A global beauty brand shifts a significant share of its media budget into influencer and social channels to accelerate growth with a key Gen Z audience.
Engagement surges. Content performs well. Early signals look promising.
Sales stall.
The post-campaign review reveals something difficult to ignore: existing consumer and shopper research showed that their highest-value segments still relied heavily on in-store discovery — testing products, consulting advisors and responding to retail promotions.
That intelligence existed. It never shaped the decision.
For many marketing leaders, this scenario feels familiar — and costly. In fact, only 15% of executives say they consistently incorporate customer input into their decisions, according to McKinsey’s “CMO Comeback” study — a signal of how much valuable intelligence goes unused.
At Stravito, we see this dynamic play out across global enterprises every day. Our focus is helping organizations close the gap between what they know and what they use.
Why this gap persists in modern marketing organizations
Marketing teams generate more insight than ever. Research, analytics and performance data offer a deep understanding of customers and markets.
Putting that knowledge to work in decision-making remains harder than it should be.
Insights live across teams, tools and markets. Ownership varies. Context gets diluted. Aligning stakeholders takes time. Decisions move forward while teams search, validate and connect the right inputs.
“Companies already have more insight than they can use,” said Thor Olof Philogène, CEO of Stravito. “The real gap is between what the organization knows and what actually gets used in decisions. Closing that gap is where the commercial impact lives.”
The result is a familiar pattern: decisions move forward with partial context, even when stronger evidence is available.
The commercial impact: performance, risk and missed upside
When intelligence doesn’t fully shape decisions, the impact shows up quickly.
Campaigns reach audiences without a complete view of how those audiences behave across channels. Investment decisions carry more uncertainty. Opportunities to capture demand or improve conversion remain under-realized.
In large organizations, this translates into material outcomes. Consumer-centric companies — those that effectively activate their customer intelligence — see 10% to 20% higher revenue growth, 15% to 25% cost savings and up to 40% increases in brand advocacy, according to BCG research.
The opportunity is clear. So is the gap.
What leading marketing teams do differently
Organizations that consistently outperform focus on one priority: ensuring intelligence shapes decisions at the moment they are made.
They approach this in three ways:
1. Connect intelligence across the business
Bringing together consumer, market and business intelligence creates a stronger foundation for decision-making.
This goes beyond aggregation. It requires governance — validated data, trusted sources and alignment on a shared version of truth.
Stravito is built entirely on a company’s own validated data, ensuring every answer reflects real business context.
2. Make insight accessible at decision speed
Speed defines modern marketing, from campaign planning to budget allocation.
“When insight is easy to access and trusted, it becomes part of how decisions are made — not something teams revisit after the fact,” said Philogène.
Stravito enables teams to quickly surface relevant research across markets and functions, making intelligence available as decisions take shape.
3. Turn knowledge into decision-ready answers
Decision-makers need clarity.
Synthesizing multiple sources into clear, evidence-based recommendations helps teams act with confidence.
Stravito’s AI capabilities bring together insights from across the organization to deliver structured, decision-ready answers, helping teams move from question to recommendation in minutes.
Enabling intelligence at the moment of decision
Addressing this gap requires more than centralizing information. It requires making intelligence usable within the flow of decision-making.
“Insight creates value when it shows up in the decision, not in a report,” said Philogène. “That requires trust in the data, clear context and the ability to connect information quickly across teams.”
Solutions such as Stravito bring together consumer, market and business intelligence into a single, accessible environment built on a company’s own validated research.
From insight to measurable impact
When intelligence consistently shapes decisions, the results show up across the business:
- Faster speed to market
- Stronger campaign performance
- More confident investment decisions
- Reduced risk of costly missteps
Business outcomes improve when decisions are powered by the best available intelligence.
The advantage marketing leaders are building now
Every enterprise generates insight. The leaders who turn that insight into action build a meaningful advantage.
They ensure intelligence is:
- Trusted
- Connected
- Ready to inform decisions in real time
Because the most valuable insight is the one that shapes the decision — and drives the outcome.
