WHO WE ARE

We like to think of our approach to research as storytelling. The setting and the research subjects are essential to understanding the role of the main character: our clients’ products and services. We illuminate the key events in the story to chart a clear and actionable quest for our main character…​and we like that story to have a compelling, meaningful ending.

OUR STORY

​ICG’s story begins with behavioral economics

When our partners teamed up to form ICG, Mark Ingwer (a clinical psychologist) and Nate Hoffberg (a seasoned economist and sales veteran), unified their distinct disciplines to create the powerful lens that allows us to accurately identify psychology-informed insights and effectively convey their impact through a commercial lens.

Throughout the years, ICG has had the privilege to lead a variety of research engagements for cross-category industry leaders, but our passion lies in healthcare. Early on, ICG recognized that the human-centric methodologies that were being utilized in the consumer space weren’t being used in healthcare.

We wondered, “Why? Patients are people, physicians are people – the same immersive, creative, and empathetic approaches should apply.”

So we gave it a shot. We pioneered processes for capturing the patient/physician voice in real time and were able to demonstrate the unique value and financial impact of leveraging those voices. Since then, we have partnered with top pharmaceutical companies to uncover empathetic marketing insights for blockbuster brands and rare disease market entrants; medical devices and health-tech innovations, and strategic marketing communications to name a few…and we’re just scratching the surface.

THE BASICS

We are a nimble, marketing research firm specializing in healthcare

We are a
25-year old
company

We call Chicago
home

We are a full-service
team with In-House
Recruitment

We produce custom
products at a fast
and flexible rate

We are published
Thought Leaders in
our space

OUR LEADERS

Mark Ingwer

MANAGING PARTNER | FOUNDER

Mark Ingwer, Ph.D., founded ICG after identifying a need in the marketplace to understand the impact of human behavior on decision making and to create business solutions that capitalize on the insights uncovered through market research. Mark has since published a groundbreaking resource for marketers, Empathetic Marketing.

Mark applies his psychology, advertising and market research skills to a full range of business issues for ICG’s clients, in addition to speaking as an industry KOL. In recent years, Mark has focused on strategic research issues including brand positioning and brand equity research, while pioneering new projective methods.

Nate Hoffberg

MANAGING PARTNER

Nate joined ICG with a mission to apply his understanding of behavioral economics to improving marketing impact through measurable ROI across brands and products.

At ICG, Nate looks for challenging business issues in corporate, commercial and portfolio strategy for industry leaders and small businesses alike, providing research-informed strategic marketing direction and consultative services for clients. Additionally, Nate leverages his cross-industry experience and his academic background to develop scalable research models that provide brand confidence and predictive power.

Chris Schnaars

PRINCIPAL, LIFE SCIENCES

Chris is an experienced pharmaceutical leader who joined ICG in 2010, bringing his passion for excellence in multiple functional areas such as sales, marketing and training to each client interaction.

As a leader at ICG, Chris holds a role that is fundamental to customer partnership and success. Chris focuses on engaging each client to establish meaningful partnerships, defining clear business needs and designing innovative strategic solutions actionable deliverables and consistent business results. Chris brings an inspiring spirit and wealth of experience to make each client engagement an exceptional experience.

Kaitlyn A. Ferris, Ph.D.

SENIOR CONSULTANT

Kaitlyn joined ICG with a goal to apply principles of developmental psychology and human behavior to the healthcare space. As a senior consultant, she leads and executes each stage of research with a targeted focus on generating actionable insights and real-world impact using a mix of methods. Before ICG, she spent over 10 years in academia translating research insights into actionable outcomes in education and applied learning contexts.Kaitlyn’s applied research background provides her with the expertise to contribute to positive business outcomes for ICG’s healthcare clients. Kaitlyn earned a Ph.D. in Life Span Developmental Psychology from West Virginia University.

Amy Cargill, Ph.D.

SENIOR CONSULTANT

Amy came to ICG following careers as a practicing psychologist, and most recently, applied social scientist at the University of Chicago. Drawing on expertise in human development and implementation science, she brings a human-centered approach to research design, analysis and reporting using mixed methods to deeply understand attitudes and beliefs that underly individual behavior as well as decision-making. Amy’s published frameworks for measuring supports and barriers to innovation have been applied across disciplines, informing communications, design and rollout for a range of products and services spanning healthcare, K-12 education and adult learning. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester and UX Certification from the Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g).

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