Tagged 'research'

People more trusting of businesses, less trusting of peers

Published by Ann Mack - New York on February 10, 2010 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , .

trust-barometerAfter a tumultuous year in which consumer faith in many institutions was shaken to the core, trust in business is rising year-over-year, notably in the U.S., according to the 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer. In the U.S., trust in business jumped as much as 18 points, to 54 percent. But Edelman warns that this gain is tenuous—70 percent of consumers say business and financial companies will revert to old habits when the financial crisis is over.

Interestingly, while participation in social networks and platforms like Facebook and Twitter has zoomed, trust in peers has declined. According to Advertising Age, “The number of people who view their friends and peers as credible sources of information about a company dropped by almost half, from 45% to 25%, since 2008.”

“When you’re seeing so much noise, it’s very easy to dismiss a lot of it, and that’s a problem marketing messages have had for a while now,” 360i’s David Berkowitz told Ad Age, adding that “it can be overwhelming.”

Brands can play a clear role here by acting as a legitimate source of information, as long as it’s transparent and doesn’t come across as overly self-serving. This will also make the rise in trust less tenuous. For example, last year we cited a T-Mobile campaign that claimed “eight out of 10 people are unknowingly overpaying for their wireless service”; the wireless service provider directed Americans to a third-party Web site (BillShrink.com) that evaluates a person’s calling needs against every national wireless plan.

Photo Credit: www.scribd.com

Indian fashion brands getting in on the mobile messaging game

Published by Shaziya Khan - Mumbai on August 10, 2009 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , .

30650093_8772147982JWT’s AnxietyIndex research in India found that apparel is the primary category where consumers intend to cut down their purchases. One way apparel brands are already reacting is with a barrage of mobile messaging on sales. The usual suspects when it comes to promotional text messages are insurance brands, cellular operators and telephone services. It’s unusual to be getting texts from fashion brands, but in the past month I’ve been receiving sales alerts with a frequency and a ferocity not seen before. For instance:

• Satya Paul (a designer brand): sale up to 60% last 2 days.
• Wills Lifestyle invites you to the end of season sale, enjoy discounts up to 60% off. Hurry offer valid till stocks last! conditions apply
• Chemistry end of season sale just got better, now up to 70% off on tops, tunics, dresses. Valid at all chemistry outlets from the 17th of July 2009

While women generally welcome news of sales, fashion retailers must be careful not to weaken their brands with a slew of “buy now” bargain-basement messages. The trick is to convert discounts into sales while keeping the brands’ aspirational integrity. Perhaps one way to do this would be to limit the number of people who get these text alerts (perhaps sending them only to frequent shoppers), so that recipients feel they’re in on an exclusive deal.

Photo credit: Mareen Fischinger

Green brands that cost more must explain why

Published by Mollie Hill - Sydney on August 6, 2009 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

JWT’s study on “The Recession and Its Impact on the Environment” found that people are conflicted when asked to weigh a theoretical tradeoff between environmentally friendly and lower price: While Australians accept that greener products may come at a higher cost, most are prepared to trade off on green for a reduced cost.

What does this mean for brands? Green brands that cost more should clearly explain to customers what incremental environmental benefit they are getting. OMO laundry detergent, for example, is clearly quantifying the green benefits of its new packaging. Above the typical value/efficacy story, OMO claims the product “uses half the packaging and half the trucks. Mighty results for the environment.”

The Small Movement is here

Published by Deanna Zammit - New York on July 23, 2009 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , .

thumbnails_smallmoveFor a long time, bigger was better. Now, we’re backing off of big. Drivers around the world are embracing small-class cars, developers are downsizing their blueprints, and big businesses are revising their game plans. We’re calling it The Small Movement.

Why is small having its big moment? A global recession that’s forcing us to live with less makes frugal seem fashionable. An environmental crisis makes smaller houses, cars and carbon footprints look more responsible. Booming population growth has turned smaller, more streamlined products into space savers—a key quality in a crowded world.

Small Movement success stories plug into one or all of these themes. Concentrated laundry detergents allow for smaller containers, taking up less space in cluttered home and giving consumers the sense that they’re helping to save the world. Smart cars are eye-catching, gas-friendly and easy to park in crowded cities. Stand-alone kiosks are now big business with big retailers, allowing them entry into new venues—like Blockbuster kiosks in malls and pharmacies.

These are tricky waters for businesses that have relied on selling bigger, shinier doodads for decades. But this new culture of restraint is far from bad news for brands. The Small Movement isn’t necessarily about living with less; it’s about getting the most out of life—your home, your budget, your electronics—without contributing to the world’s ills. Smart marketers will show consumers how to do just that.

Our latest trend report explores these themes and more—download it here.

NYC quantifies savings from going green

Published by Mark Truss and Ann Mack - New York on July 16, 2009 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

enviroJust as temperatures started to rise after a rain-soaked June, New York City launched a campaign to encourage people to “Be Cool & Smart” by reducing air conditioning-related electricity consumption. This is a part of an aggressive plan to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

One ad reads “Clean your air conditioner filters to save money. Dirty air filters make your A/C work harder & use more electricity.” Another tells subway riders to “Turn up your thermostat to save money. Each degree higher can cut your energy bill by 3% or more.”

Rather than emphasize the bigger, long-term “greener, greater New York” vision—which may be a bit abstract for some, especially during the sweltering summer months—the ads focus on the immediate monetary benefit. This is a much easier argument to make, especially at a time when people are trying to save money wherever they can.

As we found in “The Recession and Its Impact on the Environment,” consumers have adopted a number of behaviors over the past year that could be considered environmentally friendly—turning off lights/appliances when not in use, waiting to replace things until absolutely necessary, reusing things, etc. But as might be expected, the recession is a more dominant motivator for these behaviors than the environment.

