The term artificial intelligence has become increasingly difficult to use precisely. A predictive model, ChatGPT, an image generator, a recommendation algorithm and an autonomous coding agent can all be described as AI, despite operating in very different ways. Technically, artificial intelligence also has a much older and broader academic definition that includes approaches such as rule-based systems, search and planning. In everyday business use, however, AI increasingly refers to the newer generation of machine-learning systems, particularly generative models.

As marketing becomes increasingly data-rich and media continues to fragment, growing a brand has never been more complex. For Javier Acebo, Insight Director at Publicis, the answer lies not in choosing between short-term performance and long-term brand building, but in balancing both. Leading the insights function across Publicis’ media and creative agencies, Javier works closely with strategists to help brands make better decisions through research, measurement and interpretation. Throughout our conversation, he explains why measurement should be seen as an investment rather than a cost, why collaboration between disciplines is becoming a competitive advantage, and why human judgement remains indispensable in an AI-driven world. Brand Growth Requires Balancing Short-term Sales with Long-term Brand Building When discussing brand growth, Javier immediately points to the reality facing most marketers today. Despite years of evidence supporting long-term brand building, sales remain the KPI that receives the greatest attention. In today's environment, companies expect immediate commercial returns from every campaign, often leaving little room for investments whose impact takes longer to materialise. However, Javier believes this short-term focus creates a dangerous imbalance. While sales ultimately determine success, they are the outcome of several other factors that require continuous investment. Brand awareness, consideration, positive brand perception and mental availability all contribute to future sales, even if their effect is less visible in the short term. "Everyone wants to run a campaign, invest three euros and sell more the same day. But if you stop investing in making your brand known and relevant, you make future growth much harder." Rather than choosing one over the other, Javier argues that marketers need to manage both horizons simultaneously. Performance marketing remains essential, but it should never come at the expense of building a brand that consumers remember and actively choose over time. As he puts it: "What are you offering consumers beyond a promotion? What are you giving them that makes your brand stay in their minds and makes them buy it again tomorrow?" "If you stop investing in making your brand known and relevant, you make future growth much harder." Measurement is not a Cost - it is part of the Investment One of Javier's strongest convictions is that too many organisations still treat research as an optional expense rather than a necessary part of marketing investment. While companies may spend millions on communication campaigns, they often hesitate when asked to allocate a small percentage of that budget to understanding whether those campaigns actually worked. For Javier, that logic makes little sense. Measuring campaign reach, media effectiveness and consumer response reduces risk and helps brands continuously improve their decision-making. "When you're investing millions in communication, not spending a little on measuring whether it's working creates enormous risk." At Publicis, measurement spans multiple levels. Campaign reach and frequency provide an initial understanding of whether communication reached the intended audience, while econometric modelling and client-specific tracking help assess commercial impact. Regardless of the methodology, Javier believes every campaign deserves evaluation. "Knowing what works, why it works and what doesn't work is essential. One day, spending on research should simply be seen as part of investing in communication." "Knowing what works, why it works and what doesn't work is essential. One day, spending on research should simply be seen as part of investing in communication." Reach, Personalisation and Insights must Work Together According to Javier, technological advances have dramatically improved marketers' ability to personalise communication. Brands can increasingly identify consumers who are actively considering a purchase and tailor messages accordingly. But he warns against interpreting this as an argument for targeting ever smaller audiences. Instead, he believes successful communication combines broad reach with intelligent prioritisation. Brands should continue building mental availability across large audiences while using data to increase relevance for consumers who are most likely to convert. "It's not about reducing reach. It's about reaching as many people as possible, but with a clear order of priority." The same philosophy applies to consumer insights. Data alone rarely creates competitive advantage. What matters is the interpretation behind the numbers. Rather than accepting statistics at face value, Javier encourages marketers to ask deeper questions that uncover why behaviour changes. "An insight isn't that 30% of people watch a TV channel. The insight is understanding why that audience changed. That's where the real value appears." "It's not about reducing reach. It's about reaching as many people as possible, but with a clear order of priority." Breaking Down Silos to Create one Strategy Throughout the conversation, one theme repeatedly returns: collaboration. Javier believes too many organisations still operate in functional silos, where research, media, creative and strategy teams each hold valuable information but fail to share it effectively. He has experienced situations where one department commissioned research without realising another department within the same company had already answered the question. For him, this reflects an outdated belief that information creates power. In reality, organisations become stronger when insights are shared widely and everyone works towards the same commercial objective. Publicis addresses this through its "Power of One" philosophy and its integrated One Strategy model, where media strategy, creative strategy, digital strategy and insights operate together instead of separately. "There is only one strategy. Media, creativity, digital and research should all be expressions of that same strategy." As media channels continue to fragment, Javier also sees a growing need to balance specialist expertise with broader strategic leadership. Specialists remain essential, but organisations also need people capable of connecting disciplines and seeing the bigger picture. That holistic view, he believes, will become increasingly valuable as marketing grows more complex. AI can Accelerate Marketing, but Human Judgement Remains Essential Artificial intelligence is already transforming the way brands and agencies operate, but Javier approaches its potential with cautious optimism. Within Publicis, AI is already improving productivity across research, planning and creative work. Tasks that once required hours can now be completed within minutes, allowing teams to focus more time on higher-value thinking. At the same time, he warns against overestimating AI's capabilities. The technology performs well when supporting experienced professionals, but becomes far less reliable when users lack the expertise to evaluate its output. "The more I work with AI, the more useful it becomes — and the more I realise how limited it still is." Looking ahead, Javier believes agencies will increasingly act as strategic partners that integrate multiple disciplines rather than narrow specialists. Their role should be helping brands navigate complexity, connect expertise and make better long-term decisions. His advice for today's CMOs reflects that same mindset: don't simply repeat what has worked before. Be prepared to challenge assumptions and take calculated risks. "If you believe there's a better way to reach people, try it. Just because something worked before doesn't mean it will work again." "If you believe there's a better way to reach people, try it. Just because something worked before doesn't mean it will work again."

