The document discusses the evolution of the new consumer toward smarter, more conscientious consumption. It covers trends showing consumers making wiser choices based on online research and reviews, and taking social and environmental factors into account. The section on food discusses how consumers are satisfying the twin pulls of health and pleasure through "conscious nourishment" - an approach that maximizes both by incorporating values like community, authenticity, and sustainability.

1. The New Consumer and
the Era of Smart
Consumption
2008–2009
1

2. What We’ll Cover
Evolution of the New
Consumer
A Move Toward
Conscientious Consumption
Update on Conscious
Nourishment
Three Imperatives for
Reaching the New
Consumer
Image: Creative Commons/turtlemom4bacon@flickr.com
2

3. Primary Sources: 3 Global Studies
The Future of the The Future of Shopping The Future of Food
Corporate Brand Objective: Identify trends Objective: Uncover emerging
Objective: Understand shaping retail category cues within food & beverage
evolving role of corporation Survey of 2,800 category
Semiotic analysis using
and consumer expectations consumers in 4 markets: proprietary Decipher tool
of business U.S., France, U.K., China Sources: ERWW Prosumer Pulse,
Survey of 1,850 Momentum testing of 75– BETC Euro RSCG Consumer
consumers in 3 markets: 125 retail brands in each Intelligence, Euro RSCG NY
U.S., U.K., France market Influencer Dinner, plus
Yankelovich, SIAL, Mintel, etc.
3

4. Focus: The Evolving Consumer
Making smarter
choices based on
online research and peer
communication/support Making more
conscientious
choices so
consumption
Smarter doesn’t hurt
people or
planet
More Conscientious
Making more careful
food choices in effort
to satisfy twin pulls of
health and pleasure
More Mindful
Image: Creative Commons/josemanuelerre@flickr.com
4

5. I. Evolution of the New Consumer:
Smarter, More Proactive, Better
Informed
Smarter
Images: Creative Commons/Charlie Brewer@flickr.com; josemanuelerre@flickr.com
5

6. The Internet Is Changing How People Shop…
How much do you agree with each of the following statements?
Strongly/Somewhat Agree
Even if I don’t make purchases online, the Internet
is a very important part of my “shopping” I do lots of [consumer] research online
P: P:
99% 88% 92% 92% 88% 70% 84% 88%
O: O:
81% 76% 78% 81% 67% 42% 65% 66%
For major purchase decisions, my The Internet has had little to no
first step is usually the Internet impact on my shopping
P: P:
92% 94% 92% 88% 6% 17% 5% 25%
O: O:
75% 71% 75% 71% 10% 22% 11% 21%
…and shifting power away from manufacturers/retailers and toward the
consumer
Euro RSCG Future of Shopping Study
6

7. Up Dramatically Since 2004–05
How much do you agree with each of the following statements?
Strongly/Somewhat Agree
Even if I don’t make purchases online, the Internet
is a very important part of my “shopping”
P: +11 +11 +1 +16
99% 88% 92% 92%
O: +5 +9 -6 +19
81% 76% 78% 81%
For major purchase decisions, my
first step is usually the Internet
P: +24 +42 +10 +7
92% 94% 92% 88%
O: +27 +36 +17 +4
75% 71% 75% 71%
Comparison with data from ERWW’s 2004–2005
Prosumer Pulse study Image: Creative Commons/garethjmsaunders@flickr.com
Euro RSCG Future of Shopping Study
7

8. Peer Reviews Permit More-Informed Choices—and
Further Increase Prosumer Power
Please indicate your involvement with each of
How often do you do each of the following? the following online activities
Frequently/Sometimes Do It Now
Read consumer feedback/reviews before Search for customer reviews while
making purchase making purchase decisions
P: P:
91% 90% 87% 95% 96% 96% 98% 97%
O: O:
79% 67% 72% 90% 86% 79% 85% 87%
Use Consumer Reports or another Write an online product or
consumer guide to help make decisions retailer review
P: P:
78% 67% 80% 93% 71% 72% 55% 80%
O: O:
64% 56% 63% 78% 46% 53% 32% 61%
Euro RSCG Future of Shopping Study
8

