Why do brands fail to engage the below 30 Digital Zap generation? Making all business decisions today, Compromise (30 to 45 years) and Retro (above 45) generations continue to drive 20th century culture in the 21st century. So last century?s advertisement style does not connect to Zappers. In fact they just don?t like advertisements, they like symbolic provocation. Using new media does not make much sense if the content is not relevant to Zappers. Repetition of advertising with the same message as the classic advertising architecture irritates them, they?d rather see one content with changing messages that provoke.
Although the century gap is a real, tremendous and visible phenomenon, it seems to have totally passed certain mass daily usage global brands by, such as Heinz ketchup, Coca-Cola, Cadbury?s, Mr Clean, Colgate, Evian and Laughing Cow, among others. They may have very good quarter-to-quarter results, but do they keep up with the breakthrough trends the 21st century?s Digital Zap is dazzling us with? The brands can argue that they are sustaining some old value, but do the disruptive Digital Zappers connect to them? Digital Zap may require these products by necessity, but their aspirational attachment to these products is questionable.
But cherishing tradition is a different subject altogether and always good. There are certain brands and products such as olive oil, whiskey, camembert cheese, or preserves that have better value when they carry the deep-rooted, traditional authenticity. People will always be nostalgic for gourmet or connoisseur items, I?m not questioning that at all.
Eight socio-behavioural clusters: It?s socio-behavioural clusters that apply today, as we in our consulting firm have identified, and created a master research methodology for. Historically, social stratification from feudal agrarian to socio-economic classification followed an evolutionary process. But socio-behavioural clusters that defy all predictable segmentation parameters is the revolutionary way of researching to measure people?s attitudes, behaviour, motivation and aspiration in the 21st century. We have studied this phenomenon every year for the last 10 years and find they are common to the 3 generations.
In the three generational groups exist all the eight behavioural clusters of Low key, Value seeker, Sober, Flamboyant, Critical, Novelty seeker, Techy and Gizmo lover. Digital Zappers supremely influence everything, so connecting to them is crucial for the future. The Compromise generation tries hard to follow Zappers to be trendy and ?with it? but don?t quite get there as they are a bit ?stuffy.? They also feel compelled to satisfy their seniors, so they are truly Compromised in their attitude. The Retro generation is generally quite ?stiff.? Their complaint is that their grandchildren have lost the human touch, they are always equipped with ear phones, in front of computers, never talk even on the mobile phone, they just send text messages. The open minded among the Retro would love to co-opt some influence of the Digital Zap, but this number is very low. You may not find many Retros in the Flamboyant, Gizmo lover and Techy socio-behavioural clusters.
Is income a factor for audience segmentation? For any business, if you follow the traditional socio-economic stratification of customers, you will not go far today. That?s because the eight socio-behavioural clusters are prevalent across all age groups and generations, all income groups and across all countries and cultural systems. Income is no longer a key factor for purchase of mass products. The world is moving towards a situation where, at any price point, there has to be cost, quality and aspiration in the selling proposition. Today, even low-cost products have trendy aspects. Expensive luxury brands that low income groups cannot afford should not be advertised in mass areas. In fact, when luxury brands advertise like mass products, they lose their coveted worth.
Every brand cannot attract every socio-behaviour clusteral. For a brand to address all eight socio behavioural clusters, it requires a huge magnifying glass. It has to very clearly unearth the customer behavioural clusters and drive strategic planning accordingly. There will be immense pressure from low cost trendy brands that is affordable by everybody. Nike, for example, would connect to the Critical, Flamboyant, Novelty seeker, Techy and Gizmo lovers. On the other hand, Nivea and Nokia would address the Sober, Low key, Value seeker clusters. But the strategy that Swatch watch has created in the West has been so brilliant that it enviably touches all behavioural clusters. I am sure Swatch will follow the same path in developing countries too.
Bulldozing per capital consumption: In developed countries, the consuming base is small, so customers are bulldozed for increase in per capita consumption. In the food industry for example just look at how many types of product benefits are being offered, from functional food to low salt, low fat, organic, no salt added, value to luxury food and sugar free, among many others. Does this not confuse the customer?
It is amazing that when technology is zipping change through so fast, there is absolute paucity in creative thinking in the digital world. Digitalisation is commoditising every aspect of business. If you take flat television sets, all the brands look more or less the same; so do DVD players and microwave ovens. These industries are suffering lack of differentiation also because the manufacturer thinking process of Compromise and Retro is not connected to Zapper mentality.
Nightmare of how to penetrate: The over-riding phenomenon in developing countries is how to achieve penetration for a product or service. As population is huge in these countries but infrastructure readiness generally poor, the nightmare is how to reach the billions in remote places. Another challenge is understanding and catering to the vast cultural differences of customers at large. In India, from one joint family structure there are now seven different living conditions such as bachelors living alone, young couples, nuclear family with children, either with only the husband working or both husband and wife working, the joint and neo-joint families and retired couples. Family compositions determine multiple things that are very significant for business growth. Family size cues the quantity and size of the product, clarifies stock keeping unit size for efficient supply chain management, indicates the price band and sharpens the inventory. It gives an idea of what products to bundle as special offers, helps to maximise space at the retail as per the catchment requirement, and provides high proximity to different family size buyers and the retailer. Experiential product or service research that delves into the psycho-socio-behavioural context gives the socio-behavioural dimension. I have often seen researchers go to market for validation with structured preparation. So before customers talk, they already establish what they want to find. This is not right. With a global mindframe we need to achieve local proximity to deliver extra benefit. Research cannot be like the wheat pasta dough that you can put in a machine to get a variety of different shapes of pasta or noodles as per your expectation.
?Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top managements. Reach him at
http://www.shiningconsulting.com