GfK Roper Pulse

Understanding the New Consumer – Unveiling Marketing Research’s Future Online

By Kathy Sheehan

In unveiling market research online, a critical component for businesses is to have an intimate knowledge of the consumer-both on- and offline. It is time to review, reassess and understand how consumers are going to re-ascend as we move forward in 2010 and the next decade. So what can we expect from consumers in the wake of the recession?

We start off by exploring the concept of “The New Normal”. Many marketers are using this term to describe the post-recession consumer mindset. However, we at GfK Roper Consulting don’t necessarily agree that we are operating in a “New Normal”, for a few reasons. Proponents of the New Normal speak to the idea of how everything has changed and consumers’ behaviors are forever altered. While, certainly, elements of this are true, it is an over-simplification of a much more complex and nuanced situation. Indeed, in some categories and with some consumer segments we see attitudinal or behavioral shifts that appear to be sustained, but in other areas, we see consumers reverting back to past habits. And, perhaps more importantly, the “new normal” is by no means a global construct. Yes, we have experienced a global economic crisis of unprecedented proportions, and it has been the first recession that has been truly global. Yet, when we drill down a bit deeper, we see that really the global economic crisis has been a series of local economic crises – each market being impacted and reacting in slightly different ways.

At GfK Roper Consulting, we developed the first Consumer Recession Index in 2009, which combined global consumers’ concerns, distresses and coping strategies into one metric that enabled us to take a global view of how consumers were responding across the globe. We have since updated the Consumer Recession Index with the release of GfK Roper Reports® Worldwide 2010, and, once again, this proves to be a very helpful, and actionable, tool for marketers to understand where their market sits on a spectrum across the globe, what the best ways to communicate with individuals in those markets are, and what themes will most resonate.

While there is a great deal of variation across the globe in terms of how consumers have reacted to the economic crisis, we do see some common trends in terms of market opportunities among global consumers. Four major themes have emerged from the GfK Roper Reports Worldwide data; the “Self Help Revolution”, “The Home Revolution”, “Security and Trust as Currency” and “Hidden Doors”.

The “Self Help Revolution”

This is all about people relying upon themselves and taking charge. We see this in the fact that Self-direction values are set to grow over the coming years, and there has been a rise in Personal Effort Values – Back to Working for What You Want. Market manifestation of this is seen related to the Rise in Entrepreneurial Spirit.

“The Home Revolution”

One reaction to the economy is the turning inward to the home. People spend less time outside of the home with 64% saying “staying in can be just as fun as going out”. What are the opportunities for your business to help bring out-of home activities in?

“Security and Trust as Currency”

Particularly in developed markets, security is increasingly valued, and this is within an environment where consumer skepticism is high. Increasing consumers have a lot of concerns, often inflamed by the media, such as health & safety, information security and erosion of trust. How do you react to this trust deficit?

“Hidden Doors”

There have been a lot of examples of success and bright spots in a challenging economic environment. These “hidden doors” may point to new opportunities for your business. One such hidden door is the fact that this recession has been a green stimulus. There will be 1,570 new green products launched this year, triple the number launched in 2008, which saw double the number launched in 2007. In terms of convergence, we are now seeing that global consumers are increasingly “platform agnostic”– Internet penetration exceeds PC usage with more people worldwide accessing the internet via mobile devices. It is not necessarily the media, but the message!

In thinking about the future of consumers and where they are going, it is important to keep in mind the trends that are localized, as well as those that are more universal. GfK Roper Reports Worldwide helps our clients identify these trends and develop actionable insights to move their businesses forward into the next decade.

It Takes Two – What Food Influentials Tell Us about Opportunities Today

By Jon Berry

It’s never been harder to make money in the stock market. Millions of Americans need career help. The world is being tested environmentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s time to talk about food.

At least, that appears to be the conclusion of consumers as reflected on the self-help bestsellers’ lists. Six of the top 10 best-selling books on The New York Times’ “Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous” paperback list are about food. As are three of the top 10 hardcover books in the category.

