Q3 sits at a unique intersection in the business cycle – close enough to annual planning to forecast challenges and opportunities, but early enough to act on them. For many organizations, it’s the season of insight preparation: identifying what you need to know, why it matters, and how to gather it before budgets are finalized in Q4.

This is especially important if you're working with external support like On Demand Talent. These professionals can quickly jump into projects, but they still need context to deliver their best work. A strategic brief created in Q3 gives them the direction, background, and clarity to ramp up quickly – without wasting time in discovery mode during planning season itself.

Why timing matters in market research planning

Consumer behavior is constantly evolving. Trends that emerged in Q1 and Q2 may be reshaping your category’s competitive landscape. If you wait until Q4 to start gathering insights, you risk making decisions based on outdated assumptions – or not having enough time to field the necessary research at all.

By starting in Q3, you create space to:

• Fine-tune your hypothesis or business questions
• Conduct timely consumer insights research
• Digest findings ahead of strategy meetings
• Align internal teams with external experts more effectively

Q3 insights briefs set external experts up for success

Partnering with On Demand Talent means bringing in category-savvy experts who understand how to turn ambiguity into action. But even the most experienced professionals need visibility into your business goals, pain points, and timing to deliver real value. A smartly prepared Q3 brief bridges that gap.

Consider this scenario (for illustration only): A fast-growing CPG brand brings on an On Demand insights professional in late August. With a focused Q3 brief in hand – complete with competitive context, priority research questions, and an internal timeline – the expert is able to begin interviews, synthesize findings, and deliver executive-ready insights by early October. That enables data-led decisions just in time for the brand’s final 2025 planning sessions.

That’s the power of early alignment. Strategy thrives with insights that are timely, relevant, and actionable – and Q3 is your moment to tee that up properly.

A well-crafted Q3 brief doesn’t need to be overly complicated. Its job is to clearly communicate your current business situation, key learning needs, and timelines so that insights professionals – whether internal team members or On Demand Talent experts – know exactly where to focus their efforts.

Whether you're drafting a new brief from scratch or refreshing your format, here are the essential components to include:

1. Business context and strategic priorities

Start with the big picture. What’s happening in your business or category today? What major shifts, challenges, or opportunities are shaping your goals for the next 12–18 months? This context sets the stage for meaningful insights work.

Examples of what to include:

• Revenue performance or market share trends
• New products or campaigns launching soon
• Competitive changes or consumer behavior shifts

2. Key questions and learning objectives

Put simply: what do you need to understand in order to make informed decisions during annual planning? These aren’t just generic research questions – they should be tied back to your business strategy.

For example:

• What category need states are emerging among Gen Z shoppers?
• How is pricing sensitivity shifting in our top regions?
• Which competitors are winning on innovation and why?

Getting clear on your learning objectives will guide the types of research methods your insights partner will recommend.

3. Timeline and decision milestones

One of the most frequently overlooked aspects of Q3 briefs is timing. Helping category insights professionals understand when decisions will be made ensures they can plan deliverables accordingly and avoid last-minute scrambles.

Include key dates such as:

• Internal strategic planning meetings
• Marketing budget deadlines
• Cross-functional alignment meetings

4. Category focus areas and known gaps

Being specific about which categories or segments you want to explore can help focus insights efforts. You don’t have to have all the answers – but flagging areas of uncertainty or known blind spots gives your insights expert a strong place to start.

5. Stakeholder overview and expectations

Finally, outline who will be involved, who will use the insights, and what success looks like. This ensures your On Demand Talent partner aligns with your internal team's needs from day one.

With these elements in place, your Q3 brief becomes more than a just a reference document – it becomes a guidepost for strategic alignment, helping you move more efficiently from ambiguity to action ahead of Q4 annual planning.

As you prepare your Q3 brief for an insights specialist, one of the most important components is a clear articulation of your business goals and key decision timelines ahead of Q4. This sets the foundation for effective market research planning, helping both internal stakeholders and external professionals – such as On Demand Talent – understand what success looks like and when critical input is needed.

Why Alignment Matters Now

Q3 is the strategic runway before annual planning begins. Decisions made in Q4 will often shape go-to-market strategies, product roadmaps, and marketing calendars for the year ahead. That means insights gathered during Q3 must directly support those decisions.

Without clear direction in your brief, insights professionals may focus broadly or deliver findings that don’t fully meet your planning needs. A well-aligned brief ensures they can zero in on the questions that matter most to your business.

