It’s just a month to the Philippine elections, which will determine the next president and vice president and fill senatorial slots. Since the vote will have a major impact on the fate of people’s lives and that of the country, Filipinos cited the elections as a source of considerable anxiety in JWT’s 10 Trends local research, conducted in December 2009. For example, an engineer we interviewed said the elections will determine whether he needs to worry about his personal stability, as well as the country’s.
Convenience-store chain 7-Eleven and juice chain Fruitas are seeking to defuse anxiety during the lead-up to the elections with a bit of fun. The “7-Elections” promotion carries the fun line “Every Gulp counts” and offers 10 colorful cups decorated with each candidate’s face for customers buying a Gulp drink. Each choice mimics one vote (there’s even one for those abstaining or undecided). A Web site tracks the votes and shows a daily tally. For my friend who likes Fruitas’ fruit shakes, sipping from the colorful cups that feature each candidate’s slogan gives her a moment to think about how to exercise her civic duty.
Does your brand have an opportunity to ease your consumers’ anxiety when it’s at its height?
Photo Credits: Pam G., www.7-elections.com
During a recent in-home consumer visit, a local orthodontist confessed to us that her secret simple pleasure is discovering new ice cream experiences. To her, this is the best reward after a hard week of fitting dentures for her clients. Her lament is that beyond the usual brands, her discoveries tend to be on the premium side. Häagen-Dazs Cafe, for example, has not added branches in Manila.
Talking to consumers one hot day in a lower-income neighborhood of Manila, we stopped by one of the street stores called “sari-sari” (roughly translated, “we sell all kinds”) for refreshment. Excitedly, the storekeeper offered us the hottest drink among the street toughs—Nutri-C, a do-it-yourself, two-in-one energy drink/vitamin C concoction.
Filipino kids are taught not to be wasteful—our moms always reminded us to finish all the food on our plate, not keep the water running while bathing and turn on lights only when it got dark. And in these trying times, this Filipino value of thrift and resourcefulness is thriving, as we noted when we visited consumers’ homes recently. We met one woman who washed her hair using the small dipper pail (“tabo”) that Filipinos use in the bathroom and caught the rinse water in another pail for cleaning the bathroom floors. Some people invert their bottle of shampoo or lotion halfway through the bottle to ensure that every last drop is used and not left clinging to the side.
In times of difficulty, consumers count their blessings—and count what’s in their closet. Somehow, that old thing can be made new again.
The recession opens up opportunities for brands to identify gaps in the market and create products that provide affordable indulgence. Here’s one good example:
There’s a belief that the Philippines is perpetually in crisis mode, but the first quarter of the year has brought more intense worry as job loss becomes a harsh reality. More than 15,000 workers have been laid off in the past two months. Tina Aquino, a housewife we interviewed last week for an ethnographic study, has been preparing for the eventuality that her husband, an engineer based in Qatar, will be laid off. She’s been hoarding their savings and downsizing to the smallest packs possible of the family’s basic necessities. Take, for example, Kraft Eden Cheese, a favorite of her young son’s. Instead of taking it out of her grocery basket altogether and making do with plain “pandesal” (Filipino bread), she bought the smallest size, the 50 gram “Sulit Pack” (loosely translated as Best Value pack), which will fill two or three sandwich snacks this week.
