Who Is Dr. Jill?
Dr. Jill is a creative problem-solver and innovator with a proven ability to develop and execute strategies that bridge the gap between science and business to positively impact bottom-line results.
In 2018, Dr. Jill founded Pet Insights, LLC to provide pet care companies a deep understanding of pet behavior, psychology of pet parents, and pet products currently in market. Pet Insights mission is to enhance your company's new product development, product renovation, product assessment, and marketing of pet products. Pet Insights goal is to meet your company’s needs with customized solutions that allow you to rapidly respond to the everchanging pet care market landscape.
Her advanced training in academia and industry has provided her experience with diverse responsibilities, creating a sound understanding of related functions including: Consumer Insights, Marketing Research, Consumer Engagement, Sensory Evaluation, and Product Development.
In 2006, she earned her Doctorate of Philosophy from Indiana University with a major in Biology, Behavior, and Neuroscience, minor in Developmental Psychology, and Certificate in the Interdisciplinary Study of Animal Behavior.
Upon completion of her doctorate degree, Dr. Jill joined Nestlé Purina as a Scientist and was quickly promoted to Senior Scientist. During her time at Nestlé Purina she studied cat behavior and how pet-care products promote the well-being of cats. She oversaw the global implementation of cat welfare programs within Nestlé Purina. She also worked with the Waste Management Division to develop new methods to measure cat’s litter preference (e.g. cat acceptance tests, preference tests, and sensory panels). Additionally, served as company spokesperson in marketing productions.
To further broaden her skills set, Dr. Jill moved to Del Monte as a Senior Manager in the Consumer, Customer, Strategy and Insights Department. She stayed with the company through the transition to Big Heart Pet Brands, and J.M Smucker. She managed an 800K annual research budget. Developed behavioral, physiological, and neurological methods to help predict in-market success of pet products, pet product advertisements, and pet-parent centered digital content. She led consumer insights research efforts in collaboration with top academic and business partners to cue marketing efforts on pet parents’ positive/negative responses to pets’ subtle feeding behaviors. In addition, she acted as an on-set expert during filming of TV ads for Meow Mix Irresistible Treats. These ads received high Nielsen ratings for Meow Mix portfolio and helped drive a highly successful product launch.
In 2016, Dr. Jill took on the Director of Applied Pet Behavior Position at AFB International, the largest pet food flavor producer in the United States. There she set the overall vision and oversaw execution of palatability, human and pet sensory, and pet behavior research to promote successful development of new palatability enhancers in a business-to business environment.
In 2018, Dr. Jill combined her passion for research and teaching, joining Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) as an Assistant Professor and Psychology and Psychology Program Coordinator. At HSSU, Dr. Jill develops and implements activities that support continued growth and enhancement of their psychology program. She teaches and conducts basic research in the fields of Consumer Psychology, Biological Psychology, Social Psychology, and Health Psychology.
What Industry Professionals Say About Dr. Jill
"Jill had a steady hand on the project team."
“I worked with Jill on hardware development while she was a Sr. Manager at Big Heart Pet Brands. While we explored different innovative approaches to remote pet training and treating, Jill had a steady hand on the project team. Jill clearly defined deliverables in her construction of the product requirements documents as well as ongoing progress reports and updates. She understood and clearly provided insight in regards to the targeted consumer. This despite the fact that her company was going through a corporate acquisition which created a disruptive environment. Her steady hand kept the team focused on team goals and objectives. I am impressed with her technical prowess and ability to understand development activities not in her area of expertise.”
- Charles Skinner, President, Infinite Vision
"Jill was a pleasure for me to work with."
“Jill was a pleasure for me to work with. She fosters cross-departmental communication, and works well across teams. When I worked with Jill, she developed new methods and processes to help the business in value added selling, such as: in-home surveys, sensory assessment, behavioral measures, etc. In my experience with her, she had the ability to implement qualitative and quantitative assessments for product success, knowing which was best to use in each situation. Jill participated in external technical communication to promote scientific credibility that supported our products. She presented at PFF, ABS, and to customers. Jill’s knowledge of consumer behavior provided insights to the market intelligence process, supporting ideation and business case discovery for Category Management.”
- Debra Williams, Director of Product Management, TropiClean Pet Products
"...her pleasant personality and intellect speak for themselves."
“Once you work with Dr. Jill, you'll understand, her pleasant personality and intellect speak for themselves. After having worked with her on two large film projects, one soon discovers that Dr. Jill equally understands how to successfully manage a project. No request to her goes unanswered and her desire to provide more information than is requested is refreshing. Certainly she is fun to work with but she is also direct, concise and thorough - traits so very much appreciated.”
- Michel Breeding, Owner, Michael Breeding Media
Contact Pet Insights
Lake Saint Louis
Missouri, 63367
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