No other interest comes close. Not money. Not careers. Not relationships.

That’s good news for food marketers.

This is a time for getting people’s attention. And, given the context, no wonder. Food is a source of comfort. It satisfies. And, at least theoretically, it’s something you have a measure of control over. You can’t say those things of the current economy.

However, marketers looking for a single, simple theme in food books will be disappointed.

The organic, holistic approach that has been showing up more in food aisles of the supermarket is represented on the list – Michael Pollen’s Food Rules.

But there are also books on calorie-busting indulgences – What’s New, Cupcake? and Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue.

As well as tough-love books on losing weight – the bluntly-titled The Belly Fat Cure (ouch), This Is Why You’re Fat (double-ouch), and Extra Lean (ok, we get it). And the split-the-difference Cook This, Not That, which offers lower-calorie takes on high-cal restaurant favorites.

There’s also the obligatory celebrity cookbook. This week it’s Skinny Italian by one of reality-TV’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey.” Last week it was Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood, the country singer.

Meanwhile, the current bestselling hardcover advice book, Women, Food and God, is about women’s relationship with food.

Given these conflicting directions (Comfort food! No, diet! No, locavore!), one might conclude that the marketplace could benefit from an hour or two on the couch with a good therapist to work out its relationship with food.

But within the bestsellers list’s mixed menu is a larger idea that we see in our market research on attitudes toward food – and see in particular in our research with Food Influentials^sm, the 1 in 7 Americans who are most actively engaged in spreading word of mouth about food.

Call it the “It Takes Two” principle (with respect to the old Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell Motown tune). Consumers are responsive to more than one idea about food. Three in four Food Influentials, for example, describe themselves as very interested in foods from different countries. But two in three say they’re always looking for new snacks, like to be among the first to try new food and beverages, and “make a real effort to eat healthy” as well.

And Food Influentials are much more likely to describe themselves in these terms than the average person (by 14 to 30 points) — suggesting these cross-currents won’t be going away anytime soon.

If healthy eating is to grow, then, it should be “healthy-plus” — a healthy nutritional take combined with another food interest.

For some time, we’ve talked with clients about the importance of healthy foods tasting good and being convenient to on-the-go lifestyles. But our research suggests now that’s just the starting point. Healthy foods need to be interesting – offering people new tastes from other cultures, in new forms, with new formulas.

“It takes two” may not explain everything — for instance, the Trisha Yearwood recipe “Garth’s Breakfast Bowl,” named for her husband, country singer Garth Brooks, and combining eggs, frozen tater tots, sausage, bacon, packaged cheese, and garlic tortellini (“not for the faint of heart or high of cholesterol,” Publishers Weekly tactfully notes).

But I think “two” does offer a growth path for healthy foods. What’s next? How about healthy eating ideas from China, Thailand, Africa, or Latin America? Acai, from Latin America, this year’s hot antioxidant (“promegranate is sooo 2008″), may point the way. Or maybe healthier, international evolutions of snacks from energy bars to TV-viewing treats?

It just takes two.

(For more on Influentials, including details on the new Global Influentials research in the new 2010 Roper Reports Worldwide survey, which delves into influencers in a variety of catgories, click here).

Green Responsibility

Politicians, multinationals, consumers – David Crosbie considers who should be taking responsibility for protecting the environment

A couple of stories in the news lately have reminded me of a question that we have previously asked consumers in our GfK Roper Reports Worldwide study – namely, who ought to be shouldering the responsibility for environmental issues.

First of all, the oil leakage in the Gulf of Mexico and the ongoing efforts to stem it are a stark reminder of the responsibilities faced by multinational corporations, particularly those dealing with chemicals or pollutants. When something goes wrong, the consequences can be dire, and citizens expect the company involved, in conjunction with government, to stop at nothing to put the damage right.

Secondly, one of the most interesting stories from the UK’s recent general election – apart of course from the first hung parliament since 1974 and the first coalition government since World War II – was the election of the UK parliament’s first ever Green Party member in the form of Caroline Lucas. This, coupled with the fact that other parties published separate green manifestos, shows that the issue is increasingly important in voters’ decision making process.

