Thinking Ahead: Your Leading-Edge Insights Podcast

How does Gen Z feel about COVID-19 and the future?

As the youngest generation in the workforce, Generation Z is facing unprecedented challenges as young professionals. In this episode, we sit down with NextGen Competition winners Sabrina, Emily, and Ibrokhim as they take us through the moment their college shut down. Tune in to hear first-hand how this generation is already being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, their attitudes towards the "new normal", and the surprising optimism on what it offers them for the future.

 

More Information: 

• Consumer Pulse Study 
• NextGen Competition

The Rise of eSports and its Fans

Esports describes the world of competitive, organized video gaming. But who is its audience? And why should brands and marketers pay attention? In this episode, we sit down with Ben Paro, Category Director of Sports and Gaming at MRI-Simmons, as he explains the rise of this unique and faithful segmentation. Tune in to understand the innovative entertainment that eSports is serving up- and the opportunities it gives brands and advertisers.

 

More Information: https://hubs.ly/H0t492k0 

Finding purpose in crisis: Brands, COVID-19, and social responsibility

COVID-19 and the racial equality movement have raised the stakes when it comes to social responsibility, and brands cannot sit still. In today’s world, issuing predictable press releases followed up with little action simply won’t cut it. In this episode, brand experts Eric Villain and Amy Wills explore the opportunities and pitfalls for brands in this fraught landscape. How can brands make a difference while staying true to their identities and consumer expectations? How can they discover a renewed sense of purpose in the middle of crisis?

 

More Information:

eBook: Discover your brand's authentic purpose & build deeper consumer connections

Activism, anxiety, and the new consumer marketplace

With devastated economies and the calls for social justice around the world, how to brands move forward? In this episode, we give you an audio version of GfK's recent webinar, "Taking brands to the next level: Activism, anxiety, and the new consumer marketplace," with a panel of experts discussing where brands go from here. What messages and offers do consumers want from brands? What role should activism play in their identity?

Click here for the full webinar. 

Bringing new precision to programmatic targeting

At a time when consumer behavior – and data – is wildly unpredictable, agencies and brands need to bring extra diligence to the process of creating ad audiences. In this podcast episode, GfK’s Natasha Stevens explores the promises and pitfalls of combining data from different sources. She defines the many unknowns that surround target creation in today’s marketplace, and tells how a multi-set approach can improve target accuracy exponentially – or dilute the value of high-quality data.

More Information: 

Video: Optimizing audience data for programmatic targeting

 

Life under Crisis: How consumers feel about COVID-19 and protests

Months after lockdowns began, the pandemic landscape continues to evolve. In this episode, we check in with Sarena Gerard, who helps us understand how consumers feel. Tune in for the latest Consumer Pulse data, dissecting everything from consumers' future travel plans to how they think brands should address social issues.

More Information: 

Webinar: Activism, anxiety, and the new consumer marketplace

Understand the forces shaping the future of shopping

We know COVID-19 crisis has transformed shopping – but many of those effects may be short term. To plan for tomorrow’s shopping experience, we need to look closely at the forces that were already in play when the pandemic hit. In a new Thinking Ahead webinar, GfK’s Joe Beier and Sarena Gerard delve into new insights from our FutureBuy® research to explore the future of click-and-collect, social media buying, and more.

More Information:

Understand the forces that are transformation shopping- in-store and online [report]

Shopping's Transformational Forces [video] 

 

Creating Success Through In-Market Testing

In the midst of today’s disruptions, FMCG brands, marketers, and retailers need to Think Ahead. In this episode, we sit down with GfK's Susan Stacey and Neal Heffernan who help us understand how to optimize brand innovations for long-term success. Tune in for an in-depth look at the dos and don'ts of effective testing.

More Information: 

Optimizing brand innovation for long-term success [video]: https://hubs.ly/H0r6h1x0 

Design FMCG Products for real-world success [eBook]: https://hubs.ly/H0r6gWS0 

Rewriting the Influencer Playbook

Join us for a smart, up-to-the-minute discussion of Influencers in the pandemic era – their changing roles, the emergence of a new breed of content creators, and the pitfalls of sticking to old models in a time of upheaval.

More Information: 

- Reach Jola's eBook: The transformation of influencers in a culture of doubt

- Read some of Jasmine's stories at emarketer.com  

- Follow Tara on Instagram and follow the official Conscious Connoisseur blog

The Art of Digital Ad Targeting

In this episode, we sit down for a panel discussion with GfK's Natasha Stevens, MRI-Simmons' Josh Pisano, and Dstillery's Chris Boon to talk about digital ad targeting. How are consumer “segments” developed? What can be done to make them more accurate? And why is data so important for accurate targetings?

More Information:

www.gfk.com/en-us