When it comes to decoding how Australians think, feel and buy, Dan Krigstein sits right at the crossroads of data, creativity and strategy.
As the former Director of The Growth Intelligence Centre and its research arm, The Growth Distillery, Krigstein has built one of News Corp Australia’s most powerful engines for commercial insight – one that helps brands turn audience data into meaningful, measurable growth.
Under his leadership, The Growth Distillery has become a trusted source of intelligence for marketers, blending behavioural science with storytelling to forecast trends and shape smarter investment decisions.
Over the past year alone, his team has delivered more than 30 major projects across travel, luxury and retail, while redefining how the industry connects research to real-world impact.
Now recognised on the Mediaweek 100 for his visionary work, Krigstein reflects on how data is evolving from a backroom function into a creative superpower – and why bridging the gap between analytics and imagination is where the next era of brand growth will begin.
1. What does it mean to win an award like this?
I think it’s an amazing nod to what the team has done. I’m ecstatic that the work and the effort and the energy that every member of The Growth Distillery team has put in is being recognised by an industry that we live and breathe to support. It’s incredible feedback from the industry that what we have set out to do is being received well.
2. Why are awards and events like this important for the industry?
Having an opportunity to celebrate your peers, to understand who is shaping the industry, is part of the magic of the media sector. We are an industry that likes to recognise the efforts of the people that are helping us navigate in a time of disruption. I think it’s important that we continue to celebrate those that are challenging the status quo, that are growing, that are innovating.
3. What do you think this recognition says about the direction your company (or the industry) is heading?
I think this is an amazing call to keep doing what we’re doing, to double down on our efforts to help connect brands with their customers more effectively. It’s a good signal that The Growth Distillery is delivering real value and has renewed my excitement for what’s to come and for what this industry will see from the Distillery.
4. Looking ahead, what’s the most significant opportunity or challenge you see for your area of the industry right now?
The impact of AI is both the most significant opportunity, as well as the most significant challenge. It’s very easy to get lazy and to use all of these tools as a proxy for engaging your customers and connecting with your customers. And so the opportunity is for us to be the antithesis of artificial intelligence.
There is nothing artificial about the intelligence The Growth Distillery brings to the market. But at the same time, in an industry that’s under pressure, that’s going through an inflection point, not adopting AI where it can support our efforts is going to be a real challenge.
So I think walking that tightrope of where to engage and where not to is going to be the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity.
5. Who or what has inspired your approach to innovation within the industry?
What inspires me day to day is my team.
They are exceptional practitioners of their craft. Equally, I’m inspired by the incredible marketing teams that sit across the brands that partner with The Growth Distillery and the amazing thinking that’s going on in the research agencies that we work with.
What truly drives our innovation is connection. Whether it’s a brand and customer, or a publisher and reader, that existential need for connection is what pushes us to innovate at The Growth Distillery every day.