As I said, GfK Roper Reports Worldwide tackled the question of responsibility for the environment a couple of years ago by asking consumers around the world to name the one group they felt should take the lead on the issue of global climate change. Globally, 30% replied that this role should fall to national governments, more than double the next most common response (environmental groups) and way ahead of those who cited business and industry or individual citizens.

Given the immense nature of the problem, one might have expected even more consumers to delegate the problem upwards and let government sort it out. However, at the same time a large proportion of consumers do tell us that they feel they ought to be doing something about the issue of the environment themselves, even if it’s something relatively small. It seems that global consumers are aware that dealing with the issue of the environment is not something that they can do solely by themselves, but they are willing to do their bit if they know that other stakeholders in business and government are doing their fair share as well.

One thing’s for certain, it’s a topic that is becoming more and more important, and beyond political parties being judged on their green manifestos, companies are being judged on their policies too. This topic is one of many attitudinal and behavioural measures that feature in GfK Roper’s new Green Gauge Global product, which aims to advise companies on how they can best respond to the changing and complex attitudes of global consumers towards green. For more information, click here.

Queue Ahead – Plan Ahead

A reminder that a great purchase doesn’t outweigh a negative purchase experience.

By Anna Clark

It is an oft-spoken cliché that British people love to queue. The author George Mikes, best known for his humorous commentaries on various countries and their citizens, said, “An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.”

The recent UK General Election saw the highest turnouts for 13 years, which resulted in long queues and, in a number of cases, people still queuing by the time the polls closed, meaning they missed out on their vote. One wonders whether people would have patiently queued (in the rain) past the deadline in other countries. That is not to say that there weren’t angry scenes when the truth became apparent, but there weren’t reports of people forcing their way in or worse still, queue-jumping.

I recently found myself musing on this topic when supporting some friends at a battle of the bands contest, where, after the last band finished their set, the crowd of thrashing metallers* formed an orderly queue on the dance floor to place their vote. It seemed an unlikely sight, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised.

When it comes to Personal Values, in the UK, like most other countries, concepts such as ‘power’ and ‘self interest’ rank at the very bottom of the pile, according to the Roper Reports Worldwide study, suggesting consumers just aren’t willing to put their own needs before other peoples’ (or to admit to doing so).

While it’s clear that people will queue, it’s important that companies don’t take advantage of this tendency toward civility. Queuing to vote, or to get tickets for must-see concerts is one thing, but when consumers have a choice of vendors available to them, one with a swift checkout and better customer experience will win through. When a queuing procedure is deemed to be poorly organised or people are left unsure where to queue, this can damage overall satisfaction and reduce chances of a return visit.

And of course, queuing doesn’t stop at the shop door. Numerous horror stories abound about hours spent on hold to speak to people at call centres, while good experiences can encourage loyalty and recommendation. I recently called a customer service line where I was given a choice of hold music to make my wait less frustrating. Small touches like this may not cost much but can be worth a lot. Time spent in a queue is time spent in the care of your brand, and regardless of how good the purchase might be, the overall experience matters, too.

* If you’re unsure who or what a ‘metaller’ is, check out the Urban Dictionary definition!

Built to Last – Marketing lessons from the turn of an odometer

By Jon Berry

What do you get for a car that’s gone the extra mile for you? How about a trip to the car wash and replacing its missing hub cap?

Last week our 1998 Toyota Camry turned 175,000 miles. Fittingly the milestone came on a trip to the grocery store. While this mild-mannered sedan no doubt has daydreamed of lighting out for the frontier for a Blue Highways adventure, its reality has been more George Bailey than William Least Heat Moon.

(If Pixar ever creates a car version of It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey, the hero who never left home, will probably be a Camry.)

There have been a lot of trips to the store in this car. And commutes to work. Drives to school. And to the movies. The odometer may evoke adventure – 175,000 miles is equal to 60 drives across the country. But the furthest West this car has been is trips to my parents’ farm in Indiana.

