Our Thinking

Black Swan Data named in GRIT Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2023
The Black Swan team is thrilled to announce we have been named in GRIT’s Top 50 Most Innovative Companies 2023. The Greenbook Research Industry Trend (GRIT) shortlists the most pioneering suppliers in the MRX space.
10 - Oct - 23
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07 - May - 19
Consumer Behaviour
PepsiCo & Trendscope's partnership is more than just crisp flavours!
Read about how PepsiCo have used our Social Prediction capabilities to not only decide the flavours of their new crisps, but also to inform their marketing decisions too.
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07 - May - 19
Consumer Behaviour
Social Prediction: The evolution of social listening
Read about Social Prediction and how we can help you make important marketing decisions, in Hugo’s article in Marketing Week.
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06 - Dec - 17
Data science
When's the best date to go Christmas shopping?
Our HR Director Rosie asked our Data Science Director Dick Fear to use data science to figure out when the best day in December is for Christmas shopping. Here’s what Dick had to say.
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06 - Nov - 17
Innovation
Is It Time To Start Innovating Innovation?
Will Silverwood asks – as consumer voices become louder, and reviews more powerful, is it time we started Innovating Innovation?
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18 - Jul - 17
Innovation
The Pride of Cannes Lions – Insights into the Lion’s Roar
Following Cannes Lions 2017, we put our collected data to further use and analysed the social conversation surrounding the festival. We wanted to understand people’s reaction to this year’s event – both at the festival, and those engaging from afar.
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13 - Sep - 16
Data science
Will I Be Replaced By A Computer?
“Will I be replaced by a computer?” This question was not the only thing on my mind when I attended the ACL annual conference – but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t cross it.
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07 - Jun - 16
Data science
You Won't go Hungry at a Hungarian Hackathon!
See what happened when three Black Swan Data developers took part in the Microsoft IOT Hackathon in Hungary.
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02 - Jun - 16
Data science
Guest Post: Big Data - Does Size Matter? by Timandra Harkness
This evening, writer, comedian and data expert Timandra Harkness launches her book – Big Data – Does Size Matter, complete with a special mention of a certain Black Swan Data on page 23! A long-time friend of ours, Timandra has written this guest post for our blog to celebrate. If you are interested in buying the book, make sure you read right to the bottom for a special discount code.
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31 - Mar - 16
Data science
The Keyword Conundrum - Insights and Brand Names
Everyone who has ever worked in Data or Social Listening and been involved in building queries will hopefully relate to what I am about to write.
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21 - Dec - 15
Consumer Behaviour
The Science of Santa: In the Nick of Time
It’s Christmas Eve. And you’re preparing for the biggest day of the entire year; the only day, in fact, that you’ll get any real work done. The other 364 days have been spent overseeing subordinate clauses, planning your route for this evening’s journey, and most importantly, making a list and checking it twice.
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17 - Dec - 15
Consumer Behaviour
Obi Swan Kenobi | The Force Awakens
Star Wars fever has infiltrated Black Swan Data, with some staff taking the day as holiday to ensure they get an early screening. With a client’s private screening of ‘The Force Awakens’ coming up, we thought we ’d take a quick look at some of the figures that Disney can expect to see coming in over the next six months. 
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01 - Dec - 15
Big Data
Data. First it was Big, then it was Open.
We are producing data at an astonishing rate. As more and more of our tools and toys become ‘smart’, this trend seems set to continue. Even the humble traffic light is now becoming incorporated into systems that make up our new ‘smart cities’. 
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