It's a New Year... Meet Our New Team Members!

We couldn't be more happy than we are to announce that we have three new members on our Blackstone Group team!

If it wasn't for our loyal client base, we wouldn't have the opportunity to continue to grow and mature into the marketing research firm that really and truly puts the "service" in "full service."  We think you will come to agree with us that these three new team members fit right in with passionate take on research.

Without further ado...


Anthony (Tony) D'Andrea
Senior Associate

Tony has over 10 years of research experience in a wide range of methodologies, such as ethnography, surveying and hybrid methodologies.

Over his career, Tony has assisted clients in high-tech, higher education, business services, government, tourism and wellness industries in countries around the world, including Brazil, India, Ireland, Spain and the United States.

Tony's fluency in Portuguese and Spanish has been a valuable asset for conducting international, multicultural and subcultural research.

He has authored a number of notable publications concerning a wide range of issues, including cultural globalization and research methodologies.

Tony has a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Chicago, a BBA in Business and MBA studies in Marketing and Strategy.

You can reach out to Tony at anthony.dandrea@bgglobal.com or via his LinkedIn account.


Snigdha Sah
Assistant Project Director

Snigdha has extensive experience in conducting and managing survey research for a wide range of clients, including government, not-for-profit and education.

She has provided deep qualitative and quantitative research insight for such notable organizations as the Metro Chicago Information Center (MCIC) and the University of Chicago Survey Lab.

Snigdha is well-positioned to tackle complex multicultural issues and research facing organizations across the world.  (Helps that she is fluent in Hindi and Urdu too!)

Snigdha has a Master's in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Chicago as well as a Master's degree from the University of Delhi.

If you are interested in Snigdha's unique background (psst!! she's also a published author of children's books!), please contact her via her e-mail at snigdha.sah@bgglobal.com or her LinkedIn account.

And last, but not least...


Jay Joshi
Business Development Assistant

If you've been one of our clients for awhile, you might remember Jay from a few years back.  He was one of our former interns, and we are certainly happy to have him back in the Blackstone family!

Beyond his work with Blackstone, Jay has notable sales and marketing experience working with Fortune 100 companies, including T-Mobile and Nissan.  His client-side experience will surely be an asset in identifying the best fit for your team's needs.

Jay has a BS in Finance with a focus on Marketing from the University of Illinois Chicago.

If you want to reconnect with Jay or get to know him for the first time, please contact him at jay.joshi@bgglobal.com or via his LinkedIn account (seeing a trend??).

Please join us in welcoming these promising new members to our team!


For the love of research...

(Digital) High Five to Our New Research Superstar!

The Blackstone Group is pleased (okay, downright thrilled!) to announce that yet another research expert has joined our team.

Drum roll please......

Roger A. Straus, PhD 
Vice President/Account Manager

Here's a little bit about Dr. Straus' experience:

Dr. Straus has over 20 years experience as a marketing researcher, consultant and strategist during which he has designed, conducted, managed, analyzed and reported qualitative and quantitative programs in the United States and globally.

Equally comfortable with qualitative and quantitative research, he has conducted hundreds of quantitative studies using advanced analytics and moderated over 1,000 focus groups and in-depth interviews.

He has published articles on marketing research and social science, an eBook on focus groups, two textbooks on sociological practice and books for clinicians and the general public, one of which has been a best seller.

Dr. Straus co-founded the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology and has been instrumental in bringing sociological insights and methods to marketing research.  He has also taught at universities, such as: the University of California, Alfred University and Marylhurst University.

Dr. Straus has a PhD and MA in sociology from the University of California, Davis.

Please contact Dr. Straus at roger.straus@bgglobal.com.


For the love of research...

Cornerstone: A Is for Auction, B Is for Book

You can tell a lot about a person by what they read.

That's what our Exec VP Kathi Rose was thinking when she proposed holding BG's first annual book sale.

This is a great example of how to engage your coworkers in your new (or old... I mean, er, seasoned) CSR program.  Here's how we attacked it:

• Ask your coworkers to bring in used books that they:

1. have read
2. were going to toss (into a recycling can, of course!) but just never got around to it and/or
3. can no longer fit on their burgeoning bookshelves

• Take a pointer from the ballparks!
• There's something to be said for having a captive audience... hence bathroom advertising!
• Yeah, we know, a lot of times we really hate that advertising, but when it is for a good cause then you can't help feel good about reading it (summoning those heart-wrenching, donate-to-this-or-that commercials on TV... who can get mad at puppies... I mean, really...)

• Arrange the books in the breakroom (or some other social place)
• The more books that they see, the more likely they are to bring in some of their own

• Don't forget the name cards
• Arguably the best part of this event is looking at what people brought, so arrange the books in piles by former owner
• Curious people will spend more time looking over the available titles
• Be careful what you ask for... I am certainly rethinking a few of my donated texts that received some, er, company "acclaim"...

• A dollar for a dollar
• Double the collection by selling the used books for a dollar and have the company to match the total sale
• Your coworkers will think they got a great deal on some paper treasures and you'll help build your internal brand

•  Give the leftover books to a good cause
• Rather than recycling the books that didn't sell, give them to a worthy non-profit
• We chose The Reading Tree because:
1. Their main focus is on literacy issues in America and worldwide
2. The books go to school libraries in low-income communities, after school programs or, if they can't be used, are properly recycled
3. They have convenient receptacles all over town because those books can get really heavy, really fast (we can't all have superhuman strength!)

Insider's secret: I picked up...

Cover of Night, by Elie Wiesel

I couldn't believe that I had not read this before, so I blazed through this soul-ripping book in a day.  (Okay, okay, it's only 100 pages or so, but the content is very heavy.)  I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more of Elie Wiesel.


For the love of research...