Lifestyle Spaces: Edition 4

LIFESTYLE SPACESA trends briefingby SMG Research

Designed to keep you up-to-date with the consumer issues that are affecting your business, Lifestyle Spaces brings you the latest in consumer trends insight from SMG. The fourth issue includes:

Understanding Early Adopters Happiness Happening

EDITION 4

What makes an early adopter of media platforms and content tick? What motivates them? Do they differ according to what is being adopted?

The answers – provided by – may be different from the ones you were expecting. We’ll show here how the adoption curve can be redrawn, according to the emotional values held by people along it.

By Paul Selby, Product Development Director

Understanding early adopters

SpaceID is Starcom MediaVest Group’s proprietary planning application. We use it in two ways. Firstly to pinpoint the media spaces – brands, behaviours, content – which have the best fit with the emotional values of a brand’s current audience. Secondly, via our unique FutureSpace module, we identify the media spaces best able to shape a brand’s desired future positioning. It gives an answer to the question: “which media context best gets my brand from audience positioning A to positioning B?” It could be sponsoring Come Dine with Me, reaching people on their commute;

creating a smartphone application or linking up with music festivals...spaceID can quantify the affinity of each with your required audience.

There are now two waves of data, allowing us to track brand and media profile changes between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2010. First, we looked at how the profile of newly emerged media spaces has changed – potentially helpful as we can profile relatively early adopters.

Chart 1 shows how a pattern emerges. There is a consistent shift from the

Re

spo

nsi

bili

ty Ple

asu

re

Community

To laugh

Peace MaternalForgiveness

Together

Honest

Politeness

Family God

MoralsRespect House

Wedding

Friendship

Patience

To console

To protect

Tenderness

Loyalty

CouragePurity Elegance Hero

LogicAnimalClever

To write

Meditation

Theatre

Present

Music

BookFlowerFeminine

To tendSoul

To healCountryside

Precious

To admireTo teach

ComfortBirth

Charitable

Softness

Caress

Justice HonourSacred

Priest Confidence

Attachment

Humble

Childhood

Practical

EffectiveCertainty

CreatorPersistence

Victory

Faith

ArtPerfume

Green

Mellow

NestTree

To DreamMoon

Ocean

Magic

For FreeLightness Poetry Sensuous

Noble Game SublimeRiver

DesireAdventurer

To climb

Voluptuous

Wild

Nudity

Suppleness

Reward

Foreigner

To fertiliseRobust

To inherit

Glory

JewelInfinite

GoldWater

OriginalScience

To swimChallenge Architect

Escape

Mountain

Peak

Island

DynamicIntimate

Inventor

Red MetallicMaze

SpeedKnotCarnal

Blue

Skin

RefinedAbsolute

Question

Detachment

To criticise

To interrogateDanger

Perfection

Firmness

Trade

Industry

DoubtImmobile

Emptiness

Property

Money

Sacrifice

Soldier

Fault

To betray

EmotionAccuracyModeration

Homeland

Tradition

Effort

To economise

RuleTo obeyCry

To forbid

To punish

Death

AnguishMistrust

SchoolLaw

Discipline

To age

To build

Material

Secret

Fire

Disorder

War

Wealth

Masterly

Headstrong

Border

Rigid

To break

Change

To conquer

PowerStranger

Craftiness

Elite

To command

To attack

BlackAudacity

Wall

Irony

Hunt

Storm

ArmourRebellion

MaskReason Prudence

Researcher

To master

Modesty

To buyTo ponder

Rifle

Humour

Eternal

To adore

Cheerfulness

Concrete

Fashion To produce

Ceremony

Work

Ambition Slimness

Bohemian

Desert

Mystery

To seduceDifferent

Huge

Virile

2009

2010

Mobile internet

Read prod. reviews

Instant messaging

Post prod. reviews

D’load music

D’loading podcasts

D’load short video

Apple iPhone

bottom and right of the map towards the top left. From the direction of pleasure/autonomy – the quadrant of people who follow their own desires, thrive on risk, and dislike compromise – around towards community/responsibility. This suggests that over time, as adoption widens, the profile of users becomes more focused on collaboration, belonging and stability.