London, 17 September 2026 – DVJ Insights has been shortlisted for three Quirk’s Awards, including Marketing Research Supplier of the Year, recognising the quality and added value behind the company’s continued growth. Alongside the agency nomination, DVJ has been shortlisted with VodafoneThree for Groundbreaking Research Project and with NIVEA for Global Marketing Research Project for NIVEA CONNECT. Quality as a driver for growth For DVJ, the three nominations are an important recognition of an approach that has driven the company’s growth for more than a decade: a continuous focus on improving research quality and creating more value from insights. DVJ has achieved an average annual growth rate of 25% over the past decade and was recently recognised for the second time in a row by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s Long-Term Growth Champions. Rather than viewing growth as a goal in itself, the company sees it as the result of investing consistently in research quality, innovation, academic collaboration and strong client partnerships. The nomination for Marketing Research Supplier of the Year is therefore particularly meaningful. It recognises DVJ not for one individual project, but for its broader contribution as an insights agency and its role in helping organisations make better decisions and create long-term growth. Lucas Hulsebos, CEO and owner of DVJ Insights, says: “Growth has always been the result, rather than the starting point for us. We believe that if you continuously invest in people, innovation and quality growth will follow. It is this combination that makes research better and focuses on creating real added value for clients. That is why these three nominations mean a lot to us. Being nominated as Marketing Research Supplier of the Year is especially important because it recognises the company as a whole, while the nominations with VodafoneThree and NIVEA show what that focus on quality can deliver in practice.” Together, the three nominations reflect DVJ’s ambition to combine research quality, innovation and human expertise to create meaningful impact for clients. The Quirk’s Awards recognise the researchers, suppliers and products and services that are adding value and impact to marketing research. Finalists are selected by a panel of judges made up of a combination of end-client researchers, supplier partners and Quirk’s editorial staff. The award winners will be announced at the Quirk’s Awards Virtual Celebration on November 17, 2026. Please visit quirksawards.com for more details. About Quirk’s Without ever charging a membership fee, Quirk's Media is the place where the best, brightest and boldest from in-house marketing research departments exchange their most effective ideas. Our articles, directories, events, services and free resources give insights professionals the real-world solutions they need to take their marketing research and insight capabilities to a new level of excellence. To get your own free access visit www.quirks.com

For Helen Hewlett, Senior Insights Manager for the Away From Home channel at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), brand growth starts with understanding where consumption is moving next. As consumer behaviour shifts across channels, occasions and lifestyles, the role of Insights is no longer simply to explain what happened yesterday. It is to help the business anticipate where future opportunities lie, distinguish meaningful trends from short-term noise, and translate growing amounts of data into clear commercial action. From identifying new consumption occasions to navigating health trends and AI, Helen explains why the future of brand growth increasingly belongs to businesses that understand not only consumers, but the changing environments in which they make choices. Brand Growth starts with finding New Occasions As the Away From Home Insights lead, Helen's role spans everything outside traditional grocery retail, including convenience, food-to-go, pubs, restaurants, leisure venues and stadia. That broad perspective allows her team to identify where consumption is shifting and where the next growth opportunities are emerging. Rather than simply trying to increase existing consumption, Helen believes growth increasingly comes from identifying new occasions and adapting to changing consumer behaviour. "We're seeing a big move of soft drink occasions from out of home into the home," she explains. "People are moving get-togethers back into the home, so we've seen a big jump in multi-pack cans. If you look at the price difference at the moment, that's not really surprising." The challenge therefore isn't only finding growing occasions, but also strengthening those that are under pressure. Lunch is a clear example. Across the market, more consumers are bringing packed lunches to work rather than buying food on the go. "Lunch occasions are really dropping," Helen says. "We need to work out how we can grow those occasions again, but also make sure soft drinks are part of that basket." Beyond traditional channels, entirely new consumption environments continue to emerge. Competitive socialising venues such as Flight Club and Electric Shuffle have become important growth channels as consumers increasingly seek experiences rather than simply food and drink. Coffee shops are also evolving into broader social destinations, extending opening hours and attracting younger consumers with iced coffees, matcha and other beverages that increasingly compete with traditional soft drinks. "I think growth comes from tapping into the right occasions, but also trying to build more occasions in the ones that are slowing down." “I think growth comes from tapping into the right occasions, but also trying to build more occasions in the ones that are slowing down.” Continiuous Innovation keeps Brand Relevant While Coca-Cola's heritage brands remain incredibly strong, Helen believes innovation has become significantly more important than it was in the past. "I think consumers are just hungry for innovation," she says. "Innovation is becoming more and more an element of driving brand growth." For Coca-Cola, innovation often comes through flavour extensions and limited editions. Although individual launches naturally experience an initial sales spike before stabilising, Helen sees their long-term value differently. "They encourage people to enter the brand, or to stay within the umbrella brand," she explains. "Someone might think, 'I've had enough of that flavour,' but then another new one comes along, and they want to try that one. Overall, the graph keeps moving upwards." Recent collaborations with McDonald's and Nando's demonstrated how powerful this appetite for novelty can be, while brands like Monster illustrate the longer-term impact of maintaining a steady pipeline of innovation. "I think Monster has done a brilliant job of getting people excited about new flavours," Helen says. "They keep introducing new ones, retiring others, and people genuinely look forward to what's next." “Flavour extensions and limited editions encourage people to enter the brand, or to stay within the umbrella brand.” Health Trends are Reshaping the Category Changing consumer lifestyles are also creating entirely new growth opportunities. Helen points to several long-term shifts that are beginning to reshape beverage consumption, including GLP-1 medications, greater moderation, increasing demand for functional drinks and continued growth of lower-sugar options. "We're seeing an even bigger shift towards our lighter variants and still drinks," she explains. "Water continues to grow, and functional drinks are growing really fast." One example is Coca-Cola's new "00" variant, combining zero sugar with zero caffeine. Helen believes it responds directly to changing consumer needs. "It's still the cola taste people like, but without caffeine or calories," she says. "People can have it later in the evening, and I think it's going to do really well." At the same