How Nestlé Uses Insights to Drive Impactful Innovation

Nestlé’s Head of Digital Marketing Analytics, Aaron Winkler, joins host Matt Mueller to reveal how the world’s largest food & beverage company turns consumer insights into impactful innovation. We dig into AI-enabled analytics, social/search listening, ratings & reviews mining, and the change management required to drive tool adoption across 30+ brands. Aaron shares a surprising sustainability insight (transportation > packaging), explains the “data scape” approach that blends multiple data streams, and shows how to connect insights to brand purpose so leaders take action. If you work in CPG, retail, or marketing analytics, this episode is your playbook for turning data into real business outcomes.

Show Notes

• How Nestlé operationalizes insights across websites, social, influencers, email, ratings & reviews, and the digital retailer shelf.
• Why AI is useful only if adopted—and the tactics Aaron uses to increase tool usage (dashboards, alerts, office hours).
• The “data scape” method: layering social + search + site behavior + reviews to see consumers’ true behavior (not just what they say).
• A counterintuitive sustainability learning: transportation of goods drove more conversation than packaging—and how that shifted PR outreach.
• How to evaluate and select tools (identify blind spots → RFP → pilot → measure stakeholder satisfaction and decision impact).
• The leadership unlock: insights come from analysts; purpose comes from leaders—tie data to brand goals to get action.

Episode Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Data-Driven Marketing at Nestle
03:35 The Role of Data in Marketing Strategy
06:24 Purpose-Driven Campaigns and Consumer Insights
08:53 Leveraging Social Listening for Brand Strategy
11:45 Navigating Organizational Change and Stakeholder Buy-In
14:29 Integrating Digital Tools for Consumer Insights
17:26 Understanding Consumer Behavior Through Data
20:13 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Marketing Tools
22:55 Overcoming Challenges in Tool Adoption
25:39 The Importance of Transparency in Marketing
28:20 Connecting Insights to Brand Purpose
31:07 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways

• Adoption > Features: A powerful platform unused is worthless. Design for ease; embed alerts/dashboards in workflows.
• Blend data sources: Social ≠ truth. Search, site journeys, and reviews uncover actual behavior.
• Show the shift: Visualizations over time make leaders comfortable changing course.
• Tie to purpose: Translate metrics to leader goals (e.g., revenue, conversion, trust).
• Continuously reassess: Annual tool reviews for fit, cost, and impact—don’t “set and forget."

Thanks for checking out this episode of innovate ON purpose.

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