9. Prosumers Make Smart Use of Corporate Websites…
How often do you do each of the following?
Frequently/Sometimes
Sign up to receive coupons or other store
promos via e-mail
P:
88% 77% 82% 87%
Please indicate your involvement with each of
the following online activities
O:
78% 66% 68% 71% Do It Now
Sign up to receive info/news from a retailer Request or download coupon or
or manufacturer coupon code
P: P:
77% 71% 82% 81% 96% 78% 88% 80%
O: O:
64% 56% 66% 67% 86% 61% 74% 72%
Go to company’s website to arrange for
service on product I own Subscribe to a retailer’s e-newsletter
P: P:
52% 66% 43% 87%
90% 89% 93% 91%
O: O:
36% 45% 33% 67%
77% 80% 75% 76%
Euro RSCG Future of Shopping Study
9

10. …and of Interplay Between Online and Offline Stores
How often do you do each of the following?
Frequently/Sometimes Visit retailer with info printed online
P:
Visit company website to locate store near me 79% 92% 69% 72%
P: O:
96% 84% 87% 85% 70% 76% 56% 61%
O:
89% 75% 82% 77% See product in store and then wait to
order online
Research purchase online before visiting
store to buy it P:
62% 73% 72% 87%
P:
95% 88% 97% 97% O:
50% 58% 58% 71%
O:
89% 82% 82% 88%
Return online purchase to physical store
Use online coupon in brick-and-mortar store
P: P:
42% 26% 31% 45%
82% 71% 77% 77%
O: O:
35% 19% 25% 34%
76% 61% 57% 64%
Euro RSCG Future of Shopping Study
10

11. It’s All About Scoring the Right Buy
How much do you agree with each of the
following statements?
Strongly/Somewhat Agree
Shopping is a game where the object is
to get the most for the least amount of
money and effort
P:
71% 56% 81% 88%
O:
63% 52% 63% 87%
Part of the fun of shopping is the “hunt”—
Smart shopping is finding just the right
looking for the things you want and need
thing for the right price
P: P:
85% 90% 92% 92% 56% 68% 66% 89%
O: O:
85% 88% 81% 87% 42% 55% 50% 81%
Image: Creative Commons/adria.richards@flickr.com
Euro RSCG Future of Shopping Study
11

12. II. A Move Toward Conscientious Consumption
More
Conscientious
12

13. Today’s Consumers Trust Corporations Less…
…but also expect more of them
Lowest in
Gallup history
13

14. We Now Expect Corporations to Drive Change
How much do you agree with the
following statement?
Strongly/Somewhat Agree
Businesses bear as much
responsibility as governments
for driving positive social
change
P:
83% 87% 83%
O:
70% 79% 70%
Euro RSCG Future of the Corporate Brand Study
14

15. We Seek to Partner with Ethical Leaders…
How much do you agree with each
of the following statements?
Strongly/Somewhat Agree
As a consumer, I have a
responsibility to censure unethical
companies by avoiding their
products
P:
87% 85% 79%
O:
78% 80% 66%
I have made a purchase decision
based on a company’s conduct
P:
80% 81% 73%
O:
61% 65% 55%
Image: Creative Commons/ciao_yvon@flickr.com
Euro RSCG Future of the Corporate Brand Study
15

16. …and Limit the Eco Damage Our Purchases Cause
Please indicate your involvement with each of
the following activities
Do It Now
Buy environmentally friendly
products
P:
85% 92% 82% 89%
O:
79% 76% 78% 77%
Buy energy-efficient bulbs
P:
82% 90% 85% 96%
O:
76% 82% 83% 85%
Bring reusable bags to grocery store
P:
50% 98% 76% 75%
O:
44% 93% 78% 62%
Euro RSCG Future of Shopping Study
16

