JWT’s AnxietyIndex is designed as a place to discuss how brands and consumers are responding to the global recession. With daily content updates, AnxietyIndex.com includes contributions from around JWT’s network, offering a truly global perspective.
Assurances and guarantees were a dominant theme in marketing during this difficult year, helping to assuage consumer anxiety about spending. It kicked off with Hyundai’s widely copied Assurance Program. By late summer, GM was offering a “60-day satisfaction guarantee” (“If you don’t absolutely love your new vehicle, we’ll take it back”). In the online-travel category, Orbitz now offers both a “Price Assurance” program (if another customer books the same flight/hotel for less, Orbitz refunds you the difference) and a Low Price Guarantee (find a lower online fare for the same booking and Orbitz refunds the difference and gives you a $50 coupon). Competitor sites are doing likewise.
Now Gap is experimenting with putting this idea in the mall. Its Sprize program, so far only operating in the Vancouver area, has shoppers register for a Sprize card, which they show whenever they buy a Gap item; if the item’s price drops within 45 days, the difference is credited to the card. That credit is redeemable for up to a year.
This seems like a smart response to what’s become a sticky problem for retailers, which have been forced to slash prices this year, in effect training today’s value-conscious shoppers to wait for sales and offers (coupons, etc.). Since Gap’s refund is in the form of a credit, a good percentage of shoppers will likely spend extra once they’re back in the store or forget to redeem it at all. It will be interesting to see whether Sprize provides enough incentive to get bargain hunters to buy now and hope for discounts later.
Migdal Ohr is an organization that provides education and “social guidance” for Israeli kids from underprivileged or troubled backgrounds. With competition for donations particularly stiff in this downturn, it has found a unique approach to attract attention: While most communications for nonprofits focus on the importance of the cause and how the donation will help the needy, this campaign is about how the donation will affect the giver.
Sending the message that anyone can be a philanthropist, a humorous series of newspaper ads titled “Find the fairy godmother in you” shows unlikely types—a mechanic, a biker and a soccer fan—with fairy wings and a magic wand. Instead of asking the public for help, Migdal Ohr is helping the public by empowering just about anybody to express their inner angel.
For $99, a nAscent Art consultant will visit a client’s home or office to match works from the company’s catalogue of emerging New York artists. The client then pays a monthly rental fee for the work, a portion of which can go toward its eventual purchase. Renters who choose not to buy can simply trade in their artwork when they want something new.
The recession has had a sobering effect on the contemporary art market (after 10 years of explosive growth, the art auction market saw a 75 percent decline in sales this past year), leading many sellers to investigate alternative distribution channels. Could “cooperative consumption” (as we’ve termed the spread of the timeshare concept) and rent-to-buy models be one solution? We’ve seen these models win converts in new categories during the downturn, and we’re likely to continue to see experimentation in categories that once seemed unlikely candidates for this concept.
Looking back on the recession and marketing in Saudi Arabia this year, we’ve seen brands shift from mass generic communication to more targeted advertising. Some brands have been trying to create more value. And for the first time in a while, we’ve seen brands going the extra mile to communicate discounts or value products, which used to be shunned by the cash-laden Saudi.
Two recent examples of this are Wafrah, a brand that has been focusing solely on marketing affordable products (its name translates as “save”), and Petromine, a motor oil brand offering 50 liters of gasoline free with an oil change.
But not enough brands here have directly addressed consumer anxieties, and most remain unconvinced that they need to focus on championing value. In the end, they just keep talking about how premium their product is while ignoring what people are feeling and an opportunity to really connect with their consumers.
Could there be a growing realization that life is more than a series of transactions—even from a credit card brand? The latest Australian MasterCard campaign reflects an attitude fostered by the recent economic downturn: a turn away from compulsive consumption and a focus on appreciating the value of “the moment,” and specifically the time that goes into making that moment special. (Just last week, we highlighted an L.L.Bean holiday commercial that also emphasizes the value of the moment.)
The 30-second spot shows how a rock is formed over eons, from its origins in a volcano to being skipped over water by a dad and his son. Says the voiceover: “Not knowing how much goes into a moment? Priceless.” This is an interesting shift of the “Priceless” campaign, which has focused on the transactions that go into reaching a “priceless” moment. (The commercial promotes MasterCard Moments, “an exclusive program of awe-inspiring experiences specially chosen for Gold and Platinum MasterCard holders.”)
AnxietyIndex research has shown Australians to be particularly pessimistic about the future relative to the actual impact of the global recession on their lives. Coming out of this unsettled and uncertain period, the importance of time, family and the special moments that arise from these serves as a strong leverage point for brands looking for to engage audiences in a deeper and more meaningful conversation.
In a downturn, sampling can transform from a call to buy into a generous gift from brands. A few weeks ago, so-called DanceBag parties were organized in several clubs around Spain; they were publicized through Facebook. More than 50,000 revelers left discos with free samples from brands including Axe, Trident, Bic and Smint.
HighCo Marketing House, the company responsible for the initiative, is also proposing a SkiBag (for handing out on the slopes), a GoldenBag (for luxury hotel rooms) and a SummerBag (for beachgoers). Let’s take two positive conclusions: Brands can collaborate to improve their efforts, and sampling is the best experience marketing you can propose to a society beset by the downturn.
