Social Media

Our Demographic + Social Media

• A new report by Knowledge Networks reports that 83% of the Internet population (ages 13 to 54) participates in social media, with 47% on a weekly basis.

• Participation in social media is widespread among those 13 to 54, but when asked whether they regularly turn to these sites when trying to make a purchase decision, the highest percentages among nine categories were 4%, for travel and banks/financial services.

• 63% of social media users agree that ads are a "fair price to pay" for use of these sites and features, but only 16% say they are more likely to buy from advertising brands.

• 54% "most like" staying connected to friends and family, and meeting new people, about participating in social media.

David Tice, Vice President and Group Account Director, Knowledge Networks, says "... social media users do not have a strong association between these sites and purchase decisions... they see them as being more about personal connection.

According the survey of business owners. The following assets are considered to deliver "great value" to their company's business/marketing operations:

1. 52% said Corporate blogs ranked at the top of the list
   
2. 41% of respondents said Twitter delivers "great value" to their company
   
3. 25% named LinkedIn
4. 17% listed Facebook
   

Green Statistics

Going Green

• 77% of consumers describe themselves as ‘green'
• 57% have made a ‘green’ purchase in the past 6 months
• 68% of consumers cite Online as an importance source for ‘green’ information
• 70% of Americans believe a ‘green’ designation for a company is “just a marketing tactic”

(Center for research media Nov, 08) + (Case Studies in Going Green – PR News)

There are also 4 main commitment levels to the ‘green’ movement that consumers are segmented by:

• Deeply Committed: 23% of the market
• Early Adopters looking to make a long term impact
• Mostly adults 35+

• Trendy: 24% of the market
• Trend-setters who are motivated to go green to look cool
• Mostly 18-34
  

• Practical: 13% of the market
• Motivated by immediate benefits such as saving money or improving health
• Mostly 45+

• Passive: 17% of the market

o Recognize green as important but place the responsibility more on others than themselves

o Mostly 25-34

• Other: 23% of the market

o Don’t care about the environment

o Don’t take any action

(Center for research media Nov, 08)

Online Content - Advertising

How do we create content for our Viewers with advertising elements without interrupting them?

1) *Engagement* - Are we meeting our Viewers needs or desires when watching our content? Then and only then should a brand be integrated in a compelling way.

2) *Extension* - Syndicate the content broadly across the audience's content affinities

3) *Execution* - Embed additional functionality (like share, buy-it-now, download, demand it) Then set up tools to measure the activation from those elements.

4) * Efficiency* - Look for ways to make even a small cpm revenue share on content. (i.e. Google AdSense)

GOAL: CREATE BRANDED CONTENT THAT IS COMPELLING FOR THE VIEWER AND DELIVERS FOR THE BRAND!

What compels Halogen's viewers? This is the question we must seek to answer!!

DOWN

The Dreaded Downturn

If the current downturn endures...then we will see everything from cautious spending to straightforward pessimism in the consumer arena next year.

Let's think a little more positive here...tough times are perfectly suited for forging a better bond with your customers/viewers. CARE ABOUT YOUR VIEWERS!

Your customers and employees and investors will remember how you treated them when times were tough, when they needed a break, when a little support meant everything. No one in particular will remember how you acted during the boom times.


Here are the top DOWN themes:

1. DOWN + Empathy & Seriousness = lower your prices
   
2. DOWN + Cheap = durability, advice, efficiency
   
3. DOWN + Luxury = demise of luxury
   
4. DOWN + The Obvious = indulging, escaping, staying in
   
5. DOWN + Making Money =create, participate, contribute, DIY, crowd sourcing, collaboration (MINIPRENEURS)
   
6. DOWN + Security & Pressure = people are stressed out by the lack of security

THE EXPECTATION ECONOMY:

an economy inhabited by experienced, well-informed consumers from Canada to South Korea who have a long list of high expectations that they apply to each and every good, service, and experience on offer.

