Top tens of 2014: Features and opinion

1. A man with purpose

Unilever’s chief marketing and communication officer, Keith Weed, is looking for continuous innovation in all aspects of marketing and wants insight to lead the way.

2. A real experience

Lessons in customer understanding, straight from the Marks & Spencer service desk.

3. A blow-up success

From an airbed on an apartment floor to a multi-billion-dollar valuation, Airbnb has made a success of the sharing economy and an open, conversational approach to customer understanding.

4. A confidence boost?

Reports over the summer revealed growing confidence among consumers and marketers. Richard Sexton of Carat discusses the opportunities and pitfalls for brands.

5. Data aggregation and finding the golden goose to lay those eggs

Market research benefits from clients, suppliers and data firms collaborating to merge data and create better, more holistic insight. Cint’s Richard Thornton explains how with tech start-ups moving into this space, existing players must form partnerships to provide technology-led solutions that make data gathering and analysis a seamless experience for clients.

6. A picture of health

Research from Trinity McQueen points to national differences in attitudes to health and diet.

7. Looking into the mind of a city

As part of the Brighton Festival in September, the mood of the city was monitored using Emotable. ICrossing’s Sam Zindel analysed the results.

8. 2015 a crunch test for pollsters

Penny Young, chief executive of NatCen Social Research continued the debate about determining voting intentions and took on some issues raised in a previous blog on the subject.

9. A matter of trust

Understanding the problems and the requirements of society’s most disadvantaged young people requires insight and imagination, as Jane Bainbridge discovered when she spoke with The Princes Trust.

10. Five things you should never do in a segmentation

Anne Coveney of Optimisa research identifies the five worst crimes committed in the conception, implementation and use of segmentation studies.

Check back tomorrow for our panel’s thoughts on the biggest disappointments of 2014.