Last
updated November 28, 2006
Brands
That Plug Into Cultural Values
Over
the years, marketers have searched for answers to puzzling
questions about their current and potential customers.
The more a company knows about its potential customers,
the better the company is able to gain their attention,
capture them as customers and then keep them loyal.
Awareness
of consumers' behaviors, cultural trends and core belief
systems are key pieces of information that help businesses
develop effective marketing and loyalty programs. Many
times this type of information can be best obtained via
focus groups, cultural awareness, current trend tracking
and acute customer awareness and reporting by sales consultants.
Consumer
behavior trends do affect marketing efforts, because trends
affect consumers. Consumer behavior many times reflects
what's hot or meaningful and therefore motivates purchases.
It is important for marketers to be aware of today's (or
even tomorrow's) cultural trends and consumer buying attitudes,
because they affect purchasing behavior.
Dr.
David W. Norton describes the 1980's as the time of "conspicuous
consumption," when brands and labels were king (Design
Management Journal, Winter, 2003). Brands defined consumers
and influenced purchasing. The 1990's were described as
the "experiential economy," since consumers of
that time had the tendency to be influenced by the places
they went and the experiences they had with brands.
The
trend Dr. Norton cites as influencing current millennial
consumers the most is "meaningful brand experiences." Consumers
are seeking not just experiences, but worthy experiences
that make a difference and make a positive impact in the
world.
A current
brand that successfully taps into their customers' core
value systems and builds brand loyalty is General Mills.
The company's "Boxtops for Education" program
has hit a note with their consumers, with over $175 million
dollars donated to schools in 10 years. General Mills researched
and identified one of their consumers' primary, true core
values-education. They then adeptly provided a way to help
their loyal customers improve the education system. They
developed their marketing program to address the true desires
of their customer base, which also resulted in increased
sales and improved brand loyalty.
It can
be difficult to see an immediate R.O.I. (return on investment),
when spending money to learn about your customers and potential
customers. The trend, however, is to learn as much as you
can using a myriad of methods, and then to craft programs
or campaigns that reflect that learning. The R.O.I. may
not be immediate, but it certainly can be significant...in
both senses of the word.
Mobile
Marketing
New
technologies are revealing extraordinary, creative advertising
opportunities. In fact, according to JupiterResearch,
one advertising channel is poised to double in the next
five years: mobile marketing. JupiterResearch provides
research and analysis on consumer technologies. A recent
report indicates that advertising for messaging and display
advertising on mobile devices is expected to increase two–fold
by 2011; 2006 U.S. mobile messaging and display advertising
spending is $1.4 billion. 2011 advertising spending via
these mobile advertising opportunities is expected to increase
to $2.9 billion.
In addition, M:Metrics,
a firm specializing in consumer mobile marketing analysis,
recently reported that SMS advertising is winning the attention
of mobile phone subscribers worldwide. In a recent survey
of mobile subscribers in five countries, Spain led the
way with 29% of wireless users responding to SMS ads, with
the UK having 18.5% responding to the ads and 10% responding
in France. Lagging behind were U.S. and Germany; both had
less than10% of wireless users responding.
M:Metrics
presented research findings that reveal mobile phone advertising
is currently being utilized mostly by mobile phone companies
and adjunct companies. Just as the first advertisers on
the Internet were Internet providers, mobile phone operators
and contingency businesses are expected to lead the exploration
of mobile phone advertising opportunities.
As
with any worthy opportunity, there are challenges to
be worked through:
Permission
policies to contact customers
Target
marketing by demographics; mobile marketing should be
more personal than the mass marketing that is possible
over the Internet or TV
Acceptance
of the technology; most American consumers still view
their cell phone as a communication device, not as a
vehicle for data transfer
With
the growth of mobile messaging and display advertising,
there will be many opportunities to try new promotions
and offers. One thing, however, will always ring true:
The advertising must be worth something to motivate mobile
subscribers to pay attention to the message (such as free
software, ring tones or programs). The challenge that poses
will be worth the effort as this relatively new advertising
avenue is set only to widen with time.
