IIEX Europe 2023, one of the leading market research events in Europe, took place last week in Amsterdam. The conference brought together top researchers, data scientists, and market research professionals to discuss the latest trends and innovations in the industry. Several members of the Stravito team were on the ground, attending multiple breakout sessions and chatting with industry leaders.
Here are five of the key themes that emerged:
1) The real-life use cases of AI
AI was a big topic of discussion, with several presentations highlighting real-life use cases. One presentation, "Can AI and Big Data Get to the Heart of Human Behaviour? A Conversation with Coty and IKEA," explored how AI can be applied to competitive intelligence, collecting pricing and other details to help companies stay competitive and provide intelligence for business. Another presentation, "Leveraging the Virtual Consumer - How HENKEL Uses AI to Deliver the Perfect Shopper Experience," focused on using AI to understand consumer behavior and create a "virtual consumer brain" trained on behavior data that can give quantitative feedback on content.
The use of generative AI to create content was also discussed, along with the challenge of intellectual property rights. Interactive personalized chat-bots were also showcased, with images and interactive elements included for maximum engagement.
2) Storytelling and narrative psychology
Many presenters and attendees were interested in exploring the intersection of storytelling and psychology with market research. One presentation, "Start with the Story: Three Techniques for Applying Narrative Psychology to Uncover Inspiring Insights and Reveal Meaningful Opportunities," emphasized the importance of understanding the context and the narrative behind a research topic. The presentation used the example of McDonald's, emphasizing that the brand is not just about food but the experience and relationships associated with it. The idea is to start with the story and use storytelling to make sense of the data.
3) Thinking like a startup
Several presenters discussed how a startup mindset can boost research innovation processes. One presentation, "Hunting for Human Intelligence in an Agile Way," highlighted the importance of translating business problems into human problems and using design thinking and lean approaches to speed up the research process. The focus was on "failing fast" and finding the most efficient ways to uncover insights.
4) The importance of emotional intelligence
Emotions and the role they play in innovation were a prominent theme, with "passion" being the most used word to express feelings. Speakers discussed the importance of passion and shared their enthusiasm for the work they were doing. They highlighted how being passionate about one's work can lead to greater creativity and innovation. Additionally, it was mentioned that as technology continues to develop, it is becoming increasingly important to have strong soft skills, such as emotional intelligence.
5) The value of meaningful data
Finally, there was a lot of discussion about unlocking the value of data. Many presenters emphasized the importance of explaining what the data means and how it adds value, making sense of complicated topics, and looking beyond the data to understand the "why" behind it. The focus was on making data meaningful and catering the message to your audience.
✅ The Recap
From AI to storytelling and adopting a startup mindset, the conference highlighted the importance of staying ahead of the curve and finding innovative ways to uncover insights.
Interested in more industry news? Have a look at our latest report: The State of Insights Q1'23 Spotlight.
