2014 PR Trend Forecast: Consumer Marketing

Arun Sudhaman  29 Jan 2014

Consumer marketing remains, perhaps, the most fertile part of the PR world, helping to generate new ideas as technology and digital collide to redefine conventional engagement strategies. For smart consumer PR people, this often means a more central role that rewards storytelling, content creation and direct relationships with consumers, often via social media.

Against that backdrop, the Holmes Report invited consumer marketing experts from around the world to help us compile a list of five key trends that determine the consumer PR outlook for the year ahead. We also asked Electrolux social media and PR VP Mattias Radstrom to provide his perspective.

1. Personalization
Personalization is nothing new in the world of consumer marketing, but 2014 will see even people take an even more central role in brand strategies. “Brands will be listening more and more to what people have to say, responding thoughtfully to feedback and ideas, involving people in every step of the marketing process and are becoming more open and honest about how its products are made, where they come from and how they perform,” says Edelman global consumer chair Jennifer Cohan, who points to Unilever’s Project Sunlight and Heineken’s experiential approach as examples.

The trend is also highlighted in China, where Coca-Cola has emblazoned bottles with internet buzzwords and nicknames, while Benlai.com has created bespoke ‘Chu orange' packages. These, says Ogilvy PR China president Debby Cheung, “reflect the trend of consumers wanting to be simultaneously recognized for their community affiliations and individuality.” Similarly, adds Cheung, news readers such as Sohu News Reader 4.0 have launched customized reading functions while mobile product brands have started to offer personalised packages and privileges for various types of customers. “The knock on effect,” says Cheung, “is that big data will need to be a bigger player than ever before.” 

 This is interesting for us to consider when marketing our brand, with personalisation becoming more valued the individual nature of our products could be something we focus on when marketing our product. 

Consumer Trends

Six Trends That Will Shape Consumer Behavior This Year

This article is by Hazel Barkworth, Cultural Insights Project Director, Added Value.

2014 looks set to be a year of demanding more. When we look at the small cultural shifts that beckon change–the emerging behaviours that are just reaching the mainstream–it seems that consumers are going to expect more than ever. The Cultural Insight team at Added Value recently conducted research to determine the 2014 global trends as defined by culture. Here are the top six trends that will shape consumer behavior in 2014:

Trends 5 and 6 are directly related to our product and brand: 

5. Mindfulness. In a world full of buzz and surface interactions, people are seeking more depth and meaning. They are craving time away from the stimulus of the internet, making their leisure time more about self-development, and taking their own ethical responsibilities seriously.

This intensity can also come from a very different angle, in the form of mindfulness. In a world full of buzz and surface interactions, people are seeking more depth and meaning. Leisure is becoming as much about self-development as pleasure-seeking, and there is a growing sense of earnestness, consideration and thoughtfulness. People are craving time away from the stimulus of the internet, and are severing their connection to technology. People are also becoming increasingly aware of the ethical impact of their everyday lives. They are encouraged to think about–and take responsibility for–the ethical status of the things they do, buy and support.

6. Super-personalized. Personalization has been taken out of the hands and tastes of consumers. This is not just bespoke you select – it is also bespoke that selects you. Advances in technology mean that products are able to read consumers and give them what they want – sometimes without even being asked.

The cultural shifts we are witnessing show a move towards the wholehearted and intense. People want all aspects of their lives to be rich and full. These trends give us a clear sense of where culture is heading, and brands this year will have to work hard to meet consumers’ demands and expectations. Nothing should be done by halves.

Product Sample

INTENT: Creating sample product

In order to determine aspects of the marketing plan we felt the need to create a product sample, this allowed us to examine our financials, operations and marketing in a more accurate way. 

Process: 

Pattern pieces laid out on tent  

During this process we timed ourselves in order to calculate details of the financials we also were able to get a feel for how different aspects of the tent can be utilised and the most resourceful way that it can be used. 

This bag is 100% tent including fastenings, the process indicated the potential that tents have in terms of creating varied bags that are aesthetically interesting. The finished product also allowed us to gauge what kind of bag it is and what it could be used for, its waterproof properties give it a sporty feel that could enable it to be used across a vast array of purposes such as gym bag, picnic bag, beach bag etc. 

Market Research

WithInTent

In doing Market research we discovered a small label located in the U.K 'WithInTent'. The label is run by a woman who collects tents from U.K festivals such as Glastonburry, she uses the tents to make wet weather focused clothing such as poncho's. 

Poncho from the WithInTent 2009 collection 

Having discovered this brand that holds a very similar brand concept to our brand InTent it has been beneficial for us to examine the operations of her brand in terms of Tent collection, marketing and distribution. 

Being located in another country the brand is not necessarily an immediate competitor for us however if she introduced international shipping then it could become more of a competitor for our brand. 

It has also been reassuring for us to discover this brand as it proves the idea is a viable one and has potential for expansion from backpacks into clothing. 

Irish Ideas

Researching up cycling - a better description for how we are proposing to repurpose tents. And I found this company from Ireland - Belfast Rain - who have had a similar AMAZING idea like J and I!