17. We’re Also Taking Socio-Political Factors into
Account
Please indicate your involvement with each of
the following activities
How much do you agree with each of the Do It Now
following statements?
Buy/refuse to buy a product based on
Strongly/Somewhat Agree company’s expressed values or
political/social activities
I avoid shopping at stores that don’t
P:
71% 68% 47% 79%
treat their employees fairly
P: O:
70% 73% 52% 44% 39% 57%
32% 85%
Make purchase decisions based on
O: country of origin
56% 56% 38% 77% P:
59% 85% 49% 84%
I am willing to pay a bit more for a product if a O:
portion of the proceeds goes to a good cause 50% 52% 41% 78%
Avoid buying products from particular
P: country/region
60% 74% 28% 87%
P:
O: 54% 73% 54% 59%
52% 46% 28% 68%
O:
45% 47% 38% 45%
Euro RSCG Future of Shopping Study
17

18. The Tables Have Turned…
How much do you agree with each
of the following statements?
Strongly/Somewhat Agree
I have become more interested in
corporations’ conduct and brand
image over the past few years
P:
80% 64% 75%
O:
60% 47% 48%
Within the last few months, I Over the last year, nonbranded
have actively looked for blogs or forums made me
information on the reputation or change my mind about a product
ethics of a company or service I had intended to buy
P: P:
56% 72% 55% 36% 48% 36%
O: O:
33% 47% 35% 24% 39% 24%
Euro RSCG Future of the Corporate Brand Study
18

19. …and Companies Are Being Forced to Adapt
Please indicate the level of
importance of this factor in leading
you to trust a company Natural selection is beginning to
Extremely/Somewhat Important favor those companies that are
Reputation for social and/or integrating high ethical standards
environmental responsibility into their policies and practices
P:
88% 91% 87%
O: How much do you agree with each
78% 84% of the following statements?
73%
Strongly/Somewhat Agree
Please indicate how important this
factor is for a good business The most successful and
profitable businesses in the
Extremely/Somewhat Important
future will be those that practice
sustainability
Ethical conduct
P: P:
78% 88% 87%
96% 97% 87%
O: O:
66% 76% 70%
90% 90% 73%
Euro RSCG Future of the Corporate Brand Study
19

20. 20

21. III. How Conscientious Consumption
Is Playing Out in the Food Category:
Conscious Nourishment
More
Mindful
Images: Creative Commons/cleber@flickr.com; josemanuelerre@flickr.com
21

22. Health and Safety Concerns Increasingly Drive
Food Choices…
• 64% of Americans are trying to eat healthier foods
• 53% always check nutrition labels before buying food
• 45% usually look for packaging that advertises a health claim
[Greenfield Online/Mintel, 2007]
Images: Creative Commons/JoeInSouthernCA@flickr.com; Kurt Koller@flickr.com; paulswansen@flickr.com
22

23. …But That’s Tempered by the Persuasive Power of
Pleasure
Images: Creative Commons/susiefoodie@flickr.com
23

24. Responsibility Humanism Intrinsic value New pragmatism
Belonging
of nutrients
(beyond family)
How are consumers satisfying these
Images: Creative Commons @flickr.com: ol’pete; lululemon athletica
twin pulls of health and pleasure?
By engaging in conscious
nourishment—a way of eating that
maximizes health and pleasure by
Naturalness incorporating such key values as Honesty,
transparency, trust
community, authenticity, adventure,
nutritional potency, and sustainability
Creativity Wellness and Consideration Experience Molecular
balance and discretion technologies
24

25. Conscious Nourishment: 3 Successful Discourses
Celebrating the Real Nutritional Potency Sensory Pleasure
25

26. Discourse #1: Celebrating the Real
• Movement from processed convenience toward natural integrity, identity, and
straightforwardness
• A way for today’s savvy food shopper to feel good about his/her decisions
Dominant Emergent
_ Artificially flavored milkshakes, _ Naked Juice, chicken on the bone
chicken nuggets
_ Organic, local, raw, authentic
_ Processed
_ igourmet.com, Jamba Juice
_ Quality issues
_ Extrapolation: Anti-
_ Health scares (e.g., mad cow, commercialization of food and drink
GMO, salmonella)
KEYWORDS
Identity Traceability Natural Source Positive Craft Honest
simplicity
26

