Director of Market Research & Strategic Planning, baseball lover and office “nice guy”

Today we give a very special thanks to Jeff Stitt for six outstanding years of service at MoCo! Jeff, or “Stitt” as he is known around the office, is such an important part of the MoCo team and an all around nice guy. It’s such a joy to work with him every day.

As Director of Market Research & Strategic Planning, Stitt goes above and beyond the call of duty, often working well into the evening hours and on the weekends (even though we don’t ask him to, OK… rarely ask him to). Whatever it takes to do the very best job for his clients — Stitt dedicates himself 100 percent.

A veteran researcher, Stitt has worked in all areas of the fact-finding spectrum. He has conducted shore-land development research for the MN Department of Natural Resources and community impact research for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ flood protection projects. He has also worked for numerous firms and even owned his own custom market research company for many years where he worked on accounts for 3M, Graco, Land O’ Lakes, UnitedHealthcare and Wells Fargo. The intellectual type, Stitt has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and an applied Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Minnesota where he also taught coursework on social psychology, social research methods and criminology.

Apart from work, one of Stitt’s greatest passions is baseball. An avid fan of the Minnesota Twins, he has traveled to ballparks around the country (11 so far) to cheer on the team at road games and has even attended a few matchups of rival clubhouses. His love for the game goes back to his first unofficial job as a kid when he sold cans of soda out of a little red wagon at local softball games. He’s hoping to catch another major league game this summer, this time at AT&T Park in San Francisco when the Twins take on the Giants.

But even when he is away from the office, Stitt’s brain never stops thinking about research. Because of his love for consumer electronics, you can often find him “mystery shopping” at retail stores, looking for new and innovative ways to market products.

In his words, “What market research does is provide insights to help us make effective decisions by measuring awareness and perceptions about our clients’ products and services. We use market research to better understand what is important to decision-makers and how to communicate with them more effectively. The ultimate goal is to enhance the effectiveness of marketing communications while stretching our clients’ budgets.” We couldn’t agree more. Research is a value-added service MoCo is able to provide to our clients and something that sets us apart from other agencies. Throughout his six years at MoCo, Stitt has helped many clients improve their marketing efforts through research findings.

So from all of us here at MoCo, thank you, Stitt, for your great service over the years. We couldn’t do it without you.

5 Things You Don’t Know About Me — The Jeff Stitt Version

1. Favorite song on my playlist:
   “All Along the Watchtower” – the Jimi Hendrix version, or anything classical, jazz or blues. I played classical guitar as a kid and it gave me an appreciation for a wide range of music.
2. Technology I can’t live without:
   The Hubble Space Telescope. My world would shrink without it.
3. My childhood superhero:
   While not a caped crusader, Colonel Robert E. Hogan (from Hogan’s Heroes) was my all-time favorite for constantly outwitting the Germans at their own game.
4. A favorite trip I’ve taken:
   Last summer, road trip to watch the Twins play the Mets in New York, then to Little Italy for dinner followed by a raucous time at a comedy club.
5. On my days off, you can most likely find me:
   Mystery shopping at Best Buy! I love AV gear and it helps me keep up with the industry while gathering insights about ways our clients could better market to CE consumers.