If research is not designed with media application in mind from the outset, it risks diminishing its influence. By integrating insight with activation workflows, research teams can deliver tangible marketing results across the business. 

Insight teams recognise the scenario well. The segmentation is robust. The strategy presentation is well received. Stakeholders nod in agreement. Then comes the familiar query from media or performance colleagues: can we actually target this audience? 

For many organisations, this is where progress begins to stall. 

Research provides a profound understanding of individuals, yet the route from insight to activation is often ambiguous. As media landscapes grow more fragmented and privacy regulations evolve, the gap between insight and execution becomes increasingly pronounced. Research teams face mounting pressure to prove both their strategic worth and operational impact. 

Why traditional segments often fail to translate 

Traditional attitudinal segmentation was never intended for today’s activation environments. Research is approached as isolated projects, with an emphasis on storytelling and reporting, rather than making audiences addressable. When campaign launch approaches, marketing teams are forced to reconstruct audiences using proxy data, broader demographic groupings, or contextual signals that weaken the original insight. The crucial identity layer is lost. 

Several factors contribute to this gap. Privacy regulations have restricted third-party data enhancement. The use of cookies has curtailed continuity across platforms. Media buying now takes place within identity-restricted settings, where scale, compliance, and the ability to match audiences are just as important as strategic direction. 

The outcome is very familiar. Insight teams craft persuasive narratives, yet activation teams find it difficult to convert these into marketable media audiences. Research risks being viewed as advisory rather than operational. Increasingly, insight without activation is regarded as incomplete. 

The shift from project-based insight to intelligence to activation workflows 

Rather than moving from study to report to recommendation, workflows must connect research design directly to media outcomes. 

Instead of: 

Study → report → recommendation 

Workflows should shift to: 

Survey → profiling → addressable audience → activation → measurement → refinement 

The intelligence-to-activation workflow considers: 

1. Designing research with activation requirements in mind. 

2. Building segments that are stable and scalable. 

3. Connecting profiling data to privacy-compliant digital IDs. 

4. Enabling direct activation in media platforms. 

5. Measuring performance and feeding learnings back into research. 

This is how to own more of the marketing value chain, and it changes the role of the research function. Insights teams become architects of audience strategy. They influence targeting efficiency, personalisation and campaign performance. In organisations where this shift is underway, research becomes part of a continuous marketing system. 

When insight becomes operational: real-world examples 

Our recent work across industries shows how connecting profiling and activation can transform performance outcomes, often boosting click-through rates by two-to-three times. 

In one energy sector campaign, targeted segments deployed across social and programmatic platforms reduced cost per acquisition (CPA) by 70% in Europe and Asia-Pacific. A beverage brand used research-driven audiences to refine its media mix, cutting ad spend by half and improving return on ad spend (ROAS) by 50% by focusing on attitudinal signals rather than broad demographic proxies. 

These examples highlight an important shift. When intelligence is connected to activation, it can influence where media budgets go and how campaigns evolve over time. 

Practical guidance for insights leaders 

For teams looking to extend their impact, there are steps you can take to help bridge the gap between research and marketing execution: 

• Collaborate earlier with data providers, including panels, and media stakeholders: Bring activation teams into the research design phase. Ask how audiences will be deployed and what scale or identifiers are required before the study begins. 

• Define activation requirements upfront: Consider which platforms will be used, how large the audience must be and what privacy frameworks apply. 

• Treat profiling as an ongoing programme: Persistent identity layers and consistent attributes create long-term value. Rather than starting from scratch with each project, organisations can build a continuous understanding of audiences that evolves alongside campaigns. 

• Align on shared KPIs: Insights teams and marketing leaders should agree on how success is measured. Linking audience performance to business outcomes strengthens the credibility of research and co-owns metrics with marketing. 

The strategic payoff 

Organisations that integrate survey insights, profiling and activation are witnessing clear advantages.  

Audiences can be activated more swiftly, and media waste is minimised, as targeting is based on genuine motivations rather than general behaviours. Research teams achieve greater prominence within marketing discussions, evolving from advisers to strategic partners. 

There is also a wider industry impact. As privacy-centric environments transform digital advertising, the capacity to activate consented, research-led audiences presents a promising future with enhanced competitive edge. Brands are able to develop targeting strategies rooted in authentic intelligence about what people truly think, feel and do. 

Looking ahead 

Insights professionals have long argued that understanding people should sit at the centre of marketing strategy. The next evolution is ensuring that understanding travels further. Research that ends with a presentation informs decisions. Research that connects to activation drives performance. 

Learn more about Connected Data Solutions at Kantar and explore the Guide to Intelligence-Based Audiences for Media Activation to see how intelligence-driven audiences can move from insight to measurable impact. 

David Tripepi, Emea commercial director, global data solutions, at Kantar