27. Celebrating the Real
Dominant Emergent
The reality of Seasonality Rawness, Local/Just
a pig’s trotter and nutritional wholeness, picked
Processed Mystery/Disguise as food quality integrity
Unprocessed Fresh, young Honest/Narrative
Commercialized/ Nontraceable vegetables, whole,
Sanitized newly picked
27

28. Signs of Support for Celebrating the Real
Craft and Artisan Goods “Terroir” and Traceability
Return to notion of individually More attention paid to
produced foods and recipes of old
geographic origin, production
processes, and
Links consumer to supplier and ancestry/pedigree
simpler, more “authentic” times
and processes
Desire for transparency
throughout production and
sales cycle
“Reflet de
France,”
Carrefour’s
Sales of natural food and drink terroir brand,
+138% btwn 2002 and 2007; now best-
selling food
sales of organics +119% brand in
[Datamonitor] France
Natural products (food and other)
now a $56.8BN industry in U.S.
[Mintel, 2007]
Originally
brewed in
monastery in
feudal city of
Rise in seasonal Dinant in Catch date and name of fishing
goods early 18th boat included in packaging
century
Image: Creative Commons/NatalieMaynor@flickr.com
28

29. “The heart of the [real food]
movement is that our food is
existing in a place...you are
eating food that you can trace to
a person, place or tradition, and
make a connection.”
—Deborah Madison, chef and author of Local Flavors:
Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets
Images: Creative Commons/plattyjo@flickr.com
29

30. How to Leverage Celebrating the Real
• Think like a…
_ Farmer, maker of craft beer
• Implications:
Images: Creative Commons/Felix42 contra la censura@flickr.com
_ Imbue communications with human warmth
and expertise—e.g., ingredient descriptions
such as “mashed,” “blended,” “steamed”
(terms that evoke simplicity, even
innocence)—while also emphasizing
nonuniformity of product, artisanal processes,
and the like
_ Dig into brand’s or product’s heritage and
narrative (mythology or provenance), creating
deeper brand story
_ Communicate total ingredient traceability
(e.g., profile of suppliers and distribution)
_ Convey product’s perishability and “produced”
or “picked” date, emphasizing local = fresh
_ Communicate distance from global corporation
through separate brand name, local
partnerships, cooperatives, etc.
30

31. Discourse #2: Nutritional Potency
• Understanding physiological and psychological impact of food in new ways—
focusing on potency of components and what one needs for self-optimization
• A way for today’s savvy shopper to maximize value
Dominant Emergent
_ Reduction in salt, sugar, trans fats _ Understanding specific functionalities
_ Mild enhancements—ginseng, _ “Magic bullet” ingredients
fiber, etc. _ Right for me—customized, targeted
_ Consumers looking for generalized diets
health benefits in food and drink _ Extrapolation: Food and beverages
as personal care (beauty benefits
beyond classical nutrition); food and
beverages as medicine
KEYWORDS
Anti-aging Anti-stress Cleansing Personalization Detoxifying Nutritional intensity
31

32. Nutritional Potency
Dominant Emergent
Awareness of Phytoestrogens in soya Patented egg Prescription and
Generalized Right carbs, right fats, clinical response
antioxidant and linseed to relieve providing quantifiably
association of tea rather than low-carb, efficacy in tea menopausal symptoms superior nutrition
with wellness low-fat
(nonspecific)
Generalized healthful, Nutritional Beverage as Reason for U.S. adult Examples of
whole grains; lacks potency of deliverer of obesity is “eating too little” magic-bullet
specificity water skin benefits (food with no nut. value) foods
32

