEFUL

EACH LAYER CREATES DISTANCE

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DATA

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DASHBOARDS

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REPORTS

PRESENTATIONS

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DECISIONS

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MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE DATA

RESEARCH

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MEET THE PEOPLE

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BETTER DECISIONS

WE REMOVE THE LAYERS

Real Conversations. Real Impact

Real Conversations. Real Impact

Insights that your teams will be talking about for months

LEADERSHIP

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If someone says to me, ‘Google It’, I just search for it on TikTok. I literally do everything on there.

TAMARA (18), BIRMINGHAM

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A comment which challenged assumptions about how younger customers discover information and became a reference point in strategic discussions.

READ THE LEADERSHIP CASE STUDY

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COMMISSIONING

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It wasn’t just about giving someone a nicer house, it was about giving the Dad a fresh start.

ANNA (36), COUNTY ARMAGH

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A reminder that audiences connect most strongly with people and stories, not simply content or formats.

READ THE COMMISSIONING CASE STUDY

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MARKETING

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It’s not perfect round here but then you just don’t hear enough about the good stuff.

BILL (63), WYTHENSHAWE

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Feedback that helped reshape campaign messaging and creative assets to better reflect audience reality.

READ THE MARKETING CASE STUDY

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WHO IS MEET THE PEOPLE FOR?

Leadership teams making high-impact decisions

Marketing teams looking for deeper customer understanding

Product and service teams developing new ideas

Public sector organisations engaging citizens and service users

Media and content teams seeking audience perspectives

HOW IT WORKS

Most organisations never hear directly from their customers (or prospective customers)

WE CHANGE THAT

01

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DEFINE

Together we identify the opportunity, decision or challenge that you want to explore.

02

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RECRUIT

We recruit real people whose backgrounds, characteristics and experiences are relevant to your business.

03

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LISTEN

Through professionally facilitated, inclusive conversations, people share their views and stories in their own words.

04

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OBSERVE

Leaders, commissioners and other decision-makers watch LIVE and hear directly from the people behind the data.

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05

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ACT

We debrief, surface and discuss key insights and help turn this fresh understanding into action.

Most organisations hear customer voices through reports, dashboards and summaries

Meet the People enables decision-makers to hear directly from the real people behind the data, not just the dashboards that describe them

WHY ORGANISATIONS TRUST MEET THE PEOPLE

  • Across 600+ live sessions, we've helped organisations test concepts, explore challenges and connect leaders directly with people whose experiences and perspectives may differ from their own, turning conversation into actionable insight.

  • We've talked to more than 3,800 people from all ages, locations, backgrounds and demographics, bringing authentic voices, lived experiences and real-world perspectives into decisions, strategies and concept development.

  • We've created opportunities for more than 14,000 stakeholders to watch sessions in real time, creating powerful moments of connection, understanding and organisational change.

    Follow-up discussions further ensure that insights are embedded and translated into action across organisations.

find out what changed
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A diverse group of adults collaboratively writes and sketches ideas on large sheets of paper around a table, conveying focused, thoughtful teamwork.
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The real-life experiences and opinions of real people are far more powerful than a hundred PowerPoints.

Executive Producer Production Company

FIND OUT YOUR MEET THE PEOPLE SCORE

How often do your leaders hear directly from real customers, audiences or service users?

Our free 3-minute assessment reveals how many layers exist in your business between decision-makers and the people they serve.

take the quiz

Real Impact

Real Impact

Hear what our clients say after working with us.

  • The sessions are invaluable and I think it should be mandatory for all staff to attend at least two a year.

    Senior Head of Communications, Nations

  • "The sessions are amazing. They are a direct insight into the lives of our target audiences. I regularly use insights in editorial and strategy decisions".

    Assistant Commissioner, Factual

  • "Observing a session shone a light on the blind spots I didn't know I had."

    Senior Content Producer, Media Organisation

  • "Data is useful, but it can take out the emotion, meaning and clarity that you get when you hear from people direct."

    Portfolio Head of Audiences

  • "These sessions are among the most important resources available to me, and I would recommend that everyone attends as often as they can."

    Data Manager, UX&D

  • "It gets me out of my London bubble and helps me hear from people I wouldn't in my everyday life. It's invaluable."

    Scheduling Manager, Network Radio Station

  • "We changed our messaging for our regional strategy based on direct feedback from these sessions. We've also adapted and created new social and digital marketing which is working really well with audiences who were less responsive previously."

    Head of Marketing, English Regions

  • "We requested a specific MTP session to help inform a piece of work we were planning and the insights that came from it were invaluable."

    Content Producer

  • "It's a hugely valuable programme, one I recommend to colleagues frequently."

    Senior Product Manager, Nations

  • "The ultimate reality check."

    Head of Social Media, Global Media Organisation

  • "I really cannot commend Nicola and her team enough for the professional and highly emotionally intelligent way these sessions are conducted. Not only are the questions constructed to obtain the most relevant and honest answers, but the interviews are so warm and friendly that none of the respondents ever appear to feel intimidated."

    Corporate Board Member, Global Media Organisation

Meet the Team

  • Black-and-white close-up portrait of a woman with medium length dark hair and hoop earrings, smiling warmly at the camera against a softly blurred background.

    Lexy Booms

    PRODUCER

  • Black-and-white selfie of a smiling woman with curly hair and hoop earrings seated by a train window; the candid portrait feels warm and relaxed.

    Jenny Whitham

    PRODUCER

  • Black-and-white selfie of a smiling man in a collared coat and people mingling in a bright indoor event space.

    Shea Taylor

    PRODUCER

Get in Touch

We're a super friendly team who are always happy to help. If you have a question or just want to hear more, we'd love to hear from you.