This has been a family car. It’s been through two kids growing up and going off into the world; two dogs (note the chew marks on the rear-seat seatbelts); family vacations to the beach (sand in the trunk); Christmas trees (pine needles); and trips to college (amazing how much can be crammed into defined spaces).

And it’s done so with minimal repairs – a record that, with all the costs of raising kids, I will be forever grateful for. Which is one reason that, even as the Camry’s sidled into being our second car, driven only a few times a week, I’d have a hard time giving it up.

I bring all this up because I think I’m not alone. It’s not just cars – though my informal research, asking for a show of hands at speaking engagements for those whose cars have gone past the 100k mark suggests quite a few folks are in that category. All things “vintage” are being prized more these days, from clothes, to music, home décor, and recipes.

Staying power is having a star moment. Six in 10 Americans tell GfK Roper Reports® they strongly agree that they buy things that are “built to last.” That’s more than the proportion who tell us they’re “comparing prices and looking for the best price” on everything they buy. And agreement has risen since the start of the recession. Timelessness has become a theme among consumers across the world as well – and marketers have been responding.

I don’t think it’s simply nostalgia. There’s renewed appreciation of day-in, day-out, value-for-the-dollar quality – a value those who grew up in the Depression carried with them, and that, until recently, seemed lost on younger generations. As recession-singed consumers reenter the market, businesses should remind them that buying products built for the long haul will save them money they can spend on other things – even if it costs them a bit more now.

Camrys may not be cool in the way that the round-shouldered Chevys and sharp-finned Caddies of the 1950s and 60s were. But there is something innovative in them that I’d forgotten about until that magical rolling-over of the odometer knocked loose the memory of my then teen-aged son’s rationale for buying the car: “It’s the low-end Lexus.”

That quality of delivering luxury-car quiet, ride, and reliability at a middle-class price was part of a larger wave of innovation in marketing in its day that brought gourmet-quality food (Trader Joe’s, Starbucks), furniture (Ikea), investments (Fidelity, Vanguard), even running shoes (Nike’s “Bowerman” line) to broader audiences. In their way, they were as innovative as the first Fords, the first Chevys, or the first Apples. They’re worth studying for the lessons they offer us now.

We still have a ways to go to catch up with the Depression generation. I am reminded of this every time I travel out to Indiana to visit my Dad, go into my Dad’s barn, and see his two tractors – a shiny red 1940s International Harvester and his “newer” model, a shiny blue early-1960s Ford. Add one more reason to hang onto the 175,000-mile Camry – to see how its story turns out.

Ash Clouds Our View of the Future

As the dust settles on an unprecedented week of travel disruption, David Crosbie considers the effect such events can have on how we plan ahead.

In GfK Roper Reports Worldwide, we ask 30,000 consumers around the world about the issues that concern them most. We ask about recession and unemployment. We ask about crime and lawlessness. We even ask about climate change and global warming. We do not ask about disruption caused by volcanic ash, but that has been at the foremost of millions of people’s minds around the world since last Thursday.

I myself was somewhat preoccupied by it as I scratched my head and wondered how to get back to London after a meeting in Frankfurt that was meant to be a day trip. Having unwittingly flown out on one of the last planes leaving the UK, I was faced with the prospect of taking five trains over three days to make it back to the UK.

This gave me plenty of time to muse on the possible long-term implications of the incident. Particularly if the disruption recurs intermittently, could it make travellers more wary and less reliant on air travel, which has become increasingly cheap and accessible in recent years? Would flying be shunned as an expensive, unreliable and environmentally damaging pursuit? Commentators were quick to point out the effects of previous large-scale eruptions, such as the one that may have precipitated the French Revolution. In the event, most people will probably not easily give up the convenience that they have grown used to lightly. But the important point is that just a couple of weeks ago it would be unthinkable to most people that the skies above Europe could be free from air traffic for days on end.

