- Ray Bueno
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Episode 001 of The 5-Minute Marketer featuring Gunny Scarfo, Co-Founder of Nonfiction Research
Most marketing fails before the first ad is ever written. Not because the creative was bad, not because the targeting was off, and not because the budget was too small. It fails because nobody stopped to actually understand the person they were trying to reach.
That is the entire philosophy behind Gunny Scarfo's work at Nonfiction Research — and it is exactly what we talked about in Episode 001 of The 5-Minute Marketer.
Gunny has worked at the highest levels of digital marketing, from heading strategy at Vice Media's digital agency to co-founding a research firm whose work has inspired Super Bowl ads, new product lines at Wilson Sporting Goods, a Megan Thee Stallion song, and a relaunched division at Disney. His approach is simple and almost universally ignored: understand the consumer first, before you touch planning or creative.
WHAT WE COVERED:
In this episode we go deep on:
Why most consumer research starts in the wrong place — and the one question you need to ask before anything else
The difference between having data about your customer and actually understanding them
How an insight about bold colors and youth culture completely changed Wilson's baseball glove product line
Why small business owners with zero research budget actually have an advantage — and how to use it
How organic content creators are among the best consumer researchers alive without even knowing it
The most important skill any marketer or entrepreneur should develop first
ONE THING THAT STUCK WITH ME:
Gunny said something early in the conversation that I have not stopped thinking about:
"The real essence of research and understanding your consumer takes zero dollars most of the time... be glad you have no budget in a way and just go there. Put yourself in the environment of your consumer, physically and online."
That is it. That is the whole thing. No fancy tools, no expensive research firm, no focus groups. Just the courage to actually show up where your customer lives and pay attention.
ABOUT GUNNY SCARFO:
Gunny Scarfo is the Co-Founder of Nonfiction Research, a consumer insights firm that goes wherever it takes to understand an audience — sitting with patients in hospitals, interviewing Atlanta rappers while rollerblading, going inside people's homes. Their research has influenced Super Bowl campaigns, Doritos flavors, Wilson Sporting Goods, Disney, and more.
Learn more Nonfiction Research ↘
Connect with Gunny Scarfo on LinkedIn ↘
ABOUT RAY BUENO & THE 5-MINUTE MARKETER:
I'm Ray Bueno — Marine Corps veteran, marketer, and founder of 5-Minute Marketer. I built a YouTube channel to 200,000 subscribers and 8.8 million views with zero ad spend, and now I break down what actually works in marketing for entrepreneurs and small business owners who are done waiting for a bigger budget.