DO

OK let's all admit that we are in desperate need of improvement when it comes to having too many meetings when we just need to DO Something...anything.

We are out of the initial Research and Theory phase of Halogen now...and we need to get into the DO Phase. Let's get er done.

Here are some hot areas we can DO something about: Here are 3 areas that relate to us!!

1. Do & Design: There is no category or product that cannot benefit from bold, brilliant, redesign efforts. Customer's desire for the new, combined with their ever-shifting preferences, to-die-for design has the ability to make status quo designs instantly feel like expired designs.
   - Given the recent turmoil, distrust, disappointment and complexity on a global scale, a craving for purity and simplicity is to be expected: Keep It Simple!
   
   
2. Do & Partnerships: This trend is all about informed, demanding consumers looking for the best, and thus 2 or more brands bringing their unique competences to the table, in order to re-imagine or invent a new, unique product or service that delights those consumers because it combines the best from multiple worlds.

- Partnerships make products hard to copy & you have 2 promotions going to both of the
customer groups!

3. Do & Micro: a forever growing trend of shrinking things like affordability, eco, snack,
convenience, recession, electronics, cars...and the list goes on.

NOW

NOW is just another word for LIVE

LIVE means surprises, LIVE cannot be edited!
Human beings have a deep need to be with others (now and then).

Anything that is live is preferably one-time-only, and thus unique and tied to a specific place and time, will retain its value while everything else crumbles under the weight of the copy economy.

The fixed is replaced with an obsession with the here and now, an ever-shorter satisfaction span, and a lust to collect as many experiences and stories as possible.

LIVE THE LIVE

Examples: Concerts! Election Nights! Parties!

Expect instant-on operating systems to get lots of attention in '09! As consumers are getting used to versatile mini-computers and do-it-all phones, which are always getting to go at the touch of a button, on thing they will appreciate less and less in bigger devices is the long time it take to boot up.

Consumers will come to expect Instant Gratification even more than they do now.

HERE

HERE and Local have made such a comeback!! There is a major drive towards celebrating local commerce, local entertainment, and local activities!!

So...HERE are the trends to pay attention to:

• HERE and locally produced = made HERE
  
• HERE and exclusivity = only HERE
  
• HERE and navigation = GPS & Apps count on hyper-local technology to get HERE
  
• HERE and pride = rooted in and proud of living HERE
  
• HERE and meeting up = the more people get their hands on the right info, the more they socialize online, the more likely they are to eventually meet up in the real world

Side Note:
Planned Spontaneity: acting on a whim is the new planning: making spontaneous decisions to go somewhere or do something is becoming the norm; often the only thing consumers are willing to plan is to...be spontaneous!

ECO

ECO -ICONIC = is a status shift - many consumers are eager to flaunt their green behavior and possessions because there are now millions of other consumers who are actually impressed by green lifestyles.

Eco-friendly goods and services sporting bold, iconic markers and design, helping their eco-conscious owners show off their eco-credentials to their peers.

ECO-CHEAP = If the current economic climate continues...then count on all things ECO to be repositioned from "worthy but expensive" to "cheap and, oh yes, worthy"

ECO-METERING = Is where eco-cheap and eco-status meet. Expect frugal status seeking consumers to embrace a growing crop of devices and services that help them make the most of energy savings options and simultaneously display the related 'green savings' to peers, or at least provide their owners with eco-bragging ammunition

ECO-GENEROSITY = Once companies and consumers can no longer get away with anything less than totally offsetting their negative impact on the environment - and this will happen sooner than latter - the only way to stand out, to gain any kind of respect in the eco-sphere, will be to go the extra mile and to be GENEROUS.

TIP: Think about how Halogen can actually boost the environment instead of just limiting the damage. As long as you're going out of your way to be generous everybody wins!!

(more to come on going green!)

100%

When it comes to Online think 100%…and no one is logging off.
100% is the Mainstream...Chew on That!

Everyone is online, or will soon be. Every young consumer definitely is. The impact? No excuse not to go all out in 2009 when it comes to online strategies, services, and communication.

