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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

Consumer trends affect all industries, but perhaps none more so than fashion. Public sentiment drives purchasing decisions, and fashion brands need to know what consumers want before releasing their next range.

But while some brands get lucky with one or two particularly appealing designs, the top brands use data to anticipate and react to trends. This is part-science, part-artform. And to succeed in this hyper-competitive market, consumer insights need to be a central part of the business model.

So we’re going to look at a few examples of brands doing this well. More importantly, we’re going to see how other brands can adopt this approach to gives themselves the same advantage as their peers.

The importance of consumer insights for fashion brands

Customer segments or “tribes” in fashion

Social media is rich with consumer insights for fashion brands

Here’s an extraordinary statistic: In the last ten years, all of the profit in the fashion industry has come from only 20% of those companies. Most brands barely break even or actually lose money.

Research company McKinsey says this is now a “winners-take-all business.” You’re in direct competition with other fashion houses, and there’s only so much profit to go around.

You literally can’t afford to lose customers.

In that same report above, McKinsey looked for key drivers in the fashion industry. What separates that successful 20% from the brands that struggle?

Top brands rely heavily on data analytics, especially early in the creative process.

Industry leaders are quick to react, and release new products within eight weeks. This is vital if you want to react to consumer insights and trends.

That’s why global brands are heavily investing in market research and other sources of consumer insights; in order to succeed as a global fashion mark, you need access to good, timely consumer data. You also need to be able to put this data to use quickly, before a trend dies out.

We’re going to look below at how to get this data online. Since consumers spend so much time on social media and the Internet, these have become essential sources for insights.

But first, a quick refresher by taking a look at the consumer insights basics.

This is a mixed blessing for businesses. On the one hand, buyers are actively looking for new brands to wear. They no longer simply walk into a store and ask a shop assistant for help. They research, read reviews, and look for the perfect items to match their personality.

Having smart shoppers can clearly be a good thing. If you know people are looking for certain things, you have a good chance of reaching them in their search.

But at the same time, brand loyalty is now less of a guarantee than ever. In fact, Amazon is seeing huge retail success on the back of private labels. Many consumers don’t even care that their purchases are branded at all. As long as something looks the way they want, they’re happy.

And buyers’ options feel endless. They can have goods shipped from virtually anywhere, whenever they want them. The fashion world is at their fingertips.

So for brands, the only real solution is to take two steps:

Identify what consumers are looking for; and

Figure out how to offer products that suit them now.

You need to adapt products to suit current trends. You also need to change to match the way that people buy - better in-store experiences, simple online shopping, and reaching buyers through social media as they’re considering a purchase.

Your ability to find consumer insights will be vital. But more on this shortly.

First, let’s look at an example of the way that shopping habits are changing.

We saw above that quick reaction times are essential. Traditionally, fashion houses would try to project the coming trends. They would have a go-to-market lead time of up to one year, without much room to make changes before that.

“Fast fashion” has brought about a new mindset. The philosophy is that clothing needs to be produced quickly (and often cheaply), and that consumers should be quick to move onto the next item. Clothes aren’t meant to last seasons.

The brand has seen enormous success thanks to three key ingredients:

Short lead times. This keeps its range up-to-date with current trends.

Limited supply. Zara sells less of each item, but there is always a new item waiting to be released.

More styles available. Rather than selling more of each individual style, it brings out new ranges constantly. As in, more than twice a week!

The result is a clothing range that’s adaptable, always fresh, and lets buyers have “unique” looks despite being a mass-market retailer.

The chain relies on feedback from all stores: "Store managers communicate customer feedback on what shoppers like, what they dislike, and what they’re looking for. That demand forecasting data is instantly funneled back to Zara’s designers, who begin sketching on the spot."

This data tells it which items are the most popular on a daily basis. This gives tangible insights to help it plan the next release, based on what’s favored right now.

It couples these in-store insights with a highly active social media presence. Consumers are quick to comment and share their favorite new styles, and Zara can use these reactions to keep delivering successful products.

Zara’s sales have increased 12% per year for the past 15 years. And in an industry where brick and mortars are struggling, this is even more impressive.

And this isn't unique to Zara, most fashion brands understand the need to improve their speed to market efficiencies, and the importance of incorporating consumer insights in their decision-making:

Customer segmentation has always been a part of running a fashion brand. In many cases, the segments are obvious: we have different sizes and styles for men, women, and youth; certain retailers appeal to older generations or specifically to teens.

