Think back ten years. You launched a campaign; then you waited. Not for hours, or even days – but for weeks. You pored over static charts and rolling averages, hoping for signs of impact. But feedback was slow, vague, and often too late to act on. You weren’t tracking progress –, you were tracking the past.
For many marketers, that’s the image that comes to mind when they think about tracking their brand. And a decade ago, it was pretty accurate. A business-as-usual approach led to stagnation and confusion. But it’s time to forget everything you thought you knew. . Reimagined by AI, brand tracking has become a strategic weapon, delivering timely, transformative insights that don’t just reflect reality but reshape how marketers respond to it.
So, does your tracker still look like it did ten years ago? If yes, it’s time for an upgrade.
Applying True Signal to survey results gives you a more precise picture, but it is still one signal. We also incorporate search, social, and sales data to develop an in-depth picture of brand equity over the short and long term. This holistic approach offers a wealth of advantages over established techniques – as the holiday company TUI recently found. The business wanted to assess the effects of a brand-building campaign it carried out in December, as well as a sales-focused performance marketing drive the following January. And it needed to understand the impact of these initiatives separately, as well as how they worked together.
That would have been a tall order for traditional tracking – but with accurate daily data, TUI could do just that. Demonstrating the effectiveness of its creative, perceptions that the brand had “great advertising” grew during the December campaign. This metric then softened in January. However, the rating for advertising awareness remained stable – indicating a lasting impact from the earlier activity. Crucially, the proportion of people who felt their holiday needs aligned with TUI’s grew both during the brand-building campaign and the January sales push. Other key metrics, such as salience, also increased.
For Mo Khaled, TUI’s brand marketing analytics lead, the data provided important validation of the company’s strategy – indicating how its two strands dovetailed to create and convert predisposition. Challenging “the misconception that long-term brand building means waiting years for results”, says Khaled, the analysis demonstrated how “brand investment didn't just lay the groundwork for future growth, it had an immediate effect as well – amplifying our January performance marketing, and demonstrating the proven multiplier effect of combining brand and performance investment”.
Today, there’s a growing feeling that marketers have too much data, too few real insights. We want reliable guidance for critical decisions. Charts that never change don’t cut it. But TUI’s experience highlights how those flat lines belong with selfie sticks and skinny jeans – back in the 2010s. With Kantar’s advanced system, tracking is no longer just a rear-view mirror. It transforms into a GPS, helping to steer campaigns as they unfold. Its in-depth analysis allows marketers to bridge the data-decision gap, connecting analysis to action.
Ferrero wanted to understand whether new biscuits launched by Nutella and Kinder could justify their premium price points – and how it could maintain this strategy in the future. Our analysis reassured the company that its current approach was supported by the strength of its brand. But by combining behavioural data with insights into consumer attitudes, the research also indicated potential challenges if prices were to increase. This meant Ferrero could focus on finding ways to strengthen its Pricing Power, so it could sustain premium pricing over the long term.
“The key to bridging the data-decision gap is not just having the numbers, it's understanding the story behind them. It's not only about knowing the what but also about the why – and most importantly, what actions to take,” explains Manuel Brandt, Ferrero’s global head of biscuits and bakery – consumer and shopper understanding.
Today, AI-powered tools like True Signal turn tracking into a strategic asset, guiding decisions in real time.
By combining survey, search, social, and behavioural data, and adding metrics like Pricing Power, brand tracking now informs everything from campaign impact to pricing strategy. If your tracker hasn’t evolved, it’s time to catch up.
The future of brand intelligence is already here, and it moves at the speed of your ambition.
For many marketers, that’s the image that comes to mind when they think about tracking their brand. And a decade ago, it was pretty accurate. A business-as-usual approach led to stagnation and confusion. But it’s time to forget everything you thought you knew. . Reimagined by AI, brand tracking has become a strategic weapon, delivering timely, transformative insights that don’t just reflect reality but reshape how marketers respond to it.
So, does your tracker still look like it did ten years ago? If yes, it’s time for an upgrade.
