WIN held its annual global conference in Bali, Indonesia, on June 16-19th, themed “Evolution & Empathy.”
The event provided a unique and valuable opportunity for industry experts to come together from all over the world. It’s a platform to discuss the recent advances in research technology and, more importantly, to shape the future of insights. The agenda included 3 days of sessions on maintaining human connection and understanding while also leveraging artificial intelligence.
As the theme was Evolution & Empathy, we all agreed that real human connections provided by market research will remain even more important for brands moving into the future as the influence of AI grows.
Advertising and AI
We heard from some external speakers in the field of advertising and AI software development on how AI was being used in these fields to help create new ways of working and complete tasks that would not be possible otherwise.
For example, Merlee Jayme, The Misfits Camp, showed examples of how advertisers had used AI to develop very personalised campaigns, that simply wouldn’t have been possible before. Kathleen Yu at Nudgyt PTE, had an interesting presentation on using AI to create AI colleagues that can be built to answer questions having been trained in how humans react with real-life heuristics.
Consumer Perceptions and AI-assisted Shopper Research
WIN colleagues from Japan and Brazil also showcased examples of work related to AI, such as horizon scanning for future forecasting and understanding consumer perceptions of AI’s effects on the democratic process.
We saw use cases from other WIN members utilising AI to help in the research process, for example, Produkt & Markt built an interactive AI platform to give to clients to be able to interrogate large data studies (or a number of studies), and ask questions of those studies to extract more insights, while PRS Invivo (part of BVA) showcased how they were using AI to measure pack stand out on store shelves.
The Emergence of Synthetic Data
Synthetic data trials being conducted across the network were also discussed, both as a tool for conducting research from scratch, developing a digital twin of a population, and filling in holes in the sample. All three certainly have upsides and downsides, and it was clear that much more testing and development is needed to see the real value of synthetic data.
A real danger is emerging whereby synthetic research provides answers that look very believable but lack any depth of understanding—a real potential danger for clients.
Other Uses of AI
Members then discussed how they are using AI in various ways, from using platforms that support the research process to developing a prompt library for staff specifically designed to work best at research process tasks.
WIN members are committed to sharing more in this space with each other, recognizing the strength of the collective working together to share, learn, and understand. This places WIN in a far stronger position than if we each persevered alone.
The members also discussed and reaffirmed the network’s key brand values, with the key brand essence being “using local knowledge and experience transformed into global intelligence and innovation, for the prosperity of business and society as a whole.”
Richard Colwell, recently elected WIN President, reflects, “This year’s Annual Conference embodied the essence of ‘Evolution & Empathy,’ reinforcing that human connections and AI’s innovative potential will collectively shape the future of market research. Together, our global network leverages local expertise into global insights, fostering broad societal and business prosperity.”