THE STATS:

1. 1.46 billion people are now online (Internet World Stats).
2. IP traffic will nearly double every 2 years through 2012.
3. Video is now approximately one-quarter of all consumer Internet traffic.
4. Internet Video will account for nearly 50% of all consumer Internet traffic in 2012.
5. 3 billion people have cell phones.
6. Flickr.com has 10 billion photos uploaded - and more than 30mill added daily
7. YouTube has 329 million users; Facebook has 121 million, Skype has 370 million, PayPal has 65 million.
8. In it's first 3 months Apple's App Store had handled 200 million downloads.

The Point: You cannot over-spend, over-invest, or over-imagine when it comes to the online part of your business, your processes, your branding, your anything.

So lets get ready for a generation that is (finally) always online while offline. And vice versa!! More and more of the offline world is adjusting to and mirroring the increasingly dominant online world, from tone of voice to product development to business processes to customer service.

Oh, one more thing...Online technology is actually fast becoming one of the main drivers behind face-to-face meet ups! ON=OFF

FSTR

SNACK GRAZING CULTURE * HYPER-INNOVATION * HYPER-TASKING

EVERY YEAR FASTER IS GOING...FASTER!

Younger generations don't ever dream of being 'unconnected', or living life in the slow lane :(

So the big question we can answer for our viewers is:
How Do We Help Viewers Save Precious Time?

and equally important:
How To Not Waste Their Time?

Growing & Peaking Trend = Energy Drinks

This retail market to make people 'Energized' is valued at USD 4.8 billion bucks. Teens have embraced energy drinks even faster than those over 20. Next up? Expect 'energy' not only to make its way into food & beverage products...but with added health and well-being benefits too!

Check out these cool websites:

Walkstation - www.details-worktools.com/product_details.php?pid=740

Eboost - http://www.eboost.com/

Shower Shock - www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/accessories/5a65line

Hybrid Energy Water - http://www.fyxxwater.com/

Tip: In the future everything will have a TO-GO Version!

INTERESTING

One favor we can always do for our viewers is keep it INTERESTING & help viewers become more INTERESTING to others! People want to be loved, to be admired, to be coveted, to be special, to be unique.

Consumers thus will want to buy because association with those products/services makes them more INTERESTING. The trend is: individuals are considered INTERESTING because of what they do, say, and who they connect with.

So the goal is to STAND OUT! Here's ways to start

1. It's play lists
2. It's videos
3. It's pictures
4. It's one's musings and creative outbursts
5. It's gaming scores
6. It's preferences
7. It's portfolios

This also means, of course, keeping a documented track of one's life.

Expect to see: Micro-Celebrities arise in '09
growing pockets of consumers will find pleasure and status in knowing more & doing more!

TIP: It won't hurt to focus on a number of initiatives that are about helping your customers become more interesting to others. Oh...and pay attention to etiquette and manners = expect less young money to seek refuge in status symbols, but also to increasingly abuse etiquette and manners as a secret weapon to sift the 'new haves' from the 'old haves'.

TRIBE

TRIBE
While people want to be 'unique'... in troubled times people will count on the collective to gain in importance, with individuals also seeking solace and comfort in the company of kindred spirits.

Tribal marketing is a marketing strategy that attempts to create social groups or communities that are centered around a product or service. The credo of tribal marketing is that postmodern people are looking for products and services that not only enable them to be freer, but can also link them to others, to a community, to a tribe.

Many tribes tend not to evolve around a specific product or brand, but are about consumers/individuals sharing similar interests, hobbies, beliefs, preferences, world views and passions.

To DESERVE access, brands will have to come up with something that transcends advertising. Something truly useful, relevant, delightful or generous.

TRIBEFACTURING
Actually delivering products and services tailored to tribal needs. What's next? broadening the scope of what is essentially niche production, by taking the concept from niche catering to Passions to niche catering to Lifestyles.