From static charts to daily insights
What holds back traditional tracking methods is their reliance on rolling averages. This used to be essential to smooth out anomalies, due to constraints on sample size. But it meant developments took forever to show up – making it impossible for brands to know when to change direction. Through cutting-edge approaches, we’ve reimagined how brand tracking works to overcome these challenges. Our True Signal technique deploys AI and Kalman filtering to learn from previous dynamics. This allows us to remove outliers and reduce noise in real-time to deliver accurate daily metrics. So as well as analysing long-term trends, you get responsive insights into how your current campaigns are landing. It’s an early warning system helping marketers make the right decisions at the right time.Applying True Signal to survey results gives you a more precise picture, but it is still one signal. We also incorporate search, social, and sales data to develop an in-depth picture of brand equity over the short and long term. This holistic approach offers a wealth of advantages over established techniques – as the holiday company TUI recently found. The business wanted to assess the effects of a brand-building campaign it carried out in December, as well as a sales-focused performance marketing drive the following January. And it needed to understand the impact of these initiatives separately, as well as how they worked together.
That would have been a tall order for traditional tracking – but with accurate daily data, TUI could do just that. Demonstrating the effectiveness of its creative, perceptions that the brand had “great advertising” grew during the December campaign. This metric then softened in January. However, the rating for advertising awareness remained stable – indicating a lasting impact from the earlier activity. Crucially, the proportion of people who felt their holiday needs aligned with TUI’s grew both during the brand-building campaign and the January sales push. Other key metrics, such as salience, also increased.
For Mo Khaled, TUI’s brand marketing analytics lead, the data provided important validation of the company’s strategy – indicating how its two strands dovetailed to create and convert predisposition. Challenging “the misconception that long-term brand building means waiting years for results”, says Khaled, the analysis demonstrated how “brand investment didn't just lay the groundwork for future growth, it had an immediate effect as well – amplifying our January performance marketing, and demonstrating the proven multiplier effect of combining brand and performance investment”.
Today, there’s a growing feeling that marketers have too much data, too few real insights. We want reliable guidance for critical decisions. Charts that never change don’t cut it. But TUI’s experience highlights how those flat lines belong with selfie sticks and skinny jeans – back in the 2010s. With Kantar’s advanced system, tracking is no longer just a rear-view mirror. It transforms into a GPS, helping to steer campaigns as they unfold. Its in-depth analysis allows marketers to bridge the data-decision gap, connecting analysis to action.
More than awareness & consideration. Metrics that guide strategies
Brand tracking is an essential strategic tool, supporting vital considerations such as pricing and positioning. Take Kantar’s Pricing Power rating, which indicates the price a brand can charge relative to its category average. Based on key brand equity metrics, this index is helping leading businesses understand price elasticity – informing high-level decisions to help future-proof sales and profits.Ferrero wanted to understand whether new biscuits launched by Nutella and Kinder could justify their premium price points – and how it could maintain this strategy in the future. Our analysis reassured the company that its current approach was supported by the strength of its brand. But by combining behavioural data with insights into consumer attitudes, the research also indicated potential challenges if prices were to increase. This meant Ferrero could focus on finding ways to strengthen its Pricing Power, so it could sustain premium pricing over the long term.
“The key to bridging the data-decision gap is not just having the numbers, it's understanding the story behind them. It's not only about knowing the what but also about the why – and most importantly, what actions to take,” explains Manuel Brandt, Ferrero’s global head of biscuits and bakery – consumer and shopper understanding.
Conclusion: what does this mean for you?
Let’s be honest: tracking used to feel like waiting for buffering on dial-up: slow, frustrating, and stuck in the past.Today, AI-powered tools like True Signal turn tracking into a strategic asset, guiding decisions in real time.
By combining survey, search, social, and behavioural data, and adding metrics like Pricing Power, brand tracking now informs everything from campaign impact to pricing strategy. If your tracker hasn’t evolved, it’s time to catch up.
The future of brand intelligence is already here, and it moves at the speed of your ambition.