33. Signs of Support for Nutritional Potency:
Nutraceuticals
93% of U.S. consumers believe certain foods have health
benefits that may reduce risk of disease or other health
concerns; nearly 2/3 regularly consume at least 1 food for
functional health benefit [IFT]
Mintel forecasts sales of functional foods will reach $12.8BN
in 2009, up from $10.4BN in 2004
In 2007, functional beverage market reached $9.8BN in
FDM channel; during 2002–07, market increased 30% at
current prices, and 14% after accounting for inflation
[Mintel]
Primary areas of focus: heart health • immune system • digestion • weight
mgmt • muscle tone • brain development • alertness • anti-aging • beauty
3 grams of EGCG-rich green tea
leaves in each bar, cold-
processed to promote optimum
enzyme activity
33

34. How to Leverage Nutritional Potency
• Think like a…
_ Personal care or beauty company
• Implications:
_ Target consumer groups by “wellness profile”—
e.g., nutrition for boomers, nutrition for
stressed-out bodies, nutrition for extreme
athletes
_ Provide DIY personalization in form of modular
diet components, drink flavors, and the like
_ Create a personal-care offer that delivers
wellness through indulgence (opportunity to
resolve the opposition)
34

35. Discourse #3: Sensory Pleasure
• Moving on from addictive and transgressive notions of indulgence (naughty, decadent,
implicitly dumb with a hidden Puritanism) to more intelligent and engagingly mindful
pleasures (why shouldn’t pleasure be good for you?
• Gives conscious consumers “permission” to indulge
Dominant Emergent
_ Appetite-led _ Discerning pleasure beyond indulgence—pleasure via
_ Indulgence occasional indulgence (vs. continuous, addicted)
_ Guilt _ Discriminating, conscious, healthy pleasure;
celebrating life, texture, innovation, rediscovery,
_ Nouvelle cuisine sensory experience
_ Extrapolation: Pleasure led by discretion; taking
cues from contemporary luxury codes vs. old-style
conspicuous consumption
KEYWORDS
Quality Discovery Uniqueness Selectivity Flavor Aesthetics Simplicity
not quantity
35

36. Sensory Pleasure
Dominant Emergent
New indulgence (pure Indulgence derived from Sensory
ingredients that speak source, narrative, myth; experience
for themselves) artesian water
Classic indulgence
(e.g., thick and rich)
Traditional
temptation—glossy
chocolate (obvious
take on indulgence
and pleasure)
Desert limes: Aesthetic treatment of New sensory
specific/thoughtful food—close to the source experience/discovery
36

37. Signs of Support for Sensory Pleasure
U.S. retail sales of gourmet,
specialty, and premium
foods and beverages are
growing at much faster rates
than those of overall
industry, surging 10.9% to
$59BN in 2007 and posting a
CAGR of 11.1% for 2003–
2007
Bartenders turning into “bar chefs,”
offering signature concoctions made
with fresh juices, housemade syrups,
and unusual ingredients
Images: Creative Commons/aoife mac@flickr.com
37

38. How to Leverage Sensory Pleasure
• Think like a…
_ Gourmet restaurant or upscale bar at a luxury
resort
• Implications:
_ Demonstrate understanding of aspirational nature
of food and drink
_ Re-educate the palate—from mindless
consumption to mindful pleasure
_ Don’t focus on speed and convenience in delivery
of predictable pleasure-hits
_ Don’t speed up treadmill of consumption
_ Focus on ingredient and flavor innovation
_ Communicate invented flavors, compelling
combinations of “real food” components
38

39. Three Imperatives for
Reaching the New Consumer
Smarter
More
Conscientious
More
Mindful Images: Creative Commons/Bruce A Stockwell@flickr.com
39

40. 3 Retail Imperatives
ENGAGE HELP MOTIVATE
• Create experiences • Make it more • Help people be more
• Forge connections convenient conscientious consumers
• Indulge • Be a customer • Respond to increasing
• Innovate/keep it fresh advocate eco-consciousness
• Offer purpose beyond
profit
Images: Creative Commons/maura@flickr.com; Steve Rhodes@flickr.com
40

41. Imperative #1: Engage Consumers
Three primary means of
engagement:
1. Create experiences that engage
consumers in the brand
2. Provide opportunities for
communication and connection
3. Innovate, innovate, innovate
Image: Creative Commons/Domiriel@flickr.com
41