To me, this incident serves to underline that future scenario planning involves acknowledging that in the next five to ten years things will happen that are completely beyond our wildest imagination. Instead we should take into consideration what kind of things might happen, and plan accordingly. Former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was widely pilloried for his explanation of this kind of thing, which warrants repetition in full:

“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. These are things we do not know we don’t know.”

However, in the business of scenario planning this is exactly the approach to take. GfK Roper Consulting’s TrendKEY global framework of consumer trends provides a model, informed by global consumer insight data, which is designed to help inform a view of the next few years, particularly with regard to shedding light on the things we know we don’t know (or, to add another category to the list, drawing out those things we don’t know we know).

As my illustrious compatriot and national poet Robert Burns once put it in his poem ‘To A Mouse’, “…thou art no thy lane,/ In proving foresight may be vain/ The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley.” While my day trip to Frankfurt proved this sentiment is as valid now as when it was written over 200 years ago, there are many ways in which you can reduce the chances of your future plans going awry, and in a business context, a robust consumer trends product is certainly one of them!

Selling Innovation to Aging Boomers – Is it a good idea or not?

By Diane Crispell

Have you ever had the experience that you were thinking about some great new product that would make your life better, and then it suddenly appeared on store shelves? It’s happened to me a number of times. My reaction has typically been one of delight that someone figured it out, tempered by the (totally unrealistic) regret that I wasn’t the one to do it and ‘make millions’.

As a Baby Boomer, I’ve always enjoyed the benefits of being part of the mass market that all businesses wanted to reach. So it’s not really surprising that my wants and needs have been anticipated through different life stages, from teen skin-care products to family-size frozen-food entrées. But we Boomers are getting older, and older has never been a very popular market, so I wonder whether I will see as many new products directed at my generation in the future. Maybe not.

The fact is that Boomers are not as entranced by novelty as they used to be or as much as younger people are. For example, 33% of Boomers strongly agree they “actively seek new ways to do things in everyday life,” compared with 44% of Gen Yers, according to a recent GfK Roper Reports^® US survey. Similar patterns hold for everything from technology to food.

Does this mean that marketers should focus their energies on selling innovative and status-related products to younger generations and hope that they “trickle up” to Boomers? Maybe, but not necessarily.

Boomers are still a huge market, they are still receptive to innovation that’s relevant to their lives, and it is still worthwhile for marketers to meet their needs. Innovation that addresses the issues Boomers face as they enter new life stages such as empty nesting, grandparenting, and retirement (whatever that looks like for this generation) will be particularly opportune.

There are some areas that virtually beg for innovation on Boomers’ behalf – this is a very health-oriented generation, for example, and if there is one thing that is inevitable about Boomer’s aging, it’s the physical changes their bodies are experiencing.

Speaking of physical changes, the latest ‘product’ to delight me with its timeliness is my local phone book. The newest edition was much fatter than usual, so at first I assumed it included listings for additional neighboring towns. But no, the reason is that the type size is larger than it used to be, and my Boomer eyes are really appreciating that about now.

Growing Into Aging – What jazz musicians can teach us about the graying of the world

By Jon Berry

When I grow up, I want to be Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb, or Buster Williams. Not literally, of course. For one, I’m already a grown-up. Second, I don’t have their talent. And, if I did, it still would take six or seven decades to catch up with Walton, 76, Cobb, 81, and Williams, 67, three legends of American jazz.

I recently caught the first set of their five-night run in New York with saxophonist Javon Jackson (a mere stripling at age 44). Over 90 minutes, the group unspooled a vision of aging that was more real – and more appealing – than any that I see in contemporary media or marketing.

What could have been a nostalgic tour through time – Cobb and Walton played drums and piano, respectively, on two of the most influential jazz records of all time, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and John Coltrane’s Giant Steps – instead became a larger lesson.

Playing with force, wit, tenderness, and craft, ranging from hard bop to soft standards, all the while with the intuitive, group sixth-sense of great jazz musicians, they showed that it’s possible to grow into aging, and keep growing, no matter your age.

