It’s an important job for all PR professionals and marketeers to keep an eye on changing consumer trends. Knowing how people shop, consume media and make purchase decisions can be the difference between a successful campaign and failure.
As we pass through 2019, keep these consumer trends in mind and learn from them.
Print, TV and radio aren’t dead!
We’ve been hearing about the death of traditional media for some time in the PR industry. No one reads papers anymore, no one listens to radio and no one watches the news.
Instead we’ve been told that everyone consumes all their information through social media and their phones. It’s just not true and it’s a myth that prevails especially among younger marketeers, who place too much emphasis on using digital channels to connect deeply with audiences.
On top of that myth, there was lots said about trust in the media in 2018. Maybe it was thanks to Trump’s “fake news” claims or the endless clashes around Brexit, but 2018 seemed to be the year the public had finally lost faith with the media. The trust was gone.
Well, according to research by Ipsos MORI, people in the UK still trust traditional media as much as they did over a decade ago. In fact people trust certain publications, like the BBC, more than they did a decade ago.
That finding was consistent across all age groups.
When the research was broken down between the different media types and consumer trust in them, the results were quite clear:
- 71% of respondents trusted information that came from people they knew
- 68% of respondents trusted information that came from TV and radio
- 51% of respondents trusted information that came from print media
- 30% of respondents trusted information that came from people online (such as social media)
It’s a dangerous thing to make sweeping generalisations from numbers and surveys, but one thing is clear.
People still trust in the media and people still consume TV, radio and print.
For marketeers in 2019 it’s important to remember that PR is still a crucial part of the communications mix. Different audiences consume and trust information from different places and it’s definitely too soon to say that print media is dead! It’s not and it’s still a key part of your communications mix.
If you’ve got an important message then share it through the channels that consumers trust. The message will resonate far more with them.
Clear Messages Change Behaviour
An interesting finding came from Mintel’s latest Global Consumer Trends report. It found that 49% of UK consumers who recycle food packaging – ‘most of the time or less’ – say that clearer instructions on which parts of packaging can be recycled would encourage them to recycle food packaging more often.
In other words, if packaging was clearer we’d recycle more.
From a marketing point of view the lesson couldn’t be more obvious. If your goal is to change consumer behaviour, be clear with your messaging and you’ll have a better chance at achieving positive results.
Keep that lesson in mind this year with your marketing.
Don’t get caught in the hype
January is the time of year when most people think about forming a healthier habit. Eat less rubbish food, work out more and consume less alcohol.
It happens every year without fault.
Across social media people make their pledges to ‘Dry January’, ‘Veganuary’ and so on and lots of brands jump on the bandwagon by spending considerable sums to sell their latest products to those people.
And, it’s easy to feel like you’re alone by not taking part. But don’t worry.
Research from Kantar suggests that the ‘New Year, New You’ trends aren’t anywhere near as popular as social media feeds might suggest. Only 17% of people in the UK intended to try Dry January (emphasis on the word intended) and only 5% said they were attempting ‘Veganuary’.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with people giving up alcohol and becoming vegans. In fact there are plenty of benefits to both, but the findings showed us that the discussions and trends happening online don’t always correspond to real life.
We’re sure ‘Veganuary’ will grow in popularity, but that’s missing the point of our argument.
What is said by many online, especially on social media, isn’t representative of everyone and so this year take time out to really understand your audiences. Don’t base your campaigns on weak research, trends or the comments of a few people online.
Can we help you?
There you have it, a few different consumer trends in 2019 and a few lessons learned. If you do need help developing your marketing or PR campaigns this year, speak with the Camarilla team today.