Summary
This paper examines how automotive companies are facing growing expectations to deliver innovation and a customer-centric approach, and the implications this holds for them and their market research partners. The paper covers theories about strategy, innovation and creative renewal, and the impact of the changing nature of global manufacturing and marketing along with the evolution of digital technologies. For example, developing economies are moving up the manufacturing rankings and recent advances have brought about internet-enabled, electric and driverless vehicles. The paper poses questions about what a car is today and whether it is being redefined as another digital platform. It also examines how brands, particularly Hyundai, are responding to the changes.

Summary
Through an example in the beer category in China and India, this research paper shows how a people-centred approach, using precise drivers of brand growth, combined with predictive abilities to anticipate market share can deliver strong business outcomes from research. Brand growth is achieved through different options including optimisation of brand positioning, portfolio management, repositioning, brand stretching and innovation. This report criticises standard brand equity research, claiming that it is unable to effectively answer how a company can make brands meaningful to people and how meaningful brands can grow a business. The people-centric methodology proposed in this paper deconstructs human needs into four layers that on average explains 85-95% of brand choice, then supports this with a psychological model, which ensures that all decisions are made with consumer motivation at the centre. Then to determine the direction of a brand's growth, it identifies the brand's current Attitudinal Equity (a measure of the strength of consumers' psychological relationship with the brand) and focuses on growing it.

Summary
Can science help brands grow? Mars, Inc. has embarked on a program to apply the marketing laws originally developed and promoted by Andrew Ehrenberg. Mars has discovered that both creativity and science can—and should—work together. Just as an architect marries creativity with the laws of physics, marketers should construct brand plans that embrace the laws of growth. Mars executives are learning that creativity is more productive when unleashed within known boundaries of buyer behavior. The authors share some lessons from a continuing journey that may help others also make the transformation to a marketing science culture.

Summary
This case study of Intel in Indonesia identifies issues for global marketers to consider when addressing emerging markets. It is particularly relevant for categories where consumers intend to purchase in the future but do not to see the need to act immediately. Intel spotted an opportunity to tap into the positive sentiment of owning a PC, while unlocking inertia and identifying barriers to PC purchase, and converted that sentiment into a tangible urgency for purchase. The case describes how Intel used locally relevant and often traditional themes to create appeal for modern day technology.

Summary
This paper is based on a consumer insight research programme conducted by AIA, the pan-Asian life insurance group. It provides a blueprint for the mindset needed by customer insight professionals faced with the challenge of understanding how global influences and local needs combine to shape customer preferences that will drive business growth. Specifically, it argues that customer insight professionals - in both Asia and the West - need to play seven roles: Panorama Thinkers; Holistic Analysts; Insight Strategists; Intuitive Problem Solvers; Business Storytellers; Insight Intrapreneurs; and Global Villagers.

Summary
This presentation describes an approach that can be used to create a global growth strategy for consumer packaged goods. The approach uses clustering methods and regression methods to guide the strategic choices of which markets to enter, and when to enter. The framework consists of two general steps: 1) cluster markets, and 2) identify the factors that drive growth. Market clusters are created from the profiles on the individuals. In the second step, these clustering and other variables are linked to some critical dependent business variable such as per capita consumption or per capita spend on the relevant category of products.

Summary
In this article, Barwise and Meehan offer a practical framework to help companies achieve long-term organic profit growth. The focus is on actionable customer insights flowing freely through the business and ultimately leading to consistently great customer solutions and experiences and a strong brand.

Summary
This paper is based on the book, "Beyond the Familiar: Long-Term Growth through Customer Focus and Innovation". It focuses on what managers need to do to ensure that valid, actionable customer insights from a wide range of sources reach those with the power to act and that they then do so. Growth is seen as a consequence of promising and consistently delivering better and better solutions to customers. Further, this process is seen as building a valuable long-term asset, brand equity, which then promotes further growth. The authors also set out to build a framework to help executives master this challenge that will lead to consistently improved customer experiences.

Summary
Maybe the biggest "buzz" in marketing currently is buzz itself. While advances in social media have made it the hot topic, why do some marketing ideas ignite and spread whilst others fizzle out? Contagious ideas stand out because they produce a ‘social' response that encourages us to share the idea with others. This paper will report on an international validation study - designed to identify the contagious drivers of brands and advertising, celebrity culture and even religious icons, and to test the hypothesis that contagion is a now key predictor of commercial success.

Summary
Understanding consumer values is one of the most critical elements in any successful marketing strategy and planning. Considerations of price and quality matter for consumers, but, in many instances, value orientation also affects everyday choices made by consumers. Applying two different approaches to the study of values, this paper explores the different terrain of value orientation in a comparative context and measure the impact of value orientation on consumer choice such as the perception of premium price, brand preference and attitudes associated with the buying process.