Quirk's NYC 2026: Beyond the Buzz
By Josh Logan
Another Quirk's New York is in the books, and once again it delivered exactly what keeps bringing me back. It was great catching up with my conference buddies, meeting new and interesting people, unlimited coffee, sitting in on presentations that sparked new ideas, and enjoying a couple days in one of my favorite cities. There's something about being surrounded by people who genuinely care about understanding humans that never gets old.
One thing I intentionally did differently this year was try to steer clear of most of the AI sessions. Not because they aren't important, but because after the last few years I've heard plenty about the technology itself. I was more interested in hearing how other organizations, like W5, are still creating huge value by keeping real humans in the feedback loop.
NYC Tourism + Conventions: The NYC Tourism Spend Paradox
This was probably my favorite session of the conference. Rather than focusing on where people traveled, it explored why they spend once they arrive. The concept of "human KPIs" which look beyond stated preferences to understand the psychological drivers behind behavior was a great testament to the fact that the most valuable insights often lie beneath the surface level.
What also stood out was how those deeper insights were translated into activation, coupling segmentation with digital identifiers to scale a relatively small research sample into millions of targetable consumers. It's a great example of research creating value not just by generating insights, but by making them actionable.
Mars Snacking & Shaw Industries: From Snacking to Flooring
Despite representing completely different industries, both companies, and most companies for that matter, share a common need to understand what actually drives consumer decisions beyond the rational explanations people give.
One idea this session reinforced for me is that asking consumers "why?" often only gets you halfway there. I also really appreciated the discussion around System 2 explorations like narrative techniques, metaphor, and behavioral science which echoed the perspectives of W5.
Coca-Cola: The Feel-Good Economy
Health and wellness continues to evolve well beyond traditional definitions of health, and this session showed how consumers are increasingly creating their own wellness playbooks (benefit and routine stacking), prioritizing recovery as much as productivity (sleep coaches exist, who knew), and using wellness as a form of personal identity (you know who you are).
The session did a great job connecting cultural shifts to practical implications for brands. Whether it's communicating credibility differently, understanding what wellness products symbolize, or recognizing that consumers are experimenting more than ever, there were plenty of takeaways that extend far beyond the health category. The organizations making the biggest impact aren't just collecting more data, they're getting closer to the people behind it. They're looking beyond what consumers say, and exploring motivations, emotions, identity, and context, and connecting those human truths to real business decisions.
A Common Thread
Although the topics ranged from tourism to consumer-packaged goods to wellness, the underlying message felt remarkably consistent.
That's ultimately what I took away from Quirk's New York this year. AI continues to evolve, new tools continue to emerge, but the researchers and brands that stand out are still the ones asking better questions, uncovering deeper understanding, and helping organizations make smarter decisions because of it.