With the world aging, we need more such visions of authentic aging. According to the United Nations, the median age of the world’s population will rise from 27 years old in 2000 to 38 in 2050; in more developed countries, it will go from 37 to 46. By midcentury, 4 in 10 of the UK’s population will be over 60. In Spain, it will be close to half. The U.S. population over age 65 is expected to double to 87 million people (more than the combined population of the top 10 U.S. metro areas).

And yet, the language and imagery around aging is stuck in clichés of the past. We are to “age gracefully” ($5 to anyone who can convince me of what that really means) or “fight aging.” “Take a walk at the mall.” “Find a hobby.” “Get the early-bird specials.” “Update your estate plan.” Depressing.

There’s a richness out there that, with few exceptions (notably AARP and its publications), is not being captured. It’s not just that people are doing incredible things later in life – though there is that. Yohihisa Hosaka last year broke the 60-plus world marathon record, running the 26.2 mile course of the Beppu-Oit Mainichi Marathon in 2 hours 36 minutes. I don’t know what’s more eye-opening, his new record or the old one, which was only 2 minutes slower. Or Tao, my friend Alan’s yoga teacher, who is still teaching yoga in her mid-90s; she’s also a champion ballroom dancer.

More impressive than the feats, though, is their day-in, day-out immersion in life. Hosaka’s 18-mile training runs. Tao’s daily yoga practice. Cedar Walton sitting down to the piano, which “does everything but say, ‘please come and play me,’” he confided last year to the New York Times. Imagine all they’ve seen, stored, retained.

We’re not, as a society, good at unlocking that treasure. We can’t even agree on definitions – a recent Roper Reports U.S. study shows there’s almost a 20-year gap between where 18-29 year olds (61) and people 60 and older (80) say old age begins. Demographics will change that. The oldsters will become elders – venerated for their experience and insights, and affirmed for their humanness, including quirks and imperfections. Some smart marketer or media person will figure that out and point the way. Until then, check out Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams – or any of the other great jazz musicians who are still growing into their craft, and showing us all how to grow into aging.

Consumers’ Green Attitudes No Fairy Tale

Reaction to awareness campaign underlines the controversial nature of this topic, says David Crosbie

Once upon a time – last October in fact – the UK government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) created a TV and poster campaign that highlighted the dangers of climate change in language that all consumers could understand. The series featured well known nursery rhymes, whose original lyrics were altered to take account of the effects that climate change has had on the environment. So for example, when “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water”, they found that, “[t]here was none, as extreme weather due to climate change had caused a drought.”

The campaign, however, was the subject of nearly 1,000 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) from members of the public who varyingly claimed that it was misleading, scaremongering and frightening to children. In mid March, the ASA ruled that two of the print ads, ‘Jack and Jill’ and ‘Three Men in a Tub’, had breached its guidelines, noting that they “should have been phrased more tentatively.” In the wake of the judgement, some commentators have weighed in with further criticism of the campaign, going so far as to say that it set back public debate on the subject several years.

This incident serves to underline the contentious nature of the issue of climate change. The number of complaints received suggests that there is a body of UK consumers who, if not opposed to the idea of man-made climate change, are sceptical about it and alert to exaggerated or misleading claims made on the subject. The aim of the campaign seems to have been to cajole or even frighten consumers into action by reducing their carbon emissions, but what are the current levels of engagement (and cynicism) amongst Brits?

Roper Reports Worldwide data from 2009 show that 59% of UK consumers agree that “we/I have to do something now to save the planet”, which falls somewhat short of the global average. On the other hand, 27% agree that, “global climate change/global warming is not as much of a threat as the media make it out to be”, again a lower proportion than globally. Rather than leading to increased agreement with the former statement, this latest campaign may have inadvertently led to increased agreement with the latter. The fallout has led some to ask what is the best approach to environmental communication.

