Insights

For an industry to survive and evolve it must be constantly challenging its own role and wider impact. But how can the insight function ensure it remains relevant and impactful in the midst of a revolution in marketing?

Consumers and shoppers are purposeful and will more likely act consistently with their underlying preferences and motivations. This is what makes consumers neatly or broadly rational. Rationality does not assume consumers are conscious of their preferences, motives and decision processes. Consumers operating under System 1 may not always make the most consistent choices but that doesn’t make them in essence irrational consumers.

The Quest for Optimal - Maximising consumer delight has always been a top priority for any product manufacturer, resulting in a critical need for ongoing innovation married with endless product modifications. Yet, while a priority, it continues to be increasingly difficult to steal share or truly differentiate oneself versus competition within an existing and/or niche category. Unfortunately, reactive versus proactive research has become more of the product testing norm, with endless rounds of formula ‘tweaking’ versus the prescriptive pursuit of a farther out, more differentiated optimal product.