Marketers are eager to know more about consumers
George Carlin, a famous stand-up comic, in his infamous Modern Man piece makes a song out of all the jargon that modern man uses: “Digital and smoke-free, uplinked and downloaded, inputted and outsourced, a gigabyte in a nanosecond, voice activated and bio-degradable, interface in my database, my database is in cyberspace.” JWT’s 10 trends for 2011 indicates that we are headed for a world that will be exactly as Carlin described it. The study, which is based on a sample of 1,005 adults from the US and the UK, has a healthy mix of Millenials (18-35 year-olds), Gen-Xers (33-45 year-olds) and Boomers (46-65 year-olds).
Carlin also speaks about having “a personal trainer, a personal shopper and a personal assistant”. JWT’s report calls it ‘Outsourcing Self Control’. “There is so much temptation out there, be it spending or eating”, says Ann Mack, director of trendspotting, JWT, “that third parties will be needed to exercise self-control. Brands, even though they want people to consume, they are focusing on building relationships with people. That’s what makes loyalty possible.” She adds that even though there is conscious consumerism happening, there is a sort of recession fatigue.
In 2010, the University of Maryland conducted an informal study where it asked 200 of its students to stay away from media — both print and electronic. The participants reported various withdrawal-like symptoms such as nausea, jitteriness and ‘phantom ringing’. ‘De-teching’, as the report calls it, is increasingly becoming a way out of the fast lane. People have begun voluntarily abstaining from digital media and in some cases initiating unplugging drives. “We are uber-dependent on technology”, says Mack. “People are greeted with dismay if they’ve lost their mobile phone. Now they are choosing to log off temporarily.”
All the World’s a Game: Increasingly, brands will apply game mechanics (leader boards, leveling, stored value, privileges, superpowers, status indicators, etc.) to nongaming spaces in an attempt to drive certain actions or behaviors.
Example: Volkswagen’s Bottle Bank Arcade Machine attempted to make recycling fun by outfitting a recycling bin with an arcade scoreboard, with points and flashing lights for depositing the right bottles in the correct slots.
Eat, Pray, Tech: If there’s one category in which consumers are willing to commit, it’s technology. Worldwide, high-tech devices and services (and the skills to use them) are fast becoming as integral to people as food and clothing. In an interconnected, tech-driven and -enabled marketplace, the latest technology will be more than just a luxury or a guilty pleasure.
Example: The story of a homeless-by-choice writer who owns an iPad and a netbook is symbolic of tech as a core need.
Retail as the Third Space: Retail spaces will increasingly serve as a “third space” that’s only partly about shopping. With more people buying online as well as downloading digital versions of physical goods, shopping is becoming as much about experiences, unique environments and customer service as it is about the merchandise.
Example: Singapore’s OCBC Bank has Sunday Banking at many branches, with family workshops offering activities such as making a lantern for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
In India, though, the opposite thing seems to be happening. With nearly 700 million mobile connections and service providers slowly and steadily rolling out 3G services, the dominant trend here is what the report calls ‘Eat, Pray, Tech’. “In India, rural consumers without adequate plumbing are willing to invest first in a television and DTH connection or a fancy phone to project an image”, says the report on the insights that the Indian planners have provided for the worldwide report. “One can’t argue with that”, says Santosh Desai, CEO, Future group. “In the rural world, one finds that there is a new awakening of desire to keep up with the real world. Now, as far as penetration or numbers are concerned that might not be true. But it is quite influential.”
The idea of a third space is also growing predominantly in India. The report calls this trend ‘Retail as a Third Space’. Retail spaces will increasingly serve as a “third space” that’s only partly about shopping. It will be as much about experiences, unique environments and customer service as it is about the merchandise. “With the youth this statement is quite true. If one can’t find a person at home or work, the mall is the next location”, says Desai. “In India, the third space idea has not been developed to such an extent as it has been globally. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of personal transport. There was a time when the front porch of the house was the third space. But, it is slowly moving from being unselfconscious to consumption oriented.”
Carlin also speaks about having “a personal trainer, a personal shopper and a personal assistant”. JWT’s report calls it ‘Outsourcing Self Control’. “There is so much temptation out there, be it spending or eating”, says Ann Mack, director of trendspotting, JWT, “that third parties will be needed to exercise self-control. Brands, even though they want people to consume, they are focusing on building relationships with people. That’s what makes loyalty possible.” She adds that even though there is conscious consumerism happening, there is a sort of recession fatigue.
In 2010, the University of Maryland conducted an informal study where it asked 200 of its students to stay away from media — both print and electronic. The participants reported various withdrawal-like symptoms such as nausea, jitteriness and ‘phantom ringing’. ‘De-teching’, as the report calls it, is increasingly becoming a way out of the fast lane. People have begun voluntarily abstaining from digital media and in some cases initiating unplugging drives. “We are uber-dependent on technology”, says Mack. “People are greeted with dismay if they’ve lost their mobile phone. Now they are choosing to log off temporarily.”
All the World’s a Game: Increasingly, brands will apply game mechanics (leader boards, leveling, stored value, privileges, superpowers, status indicators, etc.) to nongaming spaces in an attempt to drive certain actions or behaviors.
Example: Volkswagen’s Bottle Bank Arcade Machine attempted to make recycling fun by outfitting a recycling bin with an arcade scoreboard, with points and flashing lights for depositing the right bottles in the correct slots.
Eat, Pray, Tech: If there’s one category in which consumers are willing to commit, it’s technology. Worldwide, high-tech devices and services (and the skills to use them) are fast becoming as integral to people as food and clothing. In an interconnected, tech-driven and -enabled marketplace, the latest technology will be more than just a luxury or a guilty pleasure.
Example: The story of a homeless-by-choice writer who owns an iPad and a netbook is symbolic of tech as a core need.
Retail as the Third Space: Retail spaces will increasingly serve as a “third space” that’s only partly about shopping. With more people buying online as well as downloading digital versions of physical goods, shopping is becoming as much about experiences, unique environments and customer service as it is about the merchandise.
Example: Singapore’s OCBC Bank has Sunday Banking at many branches, with family workshops offering activities such as making a lantern for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
In India, though, the opposite thing seems to be happening. With nearly 700 million mobile connections and service providers slowly and steadily rolling out 3G services, the dominant trend here is what the report calls ‘Eat, Pray, Tech’. “In India, rural consumers without adequate plumbing are willing to invest first in a television and DTH connection or a fancy phone to project an image”, says the report on the insights that the Indian planners have provided for the worldwide report. “One can’t argue with that”, says Santosh Desai, CEO, Future group. “In the rural world, one finds that there is a new awakening of desire to keep up with the real world. Now, as far as penetration or numbers are concerned that might not be true. But it is quite influential.”
The idea of a third space is also growing predominantly in India. The report calls this trend ‘Retail as a Third Space’. Retail spaces will increasingly serve as a “third space” that’s only partly about shopping. It will be as much about experiences, unique environments and customer service as it is about the merchandise. “With the youth this statement is quite true. If one can’t find a person at home or work, the mall is the next location”, says Desai. “In India, the third space idea has not been developed to such an extent as it has been globally. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of personal transport. There was a time when the front porch of the house was the third space. But, it is slowly moving from being unselfconscious to consumption oriented.”
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