Which marketing activity identifies and anticipates customers' needs and wants?

The correct choice is market research because it encompasses the processes and techniques used to gather data about consumers' preferences, behaviors, and attitudes. This activity is crucial for understanding and anticipating customer needs and wants, allowing businesses to tailor their products, services, and marketing strategies accordingly. Market research can involve surveys, focus groups, interviews, and analysis of existing data, all aimed at gaining insights into what customers are looking for and how they make purchasing decisions.

On the other hand, marketing strategies are broader plans and approaches that outline how a business intends to reach its target market and achieve its goals but do not specifically focus on identifying customer needs. Advertising primarily promotes products to potential customers but does not inherently involve the process of understanding their needs. Brand awareness is related to how well consumers recognize or remember a brand, but it does not directly involve the anticipation of customer demands or preferences. Therefore, market research stands out as the activity specifically focused on uncovering and predicting customer needs and wants.