New Developments in Marketing – Top Ten Marketing Concepts for 2009
ANE was delighted to welcome Arts Consultant and author Heather Maitland at its latest professional development workshops in March. Heather delivered a fascinating presentation, which you can view as a PowerPoint slideshow here: http://www.slideshare.net/CarolineGreener/new-developments-in-arts-marketing-slideshow and I’ve summarised a quick top ten trends list below.
There’s no doubt about it, consumers are cutting back. But some businesses are thriving, not just surviving in this uncertain economy. They are the ones who are up to date with consumer trends and the latest understanding of branding. Here are ten trends to watch, including 2009’s most influential Marketing concept.
1. The Lipstick Effect
Consumers might not be buying the big brand clothing as much, but there has been a rise in small self-treating purchases such as lipstick. People want a small token that makes them feel warm inside.
2. The Frugalista
The frugalista still wants the pantry stocked with delicacies, but instead of going to Marks & Spencer or Fenwicks for the prosciutto, she’s shopping at Aldi. TK Maxx has also seen its sales rise against the retail trend, as has discount shopping centre,
3. Cocooning
There is a trend towards retreating into the home, into a safe environment with a limited activity range. There has been a sharp rise in the consumption of home baking products in the past year, and a corresponding drop in international flight bookings.
4. Authentic human contact
Dentyne’s new chewing gum advertising campaign taps into a recent backlash against facebook and online social networks and has been incredibly successful in the US because of its depictions of ‘real’ human interactions such as hugs (“friend request accepted”) and kisses (“the original instant message”).
5. Virtual escapes
The unprecedented success of Mama Mia last summer, and the buoyant cinema ticket sales results for the last year shows an impulse for consumers to indulge in ‘time out’ from the doom and gloom out in the real world. How successful would Slumdog Millionaire have been without the poster caption ‘The feel-good movie of the decade’?
6. Generation G
That’s G for Generosity. Cynical consumers caught in a credit crunch, who don’t trust Big Business, are looking for brands which stand for care, empathy, sympathy and generosity. Brand Barack Obama epitomises the potential of this approach. Being generous is a status symbol if you’re Bill Gates with his billions, but the recent record-breaking generosity shown by the British public during Comic Relief proves that consumers are still willing to spend money with brands they believe to be in tune with their own ethics.
7. Post-consumer activism
Your brand is what your organisation stands for in every sense. So in the future, more and more brands will become platforms for their customers to stand on and act. MacMillan Cancer Support does this, by empowering its supporters through its coffee morning campaign.
8. Brand as multiplier
Some brands act as umbrellas for a host of other brands, and multiply their impact exponentially. Fairtrade is a good example of this. It acts as a mark of confidence on all the brands it supports, from the smallest to the largest.
9. Post-western plurality
Current thinking is that consumers don’t want a homogenised, one-size-fits-all approach, and more and more brands are experimenting with localisation of their products. Starbucks is taking an approach it calls ‘identity not identical’ and recreating its branded stores around a theme rather than the duplication of a strict formula.
10. Influencers
The most influential Marketing concept of 2009, as voted for by 500 international Marketing gurus, is that a small number of people can influence the mass market. This has been a major thrust within the cultural sector since 2004, when Alan Brown wrote about Initiators and Responders in relation to orchestra audiences. Initiators are people who enjoy leading friends and family in new experiences, and Responders are those people sitting at home waiting for a call or email invitation to join in. It is as simple as word of mouth, but exponentially more powerful, as the Initiator/Influencer generates action. Marketers are spending an estimated £500M annually targeting individuals with Influencer potential, and this is growing by 36% each year. Greatest return on investment comes with creating a two-way dialogue with individuals, enabling a genuine relationship based on mutual respect.
Caroline Greener
Marketing Manager
Audiences North East