Does this pattern hold for other types of media? Data from Channel 4, who ran similar Semiometrie studies in the last few years, suggested that it does.

Autonomy

Chart 1Emerging

Media Spaces

On Chart 2 we highlight the overscored Semio keywords for Big Brother in it’s first year of broadcast. The Semio keywords are the building blocks of spaceID: they represent subconscious values held by respondents. The profile of words here is consistent with another half a dozen new programme launches broadly aimed at youth audiences.

And over the lifecycle of programmes a drift towards responsibility values is evident as the audience evolves, just as it did for our emerging media spaces.Both Big Brother and Wife Swap are tracked on Chart 2,

So media early adopters often embrace risk, like to dominate and are very much centered on their own interests rather than those of others. Interestingly, this also applies where alternative ‘masterbrand’ values are already in place.

Chart 2 Tracking

Programme life cycles

Autonomy

Re

spo

nsi

bili

ty Ple

asu

re

Community

To laugh

Peace MaternalForgiveness

Together

Honest

Politeness

Family God

MoralsRespect House

Wedding

Friendship

Patience

To console

To protect

Tenderness

Loyalty

CouragePurity Elegance Hero

LogicAnimalClever

To write

Meditation

Theatre

Present

Music

BookFlowerFeminine

To tendSoul

To healCountryside

Precious

To admireTo teach

ComfortBirth

Charitable

Softness

Caress

Justice HonourSacred

Priest Confidence

Attachment

Humble

Childhood

Practical

EffectiveCertainty

CreatorPersistence

Victory

Faith

ArtPerfume

Green

Mellow

NestTree

To DreamMoon

Ocean

Magic

For FreeLightness Poetry Sensuous

Noble Game SublimeRiver

DesireAdventurer

To climb

Voluptuous

Wild

Nudity

Suppleness

Reward

Foreigner

To fertiliseRobust

To inherit

Glory

JewelInfinite

GoldWater

OriginalScience

To swimChallenge Architect

Escape

Mountain

Peak

Island

DynamicIntimate

Inventor

Red MetallicMaze

SpeedKnotCarnal

Blue

Skin

RefinedAbsolute

Question

Detachment

To criticise

To interrogateDanger

Perfection

Firmness

Trade

Industry

DoubtImmobile

Emptiness

Property

Money

Sacrifice

Soldier

Fault

To betray

EmotionAccuracyModeration

Homeland

Tradition

Effort

To economise

RuleTo obeyCry

To forbid

To punish

Death

AnguishMistrust

SchoolLaw

Discipline

To age

To build

Material

Secret

Fire

Disorder

War

Wealth

Masterly

Headstrong

Border

Rigid

To break

Change

To conquer

PowerStranger

Craftiness

Elite

To command

To attack

BlackAudacity

Wall

Irony

Hunt

Storm

ArmourRebellion

MaskReason Prudence

Researcher

To master

Modesty

To buyTo ponder

Rifle

Humour

Eternal

To adore

Cheerfulness

Concrete

Fashion To produce

Ceremony

Work

Ambition Slimness

Bohemian

Desert

Mystery

To seduceDifferent

Huge

Virile

20012003

2008

2001

20032008

Big Brother

Wife Swap

Autonomy

Re

spo

nsi

bili

ty Ple

asu

re

Community

To laugh

Peace MaternalForgiveness

Together

Honest

Politeness

Family God

MoralsRespect House

Wedding

Friendship

Patience

To console

To protect

Tenderness

Loyalty

CouragePurity Elegance Hero

Logic AnimalClever

To write

Meditation

Theatre

Present

Music

BookFlowerFeminine

To tendSoul

To healCountryside

Precious

To admireTo teach

ComfortBirth

Charitable

Softness

Caress

Justice HonourSacred

Priest Confidence

Attachment

Humble

Childhood

Practical

EffectiveCertainty

Creator PersistenceVictory

Faith

ArtPerfume

Green

Mellow

NestTree

To DreamMoon

Ocean

Magic

