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.

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.

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