This presentation demonstrates how a cultural model was constructed and applied to gain a textured understanding of the new age Indian rural consumers whose lives are significantly different from traditional rural consumers. At the core of this model is Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), a popular social research method that was successfully adapted to understand the affluent rural consumers. This was flanked by ethnography, material anthropology and trend spotting each complementing the other to generate actionable insights for the client.
Middle class consumers have garnered a high degree of interest from researchers all over the world as they tend to be keen participants of massive global trends in consumption. In Russia, the middle class was elusive for many years under the socialist regime, so was mainly conjured in the imagination of theorists and general observers. Today it seems to be developing as socio-economic phenomena that merit closer consideration.
This paper describes UNICEF's adoption of a global, cross-category trends framework, and the organization's on-going usage of trends in idea generation. It reviews how and why UNICEF identified a need to track consumer trends, as well as highlights some of the ways it has made trends accessible and actionable for its global offices. The discussion concludes with examples of some real output from these processes in the form of innovative and compelling fundraising ideas.
Maybe the biggest 'buzz' in marketing currently is buzz itself. While advances in social media have made it the hot topic, why do some marketing ideas ignite and spread whilst others fizzle out? Contagious ideas stand out because they produce a 'social' response that encourages us to share the idea with others. This paper will report on an international validation study - designed to identify the contagious drivers of brands and advertising, celebrity culture and even religious icons, and to test the hypothesis that contagion is a now key predictor of commercial success.
Privacy and data protection are assessed from a historical perspective through to the present in this paper. The authors address observable trends, developments and novel platforms that starkly present the opportunities and challenges we encounter in this area and introduce directional insight into consumer expectations about data collection and behavior of digital platforms. The somewhat competing interests of reliability or accuracy versus privacy are introduced and the paper concludes with a look into cross-sector partnerships which are intended to facilitate data sharing but which strain the distinct obligations that separate industries may impose.
The global economic crisis has resulted in some predictable consumer behaviour changes. Even prior to the economic slowdown we were sensing shifts in consumer attitude towards the conspicuous consumption which had dominated the previous decade. Alternative lifestyles were emerging with downsizing and the pursuit of more spiritual fulfilment being noticeable trends. This medium term combined with the shorter term economic trend leaves us with a new normal. So what are the new long term consumers behaviours that we need to immerse in to bring new and actionable insights to the brands? This multimedia presentation explores 'the evolved consumer'.
Economic models have been changing and we now live in a collaboration economy, where peers are the new keepers of brands, media and content through social computing. In this new landscape, Social Networks have become important and their expansion is changing how people communicate with each other, interact, share ideas, create content and most importantly relate with brands. As a research tool, Twitter works as a natural habitat where consumers express themselves. The assessment of Tweets can deliver important perceptions towards lifestyle, products and brands which can then be converted as important insights for innovation, whether in product development or in communications strategies.
The Middle East is one of the youngest regions in the world with about two thirds of the population under 25 years of age. Technology has brought winds of change to the Arab World and some would even say that in the preceding five years the Arab world has seen more change than in the fifty before it! Arab youth today are globally connected and able to express themselves like never before. In particular, tech-savvy trendsetting young individuals are breaking existing stereotypes in several unexpected ways and increasingly influencing future attitudes. Our paper presents a deep dive look at trendsetting youth in the Arabian Gulf and how they are driving change in society. We went beyond conventional research and generated insights thorough delivering a 'Live Consumer Experience' that would help marketers connect with these young consumers to create 'Engaging Marketing Strategies'
Most modern businesses have established processes in which a range of disciplines, such as ergonomics, design, business management and market research, collaborate in a structured fashion. The specification of requirements, which forms the basis of many product development processes, often has the potential end user and the context of use as its point of departure. In the process from concept development to prototyping, market launch and actual use, there are several steps in which market research can play a role. But what precise role does market research currently play? What knowledge does this profession contribute? Is it insight, validation? Or does the research function as a kind of gatekeeper, contributing to go/no-go decisions at each phase of development? To what extent is market research a full sparring partner for the management involved? In this issue of Research World we have asked a number of people involved in the development process to tell us more about product design within their organisations. What are the characteristic methods? What are the main issues? What are the trends for the near future? And what is the role of contemporary research? Can it be different; can it be better? Researchers also have their say.
Based on GfK Roper Reports' Worldwide (RRW), a survey conducted annually since 1997 in at least 25 countries including major Latin American countries, the paper identifies consumer lifestyle trends and reveal their consequences in terms of market opportunities and new product development at the global, regional, and country level. The RRW survey covers consumers' mood, concerns, personal values, lifestyle and leisure, social attitude and activities, media and technology usage, and their attitudes toward of dozens of major international brands in terms of fundamental attributes and functional and emotional benefits.
At the outset of this year, our aim at ESOMAR was to build on the success of the report and to improve in areas such as reliability of information and the depth of analysis. We have focussed on more robust data collection processes and brought a more challenging mindset to the analysis. To improve the reports accessibility, we have introduced a more structured and businesslike approach. There are now also specific sections focussing on top lines, highlights and main trends, together with a journal of the key events in the industry over the last 18 months. Our aim in doing so is to enrich the content, relevance and interest of the report. We have also included additional sections with details on spend by industry sectors and company information to provide a more complete view of the industry landscape. A number of the industrys top leaders opened their doors to us and shared their thoughts and views on the current state of the industry and the trends we might expect to see emerging for the future.