consumer attitudes

Key Takeaways

• Jenny Nelson (Audacy) noted the consumer need for a real and authentic connection with brands, particularly with the rise of digital platforms and changes in attitudes born from the pandemic.
• Pointing to the Telescopic Model, Duane Varan (MediaScience) indicated that in this current environment where "ads are more fleeting," the use of a 6-second ad could be advantageous as a "teaser" to invite consumers in, to create the "quality time" with the audience that is more difficult to obtain.
• Chris McCarthy (Kantar) suggested that within innovation, the challenge lies in not going far enough, pointing to tension resolution as a pathway to the consumer.
• Regarding sound logos and mnemonics, Jenny suggested ad logos lend themselves to shorter ad durations and help with boosting brand recall. Conversely, Korri Kolesa (Veritronic) suggested that sound logos work well in any length of an ad, noting that the use of sound logos grounds the brand message consumers will hear and gives an instantaneous recognition of the brand.
• Concerning attention, as a type of currency in ad effectiveness, Kevin Moeller (PepsiCo) indicated that balancing the difference at the program level, media level or the content level is key in optimizing the content and getting the attention of the consumer, pointing to the combination of content and distribution.
• Duane opined that inattention is a more reliable indicator than attention, noting attention is ineffective as a measurement due to the various types of attention, which do not correlate well with one another.

Key Takeaways

• Consumer disruption has led to a shift to higher-involvement decisions such as the expansion of retail sourcing options to locate a preferred brand/product, expansion of brand/product options within a favorite retailer, a reevaluation of needs and possible compromise.
• Brands need to move from the "sameness zone" as disruptions have created a need for difference. For instance, a familiar product that is still recognizable but clearly different can lead to a new and competitive context with more freedom around pricing.
• No brand is safe from disruption and currently, all brands are faced with ongoing disruption or they have already been disrupted or are about to be disrupted. The speaker exemplified disruptions in products such as flour, milk, automobiles and services such as banking.
• To disrupt consumer sameness or consumer inertia, brands need to understand what drives consumer inertia, such as transactional inertia versus rational inertia.
• "Tension hunting is the pathway to reshuffling the consumer choice equation and disrupting remaining inertia."

Key Takeaways

• Intentionalism motivates consumers, especially Millennials and Gen Z. Millennials and Gen Z are rethinking their lives and making decisions with increased intention, including how they use their time and what brands they spend their money on: 71% of consumers are now more purposeful in all their decisions. Post-pandemic, consumers will continue to be more intentional.
• Brands can break through with “people-positive marketing,” providing collaboration, empowerment and additive experiences. Mukta offered a framework for brand’s advertising to these consumers involving reflection, restoring, building and inspiring. Consumer intention and attention levels are factors in this framework. When the framework is applied to streaming, audiences favor advertising that respects their time, creates a cohesive experience, experiments with storytelling and challenges conventions.
• There are four consumer streaming intentions: Boost mood, create time markers, explore identity and foster growth. These intentions are fluent and overlap. Mood (53%) is the factor most influencing streaming decisions. Viewers also seek growth and knowledge when streaming.
• Streaming fills basic consumer needs for comfort, connection and inspiration. The primary way consumers want to spend their free-time is with entertainment: 85% of Gen Z and Millennials agree that entertainment saved them during the pandemic. However, they are also intentional about what they watch: 83% of Gen Z and Millennials have become more selective with the entertainment they are streaming. Additionally, streaming is fully integrated into their lives all day.

Key Takeaways

• Representation is nuanced, Charlene Polite Corley (Nielsen) asserted. Consumers and audiences are looking for the layers in representation—elements like nuance in the story and historically excluded groups presented in a different or aspirational way. Representation has to be intersectional and has to resonate with the group you are trying to represent in order to ring true and authentic.
• Multicultural consumers are multi-faceted and should be celebrated, Lauren Zweifler (NBCU) stated. Understanding key common culture signifiers like family, food, music and holiday celebrations is important to ongoing positive representation. Multicultural audiences need to see commitment to their causes and relevance to their communities.
• The “Diversity Index” (DI) according to the 2010 census was 56%; in 2020 the DI has risen to 61%. Citing that only about 50% of current ads included underrepresented groups, Deepak Varma (Kantar) suggested that it was not keeping pace with the actual growing population.
• The retail category does a good overall job at including diverse talent and going beyond stereotypes, but there are distinct nuances across all categories and cohorts between multicultural audiences and the general population, as researched by Jill Rosengard Hill (Magid) and Dana Sparber (NBCU).

Key Takeaways

• Presence (45% of impact): Get the basics right—go beyond stereotypes and cliches and be consistent and continuous.
• Signifiers (34% of impact): Capture nuance in advertising portrayals by understanding key common cultural signifiers (family values, food & drink, music, holiday celebrations, community values) as well as the unique differences among audiences. Include diverse talent in the creative process to achieve insider elements which portray true authenticity.
• Empowerment (17% of impact): Positive representations are critical in countering stereotypes. Support specific causes that are relevant to multicultural communities as representation ties directly to emotional states and sense of belonging.
• Integration (5% of impact): Is the representation multi-faceted? Positive examples of diversity should include authentic nuances and multifaceted individuals as role models or in aspirational roles. Establish an ongoing commitment to diverse communities.

Key Takeaways

• The majority (68%) of consumers agreed that ads with diverse characters show an authentic reflection of society, and the feeling is stronger among people of color.
• Not promoting diversity could hurt brands but promoting it will not alienate other consumers. Just showing under-represented groups has no impact on the ad’s ability to build brand equity or increase short-term sales.
• Showing under-represented groups positively–in progressive, non-stereotypical ways–can dramatically accelerate sales lift and long-term brand equity.
• Illustrate the brand message by celebrating culture and focus on the identity of the under-represented.