What will it take to give consumers the experience they want in a transactional exchange? Are they just too picky? Or are most brands and businesses simply unable to put together a seamless process on their purchase pages and customer service interactions? It must be...
Shopping under the influence: The fundamental role that influencers and creators now play in the modern consumer’s buyer journey
At a time when consumers are desperately seeking authenticity from brands and businesses, influencers and other content creators are gaining power across all age groups—new research from creator management platform GRIN finds that three out of four of 1,000 shoppers...
Investor relations in focus: The powerful connection between brand and share price
New research released by brand consultancy Interbrand, in partnership with B2B research firm NewtonX and integrated communications agency Brodeur Partners, explores the strong connection between share price and brand. The report, How Brand Impacts Share Price,...
Brands for a better world: New study ranks quality-focused US brands that are contributing to a healthier planet—who’s leading?
Product quality and a fair price will always be important to consumers, but those age-old metrics are no longer the only horses in the race. Today’s consumers, especially the fast-rising and deep-pocketed Gen Z sector, want to know what your brand is doing to help...
Digital media trends: Consumers expect personalized experiences, social engagement and diverse content—can media deliver?
American consumers' evolving needs, behaviors, expectations and demographics—particularly those of Gen Zs and millennials—are continuing to influence the media and entertainment (M&E) industry, and new research from Deloitte takes a deep dive into how these shifts...
Most employers’ workplace inclusiveness isn’t working for LGBTQ+ Gen Zers: New barometer study shows middling scores
Diversity and inclusion—and everything that they mean to everyone—is a powerful mandate for businesses worldwide. And unlike more variable-reliant Purpose initiatives like sustainability, DEI is largely a workplace attitude supported by policies and procedures, as...
The Path to AI Maturity in 2024: Major shift expected this year as businesses move away from experimentation on the road to production
After more than a year of moving through an initial Awareness level and into the Operational trial-and-error testing and experimentation level, we will soon see brands and businesses elevate their use of AI—particularly generative AI—to the Operational level, which is...
Sustainability IR: How improvements in ESG data helps public companies earn trust with large investors
Sustainability is of course a paramount issue for businesses and consumers, and new research shows that, despite the words and actions of bureaucratic backlashers, it’s a common consideration for investment management professionals in the US as well—but trust in the...
“Buy now, figure it out later”—more than 8 in 10 companies press ahead with AI investments, despite half being unclear on its real impact
“Use it now, understand it later”—this seems to be the most common approach to using AI in business, particularly generative AI because of all the productivity benefits it promises. And new research from organizational design and planning software platform Orgvue not...
2024 State of Business Growth: Trends and challenges faced by SMBs—and what defined achievers and underperformers in 2023
Despite a host of challenges, a decisive majority of small and mid-market businesses (SMBs) surveyed for a new report from small business automation software firm Keap met or exceeded their goals in 2023. This new research takes a data-driven look at the status of...
New comms survey explores the impact of potential TikTok ban—where will users go instead?
Although the likelihood of a TikTok ban seems remote at the moment, since the newly passed House of Representatives bill is not getting much traction in the Senate, the possibility of a ban seems to be a little closer to reality with each attempt—and with majorities...
The AI threat landscape: As adoption accelerates despite security shortfalls, 77 percent of companies identified breaches to their AI in the past year
Along with powerful technology like AI comes powerful threats—especially with the haphazard manner that many companies rushed to deployment without guidelines or even real knowledge of the risks they were taking. New research from AI models and assets security...