Kantar strengthens brand intelligence offer

The move reflects Kantar's view that brand leadership requires a new kind of intelligence as AI reshapes how people discover and choose what to buy. Colton, who joined from Sky Bet and previously sat on ITV's management board, is building a team designed to connect human behaviour, predictive brand science and AI. Patel will oversee Kantar's brand equity IP, including its Meaningful, Different and Salient (MDS) framework, and shaping its evolution for the AI era.

Patel, who previously spent 22 years with the business, returns to Kantar from MDI (Mobile Digital Insights) where he currently serves as Africa Director of Research. Based in Cape Town, he starts the new role on 3 August.

Dan Colton, global managing director, Brand at Kantar, said: "Since I joined in April, my focus has been on building a team with the depth and ambition this moment demands. Adhil is the clearest example of that: few people understand our IP as well as he does, or have thought harder about what it means for the AI era. As people and machines increasingly shape how brands are discovered and chosen, that's exactly the combination of rigour and fresh thinking our clients need."

Adhil Patel added: "Kantar has always stood apart because of the strength of its IP and the scale at which it can apply that thinking. I'm coming back to a business I know and love, and to a team Dan is building with real ambition. This is an exciting moment to evolve the industry, given how AI is reshaping how equity is built and as marketers seek clear evidence for turning intelligence into stronger growth."

Kantar's Brand team is supported by a growing pipeline of its newest offers:

• Kantar BrandDigital AI signals goes beyond simple LLM visibility metrics, diagnosing where AI recommendations reinforce or erode Meaningful, Different and Salient brand equity and what to do about it.

• Kantar Live has brought quantitative scale to qualitative group discussions, helping brands including Dove International and Reckitt explore and refine ideas across innovation and brand research.

• Kantar Converser allows brands to learn from AI-moderated, one-to-one conversations that capture richer context and nuance for faster, deeper human understanding.