good things in life
DESCRIPTION
In "The Good Things in Life" Insight Piece, tbd explores the value shift and movement towards a deeper, community experience going on with today's consumer. People are moving away from 'how many things can I buy?' to 'gaining meaning in life.'TRANSCRIPT
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insights on an evolving consumerSeptember 2009
the good things in life
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2 Values are the new value.
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3Values are the new value.
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4We live in times of major uncertainty. The doom and gloom of the economic crisis, the deterioration of mass
markets, the pervasiveness of the digital lifestyle, and the fragmentation of traditional societal institutions are not
only inducing anxiety but also inspiring a search for simplicity and noneconomic value systems. Consumption-
driven wealth and status are being replaced by identity, belonging, and a strong desire to contribute to or
to experience something meaningful rather than to acquire more things. Trust and reputation are no longer
enablers for the exchange of goods, services, and information; they are replacements for them. Values are the new
value. Meaning is succeeding customer satisfaction.[i]
While exorbitant spending has been thwarted, many consumers are selectively not-trading down and in some cases are actually trading up. These items
vary with each consumer and the common link across consumers and categories is passion. These are the purchases that people care about.
Consumers are connected; connected to brands, to each other, to information like never before. The connection allows brands to form communities or
more precisely, communities have formed around these brands. The communities celebrate them, develop them, share them, sometimes criticize them,
but are always passionate about them. Consumers can be found engaging with the brand and others using a number of media, traditional and social.
The most powerful brands are built on more than product attributes. They are the badges of a community that has aligned values with the company.
They represent a relationship, not a purchase. Many of these items are sold with a back-story about the materials sourcing or the worker who made
it. With the tough economy, consumers support local farmers, merchants, and craftsman as a way to keep dollars in their community. To the contrary,
consumers are also willing to support global commerce from a distant village under the principles of fair trade. This is often for products that arent
readily available in their own community. In both cases, there is a common thread of responsible commerce consumers feel empowered to actually
change the world, one small purchase at a time.
The Internet has narrowed the gap of information knowledge of seemingly anything and everything is at our fingertips. The gap between manufacturers,
sellers, and consumers appears no different. Nothing can be hidden from the consumer pool, so transparency is a must.[ii] A brand image cannot be
manufactured, so there is no point in a brand manager trying to create or protect an inauthentic brand image. The true brand meaning will be discovered
and brought to light and is ultimately owned by the consumer and the community. Thus, the brand manager must work to drive real community value
into the brand and engage the consumer to discover it. Below is a chart from the global consumer research firm Yankelovich. This table reports the
change in consumer perception of themselves versus 2002:
I always know how to get the information I need to
make decisions
Important in your personal life today: Researching
a product before buying it
I know more about the products being sold in
stores than the people selling them
Agree more with: Following own instincts over
listening to experts
Extremely/very important to the way others
see you: Someone who can always see through
exaggeration and hype
Grab a pen and, choosing from the numbers on the opposite page, take a guess what these percentages are today.
Check mark the letter that represents the corresponding statement.
A
B
C
D
E
Source: Yankerovich Monitor Perspective 10-21.2008 [iii]
61%
44%
48%
61%
38%
2002
Match today with 2002
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5Match today with 2002
Today
75%
61%
53%
74% 56%A B C D E
A B C D E
A B C D E
A B C D E
A B C D E
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6
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7Recently, social media networks have added layers of connectivity. Access has increased with smart phones offering real-time constant connectivity. Now there are communities of passionate people gathering and
sharing information, instantly from virtually anywhere, or everywhere. Consumers are turning to their network of friends and
colleagues to gather information through their communitys experience. Part of the discussion, of course, are the brands they
love. They claim to be anti-commercialized though effective advertising that connects rather than intending to influence/
persuade/affect can still penetrate consumer filters without rejection. Beyond the filter, the best messages are spread to
other users and even other networks, a new, extremely fast and efficient form of word of mouth.
This system of information sharing brings us back to an imperative mentioned above. The need for an authentic story. Brand
content, not just product attributes, represent the fuel for this word of mouth wildfire. The good things in life represent
products, lifestyles and brand stories that people care about and want to engage and participate in the evolving story and
communities that thrive around this interest, hobby, lifestyle, etc.
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8* Consumer utility is broader and more complex than before.
* Consumers look at multiple vectors, tradeoffs, and meaning seeking a more holistic value.
2oth Century Capitalism Good Capitalism
A new value equationqu
ality
qual
ity
price price
cons
umer va
lue
local
sust
aina
bilit
y
responsibility
micro scale
commu
nityparticipatory/engaging
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9IT WAS:
How much money can I make?
Best price (corporate economies of scale)
Brand Image
Bigger is better (more)
Sprawl
Me (ravenous capitalism)
Income
Transactions
Productivity
IT IS NOW:
How much meaning can I cultivate?
