Dive Brief:

• Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal, Nestle and Nature’s Way, along with ITWP, parent holding company of Toluna and Harris Interactive, and other agencies like AKQA and research groups have launched the Insights on Demand Consortium to focus on redesigning market research to better understand customer intent and behavior, a news release announced. 
• The consortium will provide thought leadership to help marketers and other brand professionals with new ways of conducting market research that makes customer insights more accessible through technology and automation. The group will focus on topics like “the scalability of expertise, the need for ongoing real-time consumer insight, and fragmentation of research tools and technologies,” the release said. 
• The Insights on Demand group will hold its first meeting in mid-January and plans to develop best practices for marketers to adopt new, technology-driven market research strategies. The consortium will also provide general market education via webinars, thought leadership and conferences. 

Dive Insight:

Big brands like P&G, L’Oreal and Nestle are showing their commitment to providing more personalized products, marketing and services as consumers’ needs and wants constantly change. Joining forces and partnering with research and thought leadership organizations could help these marketers keep tabs on what is resonating with consumers in real time, and the integrated approach of the Insights on Demand Consortium could allow for access to stronger insights across brands.

One goal of the consortium to democratize market research, so businesses of all sizes can benefit from insights into customer intent. The news comes at a time when marketers are looking for greater transparency in digital marketing. While much of the focus to date has been on establishing more straightforward and standardized approaches to viewability, agency fees and brand safety, customer insights is an important part of the digital media supply chain and one that has become more challenging for marketers to navigate thanks to a growing number of options. 

Brands want to be able to go beyond traditional market research to offer higher levels of personalization, something that many marketers have struggled with. Lack of trust and poor personalization costs businesses $756 billion per year and caused 41% of consumers to switch companies last year, according to the 13th annual Accenture Strategy Global Consumer Pulse Research report. Consumers are more likely to purchase from brands that offer personalized experiences and find greater value in brands that learn about their needs and make recommendations.

Marketers already realize the need for data collection, but not everyone knows how to pull out meaningful insights and effectively apply them to their marketing strategies and campaigns. The new Insights on Demand Consortium could help brands boost their market research through technology and automation, and become more fully insights driven.