The Institute for Customer Insights (CIN) was established on January 1, 2025 at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The four founding chairs at the institute build the foundation of customer-based research at the KIT. With the chair of Cognition & Consumer Behavior led by Prof. Dr. Benjamin Scheibehenne, the chair of Marketing & Sales led by Prof. Dr. Martin Klarmann, the chair of Digital Marketing led by Prof. Dr. Ann-Kristin Kupfer, and the chair of Information Services and Electronic Markets led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Geyer-Schulz we are able to cover a broad area of research drawing on expertise from various disciplines. Our research bridges the gap between theory and practice providing businesses, policy makers and society with guidance in the age of digital transformation.

Some of our research areas include: 

• Social and environmental influences on consumer decision making
• New technologies in the context of Marketing (like Machine Learning and AI)
• Branding strategies and success factors of media products
• Data acqusition and analysis techniques for research surrounding consumer behaviour and marketing

March 26, 2025: Course offered by the CIN wins "Best Practice" award The course “Onlinekonzepte für Karlsruher Innenstadthändler”, originally initiated by Marin Klarmann and now taught by Ann-Kristin Kupfer, has been honored as a "Best Practice" by stadtimpulse. The initiative, which is co-organized with the City Marketing Karlsruhe, helps local retailers enhance their digital presence through student-led support in areas like website optimization, social media, and content creation. At the same time, it offers students the opportunity to put their theoretical knowledge into action and make a real impact. The award recognizes the course’s contribution to revitalizing Karlsruhe's city center. The project will continue in the next summer semester. Interested Master students are invited to participate; the enrollment for the course begins in April.

March 25, 2025: Two new seminars offered by the Digital Marketing Research Group. In the summer semester, Ann-Kristin Kupfer is offering a seminar on digital marketing for Bachelor students; the link to the registration including an overview. Moreover, she is offering a seminar for Master students as part of the “The Future of Marketing” seminar series. This year, the seminar deals with the future of AI companions. The link to the registration including an overview of topics.

March 25, 2025: A new publication by Ann-Kristin Kupfer on entertainment science! For over four decades, scholars have developed the field of entertainment science, establishing a thorough understanding of the business behind filmed, recorded, written, and programmed media products and services, encompassing consumer behavior and strategic decision-making. In her latest article, published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences (VHB-A), Ann-Kristin Kupfer and her co-authors Ronny Behrens and Thorsten Hennig-Thurau synthesize key findings from entertainment science research. The authors develop a framework that structures the research stream, highlighting the hedonic, narrative, cultural, creative, innovative, and digital nature of entertainment offerings. Leveraging the entertainment industry’s pioneering role in major cross-industry trends, including virtual worlds and generative AI, they then provide best practices for adapting to these developments. The article is freely accessible.

March 18, 2025 Registration for inspection dates In April, the Cognition & Consumer Behavior Lap offers a date for exam inspection. Registration for the inspection is possible from 18.03.2025 in the Wiwiportal under SS 2025.

February 6, 2025: Workshops. In the summer semester of 2025, the research groups Marketing & Sales and Digital Marketing are offering two interactive events. All information about the events “Digital Marketing and Sales in B2B” and “Online concepts for Karlsruhe city center retailers” as well as how to apply can be found on this set of slides. Registration begins in April.

January 22, 2025: Master's seminar on social media. In winter semester 24/25, our Marketing and Sales research group is offering a master's seminar. All information about the event and how to apply can be found on this slide set. You can apply for the event up to and including February 2nd via this announcement in the Wiwi-Portal.