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Rina Chandran

Jaipur , Nov. 13

THE consumer today is not satisfied with status quo, and that requires marketers and advertisers to change the way they communicate with the consumer constantly. Brands must create enduring relationships with consumers, who despite their obvious differences exhibit certain universal needs that can be tapped. But consumers are seeking multi-channel experiences and greater control over media, which will affect the way they consume advertising, according to various experts who held forth on Day Three of AdAsia 2003.

Despite the backlash against junk mail and tele-marketing, direct marketing is flourishing because it is essentially an information-based strategy in the Information Age, said Mr Lester Wunderman, founder of Wunderman, USA. With all the new ways of measurement, it is easy to forget that it is media context, and not reach or frequency that is important, he added.

He coined a new term, `Ophilimity', to describe the ability to give satisfaction (after Shakespeare's Ophelia), and argued that it was important to measure a product or service's `ophilimity' quotient.

"Brands have to create relationships, and a brand's share of customer loyalty is what's important, not its share of market," Mr Wunderman said. "And firms must be accessible to their customers and encourage interactive dialogue at all times. "Measuring the strength of people's relationships with the brand is really the true indication of the strength of the brand," added Mr Christoph Prox, Managing Director, Icon Brand Navigation of Germany. `Power' brands are strong on brand iconography (the experience of a brand) and on brand `credit' (how people feel about a brand), and are able to exploit their brand goodwill better than other brands. While international power brands are stronger than powerful local brands — like Parachute in India — they are weaker at exploiting their goodwill, he added.

"All international power brands also have certain concrete signals that act as brand ambassadors and help consumers understand the intended message better," Mr Prox said. "This could be the strong smell of Dettol, the creamy feel of Dove, or the look of the Singapore Girl."

Generally, marketers tend to assume that life goals and values are general, and that they do not change by occasion or circumstance. Also, there is confusion over how brands actually meet needs and values, said Mr Rory Morgan, Global Marketing Sciences Director, Research International. "But the same person can have different needs in different circumstances," he added. "And to meet the needs of the `Multiple Me,' marketers must look at core human values and needs from the perspective of the brand, and less from the perspective of the person."

Despite the diversity, however, there are certain universal needs or human drivers that brands tap into: the need for physical and spiritual well-being, self-indulgence, harmony, knowledge, individuality, security, respect, attractiveness, love, belonging, control, tradition, leadership and freedom. "These can be linked to communicate specific product attributes and applied to understand the market and target the consumer better," Mr Morgan added.

But it is not as easy to target the consumer today amid increased fragmentation, an erosion of attention from multi-tasking, a shift in media consumption, and a desire for greater control, according to Mr Chris Charron, Group Director, Forrester Research of the US. "So the new rules for media are: Sharpen brands with a laser-like focus, tap into commerce and service revenues such as e-mail alerts and merchandise, and provide multi-channel experiences for the consumer," he added. "Manchester United is a good example of the media company of the future."

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