EX - Diesel created a limited edition line of jeans designed to withstand the rigors of summer festival fun called Diesel Roskilde Festival Jeans. Reportedly only 1,000 pairs were up for sale for both men & women, making scarcity part of the appeal!

(F)LUX

(F)LUX = The Future of Luxury
because scarcity is in the eye of the beholder, and the beholder is influenced by changing social norms, luxury will forever be in flux.

In 2009, instead of worrying about the future of luxury, shift your focus to defining scarcity.

GENERICA
is an environment where global consumers' expectations of design and service - even for the most mundane products - equal or surpass offerings that were regarded as truly luxurious only a few years ago.

DUBAI-ESQUE
is that overly brash homogeneous extravagance where everything looks and feels like it could be in Dubai. This trend will see some serious backlash in '09.

DISCREET-CHIC
is propelled by the current downturn and an accompanying need for less flaunting and more restraining. Environmental concerns are leading segments of wealthy consumers to favor the discreet over the DUBAI-ESQUE.

BESPOKE
Usually a term for tailored clothing made at a customer's behest, and exactly to the customer's specification. Personal touch is what appeals most to those consumers desperately trying to be 'unique'.

COMMISSIONED
lets anyone submit a request for a made-to-order object. Requests need to include a description and their ideal price and delivery deadline. Details are then sent to designers who can bid on the project and the shopper can accept the one that best matches their design. Ponoko ID (www.ponoko.com/ponokoid)

NONDESCRIPT
involves trendsetting consumers purposefully no longer caring about limited editions, about bespoke, about brands, instead opting for the bland and the nondescript.

ACCESS
One of the current status shifts = exclusive access to privileges and experiences. Some access perks will become even more desirable if you add a 'secret' layer to them: as 'being in the know'

WARHOLIAN TRIUMPH
Andy Warhol predicted: every commercial object not only can be art, but actually wants to be art these days. Blending art and commerce and experiences and products, WARHOLIAN TRIUMPH encompasses the total victory of experience economy and pop-culture over everything else in the consumer arena.

BRANDHOLLIAN
is about placing the brand out there, not selling a specific product or service, but rather being everywhere: hosting and initiating those events that equal seminars that equal experiences that equal concerts that equal media.

CARE: GENERATION (G)ENEROSITY

CARE
Now with a recession having set in, expect to hear even more about 'caring', as that's what consumers and citizens will demand from governments and organizations: someone to take care of their jobs, their savings, their fellow citizens.

Generosity: liberally in giving or willingness to give
We're talking about truly living a generous, caring brand, generous to customers, generous to employees, generous to the environment, generous to social causes.

Giving is the NEW Talking and Sharing is the NEW giving
just look at the surging interest in participating vs consuming: from the avalanche of crowd sourced initiatives to producing for free, for the greater good, and for attention.

INVOLVED GENEROSITY
Getting your consumers in a generous mood is easier if you're being generous too.
Companies doing this:

1. Google: Project 10100 (www.project10tothe100.com)
2. Whole Foods (www.wholefoodsmarket.com/values/giving.php)
3. ColaLife (www.colalife.org)
4. Tripadvisor: More than Footprints (www.tripadvisor.com/vpages/cause_rules.html)
5. TOMS Shoes (www.tomsshoes.com)

BRAND BUTLERS
If consumers value authentic, practical, and exclusive, and they're also forever looking to make life more convenient, even save some time, then why persist in bombarding them with your one-way advertising campaigns? Why not assist them in smart, generous, relevant ways, making the most of your products and whatever it is your brand stands for?

FREE LOVE
or the art of giving away stuff to consumers, endures, and is obviously very GENERATION G

PERKONOMICS
offering new-style perks like reserved parking for owners of a specific automotive brand, or letting preferred customers jump in lines at busy events is one excellent way to become a more generous brand.

During a downturn you WILL want to excel in caring even more for your viewers, and you will want to pay insane attention to detail, as that will make you stand out in an even more competitive environment!

