Quirk's Dallas 2026 field notes compiled from Jessica Lynch and Michael Olson
At Curion, we always say that product decisions don’t get made in a vacuum. They get made by researchers, insights leads, brand managers, and other product strategy teams who are constantly looking for better ways to get to the right answer for their product.
So, just a few weeks ago, Curion’s Jessica Lynch, Sr. Client Relationship Director, and Michael Olson, Client Relationship Manager, spent two days walking the floor at Quirk’s Dallas 2026.
This specific event is where a lot of industry professionals go to sharpen their thinking. We know, from our past experiences there, that Quirk’s Dallas has a reputation for being the most close-knit stop on the annual circuit. Smaller rooms and deeper conversations give us the kind of candid dialogue that feels real and most honest with a variety of clients and colleagues.
Jessica and Michael got to it – grabbing coffee at the barista bar, walking the expo floor, sitting in sessions led by brands like H&R Block, Heineken, PepsiCo, and QuikTrip. They came back with a clear picture of what’s top of mind for the people making product decisions right now.
Here’s what stood out.
Everyone wants speed, but speed without accuracy is just a faster wrong answer.
We heard it loud and clear at Quirk’s Dallas 2026: “Agility” was the word of the show. Every session, every hallway conversation, brands want answers faster. Budgets are tighter, timelines are shorter, and the pressure is getting worse to move quickly.
What was refreshing, though, was how often people followed that up with a quiet “but.” Speed matters. And so does getting it right. From QSR to CPG to retail, the brands we talked to aren’t risking the mitigations of cutting corners just to get their products out the door faster. They’re asking us about becoming a partner who can move fast and give them trustworthy insights and recommendations.
Two things can be true: Digital twins are getting a lot of attention. Real-world testing is still irreplaceable.
One of the buzziest topics on the floor was the rise of digital twins. This is AI-built personas used to simulate consumer behavior and test decisions quickly. Some brands talked about using them to test menu layouts, while others are using them for early-stage concept decisions.
Obviously, we see the appeal – it’s faster, cheaper, and available around the clock.
But the conversations we had revealed real anxiety underneath the buzz. How do you make sure the twin actually reflects your real consumer and not just the consumer you think you have? If the persona is off by even one degree, you can end up moving confidently in the wrong direction. Nobody in the room had fully solved for that.
There’s also something the AI Digital Twins can’t replicate, pure and simple – the moment a real human being holds your product, tastes it, uses it, and tells you exactly what they think. The product decisions that really matter require that truth. It can make or break product performance and repeat purchases.
So, we tell our clients and colleages that digital twins are a useful efficiency tool, but they’re not a replacement for real human experience. As long as brands can understand the difference, they can make better decisions with both.
Data dump is real. What clients need most is clarity.
“Insights to help overcome information overload” was a phrase we saw that kept surfacing. Seventy-five pages of data doesn’t make anyone more confident.
As we were walking the Quirk’s Dallas rooom, we noticed what brands are actually asking for here is less noise, clear findings, and specific, actionable direction they can take into a room and defend. The researchers we talked to were frustrated by the inability to distill all of their data into something they could use.
Quant and qual solutions work better together, and the product leaders know it.
Here’s a recurring theme we noticed across multiple sessions throughout Quirk’s Dallas 2026: quant data tells you what’s happening. Qual insight tells you why. Brands don’t like treating them as separate initiatives. They want both, woven together, so the picture is complete.
We emphasize to our clients – here and everywhere else – that kind of integration requires deep intention in how a study is designed from the start. So when it works, it gives you data with meaning behind it. “Numbers with a story” if you want to sugarcoat it.
The emotional side of client relationships matters more than most people admit.
One of the most interesting sessions came from H&R Block. They ran an attrition study expecting to find that clients left because of price. What they found instead was that emotional connection was often the factor that decided who stayed. Feeling known, feeling cared for, feeling like the person on the other side was genuinely invested in their success. And we totally agree!
Price still matters – nobody’s pretending it doesn’t. But the relationship layer is often underweighted, and the data showed it shouldn’t be.
At the end of the day (or quarter or year), the clients who stay are the ones who feel like they have a real partner, someone who’s as invested in their product’s success as they are.
The last word from Quirk’s Dallas 2026.
Quirk’s Dallas 2026 confirmed what we already know: the industry is moving fast, the tools are multiplying, and brands are under loads of pressure to make confident decisions with less time and smaller teams.
In the end, what product leaders and developers need most hasn’t changed – answers they can trust, clarity out of complex data, and a partner who shows up invested in them and what they stand for to get it right the first time.