time, Helen cautions against overreacting to every emerging trend. Functional drinks, for example, are receiving enormous attention despite still representing a relatively small part of the total market. "Everyone asks what we've got on functional drinks," she says. "Yes, it's a thing, but we also have to keep it in perspective." For Helen, that ability to separate genuine long-term opportunities from short-term hype is becoming one of the most valuable contributions an Insights team can make. “Everyone asks what we've got on functional drinks. Yes, it's a thing, but we also have to keep it in perspective.” From Reporting Data to Stewarding Knowledge Perhaps the biggest transformation Helen sees is within the Insights profession itself. With AI making increasingly sophisticated analysis available to everyone, collecting and reporting data is no longer enough. Instead, insights professionals must become interpreters and advisors. "Everyone can now ask AI a question and get an answer," Helen explains. "Our role becomes validating whether that's actually the right answer." She recently attended an industry forum where the phrase "knowledge steward" particularly resonated. "They described it as a tsunami of data that's coming because everyone can access it," she says. "Our job is to steer people through that, provide context, and keep everyone honest." This evolution also changes what businesses expect from agencies and insight partners. Historical reporting is becoming less valuable than helping organisations understand what comes next. "We don't need more reporting," Helen explains. "We need thought leadership. What does GLP-1 actually mean? What does the cost-of-living crisis mean? What should we do about it? That's much more valuable." "Everyone can now ask AI a question and get an answer. Our role becomes validating whether that's actually the right answer." Building the Future through Strategic Partnerships That strategic role extends beyond Coca-Cola itself. Helen increasingly sees major retailers turning to manufacturers for category leadership rather than simply product supply. Coca-Cola now regularly provides customers with broader category perspectives, shopper segmentation and recommendations for future growth, even in areas where the company doesn't yet have a major commercial presence. "It's about being seen as partners," she explains. Looking ahead, Helen believes future growth will increasingly come through digital ecosystems as e-commerce, quick commerce, food aggregators, influencers and social commerce continue to reshape consumer behaviour. At the same time, she believes brands must resist the temptation to chase every new trend. "Coca-Cola has always been about family and togetherness," Helen reflects. "You can't suddenly change decades of brand equity with the wind." For her, sustainable brand growth will come from striking the right balance: continuously innovating, embracing new channels and evolving consumer needs, while staying true to the values that have built the brand over generations. "Coca-Cola has always been about family and togetherness. You can't suddenly change decades of brand equity with the wind."

Generative AI gives advertisers something they have always wanted: more creative output, produced faster and at lower cost. But a new question is emerging. What happens when consumers know that AI was involved? That question is becoming increasingly relevant as European transparency requirements around certain forms of AI-generated and manipulated content come into effect. The discussion therefore moves beyond whether marketers can use AI. The more interesting question is how AI can be used without reducing the value of the advertising it helps to create.

For Antonia Dedekind, innovation is not about launching the next exciting product for the sake of technical feasibility or novelty. Based on her experience across consumer insights and innovation, sustainable brand growth starts much earlier: with a deep understanding of consumers, culture and the human truths a brand can credibly own. When Antonia joined Pandora seven years ago, she started in Consumer Insights before moving into Innovation, where she now leads the company’s global innovation team. Over the past years, she has seen a shift towards more consumer-centric decision-making, where consumer understanding is embedded more systematically into shaping products, communication and experiences. In this interview, Antonia explains how that shift has influenced her view of growth: why penetration and relevance are central to growth, why innovation needs to create incremental impact rather than just activity, and why AI will fundamentally change the way innovation is developed. From Gut Feel to Consumer-centric Growth Looking back, she identifies one pattern that consistently underpins successful brand growth: developing a much deeper understanding of consumers and culture and translating that understanding into sharper, more distinctive brand relevance. Many years ago, one of the central challenges for Pandora was rebuilding brand relevance and clarity and true consumer understanding was an important foundation for the shift. “Successful brands that live over time strike a human truth. In our case, there is a human truth that people want to express themselves, celebrate moments and mark what matters. When you understand that and execute it well in communication and product, you can rebuild relevance,” she says. Rather than relying primarily on intuition, over the years Pandora has developed clearer ways of bringing consumer understanding into decision-making across product development, innovation and communication, matching art with science. But for Antonia, the shift is not simply about adding more research or data. It is about making consumer understanding an active strategic capability: something that helps the organisation make better choices, not just validate choices already made. Gut feel and intuition still play an important role, but they become far more powerful when shaped by a shared understanding of consumers and the drivers of relevance. “Successful brands that live over time strike a human truth. In our case, there is a human truth that people want to express themselves, celebrate moments and mark what matters. When you understand that and execute it well in communication and product, you can rebuild relevance.” Innovation should drive Penetration, not just Activity For Antonia, revenue growth and increased market share are the clearest indicators of a brand’s success. But these outcomes are ultimately driven by penetration: the ability to make more people think of the brand and buy it. This is where innovation plays a critical role. Done well, innovation creates new sources of relevance, desire and accessibility, giving more consumers more reasons to enter the brand and buy into it. Sustainable long-term growth therefore depends on three things working together: genuinely relevant products, strong brand desire and broad reach. All three need to work together to create long-term success. That belief shapes her view of innovation. The danger is rarely a lack of ideas: most organisations have plenty of those. The danger is confusing activity with initiatives that drive growth. “Innovation isn't about coming up with really cool small initiatives that are fun and exciting but don't have a substantial impact,” Antonia says. The common mistake is treating innovation as a pipeline of launches rather than a mechanism for expanding the brand’s relevance, reach and ability to attract more customers. “Innovation isn't about coming up with really cool small initiatives that are fun and exciting but don't have a substantial impact.” Innovation needs an Ecosystem, not a Silo Innovation, according to Antonia, succeeds when different disciplines work together around shared objectives, clear roles and strong governance, so that ideas can move from strategic opportunity to commercial impact. “You have someone with a strong