After a long career in advertising in strategic planning and business he created Brain Value in 2004, a research firm specialising in consumer studies. With a team of 20 people, Brain Value produces studies and advises their clients such as Chanel, Colgate Palmolive, L'Oréal, Mondelez, McDonald's, Lactel, Accor, Campbell, Lacoste, Sanofi Aventis, Lactalis in France and abroad on marketing strategy.

Nicolas Riou is a graduate of Science Po Paris in 1988 and HEC 1990. Nicolas is a keen observer of the new consumer society. It seeks to establish links between sociocultural background trends and their reflections in consumption and advertising.

His career took place initially in several major advertising agencies from 1990 to 2002 where he was a strategic planner at Publicis and International Director of Citroën budget at Euro RSCG.

He has been teaching marketing and value creation at Sciences Po Paris since 2009 (during Strategic Marketing Master in Marketing & Research). He taught for 10 years at HEC in advertising marketing major, 3rd year.

He is the author of numerous publications such as Pub Fiction, and comments on new trends in advertising and postmodern society, Fear in the pub (2004), A real man: From neo-macho the feminized man male new keys 2005 and Marketing Anatomy (2009).