Future Proof

Making gains of 24% in its brand value (2020 BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands), JD.com is well placed to offer advice on building and maintaining a successful brand – even during a global pandemic. The company’s VP of Corporate Brand, Major Zhu, tells us how the company has pivoted, the crucial competitive advantage of deep customer knowledge, and the role of brand at JD.com. He looks a...

UN Women, in partnership with Unstereotype Alliance, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Kantar, launched the results of the Gender Equality Attitudes Study in June 2020. In this episode, we learn more about this project from Dan Seymour, Director of Strategic Partnerships at UN Women, and Rosie Hawkins, Chief Offer and Innovation Officer, Insights Division at Kantar. Discover...

“With great purpose comes great scrutiny.” How do you bring brand purpose to life through advertising? And how do you do so in a way that is still creative, and effective for the brand in question? We speak to Mike Watson of Wunderman Thompson, the agency responsible for the fantastic localised advertising campaign for HSBC where stats around homelessness where put front and centre. As this was th...

When we last spoke to Nick Lawson in Cannes in 2019, the media world looked quite different. In this conversation, recorded in July after Nick’s appointment as Global CEO of MediaCom, he tells Kantar’s Jane Ostler the most common client questions that have been asked during the coronavirus outbreak, and how they are being answered. They discuss the media trends that have been or will be accelerate...

What happens next? What will change? Of the changes we’ve experienced already, what will persist? One thing is certain: our views on the impact of the pandemic are changing by the day. Looking at pessimistic, optimistic and realistic angles, Rohit Talwar (Fast Future) and J Walker Smith (Kantar) explain their thinking on what the critical shifts are likely to be, what’s going to happen around soci...

Co-founder of the Sleeping Giants campaign, and now brand safety consultancy service Check My Ads , Nandini Jammi was a tech marketing generalist until she stumbled into the murky world of online adverts – more specifically, the kind of sites where they could end up. While she admits it’s hard for all marketers to be ad tech experts, she has spent the last 4 years campaigning for brands to proacti...

As a professional sailor, sailing round the globe, Ellen MacArthur made a revelatory realisation about the wasteful nature of our (centuries-old) linear economy. Ten years on, the Foundation seeks to connect organisations with the right resources to become “restorative and regenerative” rather than “consumptive and extractive”. But what is the economic argument, beyond the social and environmental...

What is the difference between being “color blind” and being “color brave”? Why does it matter? How can brands be braver when it comes to inclusion, diversity and equity? And what is it about this moment in time that has brought color bravery to the fore? Felipe Thomaz (Associate Professor of Marketing, Saïd Business School) speaks to Melissa Hansberry and Stephen DiMarco from Kantar, about this o...

As consumer preferences and brand promises shift towards a more sustainable approach – considering and minimising our environmental impact – what changes can we all make to reduce clothing and apparel waste? And how can brands get involved? Eshita Kabra-Davies set up fashion rental app By Rotation in 2019, to allow people to rotate their wardrobes, enjoy luxury brands cost effectively, and reduce...

Jane and Andrew speak to Jorge Ruiz, Head of Marketing Science at TikTok, about why the app is seeing a surge in popularity, and why it’s ideal for these uncertain times. What is special about the short-form video platform? Why has it been particularly important during COVID-19 lockdown periods? And how can advertisers get involved? Kantar data shows that TikTok has broad appeal, and Jorge discuss...

With the fear and uncertainty posed by a global pandemic, Ascential – the company that runs Cannes Lions – this year made the difficult decision to cancel the festival. But what does that mean for the business, for the advertising industry, and for the world of events? We hear from Philip Thomas, Chairman of Cannes Lions and president of Ascential Marketing, on the difficult decision to cancel the...

How do you produce radio in lockdown? When you have committed to keep broadcasting 24/7? Kantar’s Jane Ostler spoke to Steve Parkinson, MD of Bauer Media’s national radio brands in the UK, about the steps they’ve taken, the technology they’ve relied on, and what happens next for the commercial radio stations that are now broadcasting from people’s homes. Steve touches on some of the challenges – l...

