Jane Ostler, Chief Insights Officer at Kantar, joins V and Marc to discuss 20 years of BrandZ data and what it reveals about brand growth. We explore the Meaningful, Different, Salient framework, why relative difference beats absolute uniqueness, and how marketers can separate strategic principles from tactical noise. Jane explains how small brands can compete without massive budgets, why trends shouldn't replace strategy, and how AI risks creating a "sea of sameness." From the Blueprint for Brand Growth to 2026 marketing trends, this conversation challenges conventional thinking about differentiation and brand building.

Speaker Bio

Jane Ostler is Chief Insights Officer at Kantar, where she leads the global BrandZ study, now in its 20th edition. She was a lead author of the Blueprint for Brand Growth, a comprehensive analysis based on billions of data points that established the Meaningful, Different, Salient (MDS) framework. Jane oversees Kantar's research into brand equity, marketing effectiveness, and consumer behaviour, producing reports including Marketing Trends 2026, Media Reactions, and Outstanding Innovation. Her work proves that strong brands consistently outperform stock market indices and that brand equity has measurable financial value.

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