For green brands benefitting from the recession, get in with the pockets and keep them with the planet. Leverage people’s concern over money to stimulate environmentally friendly behaviors and then work on changing attitudes (e.g., the impression that going green is more expensive) to help ensure people maintain these habits well past the recession. As the recession abates, brands will need to reinforce that these behaviors benefit the environment, not just the pocketbook.

(Click here to download the U.S. report on “The Recession and Its Impact on the Environment.” Please sign up for our subscriber alerts to be notified when the Australia, Canada, Japan and U.K. versions of the presentation are available.)

New AnxietyIndex research: Focus on India

Published by Pragya Singh - New Delhi on July 15, 2009 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Walk the streets of Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore and you’re likely to find the usual—markets bustling with activity, kids wandering noisily, youngsters hanging out and families carrying out their daily chores. But probe any adult on how he feels about events in his world, and he’s likely to get tense. The first wave of AnxietyIndex India is out (download the presentation here), and it shows that Indians are worried. Not about military tensions around the world, the war in Afghanistan or even the state of the economy. But about crime, escalating food prices and unemployment. Worry clearly stems from issues that are here-and-now, that impact people’s day-to-day lives, that affect them directly but over which they have no control.

However, when it comes to talking about the future, Indians are upbeat. Aside from crime and terrorism, they believe most things will improve in the next six months. This makes sense given that India is sitting on some strong fundamentals: healthy economic growth in the recent past; lower impact of the global slowdown, resulting in reasonable-to-good growth forecasts; key sectors performing well, from FMCG to coal and cement; growing rural demand; and political stability.

There’s an interesting learning here for marketers–brands need to ride this wave of optimism, sparking confidence, showing the road to prosperity or promising a better lifestyle. One brand that has done this is Nokia: Its campaigns have successfully positioned the brand as a means to economic and social progress. Consider the TV spot below which highlights the economic aspirations of the brand’s target audience.

In China, the downturn has a different face

Published by Haidong Guan - Shanghai on July 10, 2009 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , .

thumbnails_aichiIn JWT’s latest AnxietyIndex study, Chinese consumers had by far the lowest level of anxiety level among the global markets studied: 35 percent reported feeling anxious or nervous compared with a global average of 70 percent. It’s mainly the lower-income groups that show signs of more cautious spending patterns. That’s because the crisis has primarily affected the export sector (garments, toys, electronics assembly, etc.), which is very labor-intensive and employs low-skill migrant workers from rural areas. The government estimates that 20 million migrant workers have lost their jobs. Coupled with a weak social security system and rising food prices, this makes the lower-end consumer feel more vulnerable.

But China’s financial markets have been largely insulated from the global financial tsunami, as the market is relative closed to foreign flows and is highly regulated. The more affluent consumers, who are mainly employed by government agencies, state-owned enterprises or JV companies, have felt very little impact. Their savings in the bank are safe, the prices of their homes stable and high, their jobs secure. As most brands target these more affluent consumers, this explains why few marketers have reacted to any mood change.

Work hard, play harder

Published by Gino Borromeo - Singapore on July 1, 2009 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , .

singapore-chartWith fewer people in the workplace and workers fearing redundancy, people are putting in ever longer hours. According to a global online survey recently conducted by recruitment agency Robert Walters, people in Hong Kong and Singapore are working harder than ever: Of those surveyed, 62 percent in Hong Kong and 59 percent in Singapore said they’ve been putting in more overtime. The global average was 55 percent.

For brands, this could be a great moment to provide some much needed relief through entertainment, humor and plain old fun. How can our brands bring a greater source of joy to people in these gray times?

Stealth consumption, brought to you by Manduka

Published by Lois Saldana - New York on June 30, 2009 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

2imagephpTime recently reported that high-end yoga mats are bucking today’s frugality trend. These mats—the priciest of which cost about $100—are made by a company called Manduka, whose sales rose 55 percent in the first four months of 2009. Manduka now has a distribution deal with nationwide retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods.

The article points to several reasons why sales are soaring: the continuing popularity of yoga, the “superior traction” and “extra cushioning” of the mat, etc. But I believe the driving reason behind Manduka’s success is outlined in our recent paper “The Recession and Its Impact on Luxury,” in which we discuss the future of luxury and what it means for health and wellness: People are re-evaluating luxury altogether. In some cases, this means redefining it in non-materialistic ways—time with family, doing good, being healthy. It can also mean spending more for products that conform to the highest green standards … or for things that enhance health and well-being.

Manduka’s pricey mats fit perfectly into the new mold of luxury: They allow people to invest in their health and wellness while simultaneously flaunting their wealth to those in the know. Call it stealth consumption rather than conspicuous consumption. Bad news for the Guccis of the world, good news for Manduka.

Still eating caviar, but buying it at a discount

Published by Marie Stafford - London on June 29, 2009 in Europe. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

It used be that most people who took advantage of vouchers, deals and discounts were living on a shoestring. Today, it’s simply a sign of a savvy shopper, whatever their income. This recession has seen the rise of the deal-seeking affluent, and brands that have not traditionally catered to an affluent audience should be doing all they can to appeal to this new breed of discount shopper. By luring in these consumers now and offering them a good experience, brands may well retain their custom beyond the recession.

One example from the U.K., which I highlight in our Balancing Health, Wellness and Budgets presentation (download in the Trends and Research page), is discount supermarket chain Aldi, which swiftly added luxury items such as whole Canadian lobster (£5.99) and premium caviar (£1.69) in response to an influx of high-income customers. One trend forecaster has labeled these shoppers “the Aldirati,” while some call them NFAs (no-frills affluents), as an article in the Times of London points out. A recent Aldi campaign hit the nail on the head with the tagline: “Don’t change your lifestyle, change your supermarket.”