Local price (localized economies)
Brand Story
Human is better (meaning)
Community
Us (responsibility)
Outcomes
Connections
Creativity
Consumer values have shifted
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10
NOT ABOUT FACTORY EFFICIENCY
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11
NOT ABOUT FACTORY EFFICIENCY
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12
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Consumers seek an alternative value exchange to the profit-maximizing capitalistic model of the 20th Century. Consumer utility includes the product itself and a
specific personal need it might fulfill. But, it doesnt stop there. The value equation is now driven by a broad list of meta issues, a community value. This broader
sense of value is linked to responsibility and includes sustainability, durability, value chain location (local economy), personal connection, design, and from the
old model, quality. Its not about the factory efficiency, but about care and thought and design. That doesnt preclude a good factory product it must still be
of high quality, but also have higher design aesthetics and add global valuerather than extract it. Fortunately, consumers can rely on third parties to help
sort through the complexity from so many choices. For example, Whole Foods helps consumers find the good things in life that are sustainable, of quality,
and healthy. This has great implication on brands and their strategies for reaching consumers within the market.[iv]
Further evidence can be found in a recent survey of 5000 consumers representative of the US/Canada population.[v] This survey segmented the population based
on their level of interest in sustainable and green issues such as pollution, global warming, fair trade and local products and services. Interestingly, 60% of the
population is actively taking steps towards making a difference with respect to these issues.
The trends we have observed have influenced the marketplace. Consumers identify with meaning from experiences more than they do the products themselves.
The good news for manufacturers is that they often need products to create these experiences. In an online survey of consumers we discovered deeper insights
into consumers that value the good things in life.
8% The Self Serving Non Believer
8% The Pragmatic Believer
19% The Hyper Local
24% The Casual Spectator
41% The Vocal Globalist8% The Self Serving Non Believer
8% The Pragmatic Believer
19% The Hyper Local
24% The Casual Spectator
41% The Vocal Globalist
Options Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
I try to eat healthy
I try to exercise or be active
Prefer the indoors over the outdoors
I put more emphasis on my career than on recreation
Options Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
Buying local is more important today than it was 5 years ago
If I am passionate about a product, I want to know the story behind its production
I can slowly change the world by making responsible purchases
The environment and green initiatives are important to me
I seek a greater connection with people that like the same products as me
I prefer having more things to having more meaningful experiences
I value craftmanship and will pay more for it
Values and beliefs of the Good Things consumer
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14
Consumers validate the trends observed in the marketplace. The affirmation of the beliefs and values above lead to
purchases and trends outlined. When asked what kinds of products they are unwilling to compromise for, despite these
difficult times, they responded with a broad list of items. Those that resonated the most are brought forward in this graphic
from www.wordle.net:
foodor
gani
cgood
shoes
comfortable
ctrl.esc
faith
toilet
anywhereclothing
one
fruitschool
drink
health
child
eatingless
safe
ty
entertainment
carsetc
furniture
groceries
cleaningeq
uipm
entdentists
love
meat
gravity
gin
going
specialty
time
giftsfacial
now
cleaning
fishing
beerfa
mily
still
flypaying
goals
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15
Marketing products within this watershed event can be confusing, unsettling, and challenging. The shift in technologies combined
with the evolving value systems of the consumers create both unprecedented uncertainty and at the same time opportunity. As
leaders, we all must be willing to operate within a suspended state of beta testing. Marketing mistakes will be made, but in this
environment, there will also be great discoveries and success. Consumers interested in the good things in life will embrace and
buy the brands that step forward and participate in the evolution. They are looking for connection, engagement, authenticity,
broader value sets, and ultimately, meaning.
foodwinegoodshoes
electronics
faithanywhereclothing
fruittiresdrink
kids
paper
paying
buyappliances
carsetc
flight
furniture
deal
s
giftsbeer
productsrunning
coffe
eco
mpu
ters
make
goals
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www.tbdagency.com
[i] Source: Wanted: Chief Meaning OfficerHow the new social power of marketing can transform business. By Tim Liberechthttp://designmind.frogdesign.com/articles/power/wanted-chief-meaning-officer.html [ii] Freakonomics. Stephen Levitt and Stephen Dubner. 2005. New York. Pp. 66-70. [iii] Yankelovich MONITOR Perspective. Rolling Out Responsibility. Consumer Empowerment and the Nature of Participation in Tomorrows Consumer Economy. J. Walker Smith. 10 21 08. [iv] Madison Mount at Influx 2009.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAm--lV-Thw&feature=channel_page [v] Conscientious Innovation, Ltc. The Shift Report. Sustainability Passion Index (SPI). http://ow.ly/d/3E
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