Walker Smith speaks to Joel Benenson, founder and CEO of the Benenson Strategy Group, a leading political and corporate strategist, and formerly American ‘Pollster of the Year’. As the US enters election season, and faces the huge challenge of a global pandemic, how is the relationship between politics and business changing? Joel talks about the state of US politics and levels of polarisation, the...

How much would you tell a chatbot? Tara Prabhakar interviews David Wright and Karlien Kriegler, innovation specialists at Kantar, about the work they’ve been doing around conversational AI and the fascinating results of some client projects in this space. Describing the (fast) evolution of chatbots, David and Karlien explain how new approaches to research – featuring chat, AI, natural language pro...

How do you create content that people really need, and want to read? The smartest route is to start with search data, and use the insights to write engaging evergreen articles. This is what Sergey Lesnikov, Senior Global Digital Marketing & Ecommerce Manager at Philips, did with his team and partners Mavens of London in order to create the Male Grooming Experience Center , a digital hub for useful...

Host Professor Andrew Stephen chats to Jane Ostler, Daren Poole and Andy Brown, media and creative experts from Kantar, to find out what the coronavirus means for media and advertising. What happens if brands stop advertising? How are our consumption habits changing? And what makes a good piece of creative at this time?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you measure the conversation around your brand, and what can you do with that information? Walker Smith talks to Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs and Kevin Moeller, Head of Media Insights & Analytics, PepsiCo North America, about the role of word-of-mouth marketing, the importance of measuring both online and offline conversation (and how you can do that) and the applications of these insi...

As the pandemic changes how people deal with businesses (and each other), Walker Smith and Barbara Cador discuss the possible responses when it comes to customer experience, particularly in the banking sector, as people worry more about their financial situation. Will this speed up digital transformation in financial services, or reinforce the importance of a human touch? What differences and simi...

Data from years of Kantar and BrandZ research indicates clearly that the best way to survive an economic downturn (and to bounce back more quickly when it's over) is to have a strong brand. But what does that mean? How can you achieve it? Does purpose play a part? And what can brands do right now to ensure that they remain salient and meaningfully different? Chief Global Analyst Nigel Hollis and H...

The spread of coronavirus is disrupting brands from every industry, across the world. But we’ve been through disruption before, says Walker Smith, Chief Knowledge Officer at Kantar, and can learn some lessons from the past. We can also learn from China, where research shows the promise for certain categories, channels and marketing strategies, in the face of this global pandemic. Oceanne Zhang, Di...

As the pandemic changes lives across the world, how are healthcare systems responding? Where are consumers going for information and advice, and what does that mean for the future of delivering health and aftercare services globally? We ask Jade Cusick, Oliver Bone and Julia Liu to share their insights from the US, Europe and of course China, to see where the challenges and opportunities are emerg...

What has happened to sales in supermarkets? Are patterns emerging in different countries across the world? And what should we expect to see next, when it comes to retail and consumption habits? Fraser McKevitt speaks to Jason Yu and Ray Gaul to get perspectives from China, Europe, and the UK, and to discuss what trends Kantar has spotted in sales, usage and retail approaches. Hosted on Acast. See...

People are desperate for more sustainable transport choices – and are keen to change how they get around cities, as long as they feel safe and have some flexibility. That’s where Cyclo Technology’s new innovation could be helpful: a 'packable' helmet for the urban rider, made from reclaimed plastic that will make hiring a bike or commuting on your own a lot more appealing. How have they tackled cu...

Things change in marketing all the time, and marketers get more excited with each new technological ‘innovation’. But we could be getting ahead of ourselves, says strategy consultant and Web Curios writer Matt Muir. If we are really honest with ourselves, what will NOT happen in 2020? What does he think we should strike from our list of predictions? What is missing from the list? And which words d...

As Kantar releases its annual Media Predictions report, forecasting the likely changes for media in 2020 and beyond, Professor Andrew Stephen asks experts Jane Ostler and Margo Swadley to comment on some of the trends they are seeing. Touching on the business models of streaming services, the untapped potential of audio, why influencer marketing needs to grow up, and the rise and rise of esports,...