There was a time when life insurance communication was quite somber, evoking fear about what might happen to your loved ones once you die or suffer an unexpected injury or illness. Once insurance plans came linked with investment in India, however, the sector transformed. People could see money returned even if their policy expired. There are now innumerable players offering investment-linked insurance, and the field is heavily cluttered.
The gears have shifted accordingly in communication, which now features vibrant, upbeat imagery—illustrating freedom from tension because your loved ones are secure just in case. The latest effort from Kotak Life Insurance, an established player, adopts a somewhat different approach. Its new brand positioning is “Faidey ka insurance” (insurance that’s financially rewarding), appealing to the rational rather than the emotional side and approaching insurance the same way as any other investment product. (This is backed by the fact that Kotak is also a well-known investment player with expertise in research and capital markets.)
The TV commercial features a Kotak agent in a living room, discussing child insurance plans with a family; as he talks about parents wanting their kids to take up various professions, the child here turns into an astronaut, doctor, cricketer and rock star. The agent notes that a child’s career path can’t be guaranteed and neither can the returns of a regular insurance plan. He describes how Kotak’s Child Plans ensure better returns, which helps parents finance the child’s education. The agent leaves with a piece of friendly advice: that a child must be given room to make his own career choice.
For many Americans, this recession has meant putting the brakes on freewheeling consumerism while at the same time learning to enjoy the simpler pleasures that come with more time spent at home among family and friends.
L.L.Bean does a nice job tying these two trends together in a holiday commercial that shows a family frolicking in slow motion in a snowy wonderland. Backed by what sounds like hand bells being quietly struck, the voiceover tells viewers: “Every penny counts. So does every moment. Make the most of both this holiday season with free shipping from L.L.Bean.” (Accompanying copy on YouTube and Facebook also advises shoppers to “Slow down and enjoy the season.”) To further back up the first part of the proclamation, the Maine-based retailer is offering a $10 gift card with a purchase of $25 or more.
While much of the Western world is still anxious about the global economy, the sentiment in Asia is quite different. Nielsen’s most recent Global Consumer Confidence Index, released in October, showed significant spikes in Asia. Many Asian countries registered much higher increases in consumer confidence than the global average of 9 points, including Vietnam (+24), Hong Kong (+23), Korea (+22), Indonesia (+21), Singapore (+16) and Thailand (+13).
However, these improvements in sentiment haven’t yet translated into consumer behavior. Across various categories, consumers in many Asian markets appear to be eager to spend—but only if the situation continues to improve. It seems then that anxiety in Asia is no longer centered around the recession but rather the recovery—i.e., a desire that it just happen already so things can go back to how they used to be.
Brands that haven’t already need to shift the conversation from damage control to “How can we help people prepare for the eventual recovery?” We wrote about hope-fueled vs. fear-fueled marketing in our second AnxietyIndex Quarterly report, and amid the anxiety over recovery, nurturing optimism and hope seems to be more relevant than ever.
In Spain, the downturn has not yet slowed, and the economy is still under a dark cloud. Brands are feeling this lack of oxygen, and new campaigns are few and generally conservative. One area where we’re seeing some activity is brand stores. This trend is being accelerated by the real estate crisis, which has created lots of cheap opportunities. Finally brands are playing with shops as experience spaces for consumers.
First, Danone opened up a store in Barcelona, a huge yogurt bar and restaurant project. Now Casa Knorr has launched in Barcelona and Madrid, with free cooking and nutrition workshops for kids and adults, as well as product tastings. Workshop attendees will learn to put together a weekly menu and prepare healthy snacks, and even be accompanied on instructive supermarket shopping trips by a chef and dietitian.
These consumer experience labs are a smart investment. It will be interesting to see whether they become a permanent part of the marketing mix once the downturn ends.
Assurances and guarantees were a dominant theme in marketing during this difficult year, helping to assuage consumer anxiety about spending. It kicked off with Hyundai’s widely copied Assurance Program. By late summer, GM was offering a “60-day satisfaction guarantee” (“If you don’t absolutely love your new vehicle, we’ll take it back”). In the online-travel category, Orbitz now offers both a “Price Assurance” program (if another customer books the same flight/hotel for less, Orbitz refunds you the difference) and a Low Price Guarantee (find a lower online fare for the same booking and Orbitz refunds the difference and gives you a $50 coupon). Competitor sites are doing likewise.
Photo Credit: JWT Israel
Two recent examples of this are 
In a downturn, sampling can transform from a call to buy into a generous gift from brands. A few weeks ago, so-called DanceBag parties were organized in several clubs around Spain; they were publicized through Facebook. More than 50,000 revelers left discos with free samples from brands including Axe, Trident, Bic and Smint.
In Spain, the downturn has not yet slowed, and the economy is still under a dark cloud. Brands are feeling this lack of oxygen, and new campaigns are few and generally conservative. One area where we’re seeing some activity is brand stores. This trend is being accelerated by the real estate crisis, which has created lots of cheap opportunities. Finally brands are playing with shops as experience spaces for consumers.
