Article

Thabiso Moloi
Thabiso Moloi 24 October 2016
Categories Advertising

So, What Does the Future Consumer Look Like?

Almost a year in I’ve been in the marketing space, and successfully transitioning from traditional PR. The best part is it’s not just any type of marketing but a new school of thought and less traditional in its approach.

Influencer Marketing allows one to think in a different way as well as approach things from a different angle. One of the concepts I’m mostly fascinated by lately is how and what the future consumer will look like. 

Advances in technology have enabled today’s generation to consume content differently and with that in mind, it’s easy to predict that most of what worked well in the past won’t necessarily continue to be the case going forward. This especially applies from an advertising, marketing and PR point of view. I once wrote an article, similar to this one, that further elaborates on who this consumer is. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Forbes took this a step further in a post written in 2014 by perfectly describing them as the always on consumer

Many facets make up this consumer with one feature being constant, this consumer is predominantly online, thus the always on tag. In light of this, brands will need to keep up with them and constantly identify new ways of reaching out.

So what’s the best way of doing that? And is there a single answer? Honestly, no, mainly because there’s probably a number of tactics that can be used. In saying that though, you would be hard pressed to find a better solution that doesn’t involve social media in some shape or form. But even with social media, one needs to be clever in how they utilize it. One of the best ways of doing that is through collaboration with social influencers. I’m reminded of a quote, I included in one of the posts I recently put together earlier this year, from Unilever’s CMO, Keith Weed. In his address at this year’s Cannes Lions, Mr Weed had this to say:

“It’s no longer enough for advertisements to speak to a certain age cohort or demographic – they must target individuals. One of the best ways to reach individuals is through influencers and brand ambassadors. Campaigns can be magnified by identifying “what people are talking about and who the power influencers are.”

A new consumer is taking shape and this individual is constantly online. One of the best ways to reach out to them is through social media with the help of some influential people who they look to for many things including purchase decisions. As it turns out, a top exec from a global and successful powerhouse also believes in the same notion, shouldn’t you?

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