Key Takeaways From Our Panel Discussion
What do you do when your audience is tuning out, your competitors all sound the same and the old rules of marketing no longer apply?
That’s the question at the heart of our latest panel event, The Empathy Revolution for Brands. As attention spans shrink and consumer trust erodes, brands are under pressure to stop interrupting and start connecting on a human level.
To unpack what that really means, we brought together two industry leaders: Eleanor Thornton-Firkin, Head of Creative Excellence at Ipsos, and Jim Saunders, Executive Creative Director at Kastner London. Together, they explored why emotional resonance is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ - but a commercial imperative - and what it takes to craft campaigns that don’t just get noticed, but felt.
From the role of insight in bold creativity, to the risks (and rewards) of taking a stand, the session covered it all: the data, the human truths and the uncomfortable realities that marketers need to face if they want to stay relevant in 2025 and beyond.
Here are the key themes that shaped the conversation.
Blending brand and empathy to create real impact.
Kicking off the session, Eleanor reflected on a recurring challenge in marketing today: “I think sometimes we tell some beautiful stories of people, but we forget that ultimately we’re doing advertising as well. Brands bringing together those two elements is absolutely key.”
In other words, a campaign can be beautifully crafted, but if it lacks brand connection, it doesn’t land. Jim added that for storytelling to truly cut through, it has to be built around a solid truth: “Believable storytelling that communicates credible reasons to believe in the product or brand… that is what it boils down to eventually.”
But that kind of credibility doesn’t happen by chance. Eleanor stressed the importance of real, human understanding: “It’s harder to bridge that gap between people and brands if you haven’t spent some proper quality time upfront, really talking to your audience.” Brands that move beyond brand books and rigid guidelines - and actually listen to people - open up new creative possibilities. There’s a real opportunity here to loosen the reins and show up in more emotionally resonant ways.
Tapping into motivation - not just demographics.
As the conversation deepened, Jim brought it back to a fundamental question: “Essentially, what’s triggering the purchase at the end of the day? What motivates someone to want to buy a particular product or service?” He explained that people are often driven by emotion - not function. “People make purchases because they want to belong, or because they want to feel safe, or they want to improve themselves in some way.”
It’s why relying on demographics is increasingly ineffective. As Eleanor and Jim both noted, insight isn’t about ticking boxes - it’s about finding those universal human truths that spark recognition and connection. When you tap into what people feel, you can tell stories that don’t just sell - but mean something.
Short-term return doesn’t have to come at the cost of creativity.
One of the big myths Eleanor wanted to bust was that empathetic, emotional campaigns are only good for long-term brand equity. “There is so much evidence out there now that says that if you get these stories right… you are, in our experience, 20% more likely to get a short-term uplift.”
She acknowledged that fear around performance metrics often prevents marketers from being bold - but the data shows otherwise. “All our research says that you will get that short-term return as well as the longer brand building effects.”
The message is clear: creative bravery isn’t just good for brand love - it’s good for business. “By not doing some of this stuff,” she warned, “you’re putting your business at risk - certainly both in the short term and the long term.”
Data isn’t the enemy - it’s your creative enabler.
Eleanor was quick to challenge the idea that data limits creativity. In fact, used well, it can do the opposite. “Data should help you understand what’s missing from the conversation,” she noted, “not just validate what you already know.” But too often, brands rely on performance metrics and A/B testing to make creative decisions - optimising for what’s already been done, rather than what could be possible.
Jim and Eleanor both stressed that data and intuition should work together. AI can show you what’s typical in a category. But it takes human insight to say, “We don’t want to do that - let’s break it.” It’s this balance that helps brands move beyond safe, familiar ideas and into something more distinctive, more memorable and more emotionally powerful.
You don’t have to get it perfect on day one.
Jim offered some welcome reassurance for brands feeling the pressure to get it right first time: “Don’t feel like you have to smash it, nail it straight away. You can test and learn, start small, find what works for your brand and your audience, and scale things up from there.”
He likened the process to the way great stand-up comedians build their shows - not by taking a polished routine straight to a stadium tour, but by testing material in small rooms, night after night, refining as they go. It’s a reminder that creative brilliance often starts with rough drafts, not viral moments.
This “creative confidence curve” is something more brands should embrace. Test bold ideas in low-risk channels. Build belief internally. Learn what resonates. Then scale. It’s not about perfection - it’s about progress.
Boldness doesn’t mean controversy for controversy’s sake.