What has changed is the ability - the necessity, even - to identify specific “tribes” within these segments. Just as you don’t often create one-size-fits-all clothing for women, you can’t appeal with a one-size-suits-all brand image.

Fashion houses need to focus more than ever on tailoring (pun intended).

To help them identify trends and figure out their messaging, brands rely again on social media insights. This lets them see what specific customer segments talk about, care about, and want to see more of on social media.

Top brands couple this with in-store and online sales data, and let their talented designers create clothing that specific buyers love.

One such trend is the growing popularity of “dad shoes”. These chunky, retro-styled shoes have become a must-have fashion choice all over the world, and one of the fastest-growing items in the luxury market.

Arguably much of this growth has been led by social media, where mentions of dad shoes (and similar phrases) have shot up in recent years:

But they’re not for everyone. While sales are through the roof, plenty of shoppers are turned off by the bright colors and larger-than-life appearance.

Unlike other recent successes like Adidas’ Stan Smith or the Nike Free, dad shoes aren’t supposed to appeal to the masses. They’re too expensive, and too garish.

Onlines mentions of the trend come overwhelmingly from males aged 18-24. While these aren’t the only buyers, this is an ideal segment for streetwear brands to target. They know who they’re talking to, and can easily monitor these conversations to find out what buyers love about the shoes, and what would make them buy more.

We’ve just seen a couple of good examples of how valuable consumer insights can boost sales. The question remaining is, how can brands easily get these insights for themselves?

Tip: Download the Fashion Industry's New Era Report for free.

There’s no media as up-to-date as social. Shoppers share their latest purchases and deepest desires in real time with anyone willing to listen. In this case, that needs to be you.

Unlike traditional focus groups and surveys, social media gives instant buyer feedback on virtually any topic you can imagine. You’ll find not only comments on your latest products, but also common themes among your top target segments.

For example, a quick glimpse at Twitter conversations about the topic “leather jacket” provides a wealth of information:

Brands can quickly see who’s discussing this item most, their age and gender, and other key topics associated with the term.

You could also limit this search to only include women, for example, or Millennials, and see whether a leather jacket might appeal or offend this segment.

Likewise, you could monitor this segment for general terms like “fashion” or “clothing,” and look for the topics that keep coming up. For instance, among women Twitter users between 35-44, here’s what we find:

It may surprise retailers to learn that J.Crew and Michael Kors are talked about more on social media than Ivy Park or Zara. They can then dive into conversations about those specific brands try to identify the characteristics that make them more popular.

You can also find out what’s the most common occupations of your target segment, what’s their favorite online platforms, and other behavioral and demographic information that will help you better target them.

Measure against and learn from competitors

In fact, a close look at other industry brands can tell you a lot about your own. If you know what their customers say about them on social media, you can quickly figure out the best aspects of their product and marketing strategies.

You can also identify key segments that you might be missing out on. For example, if you discover that a competitor sees a lot of social media chatter in eastern Europe or Asia, you may consider increasing your efforts in these markets.

Another simple strategy is to look for spikes in conversations about your competitors:

Source: Meltwater consumer insights plaform

What caused this sudden jump in mentions?

And if they were positive, can you replicate their strategy for your own brand?

All of these conversations are out there in the open. You can easily learn exactly what motivates your competitors’ customers, which of their products they love the most, and which markets they’re having the most success in.

Social platforms are nothing new for top fashion labels. You already know how powerful social media influencers is for brands, and how effective social is to spread your marketing message.

Tip: See our lists of the top global fashion influencers and the top South African fashion influencers

That helps you speak out and get noticed. But have you noticed the wealth of data and insights available to you through social media?

What the latest fashion trends are, and soon will be

Consumer Insights for Fashion: How Top Brands Keep up With Consumer Trends

Your brand is the hub of many moving parts, from visual elements like colors and fonts to nuances like smells, sounds, and values. You put a lot of work into developing these elements that will build and support your brand name. Your next priority is to proactively manage these brand assets so that your team can identify and use them.

The value of good brand asset management cannot be overemphasized. It’s the best way to ensure your brand values are always accurately represented, no matter who is working on your projects. Implementing rules and processes around where assets are stored and how brand elements are used are an essential part of brand management.

