The report, titled ‘Shape Tomorrow – How today’s consumer connections will shape your brand’s future,’ aims to highlight why consumer insights are key to understanding future brand communications.

Bobby Taylor, managing director at Talkwalker, says, “Right now, we’re seeing brands struggling to get a grip on today. But that’s nothing compared to the tomorrow looming on the horizon. We’ll see a new iteration of consumers that have higher expectations of quality and speed, but are also hyper-concerned about society and the environment. Brands will have to balance these fluctuating demands to meet consumer expectations.”

By achieving consumer closeness, Talkwalker says brands can transform data into real-time consumer insights, which can then guide decision making and drive brand growth.

Aimed at communications, marketing and insights professionals, the report includes a practical maturity framework to help brands assess and understand how prepared they are for the future. The framework points to three elements for brands to consider when looking to achieve consumer closeness: data, technology, and people.

Brands that fail to understand their consumers risk missing out on valuable conversations. Talkwalker’s analysis found that over half of all sustainability conversations around the consumer packaged goods industry were missed by brands.

“We’re seeing an increasing gap developing between brands and consumers. This is just one example of where organisations are missing vital opportunities to connect with their consumers, inform decision making, and drive impact,” says Taylor. The 'Shape Tomorrow' report aims to help brands overcome these challenges and provide a practical framework to create a responsive customer-centric future.

Access the full report here.