What to Include in This Section of the Brief

Use this portion of the Q3 category insights brief to clarify:

• Top-line business objectives: What are your big-picture goals for the next 12 months (e.g., grow share in premium coffee, expand into new customer segments)?
• Specific Q4 decisions that insights will inform: Examples may include pricing strategies, promotional timing, product innovation priorities or retail channel shifts.
• Key milestones and planning checkpoints: Map out internal review periods, leadership offsites, or go-to-market planning windows when insights need to be ready.

Clarify the “What,” “Why,” and “When”

A simple format that works well for this section is a chart or list that outlines each goal or decision, a sentence on why it matters, and the ideal timeframe for input. Here’s a fictional example for reference:

Example:

• What: Determine pricing position vs. competitors in premium snacks
• Why: To support Q4 shelf reset with national grocer
• When needed: Initial insights by week of September 18, final recommendations by October 10

Avoid the Trap of Vague Goals

Vague statements like “understand market trends” or “gather consumer insights” are too broad for action. The more specific you can be, the easier it will be for category insights professionals to deliver focused, decision-ready insights that move your business forward.

One of the most powerful ways to drive value from your Q3 brief is to clearly call out the category dynamics, consumer behavior shifts, or market trends that deserve deeper exploration. This helps any category insights specialist – especially external experts new to your business – quickly get up to speed and prioritize their research efforts.

Focus Areas to Consider

While every business will have its own unique challenges, there are recurring category shifts that tend to drive planning season activity:

• Changes in shopper behavior (e.g. trading down, trading up, channel switching)
• Emergence of new competitive players or DTC models
• Seasonal shifts or post-pandemic category evolution
• New regulatory influences or macroeconomic pressures
• Distribution changes across brick-and-mortar or e-commerce

In your brief, flag any or all of the above that are relevant to your brand or business. Even if supporting data is limited, this gives your insights team crucial direction on what to dig into.

Bring Trends Into Context

Rather than attempting to summarize everything happening in the market, focus on what’s most impactful to your business goals. For example, instead of stating “plant-based is trending,” you might say:

“We’ve seen a 12% uptick in plant-based snacks within the category over the past two quarters. We want to understand how our target consumer perceives taste and value in this space compared to legacy brands.”

This kind of context empowers the insights professional to develop targeted hypotheses and select the right research methodology.

Flag White Space or Missed Areas

If you haven’t yet had time to investigate an emerging area – for instance, a growing consumer need or micro trend – the Q3 brief is a great place to highlight it. Use phrases like:

• “We’re seeing early signals of…”
• “Leadership has asked for a better understanding of…”
• “We suspect an opportunity in _____, but lack data so far…”

Clear signals like this help external insights support come in ready to explore gaps in your current category knowledge.

How This Drives Better Planning

By identifying critical category trends now – in Q3 – you ensure your Q4 annual planning reflects real-world market dynamics, not just internal assumptions. This can help de-risk decisions, fuel competitive advantage, and uncover new areas for innovation in the year ahead.

With Q4 planning fast approaching, organizations often face insight bottlenecks – from understaffed teams to lack of specialized expertise. On Demand Talent from SIVO can help eliminate these friction points by providing flexible, senior-level support exactly when you need it.

What Makes On Demand Talent Different?

Unlike freelancers or agencies with long onboarding cycles, On Demand Talent are seasoned consumer insights professionals ready to integrate into your existing teams within days or weeks. Whether you need help with a time-sensitive trend analysis, a category white space assessment, or preparing executive-ready insights decks, our experts are brought in with clearly defined roles and outcomes – based entirely on your business needs.

Why This Matters in Q3

Q3 is a crucial time to gather insights that will directly inform the strategies developed in Q4. But internal teams often report resource crunches during this window. That’s where On Demand Talent adds serious value:

• Speed: Talent is deployed in a fraction of the time required for traditional hiring
• Experience: Experts with backgrounds across Fortune 500 and emerging brands
• Alignment: Professionals who engage with your goals, not just task lists
• Efficiency: Flexible support without long-term commitments or overhead

Example Use Cases (Fictional for Reference)

One CPG team brought in an insights specialist through On Demand Talent to synthesize current category data, build a segmentation framework, and lead executive readouts – all within six weeks. Another retail brand used fractional support to scope emerging Gen Z preferences across lifestyle categories, helping narrow down next year’s innovation zones.

These are not interns or generalists. On Demand Talent professionals hit the ground running, often adding value from day one by translating ambiguous business asks into focused insight plans.

The Bridge Between Strategy and Execution

As you build your Q3 brief, knowing that you have access to high-caliber On Demand Talent gives you greater agility and confidence in execution. You can tackle more exploratory questions, fill capability gaps on your team, or simply move faster without compromising quality. When annual planning season arrives, you’ll already be ahead of the game.