Opening keynote from Amanda Richards, Global Marketing Leader of Health and Wellness, Philips International, Netherlands.
Learn from a range of academic research which shows that moving our body in particular ways can have a profound effect on our well-being, health and happiness. Different types of body movement have also been found to influence the way we think and solve problems, such that some types of movement can help us to think more quickly and others can make us think more creatively. Peter Lovatt believes we are born to dance and it is for this reason that dance is at the heart of everything he does.
I have been raped so many times that I have lost a count of it. The police tells me that if I indulge in such wrong things then I am bound to be treated this way said a 19 year old boy during a focused group discussion in New Delhi, the capital of my country, India. I was not surprised, disheartened but not surprised. The wrong referred to was that the boy is homosexual; he has sex with other men. Just when we as individuals and a nation begin to believe that we have moved past such blatant bigotry, instances and narratives like these burst our bubble. In a country where even the existence of the MSM population is not acknowledged, the issues that they are faced with are least of our concerns. The vulnerabilities among men who have sex with other men are well established across the public health arena, especially with reference to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Low rates of condom usage, multiple sex partners and inconsistent lubricant use make them more susceptible. Although the efforts of prevention and support in care have been going on for a while now, the Government records point out that the reach of such interventions has not been quite successful. The seclusion and societys aversion to their acceptance has become one of the most significant impediments against the HIV/AIDS programs in India. A major cause being that until recently, sex between men was seen as immoral and unnatural, not just by the general public but also by the legal system. This has resulted in keeping these communities at bay from all the government initiatives and programs aimed towards HIV prevention and care as most of the MSM population remain hidden and hard-to-reach.
This paper critically discusses the status quo of consumer research in the sensory industry. Based on a case study in the oral care category, the presenters advocate a rethinking of current research paradigms in the industry and suggest an interdisciplinary and multi-perspective angle on 'researching the senses'. While criticising current sensory research, the presentation at the same time calls for 'researching with all senses' as the future leitmotif and concept of research at large.
Family Health International (FHI), a non-governmental organization, is spearheading a program in Indonesia funded by USAID and aimed at increasing risk reduction behaviour among individuals at high risk of HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI).The purpose of the FHI program is to identify the means by which the spread of HIV to the general population can be prevented or limited via intervention amongst high-risk groups such as commercial sex workers and their clients. Greater usage of condoms is an essential component of the program and thus the first step was to develop a strong communication strategy. Family Health International needed research intervention in order to develop a focused, high impact campaign. The project commenced with a qualitative examination of the attitudes and opinions of the high-risk population in various geographical areas of Indonesia. The outputs were then used to develop advertising concepts that were subsequently evaluated by quantitative means.
The market potential of low-income social groups (low class or popular classes) has been underestimated by multinational companies and thus, this public has not been able to access global brands. It is believed that low classes, due to their scarce available income, direct their consumption based on low prices and products of first need. However, the increase of the companies' penetration as well as the expansion of their business can only reach the popular classes before the stagnation of the upper class. This paper describes a case study through which it was possible to reveal a surprising market potential of popular classes in Brazil toward a range of products which are considered superfluous. This strong potential is shown by the wish of the identified group (mothers with babies aged up to 2 years) to show love, care and social status through hygiene and beauty products for children.