Tuesday 8 October 2013

Increase in families reducing food waste to save money should have brands looking for a way to get up close and personal

Brands need to gain and act upon a more detailed understanding of the way we are living our lives today, after new research from the consumer organisation Which? found that consumers are making greater efforts to waste less food.

Customer insight agency Engage Research says the survey, which says around 14 million people are reducing food waste by cooking with leftovers, making smaller portions and freezing more to save money, should have brands working hard to gain a more detailed understanding of the challenges their consumers are facing.

“This is a very revealing study,” explains Engage Research qualitative director Hetta Bramley. “Brands not only need to be aware that 78% are worried about rising food prices and 45% spending a larger proportion of our income on food compared to a year ago, they need to consider what they as a brand can do to support consumers at this time and, in so doing, create a sustainable brand/consumer relationship.” The Which? report also detailed how 47% of shoppers said they freeze food or cook with leftovers to avoid waste, whilst 39% said they cook smaller portions, so there is less chance of meals going to waste. A third (35%) are buying less food and a quarter (26%) are doing more frequent top-up shops rather than one main food shop.

This, says Bramley, is one of the reason more brands are turning to webnographic research techniques to understand more accurately how people are living their lives. Webnography – an ethnographic style of research that leverages current social media behaviour and smartphone usage to create respondent-driven content - involves consumers providing information about their ordinary everyday activities from within their naturally occurring settings. This allows for a more personal and in-depth view of the participants and their behaviour and choices and will provide valuable insights about how, why and when customers might choose brands or new products and the role that these will play within the consumer’s life.

“Because people can tweet what they are doing, post images, record short videos and so on easily from their smartphones, webnographic research can help brands really get under the skins of their customers. It gives us a window on them as they chat, shop, and get on with the tasks that make up their everyday lives. Thanks to social media, people are increasingly wanting to broadcast their activities and opinions. Our techniques build on this willingness, often adding an additional element of fun via gamification, so that the consumers do most of the work for us – blogging, keeping diaries and sharing photos and video footage online. This all keeps the costs down whilst still giving brands an accurate and holistic view of the consumers’ lives.”

In terms of food research, a webnographic approach enables researchers to observe and monitor anything from preparation rituals to the food storage habits of consumers; which products are given priority position at the front of the cupboard and which are pushed to the back and which products only make it as far as the “back up” store cupboard? It can also reveal how packaging performs in real life - how does it stand up to the journey home, how easy is it to store, how easy is it to prepare and so on - these are all aspects of pack performance that will impact on future purchase & yet so often performance at fixture is the sole focus of pack testing. Webnography also involves monitoring eating occasions, and frequently videoing family eating occasions to look at how, why and when certain foods are included.

Engage Research is a customer insight agency working largely, but not exclusively, in the food, drink and media sectors. Its emphasis is on delivering knowledge and understanding that adds value to a client’s business without breaking their budget. Engage’s innovative approaches to research, already proven in the field, are handled by a team of senior directors with enviable experience and track record; intelligent practitioners delivering intelligent insights which support NPD and help underpin marketing, branding and communications strategies.

Friday 4 October 2013

Repackaging of Hardy’s wine highlights role of consumer insight in setting up expectations of price and quality

The announcement by Hardy’s, the UK's biggest wine brand, that it is repackaging its products to give consumers a clearer understanding of the price tiering within the range, shows the extent to which packaging can set up consumer perceptions of a product.

Hardy’s owner Accolade Wines has said that the new packaging has been designed to better reflect the quality of wine inside the bottle and highlight to consumers a clear progression up the tiers. The redesign, apparently, is also intended to help mitigate the effect of promotional mechanics which could see high-quality wines being sold at the same price as less premium ones.

Consumer insight can play a vital role in creating and redeveloping a product proposition. Price, name and packaging are such an integral part of the product mix that from an early stage of development they should be considered as part of the process. No one wants to stop a great idea progressing because it is tested at too high a price or with a weak name, but conversely the market success of a product will depend on the mix of these elements.

It is a widely seen in research that the same product at a higher price point is expected by consumers to be higher quality (for example, a vodka brand priced at £18 rather than £12 is not only higher quality but seen as being for more special occasions).

More interesting is the evidence that the price also impacts on perceptions of product delivery. In tests those who are told a particular wine is more expensive think it tastes better than those who are testing the same wine but who were told it was less expensive. More interesting still is evidence that not only is the more expensive wine rated more highly but it produces a more pleasurable experience in the consumer's brain when MRI scanned. This is not simply the consumers rationalising their experience; they have been conditioned at a subconscious level by the price.

A key factor in getting the pricing strategy right at launch is where the proposed price point sits relative to competitors. This is because consumers will consider the price in relation to other products, either directly because the prices are displayed together or indirectly by using the nearest available benchmark. This relational way of viewing prices can be exploited by marketers. For example, the launch price may be set at a premium to the competition in an attempt to establish high quality credentials even if the typical selling price would be lower. The idea is to “anchor” a price point in the consumers’ minds and then the lower price will appear good value in relation to the anchor price.

In reality, there may be a number of different price settings for different retail environments e.g. a large discount retailer and a small local shop. Consumers will tend to respond to the relative differences in price between products in the same retail environment rather than differences in absolute prices between retailers. This demonstrates the case for always testing price within a relevant context.

Packaging design and merchandising also provide key consumer cues about the product. In a crowded retail environment, consumers use short cut reference points to navigate through the complexity. For example, where a product sits in store can have a profound impact on what people think about it. The placement of the product and what surrounds it will have an impact on consumer perceptions.