Kantar and Quilt Add Early Post-Launch Evaluator

Kantar and its strategic partner Quilt.AI have unveiled LaunchSignals, an AI-powered solution analyzing and helping to optimize the performance of new products soon after launch.

The partnership was announced in March, with a first solution, EvaluateExplorer available immediately: this helps brands identify innovation opportunities and develop new product and service concepts.

The partners say product launches 'start generating clues about how they are landing almost immediately.' LaunchSignals pulls these clues together - including consumer reviews, search behaviour, cultural trends, social and digital conversation, LLM visibility and competitor activity - and adds Kantar's innovation and brand-growth expertise and Quilt's digital and cultural ontology. The new solution identifies what stands out (and what doesn't) versus competitor or previous launches; suggests responses to messaging, claims, pricing, promotion and consumer expectation-setting, informed by expert opinion; and learns as it goes, across multiple launches.

LaunchSignals also complements Kantar's existing launch tools, LaunchEvaluate - which by contrast uses survey-based research to quantify how a launch is performing - and Kantar Live, which adds deeper understanding from consumers who have actually tried the product.

Dr Nicki Morley, the insight group's Global Innovation Lead, states: 'Sales data doesn't tell a marketer what people think about their new product, why they're responding as they are, or what they could still change. Because these early signals can also shape how a product appears in AI-generated answers and influence how consumers discover it, there's an additional reason to get this right. LaunchSignals is sensitive enough to pick up subtle shifts in what's happening, helping marketers while they can still act and allowing them to build on experience to make their next launch stronger.'

Dr Angad Chowdhry (pictured), Quilt.AI co-founder, says the new product 'beautifully demonstrates' that 'AI is not equal to LLM.' He explains: 'The Quilt.AI cultural ontology, paired with Kantar's innovation expertise allows a deep dive into the cultural drivers of what makes a launch successful or not. Brands can waste millions of dollars in marketing if they are not able to understand instantly which products are being well received.'

LaunchSignals is immediately available in nineteen markets, with nine in Europe, including the big 5 markets; plus Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, the UAE and the United States. The partners say it will expand to 'near-global coverage' in 2027.

Home page: www.kantar.com .