ABEP Congress Overview from Brazil: There are no more certainties, only points of convergence

In a society undergoing intense transformations, we no longer seek certainties, only points of convergence that may signal the future.  This objective was fully achieved by the 8th Brazilian Congress of Market, Opinion and Media Research.  The biennial event organized by ABEP: Brazilian Association of Research Companies in São Paulo, June 11^th and 12^th, joined some 400 research, marketing and communication professionals. Among the strongest messages at the congress is that the multi-screen reality of the consumer’s everyday life has evidently made audiences more fragmented. However this offers more opportunities for marketers to diversify their investments among digital platforms and traditional vehicles. Another point made evident by speakers was the need to filter and synchronize information that drives sales, packaged by a single creative idea and yet customized for each consumer. At the 2018 ABEP Congress, it was understood that the internet graduated from being a communication channel to a basic infrastructure, like electricity, in which brands generate and share experiences.  Their great challenge is to identify the experiences that engage people and shape their attitudes towards the brand. For Felipe Mendes, chairman of the congress, the participants did not leave the event with certainty, but with valuable information and reflections on likely trends for the coming years. “If we provoked some discomfort, we include this among the main goals achieved by the Congress,” he says. “We succeeded in helping great concepts continue to become consistent, inspiring, and challenging projects,” added Duilio Novaes, president of ABEP. //