Want our branding solution? Here’s how you can improve brand asset management throughout your organization.

How to Leverage Your Brand Assets for Better Results

There are lots of elements you associate with your brand. But the real definition of branding assets is anything that is unique to your company AND is well-known and associated with your company.

In other words, your brand assets can’t be mistaken for something another company produces.

For example, when you think of a talking duck on TV, Aflac comes to mind. Or when you see a shopper carrying a distinctive robin’s egg blue bag, you know it probably came from Tiffany & Co.

Marketing material like business cards, letterhead, and collateral

Templates for webinars, sales videos, press releases, and other content

Color palettes (including the specific shade or Pantone for each color)

Every company has brand assets that dictate how other people perceive and interact with the brand. They reinforce the image and value of your brand, create consistency, and connect with your customers’ expectations.

Brand elements can be visual assets. These might include your main branding colors and accent colors, logos, typography, and product packaging, for example.

Many companies use color psychology when developing their brand colors and personality. For example, purple represents wisdom, sophistication, and royalty, which is why it's a common choice for luxury brands. Knowing the meaning behind each color lends to a stronger branding strategy because the visuals support the sentiments.

There are also marketing assets, such as audio branding, company mascots, or distinct scents or flavors.

An audio branding strategy might include an audio logo, jingles, theme songs, or even a podcast. 

Or, a buyer might associate a certain flavor or scent with your brand. If you've ever walked into an Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister, you know that you'll be greeted not only by a smiling sales associate but also by the smell of each company's signature scent, which they spritz on the clothing and throughout the store to provide a complete sensory experience. 

In the digital age, we’re seeing a new type of brand asset: viral content. Content that has gone viral can help with brand recall and boost engagement, traffic, and your company’s reputation.

Branding elements can become brand assets over time simply by using them consistently in your brand identity.

Branding assets can take many forms and functions.

Take Chick-Fil-A, for example. The fast-food chain has an impressive variety of brand assets, including a stand-alone chicken head logo, a logo in cursive script, and its adorable family of cows with the “Eat Mor Chikin’” tagline.

Each of these assets is unique but represents the same brand. The company’s tagline is a great example of how one brand asset can evolve into many over time. Chick-Fil-A’s cow mascots have been misspelling words for decades since their debut in 1995 and are now associated with the chain just as much as its delicious chicken.

But even if you don’t have a talking duck mascot or a one-of-a-kind shopping bag to represent your brand, chances are you already have many distinctive brand assets to use.

Prioritizing brand asset management starts with identifying all of your brand assets. The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science breaks it down into a simple three-step process.

Make a list of all your files, documents, logo design variations (e.g. full-color, black and white, grayscale, etc.), artwork, content, color scheme, audio brand, and other brand elements that could be valuable assets.

Be as specific as possible: for example, is your yellow logo more like the color of a canary or a lemon? 

You can also include historical items that you have used in the past to use to identify your brand, as well as any planned items for the future. Also, check your social media marketing analytics to see if any of your content has gone viral and could prove useful for future branding. 

Conduct market research with your audience to see which items on your list help them identify your brand. Is it music? Your way with words? Your bright orange lettering? The emotion you include in your content marketing?

What makes these items stand out? How are they different from competitors? What is the customer's brand perception of that item? How quickly do consumers make the association between a brand asset and your brand?

Strong branding isn’t just about how your company perceives itself, but rather how quickly a customer can identify you based on your branding elements. Your most prominent, well-known elements are most likely to be considered brand assets.

Examine your findings to see common denominators in how people recognize your brand. Their answers will point to the items that make you unique. Those are the items that should be considered brand assets.

You can’t manage what you can’t identify. Once you recognize the elements that make your brand unique and well-known, you can implement a brand asset management strategy.

What is asset management, exactly? In terms of brand management, it’s the systemized approach of organizing, using, and maintaining all of your brand assets.

A marketing asset management strategy may include:

What to include in your resource library (e.g. white papers, blog posts, case studies, audio branding, etc.)

A palette style guide that includes primary colors, secondary colors, typefaces, color combinations, tint, tone, and other colors that have been approved

The technology you use to organize and access assets

How assets are used in campaigns, in the media, and other marketing

How often brand assets are inventoried, updated, and archived

Communication guidelines for using brand assets

Successful long-term brand asset management strategies typically include having someone in-house dedicated to the role. This person serves as the gatekeeper to brand assets and is the point of contact for marketers, artists, and other stakeholders who may need to connect with specific assets for projects. This should be someone who is closely familiar with your brand strategy and digital marketing goals.