capability in strategy, R&D, design, sourcing, insights. You need to bring all of them to the same table.” In her experience, innovation often works best as an ecosystem rather than as one centralised function where everything is grouped together. Teams across design, strategy, R&D, consumer insights, supply and other functions need to come together around the work, not operate as a separate hub developing ideas in isolation and then trying to convince the rest of the organization to adopt them. This though means that clear governance models are essential. Thereby, for Antonia, cooperation and collaboration are not the same thing but both essential for the innovation ecosystem. Cooperation meaning each team brings its expertise and remains accountable for its own workstream; collaboration meaning teams work together across boundaries e.g. to shape the opportunity and make trade-offs together. Innovation needs to some degree both: clear ownership of expertise and workstreams, combined with a shared commitment to the bigger strategic ambition. “You have someone with a strong capability in strategy, R&D, design, sourcing, insights. You need to bring all of them to the same table.” Consumer Understanding should inspire Creativity, not Constraint it Consumer-centricity sits at the centre of the innovation ecosystem. “It starts with the consumer before it can end up again on a consumer’s wrist,” she says. Staying close to the consumer means deeply understanding culture, behaviours, pain points and barriers - not to dictate the creative answer, but to give teams a richer foundation from which to imagine it. Used well, data sharpens judgement, but used too rigidly, it can push ideas towards the safest and most predictable answer. For Antonia, consumer understanding plays different roles across the innovation funnel from inspiration to optimisation and validation. Early on, it should be exploratory, helping to uncover emerging tensions, behaviours and opportunities, e.g. through cultural signals, social listening and qualitative insight. Later, it becomes more evaluative, helping teams to improve and stress-test concepts, shape communication, assess commercial potential and build confidence in the direction. AI will Accelerate Innovation, but not Replace Human Judgement Looking ahead, Antonia expects artificial intelligence to reshape nearly every aspect of innovation. She sees particular potential in using AI to make innovation faster, more agile and more responsive, supporting everything from project management to ideation, qualitative insight synthesis, consumer testing, faster iteration of ideas and actual product development. I think speed is so important. Research typically takes long, while the world around us shifts more quickly and innovation is required to move faster. If AI can speed up the process without reducing depth or quality, that is a really big opportunity. But AI is only valuable if it is paired with a strong human point of view. If every brand uses the same AI tools in the same way, ideas and concepts risk becoming increasingly similar. For Antonia, AI can be a blessing for speed and scale, but it should sharpen human judgement and creative direction rather than replace them. That is also why, for Antonia, future-proof growth is not only about using new tools to innovate faster, but about innovating relevance itself. Brands need to stay culturally connected while building a portfolio strong enough to grow without depending on constant reinvention. “Don’t just innovate your products, innovate your relevance. The fight is really about creating desire - because without desire, growth becomes much harder to sustain.” Views expressed are Antonia Dedekind’s own and not an official company position.

One in four Dutch people do not invest despite having the financial means to do so. So, what is stopping them? Research by DVJ Insights for DUFAS reveals that the biggest barriers go beyond money – from lack of knowledge and fear of making mistakes to information overload and the feeling that investing is simply “not my world”. The challenge: Why do financially capable consumers not invest? As financial security becomes increasingly important, DUFAS, the Dutch Fund and Asset Management Association, wanted to understand why many households save money rather than invest, even if they have the financial means to do so. Building on our earlier research, the ambition for 2026 was to go deeper: who can invest but does not, what holds them back, and what could help them take the first step? Our approach: Understanding investment behaviour among Dutch households DVJ set up a nationally representative study and identified potential investors: people who do not currently invest but have sufficient financial means to do so. The study included 1,529 respondents and provided a robust, representative picture of Dutch households, including comparisons between investors and non-investors. We combined quantitative questions with qualitative techniques such as free associations and open-ended responses. We analysed all data, diving deeper through AI-supported topic modelling, detailed barrier analysis and socio-demographic insights. We also quantified the importance of barriers around identity, cost-benefit and capabilities. This allowed us to report not just how many people experience barriers, but also why they exist and what could help overcome them. The findings: What are the biggest barriers to investing? The research shows that financial means alone do not determine whether people invest. One in four Dutch people do not invest despite having the financial means to do so. For these potential investors, investing is more strongly associated with risk and uncertainty. The barriers are both practical and psychological. A lack of knowledge, fear of making mistakes and the feeling that investing is “not my world” can all prevent people from taking the first step. Communication also plays an important role: almost four in five potential investors experience information overload, while investment risk warnings can further discourage them from investing. At the same time, there is clear potential for change. One in three potential investors expects to invest in the future, while the overall share of Dutch households investing has increased to four in ten in 2026. The impact: Making investing more accessible and understandable The research provides DUFAS with a clearer understanding of what can help lower the barriers to investing. This includes providing more accessible guidance around risk and making it easier for people to start investing with small amounts. The findings also point to opportunities at a broader level. More than two-thirds of Dutch consumers see advantages in an accessible, tax-friendly investment account inspired by the Swedish approach. By identifying not only who is hesitant to invest, but also why, the research provides direction for making investing more understandable, accessible and relevant – and ultimately helping more people consider investing as part of their long-term financial security. About DUFAS The Dutch Fund and Asset Management Association (DUFAS) represents the Dutch asset management sector and promotes the societal importance of investing and a healthy financial future for Dutch households. Its nearly 60 members, including asset managers, pension administrators and specialist service providers, manage investments for individuals, companies and pension funds. DUFAS represents the sector in policy discussions and develops industry standards. It also contributes to strengthening the Dutch and European capital markets, supporting the transition towards a sustainable economy. For more information, please visit DUFAS Understanding what people do is only part of the picture. By uncovering the underlying barriers, motivations and perceptions behind behaviour, DVJ helps organisations identify what can genuinely change consumer decisions. Want to understand what is holding your consumers back?

