Benoit Tranzer on the future of Brand Tracking, bringing a new order in the chaos!

This podcast episode delves into the challenges and opportunities facing brand tracking in today's complex and ever-changing world. Benoit Tranzer, Global Service Line Leader for Brand Health Tracking at Ipsos, highlights the impact of overlapping crises on consumer behavior and brand choices, emphasizing the need for brand tracking to evolve beyond traditional methods. 

He advocates for data integration from various sources, including customer experience data and social media insights, to provide a holistic view of brand performance. Additionally, Tranzer stresses the importance of making brand tracking data accessible to a wider range of stakeholders within organizations.  The episode explores the need for new metrics and approaches, such as contextual brand tracking and ESG indicators, to capture the nuances of the current market.  

Furthermore, the potential of AI in enhancing brand tracking processes, including proposal generation, questionnaire design, and automated insights, is discussed. Tranzer also emphasizes the significance of shaping consumer expectations, integrating both macro and micro contexts, and acting with empathy to build stronger brand connections.  

While acknowledging the challenges, the episode concludes with an optimistic outlook on the future of brand tracking, where AI and human expertise combine to unlock deeper insights and guide brands towards success in a chaotic world.

Key Takeaways:

The Chaotic Environment: The episode begins by acknowledging the current state of the world, characterized by overlapping crises such as pandemics, inflation, social unrest, and climate change. This environment has a significant impact on consumer behavior and brand choices. 
The Role of Brand Tracking: Brand tracking is essential for understanding consumer perceptions, brand health, and campaign effectiveness. It helps brands navigate the dynamic market and make informed decisions to strengthen their position.
Evolving Brand Tracking: Traditional brand tracking methods are no longer sufficient. The episode emphasizes the need for adaptation and innovation, including:
Data Integration: Connecting brand tracking data with other sources like customer experience data and social media insights to gain a holistic view.
Accessibility: Making brand tracking data more accessible to various stakeholders within an organization, beyond just the marketing and insights teams.
New Metrics and Approaches: Developing new indicators and methodologies, such as contextual brand tracking and ESG metrics, to capture the nuances of the current market.
Leveraging AI: Utilizing AI capabilities to enhance brand tracking processes, including proposal generation, questionnaire design, and automated insights.

Additional Insights

Shaping Expectations: Brands need to focus on shaping consumer expectations, as expectations heavily influence experiences. This goes beyond rational and emotional expectations to encompass social and shopping expectations as well.
Integrating Context: Brands must consider both the macro context (global trends and social issues) and the micro context (local realities and consumer lifestyles) to ensure relevance and resonance.
Acting with Empathy: Brands should demonstrate a genuine understanding of what matters to consumers and how their brand can add value to their lives.

Looking Ahead

The future of brand tracking is exciting, with AI playing a significant role in enhancing capabilities and providing deeper insights. However, the human element remains crucial in interpreting data, driving creativity, and making strategic decisions.