Shine Scout | Consumer Insights and Market Research

“Her ultimate goal is to ensure that the biggest leaps happen”

- Mary Rice, President, Ace Hardware and Paint

ShineScout: a strategic brand consultancy that brings new light to your company vision by uncovering the insights, beliefs and emerging trends that make the biggest impact for the future. We work with CMOs and change makers to bring to life new stories, new brands and new products.

We balance the unique magic of human desire with consumer science and marketing strategy.

Lynn Casey | Founder | Shine Scout

Lynn is a highly sought after trend expert, consumer scientist, brand builder and futurist committed to helping industry leading organizations unlock the deep human insights that inspire innovation.

She is driven by the belief that every company, brand and product has a powerful story to tell, and that critical analysis of human culture, behavior and trends can help uncover the strongest brand narratives, and ensure the biggest leap.

A trusted confidant and coach, Lynn has been a highly respected business and brand consultant working on both the agency and client side for over 20 years.

Lynn Casey is a consumer savant, futurist and educator, shining a light on those key nuggets of insight and influence that can spark big change for business today. Her passion for understanding how people think is matched only by her ability to sift that science through a filter of critical marketing experience. In an industry where trends can be fleeting and predictions highly unreliable, Lynn’s is that one distinct voice that cuts through the chatter of opinion to deliver real, actionable value to her clients. In the end, Lynn provides a highly unique service: helping businesses today make new and bold decisions about the future, armed and informed with the unique insights mined from authentic customer stories and future trend capture.

Lynn has been a highly respected business development executive/consultant working on both agency and client side for over 20 years. Her clients include DreamWorks Studios, Saatchi & Saatchi, Paramount Pictures, Coca Cola, The North Face, Dominos, Nestle, Coty, Xbox, Reebok and Burger King. She lights up the room as a charismatic speaker and in-demand conference panelist. And she shares her insights on trends, creativity and innovation in articles, the Shine Scout blog, her proprietary trend reports and signature workshops for C-level execs.

As the founder of Shine Scout, Lynn continues to clear a path for change combining innovative consumer insights, trend prognostication, dynamic marketing experience and a sparkling desire to find the truth in everything. Described by clients as “a passionate professional and a constant seeker of information,” as well as, “an extraordinary consultant,” and “go to professional,” Lynn brings the shine to what she scouts and the smart to the consumer stories she uncovers.

Recently, Lynn has been discovered by the Millennial work force, who is clamoring for her insights and wisdom for creating personal paths in life that unite consciousness and commerce for brilliant results. Lynn is currently serving as a mentor at the USC Marshall School of Business, as well as providing private workshops for young women interested in pursuing paths of passion.

We believe in a future full of the greatest possible success for our clients. Some great companies we have helped along the way include:

How we family, and how we play, is going through a massive shift. What was once a visible and nostalgic process mashup of tradition and personal values has now been co-opted by a world of invisible digital forces. These rapid and significant changes in lifestyle have challenged and defeated a number of major players in the world of toys. When faced with these type of tectonic plate movements in behavior and activation, Mattel chose to pause and take a raw and real look at the new state of the family in order to chart a new path to a successful future. Shine Scout spent months on the road with teams from Mattel, deeply embedded with families from every walk of life. We learned at a level that was game-changing…. And brought back insights and ideas that have already led to new product innovations.

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Beauty is a timeless human quest. And in today’s voracious social media culture, the rites and rituals around it have become a huge part of how we live our lives. With the onslaught of influencers and indie products, how does a legacy brand stand out? This was the challenge facing Shiseido beauty – a timeless and time-honored company that has been crafting prestige beauty regimens for decades. Shiseido wanted to better understand the opportunity that existed within the rising tide of KBeauty allure, and to determine how to connect with a millennial audience seeking an authentic provider in a land of bubble gum marketing. Shine Scout took the brand on an in-depth tour into The Future of Beauty, with first person testimonials, broad panels from global influencers, and deep and broad fashion and beauty intel. This process was followed by a whole day creation incubation session, where whole new experiential programs and plans were developed. This has led to a successful brand relaunch and paved the way for new products – and new messaging – to come.