Utrecht, 9 September 2026 – DVJ Insights has won a global ESOMAR Award for Best Social Impact Research for NIVEA CONNECT, recognising their work to understand loneliness better and turn research into meaningful societal action. At the heart of the award-winning work is the NIVEA CONNECT COMPASS, a global research programme conducted among more than 30,000 people across 13 countries. The research set out to make one of society’s most widespread yet often invisible challenges better understood: loneliness and social isolation. The findings have since become the strategic foundation of NIVEA CONNECT, NIVEA’s long-term global social mission focused on reducing stigma around loneliness and strengthening meaningful human connection. By the end of 2026, initiatives connected to NIVEA CONNECT are expected to be active in 40 countries worldwide. For NIVEA and DVJ Insights, the ESOMAR Award recognises not only the scale and innovative methodology of the research, but what it has enabled: moving from understanding a complex societal issue towards awareness and action around the world. Making loneliness visible Loneliness and social isolation are increasingly recognised as major societal and wellbeing challenges, yet loneliness often remains invisible. Many people struggle to talk openly about it, ask for support or even recognise loneliness in themselves and others. NIVEA believes that in a world full of people, no one should feel lonely. Together with DVJ Insights, NIVEA developed the NIVEA CONNECT COMPASS to understand not only how widespread loneliness is, but what it actually feels like and how experiences differ across countries and cultures. The research showed that loneliness transcends geography, age and culture, while the realities behind it can be deeply local. It also identified particularly vulnerable groups, including younger people, heavy social media users and economically disadvantaged individuals. Combining science with human stories To capture both the scale and emotional reality of loneliness, the research combined scientifically validated frameworks, including the UCLA Loneliness Scale, with DVJ’s AI-powered Mass Qual approach. More than 30,000 participants shared their own stories, emotions and experiences around loneliness and social connection. AI-powered SmartProbing helped explore these experiences in greater depth, combining international comparability with the human and cultural understanding needed for such a sensitive topic. Most importantly, the research did not end with the findings. It became the foundation for NIVEA CONNECT and has informed awareness activities, educational programmes, NGO partnerships and local social initiatives around the world. Lucas Hulsebos, CEO and owner of DVJ Insights, says: “Winning this global ESOMAR Award together with NIVEA makes me incredibly proud. More than 30,000 people trusted us with very personal stories about loneliness, and that created a responsibility to make those stories count. What makes this project so special is that the research did not stop at understanding the issue. It became the foundation for NIVEA CONNECT and action around the world. Loneliness is for me also a personal topic that has been discussed many times in different situations. Contributing to making people aware of this makes me also proud.

