Media release: Agile innovation is fundamental to post-pandemic growth for Aussie brands

Kantar launches automated innovation suite to fast-track innovation 

Sydney: 1 July 2020: It has never been more important to identify the ideas that will transform business and develop them quickly. To help brands accelerate innovation and speed to market, Kantar has released a new suite of Innovation and Product Development solutions on Kantar Marketplace – the automated, on-demand market research platform designed for insights professionals, marketers and agencies who want to test, learn and move faster. 

“Speed to market with the right value proposition, that is meaningfully different, will determine success in challenging times,” says Kantar Australia’s Head of Innovation, Nikki Davey. 

“We know that strong brands recover faster after a crisis, and innovative brands even more quickly. Kantar’s global BrandZ^™ data shows the stock price of the top 20 most innovative brands grew at almost twice the rate of the S&P 500 after the 2008 economic crisis. As we navigate out of COVID-19, leading with and prioritising innovation has never been more critical for resilience and growth.”

As part of its sixth COVID-19 Barometer, Kantar surveyed 500 Australians between 18-22 June and found that one-third (36%) intend to spend their money now rather than wait given an uncertain future while almost 6 in 10 (57%) are planning on balancing pandemic savings plans with spending now. Four in 10 also want to maintain the health and hygiene habits they built during lockdown.

“Regardless of intent to spend, Aussies are looking for safety, value and proof of provenance now. Those brands that innovate at speed to meet this need now will be more resilient and lead towards growth. Great innovation now will accelerate recovery from the economic crisis, and equally importantly, strengthen the brand to grow faster over the long term.”

Ilana Sanborn, Senior Director, Kantar Marketplace in Australia says with people’s needs, behaviours and beliefs evolving faster than ever before, companies need to be agile, pivot their pipeline and get closer to consumers.  

“Kantar Marketplace provides serviced and self-serve quick turnaround ad testing across TV, print and digital as well as concept screening, pack screening and on-demand trend reports. To assist brands to innovate at speed, over the next year we are also rolling out a full portfolio of automated innovation solutions on the Marketplace platform across digital media optimisation, full ad testing diagnostics, idea screening, product testing and ad tracking.  

Marketplace provides fast answers to a brand’s most pressing questions with proven automated market research solutions designed to the highest standards, with most ad, pack and concept tests providing results in a user-friendly dashboard with 24-hours – however it can be as fast as a six-hour turnaround, says Sanborn.

“We want brands to continue to advertise and share stories on how they are helping communities. The innovation solution on Kantar Marketplace gives brands a smart and efficient way to put people at the heart of their business. With 70 of the Fortune 100 already using Innovation tools on Marketplace, it gives an agile new capability for Aussie companies to compete.”

Kantar Marketplace eValuate is available at www.kantar.com/marketplace

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Kantar
Kantar is the world’s leading evidence-based insights and consulting company. We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of how people think, feel and act; globally and locally in over 90 markets. By combining the deep expertise of our people, our data resources and benchmarks, our innovative analytics and technology, we help our clients understand people and inspire growth. www.kantaraustralia.com

Kantar Marketplace
Kantar Marketplace is an automated market research platform designed for insights professionals, marketers and agencies who want to test, learn and move faster. It is the only market research platform with solutions that have been independently validated to predict sales and brand growth. We are committed to helping you unlock powerful insights through our verified audiences, intuitive self-serve dashboards and expert consulting – in over 70 countries. https://www.kantar.com/marketplace