Year End Specials: Branding on the double lane

Marketers were confounded by the dualities that shaped consumer behaviour this year

For marketers, the tantalising challenge is to spot the next big trend and grab a seat on that trend-train to reach the prized destination of increased sales. But for every trend today there is a counter-trend, for every force driving consumer behaviour in one direction, there is a counter-force. The challenge is therefore not as simple as identifying the newest “trend” but to recognise the dynamics of these counter-balancing forces while respecting consumers’ need for resolution when faced with apparently contradictory motivators.
 

Here then is a shortlist of five game-changing dualities that will impact every element of branding in years to come:

Global vs tribal identity

At the end of 2017, it is a tired cliché to state that the world has shrunk to a global village and many consumers wear the badge of world citizenship with ease. Megabrands like Google, Facebook, Apple transcend geographical and cultural borders as they satisfy consumer needs that seem fundamentally the same from Kanpur to Kingston. Celebrity brands like Justine Bieber and Lionel Messi to name a few can draw the same intensity of fan hysteria and sell goods with similar success whether in Spain or South Africa. Even as the idea of a global brand remains aspirational, we are also witnessing a significant consumer pull for brands that reinforce their roots in a specific geography/culture. This desire for brands that celebrate a very particular identity is at least partly behind the phenomenal success of a masterbrand like Patanjali and gives it unfettered permission from the consumer to play in categories as diverse as staple foods to personal care to health care and even confectionery and snacking.

The key to consumer preference lies in not simply tapping a ‘globalisation’ trend or leveraging shopper comfort with the familiar.  Rather the mantra is global quality standards with a cultural identity that is sensitive to the category-consumer context. 

Virtual reality  vs authentic experience

Another paradox in consumer behaviour today is the seemingly insatiable urge to ‘instagram” every human experience while at the same time longing for the ‘real thing’. And that is enabling brands and service providers to command increasing premiums for authenticity. 

To be truly relevant a brand has to be adept in signifying authenticity and be equally comfortable in building a virtual brand existence that co-opts the consumer into that space. The Whole Foods acquisition by Amazon is the most expensive endorsement yet that this duality is here to stay. This duality changes brand footprints permanently so that no brand can afford to be pureblood anymore—hybridisation is a necessity. 

Peer approval vs assertive individualism

The consumer dynamic that is very challenging is the apparent contradiction between people connected via technology as never before and yet increasing shopper desire to be counted as special.

Brands must be endorsed by the ‘in group’ to be accepted and yet must also empower the individual to make a personal statement. This is perhaps the biggest driver to the personalisation trend that’s driving brands from the luxury to the mass end to try and hold up the safety of a brand standard while delivering the ego boost that comes from ‘for me by me’ brand element/s. It will lead to varying degrees of co-creation in the coming years as brands are forced to share the power of designing the offer more and more with consumers.

Responsible consumerism vs entitlement

This consumer ‘doublespeak’ is most manifest among elite shoppers. The conscious consumer is discriminating in many categories on “values”-based considerations: transparency, sustainability, ethical labour practices to name a few. Yet the same shopper is very entitled when it comes to her wants being satisfied with speed and to having her cravings for the special/exotic to be met with no constraints. The consumer who will only buy local fresh produce out of commitment to lessening the carbon footprint will enthusiastically cheer the use of drones for her Christmas shopping to be delivered in super fast time by an online retailer. 

How can a brand meet this challenge of being anytime anywhere with special offers and increasing variety while remaining responsible to the larger demands of other stakeholders too?

The answer probably lies in brands re-defining the marketplace as an ecosystem with symbiotically connected stakeholders. 

The other game changing brand action will be for large brands to proactively share the task of ‘consumer education’ on responsible consumerism with other policy makers. It’s time for brands to step up and embrace public-private collaborations more enthusiastically. 

Branding vs no branding 

And finally we come to the most intriguing dilemma of all for a marketer …in these times when technology makes aggregation possible at a scale unimaginable only a few years before, when consumers are more price-conscious at one level while constantly demanding newer experiences, when social media scrutiny can expose every inner working of a brand, is the era of the big brand finally drawing to a close?  

And yet of all the dualities listed above, this one is not really a dilemma that needs to be resolved. The human being is hardwired to be receptive to stories; the way stories are presented may change, the idea of what is a product or a service will evolve but whatever be the consumer need, the story must be told to get the shopper’s  attention. So the brand will live on as long as the story it tells is not merely manipulative to win sales, but is honest and captivating. Consumers have a way of sifting the truth from the glib talk.

The author is a London-based brand strategist 

Next:  Rajiv Dingra, founder-CEO WatConsult writes on the big changes brought about by OTT players on viewer and brand behaviour