Your brand is your company’s identity, and your assets help to shape and support its image. Having access to these assets ensures consistency and clarity throughout all of your marketing projects.

The rise of digital assets has also necessitated proactive management. Digital asset management is a subcategory of brand asset management and focuses solely on digital media and content.

The reason for this is because digital files can be so easily copied, shared, altered, and misused. For example, a lesser-known company might create a lookalike logo so people will associate them with your company.

To prevent these instances of brand abuse, a digital asset manager might invest in media monitoring services. Media monitoring keeps a tab on digital channels to see whether other brands are copying or stealing your content or otherwise doing damage to your brand’s reputation. It also helps you find any branded content produced by your company to ensure your brand is authentically represented.

Proper brand asset management ensures that ALL of your brand assets – digital and physical – are identified and used in the right way.

Now that you’ve identified your brand assets, it’s time to use them to grow your brand! Here’s how you can leverage your brand assets to drive better results across every campaign:

Invest in Brand Asset Management Software

Part of every successful brand asset management strategy includes some form of third-party organization. This is typically a purpose-built brand asset management system or software that stores all files and documents in a centralized database.

Asset management software is designed for marketers and related teams. It’s a place to store all of your brand elements, grant access privileges, make files searchable, and share guidelines on how to use branded content.

Tip: Take a look at the best brand management software, platforms, and tools on the market.

Consistency is key to building familiarity. How would you feel if Coca-Cola suddenly started using blue cans or McDonald’s suddenly ditched its iconic shoestring fries in favor of crinkle cut? Would those brands feel different to you?

Best-in-class brands have mastered the art of consistency. They remain true to their customers by setting certain expectations and upholding them.

This also means using the same branding elements across all your channels, digital and physical. For example, the logo on your product packaging should be the same logo on your website and social media profiles.

Remember, branding is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time for people to start associating your brand elements with your company.

Don’t give up! Use your brand assets in every marketing campaign, commercial, PR event, social media post, and other touchpoints to get the point across.

There’s an old saying that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Unfortunately, all that flattery can cause brand damage if it’s your competitors copying your brand assets.

This is a very common occurrence in advertising and marketing that companies should monitor closely. The stakes are higher if you have brand assets that aren’t protected by trademark or copyright. 

Take the extra step to protect all your hard work. This way, if a competitor does decide to flatter you, you can take legal action and preserve your brand image.

As your company grows, so will your brand asset library. But before you introduce new brand assets to the public, each asset should undergo some testing to ensure it aligns with the brand you’ve already established.

What is Brand Asset Management and How to Leverage It?

The term "customer experience" has been gaining more and more attention in recent years. But is this just another marketing buzzword, or does it actually carry some merit for your brand image and bottom line?

Given the latest research, we can confidently say it’s the latter. Studies show that customers are willing to pay more for an item or service if it means getting a better experience. Customer-centric companies are more profitable than companies that aren’t invested in the customer experience. It helps them retain customers, increase referrals, and maintain an edge over competitors.

It’s no secret that customer satisfaction is one of the main factors that determine a company's success. A great customer experience at every touchpoint can make a huge impact on a customer's perception of a brand and whether or not they will return.

There are several key elements to creating a great customer experience, but the most important is simply understanding your customers. Here’s your guide to customer experience and how to apply it in your business.

Definition: What is Customer Experience (CX)?

Common Customer Experience Misconceptions

The Meltwater Blog

Consumer Insights for Fashion: How Top Brands Keep up With Consumer Trends

What is Brand Asset Management and How to Leverage It?

What is Customer Experience? Definition, Challenges, Importance

How to Improve B2B Customer Experience [5 Steps]

5 Best Practices for Customer Experience Analysis

What Is an Omnichannel Customer Experience? Meaning, Benefits, Examples

How To Measure Social Media Campaign Success - 5 Steps

What Is Customer Experience (CX) Design?

Customer Experience Dashboard Basics

How Influencers Are Changing The Affiliate Marketing Game

What is Bilibili and Why Should You Care?

The Ultimate Guide to Competitor Monitoring