Exciting Job Opportunity
Exciting opportunity with leading Brand Strategy and Insight Agency MCCP.
Immediately wanted someone who can and has experience in tracking down, interpreting insight from a number of a different sources using a variety techniques,( both qualitative, quant, online and offline)
Contact susan@mccp.ie
The 5 ‘so whats’ which impacted consumers and brands this week
1. Twitter voting for the X Factor
Viewers of X Factor USA now have the ability to vote for their favourite act in a host of new ways. X Factor USA have announced that you can cast your vote through Twitter; The Xtra Factor App in addition to toll-free calling & text voting.
So what?
This is a sign that media is having to move towards consumers social media habits rather than expecting them to adopt to voting procedures. By implementing & encouraging social media discussion television shows have made their programme more than just entertainment. It’s now a discussion piece allowing people to give their two cents on the social media highway of twitter or Facebook by simply including a hashtag phrase. What X Factor need to address is where is the line between keeping the show relevant & popular versus maintaining advertising spend and revenue from phone voting?
2. Majority back universal health care
The Pfizer Health Index found that 53% of Irish people were in favour of universal healthcare, even if it meant a 1% hike in income tax. Only 15% were opposed to paying more tax for such a health system.
So what?
With an aging population & our national health service in of a state of disarray people’s future wants & needs are in a state of flux. The gap between what we as consumers expect and what we are being offered by HSE is widening. This highlights consumers’ willingness to pay more for services deemed important enough. How can this be
The 5 ‘so whats’ which impacted consumers and brands this week
1. Fairtrade sales increased by 17% in 2010
Despite the overall downturn in grocery sales in 2010, sales of Faitrade products grew by 17% in Ireland last year. Sales hit €138 million in 2010, up from €118 million in 2009. These figures make Ireland one of the highest per-capita spenders on Fairtrade items in the world.
So what?
Even in the midst of rising unemployment levels and the economic troubles of 2010 Irish consumers continued to support the Fairtrade cause. MCCP believes this to be a further indication of the extent to which Irish people are prepared to stretch their charitable nature in support of the causes they believe in. We are willing to go that extra step in pursuit of what is right and as a result so must the brands who wish to be part of our lives. To fully engage their audiences brands must now stand up for what they believe in, something which can help them build credibility amongst Irish consumers.
2. 26% of consumers are now unaware of the price of everyday goods
New data published by the National Consumer Agency (NCA) shows that just 13% of a sample of 1,000 consumers surveyed in Q4 2010 were ‘very aware’ of the price of everyday goods, with 43% saying they were ‘fairly aware’. This compares to 34% and 55% respectively when a similar survey was carried out in the same period in 2009.
The numbers who feel they are unaware of prices has increased (26% up from 16%) since the last
How can brands create value beyond price? Find out April 20th
MCCP announce that their next Brand Forum shall take place on Wednesday April 20th from 8.30am – 11.30am.
MCCP Brand Forums gives leaders of brands and businesses including Marketing Directors and Senior Marketing Strategists and Operators an opportunity an opportunity to hear MCCP’s unique insight into the Irish consumer landscape, generated through a mix of independent consumer research and the ongoing tracking of the latest global consumer trends.
This time round the MCCP team will be focusing on answering the question of how brands can create value beyond price.
No doubt this is a day not to be missed and one to mark in your diary.
Venue and details to follow. Please contact conor@mccp.ie with any questions.
Talking about the revolution
MCCP attended the Future Laboratory LSN global trend briefing in The Roundhouse in Camden yesterday. The briefing was, as per usual, a powerful demonstration of the changes we are seeing in how people consume and as such was hugely beneficial to anyone involved in marketing. Two things stood out to us from their work that captured the creativity and innovation that we know consumers are showing.
The first was the concept of brands allowing consumer to “hack” their products, meaning to use them in alternative and unintended ways to make life simpler. In this sense “hacking” is a positive thing. Microsoft connect is releasing a product this year that is designed to be more effective and useful when it is hacked by users. Hacking is not just digital, Irish company Sugru, have come up with an innovative silicon putty product that allows us to hack our own possessions to make them more practically useful.
The second is the idea of revivalism, or the reintroduction of old practices. This is not about nostalgia; the wistful remembrances of things that once were, but the practical resurrection of older activities that are now being creatively used with new relevance. MCCPTrendstream™ has identified how this is at work in our social lives now with entertainment becoming much more innovative and home based. However, this is also at work in our industry with hand crafted goods based around practicality now more popular than ever before.
It was a hugely useful briefing, hats off to The Future Laboratory. Watch
The 5 ‘so whats’ which impacted consumers and brands this week
1. 60% of Irish consumers have prepared the same dish as a celebrity chef
According to Checkout magazine’s latest Consumer Intelligence survey, almost two thirds of Irish consumers now watch two or more food-related programmes weekly, with over 60% admitting to have copied a featured recipe. What is interesting from this research for FMCG and other food and drink brands is the fact that only 14% of those who copied featured dishes used the ‘recommended’ ingredients. Instead the vast majority chose alternative ingredient options.
So what?
MCCP believe that in order for brands to fully tap into our growing home bound foodie status becoming featured as part of a celebrity chef’s offering is not sufficient. For such brands to become central in the consumer journey from seeing a featured recipe on TV to cooking it at home they must work at ways to aid the consumer in the shopping and cooking process. Taking learning’s from other industries indicates that perhaps there is opportunity for brands to do this by bundling featured ingredients together on the shelf allowing the consumer to conveniently obtain what they need to complete their dish.