RAW

OK proceed at your own risk. This may not be fit for conservative work environments

RAW:
There is a widening gap between what consumers do and say and view and enjoy in the real world, offline and online, and how the corporate world communicates. RAW stands for opinionated, outspokenness, edginess, risque, fun, honesty, straight talk, for in your face. Everything companies are not.

If you're no longer speaking your customer's language, if you no longer live in their RAW world, the disconnect will be costly. That language is increasingly real, opinionated, risque, and fun.

RAW to FUN:
your by now thoroughly exposed audiences can handle much more quirkiness, snarkiness and tongue-in-cheek than traditional marketers could have ever dreamed of. Corporate speak and visuals have long lost any kind of impact.

Let's learn from someone like Steve Jobs, whose un-corporate presentations have become much anticipated events, if not business school classes.

Consumers are looking for something that stands out, or doesn't treat them like the uninformed, easily offended, middle of the road consumer from yesteryear.

FAKETASTIC

FAKETASTIC
Consumers will embrace the fake if they think it can heal them, if it helps them escape reality (downturn, anyone?), if it fulfills their wildest fantasies.

A number of brands that will go for a less-than-transparent approach to business, getting away with hiding, with not being open, with not having mass conversations with customers.

Many consumers will more than accept an opaque brand, if that brand consistently delivers and surprises! Because they like a surprise, or they just want to be entertained, without any action on their part.

EX - Apple customers just want to be dazzled, entertained and looked after

RADICAL OPAQUENESS
so if your are into opaqueness make sure you are hard to duplicate. Make sure you curate. Make sure you're reliable and trusted. And yes, any other kind of opaqueness means you are toast.

EX - Isla Moda (www.islamoda.ae) created by Dubai Infinity Holdings is the world's first designated 'fashion island'. Isla Moda will feature a range of luxury offerings built around the needs of the fashion industry connoisseurs.

Who needs authentic and earthy when you have engineered beverages, yogurts and candy bars that make you younger, more beautiful, and thus more desirable.

• Borba Gummi Boosters www.borba.com/gummiboosters.aspx
• Nestle - Glowelle www.glowelle.com
• Shotbeaute www.danieledewinter.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=52
• Souvenaid www.souvenaid.com

Just check em out...they are crazy.

Also the evermore popular trend for '09 is SIGNATURE SCENTS

Scents are proven to work in 2 areas:
the cognitive, whereby scent is identified with a product to trigger a memory or attach a perception of higher worth

the emotional, in which scent is used to create an environment where the consumer will stay longer and consume more

EX - Cinescent (www.cinescent.com) has successfully tested its scented-ad technology in German theaters for Nivea, with 60-second ads showing a sunny beach scene while the aroma of Nivea sun cream permeated the theater. Exit polls showed a 515% rise in recall for the Nivea ad when compared to moviegoers who saw the spot without the scent.

* Signature is a phrase to keep an eye out for anyway: it's closely linked to standing for something and the need for personality.

SEE THROUGH

SEE THROUGH takes traditional transparency one step further, adding emotions, intentions and interaction to the mix. As consumers increasingly share info about themselves online they will come to expect the same kind of openness form organizations.

It will be very Hard To HIDE Anything.
Every B2C industry will soon be covered by a price comparison and/or review site.

Thought: What kind of relevant info will Halogen proactively put out there?

SEE THROUGH will be going live, on new platforms, and adding videos to the mix in '09

Live: think relevant, fully up-to-date info and prices when you need them, where you need them. Or, even better, have the info find you!

• daily and even hourly reviews on any topic imaginable
• reviews documented and posted instantly and on the spot via mobile devices
• instant online/offline price comparison with bar code capturing capabilities = price transparency.

New Platforms: Expect to see a multitude of aggregators, feeds and apps enticing consumers to find reviews and prices 24/7.

Video: A scathing or gushing video says more than 100 pictures or 1,000 words.

• allow for video comments to be added to a WordPress blog
• Video responses will eventually replace a sizable number of text based reviews
• Post vacation videos, and travel marketers will showcase their properties
• communicate with audiovisual broadcasts live on mobile phones.

