Kumpany and Validators launch market-wide research proposition for brand activation effectiveness

They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

Brand associations brought to life through brand activations can have a significant impact on the consumer’s brain. Until now, this impact has been difficult to measure. On the one hand, measuring such effects was primarily observational in nature; on the other hand, recruiting the right respondents was seen as a hurdle. This prompted brand activation agency Kumpany and research firm Validators to join forces and jointly develop a unique research proposition. This gives marketers the solid foundation they need to justify their investment.

Applying a scientific foundation to marketing strategy

The aim of this new research approach is to delve a layer deeper than existing impact measurements. The focus is on understanding whether exposure to brand activation triggers the consumer’s associative network. In this way, we demonstrate whether preferences at various “Category Entry Points” are influenced. The research is based on “Associative Network Theory” and the work of the Eherenberg-Bass Institute (Sharp et al). This helps determine whether people actually consider a brand or product more quickly after participating in the live activation, the event, or the activation campaign.

Measure the effectiveness of activation campaigns

The results show whether exposure to a live activation, event, or activation campaign triggers changes in the consumer’s association network. The report then translates these findings into practical applications and insights, ensuring broad buy-in for the results. What makes this proposition unique is that the results demonstrate the impact on consumers’ mental market share following contact with the live activation, event, or activation campaign. Clients receive their own dashboard, where real-time results are made available. The proposition is brought to market cost-effectively to make it accessible to every marketer.

Wouter van Rijn, Strategy Director at Kumpany: “For 25 years, we’ve believed in the power of effective brand activation and have seen that in-person touchpoints make a huge impact—both on their own and when combined with other campaign tools. However, there was still a lack of a smart, user-friendly research tool to clearly demonstrate the value of brand activation. We offer the tool not only to our clients but across the entire market. In this way, we hope to make a greater contribution to the industry.”

Martin Leeflang, CEO of Validators: “This is a special moment in which Kumpany, as an innovator in the field of live activations, aims to make mental market share measurable for its own productions. From a professional standpoint, this marks a unique next step toward making the impact of live activations measurable using the same metrics as other types of media. This way, brands receive genuine feedback on the value of their investment. I am proud that, together with Kumpany, we have developed a practical, workable solution.”

Would you like more information? Please contact: business@validators.nl