42. The Retail Brand of the Future (RBoF) Creates
More Engaging Experiences
• With so many choices available, consumers are gravitating toward retailers
that offer more bang for the buck
• Looking for extras that elevate a mundane activity into an experience
…and this
It’s the difference
between this…
Image: Creative Commons/Olivier Bruchez@flickr.com
42

43. Providing Conversational Currency
Kopi luwak, one
of world’s most
expensive coffees,
comes from
berries that have
passed through
digestive tract of
asian palm civet
Image: Creative Commons/unquietlibrarian@flickr.com
43

44. Engaging the Senses
• Consumers are looking for brand Tiffinbites
experiences that indulge the senses, (London) creates
turning ordinary activities into an aromatic
experience that
something special feeds the
imagination and
turns lunchtime
into a cultural
adventure
Sweet Bliss’s Moo
Collection (available At Chop’t
at high-end retailers) (NYC),
turns childhood simple tasks
favorites—e.g., and sounds
PB&J—into gourmet become
indulgences enrobed theatrics that
in Belgian chocolate draw diners in
to beauty of
making
something
fresh
44

45. Creating Visual Hypnotism (Inside and Out)
Dylan’s Candy Bar, NYC
A child’s fantasy brought to life
Apple Store, NYC
Pierre Hermé, Paris
Edible art—visual
perfection creates
desire
Selfridges, Birmingham, U.K.
45

46. Offering a Sense of Escape…or Adventure
60-ft. Ferris Wheel, Toys R Us, Times Square
High-end lingerie boutique Journelle
(NYC) creates a spa-like experience with
its dressing rooms
46

47. Involving Customers
47

48. The RBoF Brings People Together
• Providing opportunities for people to unite for
a common cause
• Creating dialogues
• Encouraging collaboration and communal
action
Avon’s Walk for the Cure
48

49. Cultivating Brand Ambassadors
49

50. Forging Bonds Between Producer and Consumer
• Involving consumers in life of the brand
(“co-creation”)
• Sharing knowledge, back story, etc.
• Using language that reasserts “human”
side of food and drink
• Advocating slow, conscious, sociable
consumption
E-newsletter from Tyrrell’s potato
crisps includes updates on fields:
“To keep up with the progress we have
taken a picture of the field 'Crossroads'
again to show you how the potato crop
is coming along, as you can imagine we
have not had to irrigate at all this
Summer! In other fields we have began
harvesting and have been getting a
really good yield from the crop, we have
been lucky in the fact that most of our
fields have sandy soil which drains
easier and allows us to get the tractors
in the fields!”
50

51. Creating Social Connections
Claseo bills itself as world’s 1st invitation-based fashion label
Starbucks’ holiday
Cheer Pass
promotion
encouraged acts of
kindness between
strangers
51

52. The RBoF Constantly Innovates
• Today’s consumers are obsessed with the
new and NEXT
• Innovation allows companies to…
_ Change the rules and develop entirely new
business models (e.g., eBay, Netflix)
_ Regain or grow market share (e.g., Apple)
_ Get noticed 5,000 new
products a year
• An important component of financial
performance: The top 20% of innovative
companies deliver up to 4X the
shareholder return of the bottom 20%
[Boston Consulting Group]
New product
every 5 minutes
52

53. Keeping It Fresh with Flash Goods, Pop-Up Stores,
and Limited Editions
By limiting time most items stay in
stores, Zara averages 17 store visits
UNIQLO drove shipping containers around NYC, per customer/year, compared with
opening daylong pop-up stores in various locations to industry average of 3-4
give shoppers a taste of their logo-free apparel
Carlsberg 900
launched in a very
limited number of
select bars in
Stockholm
53

54. Standing Out Through Packaging & Design
54

55. Creating Breakthrough Ideas
$4 prescriptions
Target Clear Rx redesigned pill bottle
55

56. Imperative #2: Help Consumers
• There are 2 things most consumers today
feel are in short supply: time and
money
• Smart retailers are finding ways to save
customers one or both
56

