The theme for this years Research Summit has been determined as “Under’stand’ing”. The idea of standing still, taking a moment, seizing up the facts and only then making decisions is what inspired the name. It is not a coincidence that the root of the word understanding has ’stopping’ in it in many languages like in German “Verstehen”, in Greek “Episteme”, in Arabic “Vakafe” and in Turkish “Anlamak”.
As important as it is to stop and take a moment to understand, it has also become increasingly important to be efficient and quick in today’s post-colonial world in the aftermath of the industrial revolution with the ever-accelerating digital turnover. Having been brought face to face with an entirely new type of consumer, behavioral models are becoming infinitely harder to predict and keep up with.
Companies, brands, advertisers and researchers are trying to balance the two strategies: either to stop and think or to be nimble and fast. In this year’s Research Summit our focus will be on trying to understand the customer through listening, internalizing and reacting.
