Building Meaningful Products is Product Management

Emmanuel Probst is the global lead for brand thought leadership, senior vice president of brand health tracking at Ipsos, and author of the new book "Assemblage".

“Brands can no longer force-feed us plenty of products we don’t need; what brands need to do to succeed is transform us people and the world we live in,” Emmanuel Probst says. “I genuinely think there is an opportunity for brands to make a positive impact on people, on the world they live in, to make a positive impact on sustainability, on society in general, on specific societal issues, on economic recovery after COVID.”

Emmanuel is the global lead for brand thought leadership and senior vice president of brand health tracking at Ipsos and author of the book, Assemblage: The Art and Science of Brand Transformation. As a market research industry veteran, he shares plenty of ideas on how to achieve such brand and product transformation, and at the heart of the endeavor is the idea of “co-creation.” 

“This co-creation process is so important,” Emmanuel says. “The way the marketing industry and product design evolved over the last few years is indeed moving from dictating the narrative and dictating the product to consumers, toward co-creating the product, co-creating the brand with people and with consumers.”

And how, exactly, is this done? Through active, continual listening to what consumers want. “Don’t think so much in terms of features and benefits, don’t think so much in terms of the functional aspect of the product,” he says. “Take a step back, and understand what are people trying to achieve in their lives, what is their mission? And therefore, how is your product and how is your brand going to facilitate this transformation?”

Hear more valuable insights from Emmanuel, including advice for new “assemblers,” the role curiosity plays throughout his life, his take on heroes and antiheroes in marketing and product, and much more, on this episode of This Is Product Management.

Download the transcript: 

Here are some highlights: 

• Emmanuel’s new book, “Assemblage”
• The co-creation process
• The role of brand purpose
• Heroes and anti-heroes
• The role of an “assembler” and advice for those just starting