57. The RBoF Offers Convenient Solutions
57

58. Simplifying the Retail Experience…
VinoVenue automated Tesco’s Fresh & Easy
wine bars let stores in U.S. are 100% self-
customers select and checkout
serve their own wine
with prepaid cards
Bloomingdale’s interactive
mirrors let shoppers try on
virtual outfits and e-mail
images to friends
58

59. …and Life
Dutch Boy Twist & Pour
59

60. The RBoF Is a Consumer Advocate
Pret a Manger
is sharing its
trade secrets
by offering
sandwich and
soup recipes
online and
printed on
packaging/
Hannaford’s Guiding Star system postcards
lets customers see the nutritional
value of products throughout the
store
60

61. Providing Full Disclosure
• Thanks to the Internet, consumers
have come to expect full access to
information on everything from
pricing and warranties, to airline
seating
How much do you agree with each
of the following statements?
Strongly/Somewhat Agree
Businesses must be completely
open and transparent
P:
70% 88% 88%
O:
63% 79% 78%
Euro RSCG Future of the Corporate Brand Study (U.S.)
61

62. Offering Learning Opportunities
• Supporting connoisseurship and helping consumers do more with products they
purchase
Apple Genius Bar
L’Oreal Paris Living Lab
62

63. Imperative #3: Motivate Consumers
Image: Creative Commons/akseabird@flickr.com
63

64. The RBoF Is Moving Toward Sustainability
To reduce packaging cost and waste, Wal-Mart now scores its 60,000 worldwide
suppliers on ability to develop eco-packaging and conserve natural resources; estimated
Euro RSCG Future of the Corporate Brand Study (U.S.)
corporate savings: $3.4BN 64

65. Communicating Sustainability to the New Consumer
• Retailers and manufacturers are
communicating green values through
use of natural materials, muted
colors, signage, simplified packaging,
etc.
• Taking cues from farmers’ markets
65

66. The RBoF Has a Purpose Beyond Profit
• From Google and Apple to Starbucks
and Whole Foods, many of today’s
leading brands have 1 thing in
common: a strong set of beliefs that
is clearly articulated
How much do you agree with each
of the following statements?
Strongly/Somewhat Agree
It is important that companies
stand for something other than
profitability
P:
96% 95% 86%
O: “Customers must recognize that
83% 87% 80% you stand for something.”
—Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Euro RSCG Future of the Corporate Brand Study (U.S.)
66

67. Shouting It Out
• The most value accrues to those
companies that take a bold stance
and publicly declare their values and
clearly defined objectives
67

68. Expressing Values Across Every Touchpoint
68

69. Communicating a Reason to Care…
• Consumer education is vital to a successful values-based branding effort; the
best initiatives make customers feel personally invested in a cause
69

70. …and Making It Easy for Consumers to Participate
70

71. Conclusion: Getting to the Future First
• In future, shopping will be more proactive and considered
_ More research prior to purchase
_ More consumer-to-consumer communication via product/company reviews and ratings
_ More conscientious shopping choices related to environmental, ethical, and socio-
political concerns
• Prosumers continue to offer glimpse of the future in terms of both how they’re
shopping and what they’re buying
• Brands that will own the future will…
_ Be transparent in communications and give consumers access to all the
information/tools they need (e.g., customer reviews and ratings)
_ Communicate a single-minded vision
_ Serve as industry leaders and standard bearers
_ Drive meaningful change
_ Address consumers’ twin pulls of selfishness and altruism by providing products and
services that contribute to both the individual and the greater good
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72. Media Inquiries
For inquiries regarding Euro RSCG Worldwide’s studies, please contact:
Lisa Gruber
Global Communications Manager
Euro RSCG Worldwide
T +1 212.886.2018
E lisa.gruber@eurorscg.com
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73. For more insights from Euro RSCG research,
visit www.prosumer-report.com
And follow us on Twitter (@prosumer_report)
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