My key takeaway from the Quirks LA conference last month is that brands really want to understand their customers better, and our Living Well lens is uniquely qualified to help them do that.
The Quirks Event for Marketing Research and Insights Professionals was held in Los Angeles in late February. I spent two days talking with brand representatives about their business needs and concerns.
Changing consumer dynamics
Rapid technological advances, societal changes, and two years of global lock-down have completely upended consumer dynamics. Decades of marketing rules became obsolete almost overnight. (I talked about that in a previous blog: “Living Well has a whole new playbook.”)
Consumers are more dynamic now than they have ever been. And it is not just at the segment level. Now there are segments within segments, and gradients within those sub-segments. Straight demographics are losing their power.
For example, let’s talk about “Tom,” a consumer who defies traditional demographics.
- He was born at the cut-off line between Millennials and Gen Zs
- Spends $$$ to take a backpacking trip where he and his wife can rough it out in the wilderness
- Drives a really nice, decked-out high-dollar vehicle that is not a luxury brand
Where do you put him? How do you market to him? You will miss the mark if you try to sell him a luxury model anything. And brands that help adventurers be wild and comfortable at the same time will miss the mark if they don’t know people like “Tom” exist.
Passion points
“Tom” and literally everyone who buys anything are now setting the rules. They know who, what, and where they want to be, and they are looking for brands that understand that. They don’t care about labels and brand names, unless those brands align with their vision of themselves.
We have seen this over and over again in our research. Chanttel recently wrote a blog about how women with designer coats and $1,000 handbags are really passionate about $6 bottles of soap. (“OMG, don’t you just love this stuff!”)
While I was at the Quirks event, many brand reps told me they want to understand their customers well enough that they can meet them at their passion points.
Brands are having internal conversations about how to do this. They know the shift in consumer motivation and behavior is huge, and they are trying to figure it out. They are trying to articulate it.
Living Well
That is where The Olinger Group comes in. We recognized, defined, and articulated this change in 2022.
People want to live well.
They want to live life on their terms, pursue their priorities, and be mentally healthy and happy. They want to support brands that share their values and help them achieve their goals.
In fact, every product or experience people buy helps them live well. Everything from toothpaste and socks to bandages and insurance, and from lawnmowers and pickup trucks to hole-in-the-wall restaurants and swanky resorts.
I know some of you are probably saying: ‘Wait, aren’t you that luxury company? My brand isn’t luxury. How can you help us?’
Well, luxury is part of living well for some people. But other people define living well as being healthy, caring for their family, aging with dignity, and collecting experiences. Anytime people can live authentically, they are living well.
And at TOG, we help brands that help others live well. So, if your brand solves a problem, fills a need, or makes people happy, we can help.
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