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When Asics was ready to relaunch its super cool Onitsuka Tigers sneaker brand in the US, they knew they needed to be schooled in cool. Looking to preserve the inside cred of the cult brand, they wanted a primer in those people and places that could make the shoes an underground – and overnight – sensation. Shine Scout culled a group of key influencers, and staged cultural spelunking events for the team’s designers to create a truly immersive learning experience. The shoes have gone on to cult status.

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As the old hierarchy of family shifts and changes, Coca-Cola wanted to better understand the future of family. Were the millennials breaking the paradigm of intra-familial relationships? Was the age old patterns of connectivity forever changed by technology? We set out on a global mission to understand the future of family around the world, and to identify key connection points that mattered. Our study showed that love does conquer all, and that family matters even more today. In a series of cohort reports, we brought to live the magic moments that ‘happen in the hallways’ and encouraged dozens of global managers to find ways to support tomorrow’s families today.

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America’s largest home improvement chain was under siege due to a fast changing category dominated by big box stores, and a growing lack of brand relevance. Working with stakeholders and retail leaders, we co-engineered a new future for this iconic company. Digging deep into the emerging consumer zietgiest, we developed new house products, found national partners that elevated relevance, and redesigned over 3,000 stores to invite consumers to be inspired and energized. Isolating the core Ace difference – brand intelligence and education – we turned this retail offering into a place where dreams come true, one customer at a time.

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KMS, once the darling of the high end stylist, this California born styling brand had stumbled during a series of packaging changes that left them feeling mass and basic. KMS was determined to win back this fickle crowd, but first wanted to deeply understand what inspired and engaged the star stylist, and where they found that inspiration. Through a series of collaborative and wide ranging inspiration summits, Shine Scout unpacked the immediate and long term needs of the salon stylist, and in turn, helped create a compelling, and highly successful new brand launch as well as an inspiration platform to feed the stylist for seasons to come.

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WHAT OUR PARTNERS SAY ABOUT US:

“A passionate professional and a constant seeker of information”

Mary Rice

President, Ace Hardware & Paint

“Lynn is one of the most creative and conscientious marketing executives I know”

David Kingsdale

Co-Founder & CEO, Millennium Media LLC

“Has the smarts and an incredible presence to make a big difference”

Scott Buckley

Saatchi and Saatchi

“An extraordinary consultant”

Tracey Castle

Activision

“Lynn Casey is a true business partner in every sense of the word”

Anja Martens

Director Regional Marketing Americas, Goldwell and KMS California at Kao Corporation

“invested and passionate”

Ruth Sutcliffe

Sr. Marketing Director and Fragrance Designer , Coty

“She unlocks all the doors and empowers you with tools, verbiage and more!”

Johanna Stein

Global Director - Consumer Insights, Mattel

“An idea factory”

Chris Cook

ONE Coconut Water

“her passion and intelligence shine through every project”

Joan Dambros

SVP, New Business Development , Warner Bros

BRAND PARTNERS

SERVICES

At Shine Scout™, we offer a unique and varied tool kit of consumer research protocols that drive innovation and messaging. We believe that it is the authentic human voice, and real human stories that create products and companies that are loved and that last.

While we like to create custom journeys for our clients, some examples of these mind maps and innovation processes are as follows:

Innovation Workshops: Immersion sessions, either off-site or on, that audit, analyze, inspire and shift the behavior of organizations, making room for significant change and quantum leaps of innovation.

Trend Reports: Quarterly and Annual reports providing insight and analysis into the world of fashion, music, politics, technology, design, food, and more that reflect deeper movements of consumer thought. View Report

Flash Reports: Weekly bite sized updates on the above

ShineScout™ Panels: access to our proprietary panels of consumers reporting from the front lines of life. View our Shinescouts

Discovery Protocols