Marketing Insights & Competitive Intelligence Co-op

Overview

Are you curious about what competitors are doing, how markets are shifting, and what those signals mean for a leading technology research firm? Do you enjoy building organized, repeatable research outputs that help teams act faster and smarter?

As a Marketing Insights & Competitive Intelligence Co-op, you'll join IDC's growing competitive intelligence function. This is a pilot initiative designed to deliver structured, repeatable insights on the competitive landscape to stakeholders across the business - including Product, Marketing, Sales, and Executive Leadership. You will produce the artifacts that help IDC see what is changing in the market before it matters most.

About the Role & Team

This role is hands-on, research-oriented, and built for someone who takes pride in well-organized, actionable outputs. You'll help build the foundation of a competitive intelligence function that could become a permanent part of how IDC operates.

What You'll Do

• Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in Business Administration, Marketing, Information Systems, Communications, Data Analytics, or a related field
• Strong interest in competitive intelligence, market research, or strategic marketing
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail - this role produces structured, repeatable artifacts that stakeholders depend on
• Strong writing and communication skills, with the ability to summarize complex competitive information clearly and concisely
• Experience using AI tools (ideally Claude) to accelerate research, organize information, or produce structured outputs and ongoing monitoring applications
• Proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint; familiarity with research databases, web research techniques, or business intelligence tools is a plus
• Analytical mindset with an eye for pattern recognition and a drive to surface insights that others miss
• Comfortable working independently against a defined deliverable set, with minimal day-to-day supervision
• Collaborative and curious, with a genuine interest in technology markets and how companies compete within them
• Hybrid schedule, working in our Boston office 2-3 days per week.

Product Launch & Feature Tracking

Your primary focus will be maintaining and improving IDC's product launch and claims tracking infrastructure - giving the business a clear, current view of what competitors are building, saying, and selling.

• Build and maintain product launch trackers that capture competitor releases side by side, including feature claims, target customer segments, pricing signals, and go-to-market messaging
• Maintain a claims and messaging tracker - a structured repository of competitor public claims, taglines, analyst endorsements, customer logos, and category positioning statements
• Monitor competitor product pages, press releases, event announcements, and marketing campaigns to identify new launches, feature updates, and messaging pivots
• Flag meaningful changes in how competitors describe their products and position themselves in the market, and summarize findings for stakeholder review

Competitive Intelligence

• Monitor and analyze the competitive landscape across traditional, AI-native, and emerging players to keep IDC informed on market positioning
• Develop and maintain one-page competitor wiki profiles covering positioning, product lines, pricing signals, recent announcements, leadership changes, and known strengths and weaknesses
• Produce a monthly competitor digest summarizing notable competitor moves, product launches, messaging changes, partnerships, acquisitions, hiring signals, and customer announcements
• Develop structured SWOT analyses and competitor assessments for internal stakeholder review
• Deliver standard updates after a competitor or peer releases earnings, launches a material product, or makes another significant market announcement

Market Insights & Analysis

• Capture recurring themes across competitor announcements, customer references, job postings, earnings calls, press releases, and product pages into market signal snapshots
• Develop and maintain repeatable AI-assisted methodologies for market analysis and research production

Product Planning & Business Development Support

• Collaborate with Marketing, Sales, Corporate Development, and Global Domains to align intelligence outputs with business priorities
• Support product strategy and portfolio planning with competitive pricing, market sizing, and positioning insights
• Deliver market-based insights on emerging technologies and new opportunity areas to support product planning
• Maintain and improve a living competitor wiki so that research compounds over time and each co-op cohort builds on the last

What You'll Gain

• Hands-on experience building competitive intelligence outputs for a global technology market research firm
• Direct exposure to how a leading B2B research business monitors and responds to market signals
• Experience developing structured research trackers, messaging repositories, SWOT analyses, and market signal reports
• Practical understanding of how competitive positioning, product messaging, and go-to-market strategy shape markets
• Opportunities to present your findings and trackers to Marketing, Product, and Legal leadership
• A front-row seat to IDC's evolving intelligence function - with the potential to help shape what it becomes

Why This Role Stands Out
At IDC, your work helps shape how the world understands technology and where it goes next. You collaborate with curious, high-caliber colleagues who value rigor, integrity, and shared success. As the premier global provider of trusted technology intelligence, IDC equips business and technology leaders with the evidence they need to make confident decisions. Our insights inform strategy, investment, and innovation across industries and regions.


Recognized by IIAR as Analyst Firm of the Year for five consecutive years, IDC sets the standard for credibility and impact. With more than 1,000 analysts worldwide and a truly global perspective, we combine deep expertise with practical relevance. Here, your ideas matter, your voice is heard, and your contributions provide the insights leaders rely on every day. It is meaningful work, backed by a culture that supports growth, collaboration, and long-term career development with a globally respected brand.

Compensation Transparency

At IDC, we are committed to fair and equitable pay practices. Employees are compensated equitably for their work, aligned with their skills and experience. Salary and incentive structures are determined through a rigorous process that considers experience, education, certifications, role-specific requirements, internal equity, and verified U.S. market data from an independent third-party partner.

The expected total annual compensation, depending on experience and education, is between $25 - $35 per hour.

Equal Opportunity Employer

IDC is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified persons. Employment eligibility verification required. We participate in E-Verify.

IDC is currently able to employ remote workers in the following states: Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Connecticut (CT), Washington D.C. (DC), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Kansas (KS), Massachusetts (MA), Maryland (MD), Maine (ME), Michigan (MI), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MO), Mississippi (MS), North Carolina (NC), New Hampshire (NH), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), Ohio (OH), Oregon (OR), Pennsylvania (PA), Rhode Island (RI), South Carolina (SC), Tennessee (TN), Texas (TX), Utah (UT), Virginia (VA), Vermont (VT), Washington (WA), and Wisconsin (WI).

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