RIGHT OF REPLY
We'll see more companies starting to keep close track of incidents, gathering evidence to defy unfair complaints or halt-truths. Remember, though it's more important tan ever to figure out how to get people to tell YOU first before they post something.

SUGGESTION SCARCITY
Not enough online comments. Not enough online tips. It means your viewers are no longer telling you what's wrong, no longer telling you what they want, no longer telling you what they've come up with to improve your offerings. Silence means they no longer care.

Rest Of World (R.O.W.)

A major economic shift from mature to emerging markets is taking place in '09. And China is still the 800 pound gorilla in the room.

URBANY: There will be a forever growning number of more sophisticated, more demanding, but also more try-out-prone, super-wired, brand conscious urban consumers snapping up more "daring" goods, services, experiences, campaigns and conversations. And thanks to the online world and near total transparency of the latest and greatest, many consumers in rural areas will be tempted to act (and shop) like urban consumers too.

Localizing is now common practice in the food and beverage sector. (ex. McDonald's in other countries)
What's next? Localizing (customizing) non-food and beverage products & celebrating the local element.

One of the biggest consumer trends of the last decade: CONSUMER POWER
Pay extra attention to : GLOBAL RESPECT

So, if you're into design, edginess, compact, Eco, new notions of luxury, premium-convenience services, or anything that benefits from instant gratification - extreme urbanization will benefit for you...How are you preparing for URBANY?

Macro Trends 2009

2009 Macro Trends: the broad forces of change that create the future context of today’s world.

Economic Power Shifting
* Power is shifting to Asia

Shifting Market Landscape
* Rise of a massive global “middle class” in rapidly developing countries

Changing Geopolitical & Security Landscape
* New power in military, economics, resources, and technology

Fracturing Global Social Fabric
* Population is becoming more: older, urban, Asian, mobile
* Traditional social structures are fragmenting

Growing Stakeholder Demands on Business
* Demanding transparency and accountability

Changing Consumer Landscape
* New consumer groups are emerging and they demand more involvement & customization of consumption experiences

Changing Industry Landscape
* Business models must become more flexible

Changing Nature of Capital
* Current credit crunch

Changing Labor Landscape
* Partnering and Outsourcing is on the rise

Growing Pressure on Natural Resources
* Resources are under threat: water, energy, food, habitats, climate
* Public and institutional activism is rising, demanding action

Changing Technology Landscape
* Global technology revolution

Changing Economics of Information and Knowledge
* Exploding connectivity and channels for information
* Networking is critical

The End of TV Ads...Not So Fast

The advent of DVR technology struck fear in the hearts of advertisers worldwide. Suddenly, viewers were able to fast-forward through TV commercials! A sad truth quickly emerged: when given the option, consumers love to hit that FF button. Now, let's (ahem) fast-forward to today. Are we witnessing the demise of the TV ad? Well, not necessarily. New research is showing that, with the right kind of ad, fast-forwarding can actually enhance your brand messaging. Yep, you heard right.

These researchers used eye-tracker technology to observe viewing behavior as subjects fast-forwarded through TV commercials. Here are some of their (somewhat astounding) findings:

Fast-forwarding viewers actually pay more attention during commercials than those watching commercials at regular speed.

Fast-forwarded advertisements still create brand memory, even with a 95% reduction in frames and complete loss of audio.

Fast-forwarded commercials can positively affect brand attitude, behavioral intent and even actual choice behavior.

But pay close attention here: there's one fact that every marketer simply must know to make brand marketing work during fast forwarding. (Drum roll, please):
The attention of fast-forwarding viewers is heavily limited to the center of the screen. To grab their attention, advertisers must place simple, eye-catching brand information dead center.

The Po!nt: TV ads won't die, they'll morph into another form. "Marketers can counteract the negative effects of DVRs by ensuring that their advertisements are heavily branded, and that the branding is centrally located," these researchers conclude.