Marketing Insights & Competitive Intelligence Co-op

IDC Research Inc.•Boston, MA

4d•$25 - $35•Hybrid

About The Position

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. 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.

Requirements

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
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

Nice To Haves

familiarity with research databases, web research techniques, or business intelligence tools is a plus

Responsibilities

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
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
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
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