While the answer to this query is by no means straightforward, what is not in doubt is the complexity of the debate on this topic. That is why GfK Roper Consulting is taking its consumer research on environmental attitudes one stage further in 2010 with Green Gauge Global, a new product that includes a worldwide green segmentation of consumers. You can now sign up to receive the latest news on this product as it is released, so that you can sleep safe in the knowledge that you won’t miss out…

Changing behaviour for the better

The importance of ‘fun’ in ‘fundraising’

By Anna Clark

At the end of last year, Volkswagen launched an initiative called The Fun Theory, based around the idea that you can use fun to change people’s behaviour for the better. They made some changes to public places to make ‘better’ behaviour more fun – changes such as replacing a normal staircase with a giant piano staircase, where lo and behold, people began to use the stairs instead of taking the escalator. Having set the ball rolling, Volkswagen called for people to submit their examples of using fun to change behaviour, and shared the results on their website: http://www.thefuntheory.com/

This seemed an interesting idea to me – and is an interesting take on the carrot and stick approach. We often talk about the ‘gap’ between what consumers know they should do, and how they actually behave, which spans thing such as health activities, and green behaviours, and other ‘socially responsible’ acts. It seems that in spite of having the knowledge of what they should of, consumers feel they face legitimate barriers such as a lack of money, or time, when perhaps really it’s motivation that’s lacking.

A key criticism of The Fun theory is that the changes they’ve made are clearly a novelty, and while they show a 66% uplift in people taking the stairs that day, would this continue over a longer timeframe, or would people slip back into old habits?

Back in July 1985 Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organised a multi-venue rock concert to raise awareness, and funds for famine relief in Ethiopia: LiveAid. Broadcasts of this event were watched by an estimated 400 million viewers, across 60 countries, uniting consumers across the globe for a few hours behind a single cause. This event arguably spawned a whole new type of fundraising, to the extent that the ‘benefit concert’ is now almost a reflex action when a disaster occurs. Not that I am suggesting this is a bad thing of course, anything that raises money for charity that might not otherwise have been donated has got to be a good thing.

My question is whether the money that these events raise is extra money, or could it be raised without the massive expense and hype of putting on such a major event? Arguably, the event is for many the trigger to a donation – they go, they have a great time, they are moved by what they see, and they donate. The concert is a motivation tool to get people to ‘do the right thing’, and maybe, it spurs people to give who wouldn’t otherwise.

In our Roper Reports Worldwide survey we ask consumers how often they volunteer or help others, and around one in three say they do so monthly or more often. This is remarkably stable across all age groups – suggesting people are volunteers, or they’re not, and this doesn’t change drastically throughout the life course. I’d imagined that volunteering would relate to how much time consumers have available – the more time on their hands the more volunteering they would do.

However, we also asked consumers if they had more time, or more money how they would spend it. Interestingly, around one-third of volunteers would do more for others, while 18% of non-volunteers would do so. To me this suggests that the means we have available in terms of time and money, are only a part of what influences what we are willing to give to benefit others.

Perhaps recognising people’s fickle nature, Orange neatly turned the ‘benefit concert’ on its head, when it developed the Orange RockCorp movement – running for a couple of years now this required young people to do some voluntary work, and one they’ve completed a certain amount, they are rewarded with gig tickets. This truly makes use of a ‘good behaviour and reward’ mechanism, and as it gets people into volunteering from a young age, I wonder if such an initiative might change behaviour in the longer term.

Of course, anything that encourages consumers to be better citizens has got to be a good thing, and if brands can do so, and forge a relationship with consumers at the same time, so much the better.

GfK Roper Pulse

GfK Roper Consulting

Understanding the New Consumer – Unveiling Marketing Research’s Future Online

It Takes Two – What Food Influentials Tell Us about Opportunities Today

Green Responsibility

Queue Ahead – Plan Ahead

Built to Last – Marketing lessons from the turn of an odometer

Ash Clouds Our View of the Future

Selling Innovation to Aging Boomers – Is it a good idea or not?

Growing Into Aging – What jazz musicians can teach us about the graying of the world

Consumers’ Green Attitudes No Fairy Tale

Changing behaviour for the better

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