When Kellanova separated from Kellogg Company in 2023, it sharpened its ambition to become a global snacking leader. For Carmel Balala, Senior European Away From Home Channel Strategy Manager, that ambition is particularly visible in the Away From Home (AFH) channel. From convenience stores and cinemas to pubs, hospitals and leisure venues, growth is no longer simply about increasing distribution. It is about understanding consumer occasions, tailoring propositions to different environments, and making brands visible where people create memorable experiences. In this interview, Carmel shares how important brand growth, with brands like Pringles and Cheez-It, is , why consumer understanding sits at the heart of innovation, and why Away From Home will play an increasingly important role in building long-term brand equity. Away from Home is about Occasions, not Channels When defining , Away From Home, it is much broader than foodservice alone. It includes convenience retail alongside a wide variety of environments such as cinemas, pubs, hospitals and leisure locations. While each environment looks different, Carmel believes they all have one thing in common: consumers are buying for a specific occasion. "The biggest opportunity is understanding the right occasions in the different Away From Home environments." That makes the channel fundamentally different from traditional grocery retail. Rather than simply placing the same products in different outlets, brands like Pringles focus on matching its proposition to the shopper mission. Sometimes that means adapting pack sizes or formats rather than changing the product itself. The challenge is the complexity of the channel. Grocery retail offers scale and frequent shopping trips, whereas Away From Home consists of many different environments, each with its own consumer needs and purchasing behaviour. However, Carmel sees a major advantage in return. "Grocery gives you scale, but Away From Home gives you much stronger visibility for your brand. That mental availability really resonates in many of those environments." This visibility creates a halo effect that extends beyond the purchase itself. Consumers remember brands that accompany enjoyable experiences, whether that's a cinema visit, a night out with friends or grabbing a snack while travelling. “Grocery gives you scale, but Away From Home gives you much stronger visibility for your brand. That mental availability really resonates in many of those environments.” Growth comes from Continiuous Brand Building One of the strongest examples of brand growth strategy is Pringles. It remains the company's fastest-growing brand in Europe and has now grown into a billion-dollar brand. Rather than relying on one successful product, Pringles continues to evolve through constant renovation. Flavour innovation plays a major role, with limited editions complementing the brand's core flavours. Strategic collaborations also help the brand stay culturally relevant. "We're very intentional about choosing the right collaborations." Recent partnerships with brands such as Mario and Xbox illustrate how Pringles uses popular culture to create excitement around the brand without losing its distinctive identity. Beyond innovation, Carmel highlights the importance of Pringles' distinctive assets. The iconic can and unique chip shape immediately set the brand apart on shelf. While many competitors have tried to imitate the concept, these recognisable brand assets continue to provide strong differentiation. “We're very intentional about choosing the right collaborations.” Building New Brands through Trial Launching an entirely new brand requires a different approach from supporting an existing market leader. Cheez-It, already a major success in the United States, is currently being rolled out across Europe, starting with the UK, Ireland and Germany. Carmel explains that trial has been central to the European launch. "We've done a huge amount of sampling to ensure consumers can taste the product and understand the proposition." Supporting that trial is clear communication around what makes Cheez-It different: a baked cracker made with 100% real cheese. Combined with strong advertising and promotional support for both retailers and consumers, this reduces the perceived risk of trying something unfamiliar. Importantly, the innovation team has not simply copied the successful American product. "The brand is the same, but the product is quite different." European consumer preferences differ significantly from those in the US, so the recipe was specifically adapted for European tastes before launch. Carmel stresses that understanding these local preferences is essential before expanding into additional markets. “We've done a huge amount of sampling to ensure consumers can taste the product and understand the proposition." Consumer Understanding drives every Innovation Whether launching a new flavour, a new pack format or an entirely new brand, innovation always starts with consumer insight. "We do a huge amount of research before we launch a new product, a new flavour or a new pack format." The business combines multiple data sources, including category trends, consumer research and shopper insights, to identify opportunities. Innovation is never pursued simply because something is technically possible. Instead, the company carefully considers what consumers want, what they are talking about and whether any innovation fits the existing brand. "We always want to stay true to the brands that consumers already know, love and enjoy." For Carmel, protecting brand equity is just as important as driving novelty. Every innovation should strengthen the brand rather than dilute it. “We do a huge amount of research before we launch a new product, a new flavour or a new pack format." The Future Belongs to Brands that Balance Indulgence and ''Better for me'' One of the biggest consumer shifts Carmel observes is the growing balance between indulgence and healthier choices. Consumers still want rewarding experiences, particularly in Away From Home environments where treats are closely linked to leisure occasions. At the same time, they're increasingly looking for products that feel like a better choice. "It doesn't necessarily mean healthy, but it is better for them." This trend is shaping innovation across salty snacks. Flavour innovation continues to drive category growth, while texture innovation provides new sensory experiences. At the same time, baked products and other "better-for-you" formats allow consumers to enjoy indulgent snacks while feeling they're making a more balanced choice. Carmel expects this balance to remain one of the defining trends over the coming years. "I think brands that can really deliver on that balance will win in the future." Building Brands where Consumers Create Memories Looking ahead, Carmel believes the role of Away From Home will only become more important. Consumers increasingly expect brands to meet them where they are, rather than relying solely on supermarket shelves. The real opportunity lies in becoming part of memorable moments. "If your brand is present in those memorable occasions, that's where you'll build much stronger brand equity." Whether consumers are visiting the cinema, enjoying a meal with friends or picking up a snack during a journey, these occasions create emotional memories that strengthen long-term brand associations. Although grocery retail will always remain important, Carmel believes sustainable growth will increasingly come from understanding occasions aligned to different channels. Brands that combine strong consumer understanding with continuous innovation and meaningful presence across Away From Home environments will be best positioned to grow in the years ahead. "If your brand is present in those memorable occasions, that's where you'll build much stronger brand equity."

The Myth of the Second Purchase One of the most persistent beliefs in concept testing is that repeat purchase lies beyond its reach. A concept test may indicate whether consumers are interested in an innovation. It may help predict whether they will notice it, consider it or perhaps try it for the first time. But whether they subsequently buy it again is commonly assumed to depend almost entirely on the actual product experience.