Belfast Rain have also noticed an opportunity in the amount of tents left behind at festivals, but instead of accessories have used them to create Rain Skirts...

an alternative to rain trousers/waterproof pants, the rain skirts are a perfect alternative when sudden rain showers occur while cycling, hiking, or on an everyday basis...

'The tent fabric is colourful, lightweight, water resistant and wind sheltering '..which are the same qualitities that will apply to our backpacks.

What I thought was a really great and unique advertising and branding idea is their mobile workshop - 

'a mobile tent upcycling sewing workshop has been facilitating sewing workshops and encouraging people to create rather than to dispose'

This adds a whole new dimension to product/cosumer relationship. The product is literally made in front of them - they watch from start to finish. I think this would help develop a really strong customer base, and brand image, a uniqueness to design/production/consumer. 

Maybe this is something J&I could think about?

A unique way to advertise - I feel like it would really appeal to our customer base - something a little eccentric and quirky, helping the story and purpose and emotional attachment behind the product. 

'Our definition of Upcycling is: To change the form and function and increase the value of the material that is used. '

I think this definition is perfect for our product!

Belfast Rain website: http://www.therainskirt.com/about.html

An excerpt from: 

In Ethical Fashion, Desirability is Sustainability

BY SULEMAN ANAYA 12 JULY, 2010

DOES SUSTAINABILITY SELL?

Definitions and good intentions aside, fashion is a business built on desirability — people buy fashion because they covet what it looks like and represents. So an equally interesting question is whether “Made Ethically” has the same effect as “Made in Italy.” In other words, is sustainability a positive differentiator in the eyes of fickle and demanding fashion consumers?

Stella McCartney became known as a chic designer label that’s convincingly green, not as a green designer label that is convincingly chic. Speaking to The Business of Fashion, McCartney was clear about her priorities: “Obviously, I don’t use any animals which has a huge impact on the planet. But my first job is to make desirable, luxurious, beautiful clothing for women to want to buy. Then I ask myself: can I do this in a more environmental way without sacrificing design? If I can, then there is no reason not to. I think that women buy my product because they like how it looks, feels, fits and being sustainable is an added extra bonus.”

Stella McCartney 2014 spring range

McCartney's new ecologically sustainable body products 

This emphasis on desirability and design may come as no surprise from a graduate of London fashion college Central St. Martins. But interestingly Ali Hewson, who founded Edun primarily as a means to do good, sees it no differently. She told BoF: “In the fashion businessdesirability is sustainability! This point has taught us over the years that we must produce quality clothes. Fit must be right, design details correct.”

Julie Gilhart, influential fashion director at Barneys New York, and an early proponent of sustainable fashion, sums it up bluntly: “Consumers respond to good design. Design and desirability must come first.” When deciding whether to spend on fashion, the consumer looks, above all, for good design. Ecological or ethical considerations are still very much secondary.

To illustrate the point, Gilhart recounts an empirical lesson: “At Barneys, when we explicitly labeled Stella McCartney’s organic line with the word ‘organic’ its perceived value actually went down in the eyes of the consumer, even though it was actually more expensive to produce.”

There’s little doubt that environmental awareness amongst fashion consumers is rising and that greater transparency will become important for more and more brands. But in fashion, sustainability cannot drive sales without desirability.

Indeed, the brands that will resonate most with increasingly aware, but ever-demanding consumers will be the ones who integrate sustainable principles into their operations without making “being green” their defining principle.

This is an interesting and relevant article for us regarding our product development and design, whilst the sustainable nature of our product is appealing we must also ensure that its aesthetic is attractive to the consumer. 

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SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN THE FASHION INDUSTRY: INTERVIEW BETWEEN KATHRYN WELLS AND JO - ANNE KELLOCK 

Kathryn Wells, Communications Manager, Craft Australia, (CA) interviewed Jo-anne Kellock, the CEO of the CTFIA, to ask her about sustainability for the textile and fashion industry and how CTFIA are involved in industry programs, policy and marketing. March 2011. 

CA: What do you see as the key components of sustainability for textiles in fashion?
Jo Kellock:
Last year Australia purchased one billion units of clothing and ninety percent of this was imported. This happens because it can be delivered faster and cheaper. However this faster, cheaper, easier model is not sustainable.  Not only are there serious consequences for the environment and social issues in the supply chain but, there are also serious consequences for the Australian textile and fashion industries.

There is an alternative view which is underpinned by an emerging trend where people are starting to value their purchases.  This means people are looking at what the value is in terms of production value and what related costs there are to their garments. Consumers now want to know where their clothes and shoes come from, what processes were involved in producing them and who has made them. This is a slower, more considered, more complex view that considers people as an investment.

The slower model is also more expensive in the short term. However, the faster model is not sustainable in the longer term as it is predicated on over-consumption. The principles of the slower model are reduce, re-use and re-cycle.  The slower model relies on recognizing that sustainability has to consider economics (in the full sense of the word), ecology and social equity.

This is relevant to our research into the need for our product within the marktet, people are becoming more interested in where products come from, how they are made and how sustainable they are. Thus our recycle focused product will be appealing to this growing consumer group.