CORE STRATEGIES

core insight – fall 2008

It’s that time of the decade. Political angst meets economic panic. Every 4 years, the American public is told one of two messages: change is required or stays the course.
This year, we are seeing significant differences from previous election cycles. Here is a synthesis of the data we see from polls and research projects we have been involved in on behalf of our clients:

1. People do not think “staying the course” is a viable option for our country anymore;
2. The current upheaval in the financial markets is creating an unprecedented level of anxiety among American consumers;
3. However, while change is universally lauded, people do not have a clear vision of what they want to change to;
4. The wealthier top 10 percent of Americans are increasingly unhappy about funding change themselves;
5. The middle 80 percent of Americans feel powerless as their “way of life” (a term often used by consumers) collapses around them.

Three strategic implications on American marketers
1. Demand for premium-priced packaged goods will continue to erode. Bottled water is a great example. The market is flat this year, compared to 10% + annual growth over the past decade.

what do you think?

People are cutting back significantly

People are cutting back a little

We see no real changes in spending

Actually, people seem to be buying more

“Tap water is just fine”, is the customer line heard in restaurants all across America.
2. People will continue to nest, and add selectively to their “home technology infrastructure”. However, upgrading may be slower than what marketers hope for. “If it works, why do I really need to change it?” commented people in our last consumer electronics focus group.
3. The monthly technology “utilities bill” will be under more scrutiny than ever. Telecom, cable TV, high speed internet, even electricity bills, is under the gun to be reduced if at all possible.

Marketing themes that will resonate in the current environment.
- Affordability – it’s all you need
- Sensibility – not excessive
- Human – we empathize with you and the new “constraints” we are all operating under

how we work together

One fundamental thing sets Core Strategies apart. All of us in the company have lived in your shoes. We have been working marketing managers, advertisers, ad agency people, product managers, data analysts and, yes, even marketing research weenies. There is probably not another marketing research and insight company in the world that can empathize more with your project or marketing situation.

Because of that, we know that research is only a tool, not an answer. It takes more than a consumer survey to design a new product. Focus groups cannot tell you how to position your brand. Insights from research play a vital role. But to get the answers, you have to apply the context, judgment and experience of having marketed in the real world. And you have to do it holistically, not in piecemeal fashion.

When we sit down together to discuss the marketing problems underlying your next research assignment, let’s share some of our collective experience and learn from each other.