2. Playtimes lost sense of adventure presents an opportunity for brands
A Heritage Council-commissioned survey based on the responses of 1,000 parents who were asked to identify where they played as children and where their 7- to 11-year-old offspring play now has found that today’s children are becoming increasingly supervised. For instance, the study found a decrease of 23% in the number of children
Pop up restaurant demonstrates key consumer trends
New pop-up restaurant “Crackbird” in Temple Bar, is actively living out 3 pertinent consumer trends that MCCP have identified in the Irish market. Firstly, the nature of the pop up restaurant demonstrates the resourcefulness Irish people are using to get on with their daily lives in more difficult conditions. The restaurant managed to negotiate a low rate of rent in a vacant premises based on a 3 month stay, features home-made napkins and a variety of inventively recycled fittings for tables and chairs. MCCP dialogues have identified that consumers across the board are becoming far more inventive in how they maintain previous levels of social interaction and lifestyle on more limited means.
Secondly, the restaurant is using free digital media very effectively to spread awareness. “Crackbird” is offering 6 free tables a day to people who reserve through twitter for its 3 month opening period, mirroring a trend towards the platform in the Irish market. Google estimates that there are 200,000 unique visits to twitter.com every month from Ireland. MCCP has found that as people adapt to more cost effective and immediate forms of communication, platforms like twitter become more relied upon for decision making.
Lastly, “Crackbird” encapsulates optimism. Serving staff in the restaurant are adorned with t-shirts proclaiming that “optimism is the new smack”. This sentiment rings true for Irish people right now. A justaskMCCP survey in January showed that ‘67% of people in Ireland think the glass if half full’ and MCCP consumer dialogues show that people believe that the
The 5 ‘so whats’ which impacted consumers and brands this week
1. Ireland ranks bottom of 2011 global trust index
Edelman’s Trust Barometer, the firm’s 11th annual survey, which gauges attitudes about the state of trust in business, government, NGOs and media across 23 countries has ranked Ireland bottom of the pile for 2011. Under closer examination results show that as a nation we are the least trusting of government amongst all EU countries, have low trust in the media, and are less trusting than the majority of our global peers across most industries.
So what?
With brands facing low levels of trust in many industries and an Irish public that are sceptical of their communications, focusing on building trust is essential in 2011. MCCP believe that there is a clear consumer demand for greater transparency and simpler, more useful information from companies. In an effort to build trust brands must start to live up to their claims rather than just paying lip service to them. For example, if you’re an FMCG product that claims to help mum cope with her busy schedule how can you do this better and become more actively involved? By looking at what your brand stands for and delivering functional benefits in the area, your brand can begin to rebuild the trust which is severely lacking in Irish consumers.
2. Independent candidates in 2011 general election up by 125%
The 2011 general election has seen a remarkable rise in the number of independent candidates up from 90 in 2007 to 202 in 2011, representing an increase of almost 125%.
So what?
This
The 5 ‘so whats’ which impacted consumers and brands this week
1. Almost 3 in 5 shoppers collect tokens or points as they experiment with different cost management strategies
MCCP consumer dialogues have shown that consumers are trying out new strategies in terms of cost management. The latest Consumer Intelligence survey (Source: Checkout Magazine) further highlights this cost management trend showing that 58% of people now collect tokens or points to participate in schemes like SuperValu’s Getaway Breaks or Tesco’s Schools and Clubs Voucher Programme.
So what?
People are embracing the creativity of brands that give them strategies’ to win back control of their costs. Some of these strategies are familiar in essence, but different in delivery. Points schemes are points schemes, but an on-line delivery mechanism allows them to proliferate faster, further and in a more targeted manner.
Based on technological developments MCCP Trendstream™ predicts that in 2011 we will see consumer’s further embrace new developments in how coupons are used with interactive gaming elements to coupons and points collection schemes already on trial in other markets.
2. Home cooking solutions that help us cut corners can thrive in 2011
The forthcoming Irish version of “Come Dine with Me” highlights the fusion of our newly learned cooking skills (between 2007 and 2009 9% of the entire Irish adult population engaged in a cooking course of some kind, Source: Bord Bia) and our new home focused social practices. MCCPTrendstream™ endeavoured to forecast the fate of convenience foods as the nation become more competent and confident in the fields of home cooking and entertaining.
So what?
MCCP
6 in 10 Irish have a glass ‘half full’ outlook for 2011
Two recessionary consumer mind-sets exist, the ‘adapted’ who see their glass half full and the ‘trapped’ who see their glass half empty
The vast majority of Irish people have an optimistic outlook on their own personal situation for 2011. Justaskmccp™ conducted an online survey amongst a representative sample of 300 Irish people in January that asked ‘Thinking of your own personal situation in 2011 would you say that the glass is half empty or half full?’. 2 in 3 (67%) have a ‘glass half full’ outlook of the forthcoming year whilst only 1 in 3 (33%) take a ‘glass half empty’ view on 2011.
The results indicate that the Irish are resilient and inherently optimistic despite our propensity to complain and grumble, people will be drawn to brands that have a positive and hopeful story to tell.
Younger cohorts were much more likely to have a pessimistic view of their situation than middle aged cohorts. 42% and 40% of 18-24 and 25-34 year olds, respectively had a ‘glass half empty’ outlook compared to only 22% of 35 to 44 year olds and 27% of 45 to 54 year olds. justaskmccp™ findings differed to many outlook reports published in 2010 that suggested that younger cohorts were most optimistic. The joy of children may be one reason for optimism amongst older cohorts given that those with children were more likely to view the glass as half full compared to those without children (71% vs. 63%).
The results are in line with the two recessionary mind-sets MCCP identified last year