Photo: Elma Pašić, CEO of GfK agency
We can talk about the value and identity of brands, but their main task is to attract attention and engage consumers, or more precisely to recognize their needs. To achieve this, we need to know the customer, what’s important to them and what are their needs? Participants at the Branding Conference #6, which will be held on 3 June, at the club My Face in Sarajevo, will have the exclusive opportunity to look into the research conducted by agency GfK BH who wanted to know what the consumer of the future will look like.
“We will present the research ‘Consumer Trends – What will the world look like in 2025′. It deals with the direction in which consumers are going and what will they look like in 5-10 years,” said Elma Pašić, CEO of GfK agency, and added that brands should be prepared to combine different data sources in order to know where the consumer goes, and be one step ahead of them.
“The basis of modern marketing approach is management of the brand-consumer relationship. If we want to stay in the game, in the highly competitive market, we need to identify the needs of consumers, stand out and offer something different, and our research will show in what direction we need to think,” said Pašić.
We often hear that innovation is the driving force behind a brand, which determines its position and market success. GfK BH CEO notes that innovation is not the result of a coincidence, but of a strategic approach to brand development and communication with consumers:
“That’s exactly why at the Branding Conference we will talk about some new trends among consumers. A brand must actively communicate with consumers. With a focus on active, memorable, something that brings experience, emotion and interactive relationship. We are living in dynamic times, and we have an active consumer who gets informed, seeks benefits during the purchase, wants everything now and immediately, seeks more value for their money.”
The number of points of contact between brands and consumers has grown to huge proportions. Brands have to follow them. They need to know the value of each of these points, or at least those that are most important to consumers. The consumer wants to have a richer experience than simply buying a new product. That’s why brands need to have a comprehensive understanding and know what encourages the choice, in order to provide experience, but also innovation, at every point of contact with the brand.
Today’s customer is a connected consumers, and brands should take account of the way in which such a buyer makes contacts, and what’s important to them.
“We need to have an insight into the things that the consumer comes across, and what their consumer journey looks like. Today, the picture of decision making process is completely different than it was 5-10 years ago. It is now at least three-dimensional,” said Pašić.
We note that all global and strong brands have increasingly more interactive campaigns for their customers. Thus they connect with their consumers within a category and leave a lasting mark. All this gives more possibilities to brands and their creative teams to connect with the consumer.
“If we want to be one step ahead, we have to follow the trends, segment the market and respond to the needs, because the consumer of tomorrow is not even similar to that of today. We should recognize this and adapt to it, and follow each step in order to attract the customer of the future.”
We have to get to know the connected consumer – to know that they are very much alive and present, and that they are the one who will continue to shape the way we think about brands, communication and innovation. They are crucial for the future success of all products and services. The future is now, and we need to be ready for the next step.
For more information about the program, speakers and registration visit www.branding.ba.