Marketers have more data, technology and tools than ever, but Dan White believes that does not necessarily make marketing better. The real challenge is knowing what evidence matters, turning it into action and retaining the human judgement needed to make good decisions. As a marketing consultant, author and founder of SmartMarketing.me, Dan is known for translating complex marketing concepts into simple visual frameworks. Having spent much of his career studying advertising effectiveness and evidence-based marketing, he believes brand growth depends not only on better data, but on the ability to communicate, align people and make sound decisions. In this conversation, he explains where research adds the most value, why people skills are becoming increasingly important and why AI could make human creativity and critical thinking more valuable, not less. Turning Marketing Data into Better Business Decisions For Dan, the problem with data is not always that companies lack it. Often, the evidence is available, but organisations struggle to act on what it tells them. Internal politics, limited resources or simply the belief that experience and instinct know better can all get in the way. “Sometimes the company doesn’t have access to the data they need,” he explains. “But sometimes they do have the data, and for whatever reason, they ignore it.” Turning insight into action therefore requires more than good research. It requires a clear vision and alignment across the organisation. Marketing cannot pursue one direction while finance, sales or senior leadership pursue another. “Marketing is one of the functions that has to work with the whole business in order for the marketing strategy to work,” Dan says. That makes the ability to communicate and influence internally an important part of the marketer’s job. For marketers, that also means connecting recommendations to commercial outcomes. Dan describes this as having “line of sight to the financial benefit” of what you are proposing. Data becomes much easier to act on when the wider business understands not only what it says, but why it matters commercially. “Marketing is one of the functions that has to work with the whole business in order for the marketing strategy to work” Using Advertising Pre-testing Without Losing Judgement Dan is a strong advocate of advertising pre-testing, not least because marketers are often poor judges of their own work. Research can reveal whether advertising is engaging and enjoyable, whether the brand is sufficiently integrated and, crucially, what consumers are likely to remember afterwards. “We know that the most engaging, enjoyable advertising is much more likely to be effective,” he explains. Where pre-testing becomes less useful is in deciding what a brand should stick with over time. A single test can evaluate an execution, but it cannot necessarily reveal which creative elements deserve to become part of the brand for years to come. That requires learning across multiple campaigns, combined with judgement and dedicated research into distinctive brand assets. Dan points to the Michelin Man as an example, explaining that the character was initially intended as a one-off execution before capturing people’s imagination and evolving into an iconic long-term brand asset. “Sometimes something that wasn’t meant to be a distinctive asset, but featured in a lot of your advertising, has captured people’s imagination,” he explains. The lesson is to pay attention not only to what marketers intend to build, but also to what consumers actually remember. “We know that the most engaging, enjoyable advertising is much more likely to be effective” Why Communication and Listening Drive Brand Growth As marketing becomes more specialised, Dan believes the ability to communicate across disciplines is becoming increasingly important. Marketing, communications, insights and finance may all have their own terminology, but effective leaders translate complexity into everyday language. “If they know the topic well enough, they should be able to do that,” he says. Even more fundamental is listening. Dan describes it as one of the most important skills a leader can develop and uses his Five Ps framework to make it practical: Pay Attention, Probe, Pause, Playback and Present Possibilities. The pause is particularly powerful. Rather than immediately filling a silence, allowing the other person time to continue can reveal what they really wanted to say. “After the pause, you get the truth,” Dan says. Playback is equally important: paraphrasing what someone has said both demonstrates that they have been heard and gives them an opportunity to correct any misunderstanding. Only then does Dan recommend presenting possible solutions, preferably as suggestions rather than instructions. In a business environment where marketers constantly need to persuade colleagues, agencies and senior stakeholders, these apparently “soft” skills can have very tangible consequences. And as technology takes over more technical work, Dan expects them to become even more valuable. AI, Human Creativity and the Risk of ''More Efficient Mediocrity'' AI is already changing how marketing work gets done, and Dan sees enormous potential for greater speed and efficiency. He believes AI can already produce routine advertising at comparable levels of quality and effectiveness at a fraction of the cost. That makes it particularly useful in a fragmented media landscape that demands more content, more formats and more variations. But greater efficiency does not necessarily mean better marketing. The risk is what happens to the people behind that work. If AI performs much of the groundwork, junior marketers may have fewer opportunities to learn their craft by doing it themselves, making mistakes and understanding why those mistakes happened. “It’ll be difficult for new people coming into industries to learn the craft and to try it themselves,” Dan warns. Over time, that could weaken the critical thinking required to recognise when an AI-generated recommendation simply does not make sense. That is where Dan draws a clear distinction between efficient execution and exceptional creativity. AI works from existing patterns, making it increasingly capable of producing competent marketing, but breakthrough ideas tend to come from doing something genuinely original. He points to Cadbury’s famous gorilla campaign as the kind of unexpected creative leap that AI is currently unlikely to generate. The danger is therefore not necessarily that AI produces bad marketing, but that brands become increasingly efficient at producing average marketing – what Dan describes as “more efficient mediocrity.” “It’ll be difficult for new people coming into industries to learn the craft and to try it themselves” Why the Future of Marketing can Learn from its Past While marketers rush to understand AI and the latest platforms, Dan believes some of the most useful lessons are hiding in marketing history. Many supposedly new developments are established marketing behaviours transformed by technology. Roman gladiators, for example, functioned much like modern celebrity endorsers, while Tupperware parties anticipated today’s influencer-led social selling by decades. For Dan, these examples show how often technology changes the execution rather than the underlying marketing principle. Studying the past is therefore not an exercise in nostalgia. It gives marketers a library of ideas that can be reinterpreted for different brands, markets and technologies, rather than assuming that every new platform requires an entirely new approach. The distinction between inspiration and imitation is important. The objective is not to recreate what worked before, but to understand why it worked and apply the principle in a new context. “That’s where creativity comes from: inspiration and applying something in a slightly different context,” Dan says. In an industry constantly looking for the next big thing, his message is a useful reminder: new technology does not necessarily require new marketing principles. Sometimes a better source of inspiration is understanding what has worked before, why it worked, and finding a new way to apply it. “That’s where creativity comes from: inspiration and applying something in a slightly different context”

