By Audrey Kemp

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Kantar, a data firm with a long-standing foothold in the U.K., has shifted its center of power to the U.S. as it races to develop an AI-driven platform. It hopes to dominate the market research industry, so clients use Kantar as a one-stop-shop instead of relying on a collection of data companies.

When new global CEO Paul Zwillenberg starts on Sept. 29, he will be based in the U.S., working alongside Americas CEO Jeff Greenspoon, who joined Kantar in June.

Zwillenberg succeeds former global CEO Chris Jansen, who joined in 2021. It’s the second global leadership change since Bain Capital acquired acquired a majority stake in Kantar from WPP back in 2019.

“The time was right because of all the changes that technology is bringing to marketing, to research, to insight, to brand building,” Zwillenberg told ADWEEK. “Kantar has amazing foundations to lead the industry into the AI future.”

Zwillenberg most recently served as vice chair of the Reinvention Executive Advisory at Accenture, while Greenspoon joined from Dentsu, where he was Chief Global Client Officer and Chief Business Officer, America.

“Brands need human-centric insights, and they need signals that plug straight into their digital marketing brains, that help drive real impact, real performance and real brand building,” Zwillenberg added. “Kantar is uniquely positioned to fulfill that role going forward.”

Kantar wants to replace the mix of research providers that brands usually rely on for brand tracking, creative testing, media measurement, and consulting with a single connected platform, and layer its advisory services on top.

To do this, Kantar has consolidated its brand-tracking tools that track brands daily and show things like long-term health onto a single platform.

It’s also in the midst of adding AI-powered applications so clients can easily query that data and adjust their strategies to shift how it impacts brand value. Clients can either use the platform themselves through the Kantar Marketplace or bring in Kantar consultants to help with more intensive projects, like entering a new market.

Greenspoon pointed to Link AI, a tool that can evaluate “tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of assets right away,” as one of the fastest-growing products.

Closer to AI

Kantar’s move to the U.S. places it closer to the world’s largest marketing budgets and the technology ecosystem that can drive its AI transition. A Microsoft partnership already underpins its AI-native infrastructure, and Greenspoon expects “increased investment and focus on U.S.-based product development” as a result.

While rivals like Ipsos and other startups are also pitching cheaper, AI-powered point solutions, Greenspoon downplayed their staying power, since they don’t have the decades of brand and sales performance data that Kantar has in its data lake.

“They have slick sales pitches… but they don’t have the decades of brand data or the depth of rigor,” he said.

He added that the big challenge ahead is that while Kantar must develop its new AI-powered products quickly, it must also maintain trust with clients, and the insights that connect across creative, media, and brand value need to be seamless.

Kantar’s new U.S.-centric leadership will provide the launchpad as the company looks to displace a roster of competitors including Ipsos, MarketCast, and DISQO.

“We will win in the platform space, and we will dominate in brand consultancy as well,” Greenspoon said. “It’s about being the indispensable brand growth partner, not just another research vendor.”