March 2004

Marketing to the Mood

Marketers today want to be in touch with the `vibe' of their target market - an emotional relationship that is more enduring than one dependent on tangible benefits (in terms of true loyalty) and one that is in tune with how the market is feeling at the moment. The complexity is that there are many things that impact on how consumers relate to a product at any given time. Marketers can control some of these such as the advertising messages they produce, the product attributes, positioning, pricing and distribution. But there are also things that marketers can't control - the things going on in people's lives that are driven by the personal events happening to them or the major events that effect Australia or the world - such as the economy. Strategic marketers have long been studying the relationship between the consumer mood and the impact on their market. Personal life changes are hard to market to, since any individual consumer may be experiencing any one of myriad situations at any given moment. They may just have been dumped by the boyfriend/girlfriend, just had their first child, just got a new job - or just lost their job. But the consumer mood is also affected by bigger changes. Changes in the economy and world events such as 9/11 can be taken into consideration when developing marketing strategies that are `right for the time'.

Newly released research from McNair Ingenuity Research has mapped the changes in the consumer mood over the past two years, and continues to do so on a constant basis. The Australians Today Consumer Insights program uses a set of 18 questions to map what McNair Ingenuity call Social Outlook - a simple description of how the population is feeling about the world. Social Outlook examines core emotive issues on dimensions such as:

Technological
vs
Spiritual
Optimistic
vs
Pessimistic
Intimate (Eg Family, close friends)
vs
Social (More friends but less close)
Indulgent
vs
Frugal
Ego
vs
Humble

The exciting thing is that this research not only shows how events have changed the mood of the nation, but also how this relates to consumer activities. For instance, the year 2000 was an euphoric year for Australia - the new millennium, the Olympics, and an improving economy. However, the mood dropped sharply in 2001 with September 11, followed a year later by the Bali bombing and the war in Iraq. Interestingly, the Bali bombing also brought out indignation - a swing from a usually more humble Aussie outlook to a more assertive one. The Australians Today Consumer Insights tracking shows that the times when our security was most threatened - was also the time when we were more likely to feel entitled to `buy a few more luxury items that I did a few months ago'. Nor is consumer confidence a reflection of happiness (which is tracked on a ten point scale). The jokes about `retail therapy' are actually borne out in statistics - consumers are quite likely to be prepared to run their credit card debts a little higher when they are less happy!

The research shows many fascinating trends that marketers should be aware of:
The affluent AB market is the most resilient through tough times - they are far more likely to see the economy through rose-coloured glasses, and the least likely to feel they need to watch their purse strings.
The research shows that interest rates are not the inverse of consumer sentiment - in fact, when interest rates go up, this is usually an indication that consumer confidence is up!
Brand loyalty is passed down from generation-to-generation. The Australians Today Consumer Insights program has shown that many adults choose (and even more sub-consciously select) to use the same brand as their parents. Growing-up and leaving home doesn't change this as much as the next big life change - moving in with a partner! At this point, one or other of the couple usually has to compromise on the new households' brand choices - and the data shows that the female is more likely to win out (with her parent's brand choices!) than the male.
The mood of the nation and media consumption are inter-related - in different ways for different people. Most people are generally happier in summer - except heavy TV viewers, who are happier in winter.

For marketers - understanding the mood of the nation is an important part of achieving empathy. Research clearly shows that advertising and marketing that relates to consumers and what they like works better. Shock value advertising that confronts people gets noticed and wins advertising awards - but not the hearts and minds of consumers.

 

The above information is copyright to McNair Ingenuity Research and may not be reproduced or published without McNair Ingenuity Research's express permission. Contact Matt Balogh ph 02 9966 9133.

You can learn more about McNair Ingenuity Research by visiting www.mcnairingenuity.com
or calling Client Services Director Matt Balogh on 02 9966 9133
McNair Ingenuity Research Pty Ltd ACN. 096 437 991 Level 4, 270 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest, NSW, 2065 Phone: +61 2 9966 9133 Fax: +61 2 9966 9277 www.mcnairingenuity.com