After nearly two decades working across media, strategy, creativity and business, Fernando López-Quero has developed a broad perspective on what truly drives brand growth. Having worked with brands across sectors ranging from banking and energy to luxury and entertainment, he believes growth is rarely the result of a single discipline or KPI. Instead, it comes from connecting brand, culture, media, data and creativity into one coherent strategy. In this conversation, Fernando shares why marketers should move beyond short-term optimisation, why context matters as much as creativity, and why the future belongs to organisations capable of orchestrating people, channels and ideas rather than managing them in isolation. Brand Growth requires Connection, not Optimisation Fernando describes strategy as an exercise in connecting disciplines that are often treated separately. Throughout his career, moving between agencies and industries has reinforced one central belief: successful strategy is built by bringing together different perspectives rather than becoming increasingly specialised. “The strategic approach is based on connecting dots that sometimes do not seem so obvious, and from that connection something different and new emerges.” That same philosophy shapes how he thinks about brand growth. While marketers often search for one defining KPI, Fernando argues that no universal metric exists. The right framework depends on the maturity of the brand, the competitive landscape and the business context. Instead of relying solely on awareness or campaign efficiency, brands need a broader perspective that combines differentiation, relevance, consideration and long-term commercial effects. As he explains: “We shouldn't only focus on top-of-funnel metrics. We need to evaluate the entire brand-building process without taking shortcuts.” Fernando believes many organisations still oversimplify measurement because of the constant pressure for efficiency. Reach, ROI and ROAS all have their place, but they only tell part of the story. He points to the relationship between Share of Voice and Share of Market, alongside search behaviour, as examples of metrics that can provide a richer picture of future growth than campaign delivery metrics alone. Ultimately, he believes brand growth should be assessed through a balanced framework rather than a single number. “If I could invent one KPI, it would measure how rich and complete a brand's ecosystem really is.” “We shouldn't only focus on top-of-funnel metrics. We need to evaluate the entire brand-building process without taking shortcuts.” Context is what makes Brand Relevant Looking across the many categories he has worked in, Fernando sees one common denominator among successful brands: they understand the context in which they operate. Brands do not grow in isolation. They grow within society, culture and people's everyday lives, and that broader understanding gives meaning to a brand's value proposition while making creativity genuinely relevant rather than simply distinctive. “We often underestimate how important it is to understand the broader societal context. But that's exactly where a brand lives.” This perspective also shapes how Fernando thinks about one of marketing's most talked-about topics: attention. While many marketers treat attention as another metric to optimise, he believes it should instead be understood as the result of context. People's emotional state, surroundings, intentions and motivations all influence whether they pay attention in the first place. As he explains: “If you don't connect attention back to the context—to the things that actually influence whether someone pays attention—then we're not really doing our job properly.” Ultimately, this is why Fernando believes the brand proposition should always come before media planning or creative execution. Investment, innovation and creativity only become effective when a brand has a clear reason to exist and a proposition that genuinely resonates with consumers. Without that foundation, even the best media strategy or creative campaign will struggle to create sustainable growth. “We often underestimate how important it is to understand the broader societal context. But that's exactly where a brand lives.” From Data Collection to Better Decision-making Although data has become central to modern marketing, Fernando believes many organisations are still asking the wrong questions. “Data is truly used either to learn or to support your decisions. If the emphasis is too much on supporting your decisions, I am not sure you are really using the data to learn.” For him, the real value of data lies not in the volume collected, but in its ability to improve strategic thinking and decision-making. The same applies to the industry's growing focus on data platforms. Fernando welcomes richer data ecosystems but argues that owning more data does not automatically lead to better decisions. Too much attention is paid to how data is collected and integrated, while too little is paid to how it shapes strategic choices. He illustrates this with a recent Louis Vuitton campaign inspired by the social media format "What's in my bag?" Rather than using social data to optimise media performance, the brand used it to understand culture. By translating a popular social behaviour into an offline campaign, Louis Vuitton showed how data can help brands understand people, not just optimise campaigns. “Data is truly used either to learn or to support your decisions. If the emphasis is too much on supporting your decisions, I am not sure you are really using the data to learn.” The Future of Media is Orchestration For Fernando, media fragmentation has fundamentally changed the role of both marketers and agencies. Consumers no longer think in terms of media channels; they simply engage with experiences that provide information, entertainment, utility or solutions. As a result, almost anything capable of capturing attention can become part of a brand's communication ecosystem. “Strategies should move towards understanding the brand universe and adapting it appropriately to each of those media or channels.” Rather than trying to be present everywhere, brands need to understand what makes them unique and deliberately choose where they should appear and where they should not. “There are brands that are very clear about what makes them unique and how their brand universe should exist… you know where you should be and where you should not be.” Fernando believes this also changes the role of media agencies. Instead of focusing primarily on paid media optimisation, agencies should become orchestrators that connect data, creativity, innovation and strategy. In an increasingly fragmented landscape, success depends on building one coherent brand universe across every relevant touchpoint. “You need to work on consistency over time, as well as coherence across all those channels in an orchestrated way.” “There are brands that are very clear about what makes them unique and how their brand universe should exist… you know where you should be and where you should not be.” Human Judgement remains the Competitive Advantage Artificial intelligence was another recurring theme throughout the conversation. Fernando sees enormous potential in AI but believes marketers should resist the temptation to hand over strategic responsibility entirely to technology. While AI can solve increasingly complex tasks in seconds, it cannot define a brand's authenticity, purpose or long-term direction. Looking ahead, Fernando believes successful marketing organisations will need balanced teams made up of what he calls thinkers, doers and feelers: people who understand strategy and data, people who excel at execution, and people who understand culture, emotion and human behaviour. That philosophy is also reflected in the advice he gives young strategists. Don't become dazzled by AI. Learn to truly understand data, gain experience across different disciplines and avoid specialising too early. Ultimately, Fernando believes the strongest strategists will be those who can connect ideas, people and disciplines into one coherent whole.