When the topic turned to boldness, Jim made an important distinction: “Boldness isn’t about setting out to offend people or be controversial. Boldness isn’t punching down and stepping on the little man. Everyone loves an underdog, but everyone hates a bully.”
Instead, boldness is about being specific enough to make people feel something. And with fragmented audiences, that kind of specificity can be polarising - and that’s okay. In fact, it’s often the by-product of speaking directly and meaningfully to the people who matter most. Eleanor noted this becomes especially important for activist brands: “You get a lot of haters, but actually, that’s what you’ve stood for… you’re still in tune with your values.”
The biggest mistake? Flip-flopping. “If you end up flip-flopping,” she warned, “that’s the worst thing to do because you alienate the audience that you created for in the first place, and then you alienate the audience who you’re outraging.” If you’re going to stand for something, stand for it. And if you’re not that kind of brand, don’t pretend to be. There’s more power in clarity than in forced relevance.
Brand responsibility in a culture of distrust.
Perhaps one of the most thought-provoking points of the event came from Eleanor’s reflection on shifting expectations: “People are trusting authority figures less - politicians and such like - and almost holding them responsible for culture wars. And therefore, they want brands to actually be supportive of a reflection of their values, because they’re not getting that from other bits of society.”
In a world where institutions are falling short, brands have an opportunity - and arguably a responsibility - to reflect people’s lived values. But to do that, they have to first understand them. That means pairing data with real, human intuition. AI might tell you what’s typical. But insight reveals what’s true.
Don’t get stuck in the AI loop.
One of the subtler risks raised during the session was the increasing reliance on AI and optimisation tools in creative development. Eleanor warned that this can lead to brands producing work that looks and feels the same: “We need to, as an industry, be careful of that AI loop, because eventually you’re just going to be making exactly the same ad - and then you lose all of those qualities that give a real, true human connection.”
That’s not to say AI doesn’t have its uses. In fact, Eleanor acknowledged its potential to help brands understand category norms at scale - so they can avoid them. “You can do lots of AI testing to understand what’s normal. Then when it comes to talking to a creative agency, you can say: ‘Please don’t do that. I need to do something different.’”
The takeaway? Data and AI should be creative enablers, not creative constraints. Used properly, they help brands identify the clichés - so they can confidently break them.
Culture: don’t lead it. live in it.
Another major theme from the session was the role of brands in culture. Eleanor was clear that not every brand has to set the cultural agenda. “If you’re a brand that feels like you are a driver of culture… then it’s more incumbent upon you to be ahead of where the mainstream is. But if you’re maybe a more sort of mayonnaise brand… is it fine to follow a trend? I kind of think it is.”
Jim agreed and reminded us that reflecting culture isn’t enough on its own. “Just reflecting your audience’s life experience back at them isn’t enough. You’ve got to sprinkle that element of surprise and a fresh take on things as you tell that story.”
Ultimately, it’s not about manufacturing culture. Culture already exists. The job of a brand is to find its place within it and bring something fresh to the conversation.
What’s the real risk?
The panel made it clear: the biggest threat facing brands today isn’t backlash - it’s blandness. If you’re always aiming for universal appeal, you risk saying nothing meaningful to anyone.
As Eleanor put it: “If you’re not doing this, you’re putting your business at risk.” Empathy, specificity and creative bravery aren’t indulgences. They’re necessities for brands that want to be felt, remembered and trusted.
So… what now?
This panel made one thing clear: the future of brand communication won’t be driven by demographics or performance metrics alone. It will be led by insight, empathy and the courage to connect in ways that are honest, human and culturally meaningful.
To get there, marketers need to:
Talk to their audiences, not just survey them
Use data as a starting point - but pair it with human intuition
Loosen rigid brand rules to show up in more authentic, human ways
Start small, test bold ideas and scale what works
Know their cultural role - and play it with confidence
Accept that polarisation is often a sign of emotional relevance, not failure
Embrace multiple routes to creative greatness - because sameness is the real risk
Because in the end, the brands that win won’t just be the loudest or the trendiest - they’ll be the ones that make people feel something. The ones that understand their audience, reflect their values and take creative risks that leave a lasting impression.
As Eleanor and Jim showed us, there’s no one formula for resonance - but the brands willing to put empathy at the heart of their strategy will be the ones that stand out, stay relevant and build loyalty that lasts.
Want more?
If you’d like to watch the full panel discussion, you can find it here: The Empathy Revolution For Brands
