While companies pay close attention to the health of their individual brands, they often overlook a crucial engine for growth – the ways in which those brands interact and support one another.

At next week’s 2019 Corporate Researchers Conference (CRC), GfK’s Jon Brand (SVP) will share the stage with Microsoft’s Jennifer Reece (Research Manager) to show how the two companies unlocked hidden opportunities in Microsoft’s expansive brand ecosystem.

In addition, GfK’s Joe Beier (EVP, Consumer Insights) and Susan Stacey (SVP, Retail & Consumer) will take an in-depth look at “The State and Shape of Consumer Trust,” drawing on recent findings from GfK’s FutureBuy® and Consumer Life research, among other sources.

The conference, taking place in Orlando from October 22nd to 24th, brings together consumer insights and data science leaders to learn about the industry’s latest tools and techniques. Hosted by the Insights Association, the CRC attracts over 700 attendees from a variety of industries.

On October 23rd at 11AM, Reece and Brand will show how sophisticated modeling, an integrated brand tracking system, and the latest in data imputation helped Microsoft uncover the character and strength of its ecosystem. This process has influenced branding, message development, and communication planning throughout the company.

The presentation will explore how

• the symbiotic relationship in consumers’ minds between a master brand and product brands carries significant implications for branding and communication strategy
• ecosystem analysis can provide insights into consistent messaging that optimizes impact not only for individual brands, but for an entire company
• lead brands can be identified based on the ability of their advertising to influence across the ecosystem

On October 22nd at 12:45PM, Beier and Stacey will paint a picture of today’s consumer trust landscape and provide a best-practice roadmap for building trust-based consumer relationships. Using both generational and geographical lenses, they will explore

• which touchpoints consumers trust most when making purchase decisions
• what elements make a brand more “trustworthy”
• how open consumers are to sharing their personal information – and how concerned they are about it being abused
• profiles of the top “trust builders” and “trust busters” to guide brands and retailers in building their trust foundations with their consumers/shoppers

Brand is GfK’s North American lead on advertising evaluation and co-developer of the Ad Fit Optimizer testing system. He has a long history of innovation while working as an advertising agency planning director on major national accounts, working with clients on developing, testing, and tracking advertising. Brand has worked with many of the largest advertisers across industries, including GM, P&G, and Microsoft.

Beier has a 20-year track record of helping clients identify and activate big ideas that drive marketplace results across a broad range of categories – including retail, food and beverage, consumer electronics, technology, personal care, and general merchandise. He has been consulting in the shopper space for over ten years, and in 2004 co-founded Interscope, a sales and marketing consultancy focused on building brands at retail that is now part of GfK. At GfK, his focus areas now include shopper insights, retail reinvention, shopper marketing activation and leadership selling platforms.

Stacey is an accomplished consumer and shopper insights professional with over 30 years’ experience in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. She is passionate about being her clients’ advocate and ensuring that key stakeholder needs are understood and expectations exceeded. As a Senior Vice President of GfK’s Retail & Consumer team, Stacey leverages her extensive experience with syndicated, consumer, and shopper data to identify the right solutions to meet client needs and provide actionable insights.