For FreeLightness Poetry Sensuous

Noble Game SublimeRiver

DesireAdventurer

To climb

Voluptuous

Wild

Nudity

Suppleness

Reward

Foreigner

To fertiliseRobust

To inherit

Glory

JewelInfinite

GoldWater

OriginalScience

To swimChallenge Architect

Escape

Mountain

Peak

Island

DynamicIntimate

Inventor

Red MetallicMaze

SpeedKnotCarnal

Blue

Skin

RefinedAbsolute

Question

Detachment

To criticise

To interrogateDanger

Perfection

Firmness

Trade

Industry

DoubtImmobile

Emptiness

Property

Money

Sacrifice

Soldier

Fault

To betray

EmotionAccuracyModeration

Homeland

Tradition

Effort

To economise

RuleTo obeyCry

To forbid

To punish

Death

AnguishMistrust

SchoolLaw

Discipline

To age

To build

Material

Secret

Fire

Disorder

War

Wealth

Masterly

Headstrong

Border

Rigid

To break

Change

To conquer

PowerStranger

Craftiness

El ite

To command

To attack

BlackAudacity

Wall

Irony

Hunt

Storm

ArmourRebellion

MaskReason Prudence

Researcher

To master

Modesty

To buyTo ponder

R ifle

Humour

Eternal

To adore

Cheerfulness

Concrete

Fashion To produce

Ceremony

Work

Ambition Slimness

Bohemian

Desert

Mystery

To seduceDifferent

Huge

Virile

Source: Channel 4 Semio Study

Take the Apple iPhone. (Chart 1) Our first wave of fieldwork was completed just five months after the launch of the 3G version. The Apple brand DNA is all about simplicity, being unconventional, stylish and fun but despite this the iPhone evidently appealed to those with far ‘harder’ values i.e. our autonomy/pleasure early adopters. The same was true of Apple iPod users back in 2006 (chart 3).

What should be done as a result? SpaceID allows us to define groups according to their values and pinpoint the media and passions whose audience they have affinity with. This is extremely useful when planning communications against early adopters. These findings also underline the difference between assumed brand values and the actual audience values. Much as many brand owners might seek more community-centred values for their innovative new launches - reflecting the collaborative philosophy of much emerging media - the reality is that their earliest adopters will need the question: “what’s in it for me”? Not: “what’s in it for everyone?” answered first.

Chart 3 Apple iPod Keywords

2006

Happiness HappeningBy Donna Booth, Associate Research Director

What Makes you Happy?Source: The Street / Wordle

“Happiness, Happiness the greatest thing that I possess…” or so sang British comedian Ken Dodd back in 1964. But in a world of unlimited wants, needs, and desires, do those lyrics still ring true today? According to the IPA’s Touchpoints study, the average Briton is happy for around a fifth of their waking hours. And despite the unprecedented levels of material wealth reached in the Noughties, people are on average no happier today than they were fifty years ago¹.

At the start of a new decade, and as we emerge from a global economic shakeup, there is an opportunity for marketers to explore the notion of hap-piness. What exactly is happiness these days? And importantly, how can brands tap into Ken Dodd’s so called ‘greatest possession’ to increase engagement with their key audiences?

The ‘Happiness’ IngredientsAccording to the ‘Happiness Project’², a study recently published by the Telegraph Media Group, the meaning of happiness has subtlety changed in recent times. After a decade of frivolity, instant gratification, and uncontrolled spending, The Telegraph Group believes that ‘happiness’ has reverted back to a more traditional and simple meaning. Today ‘happiness’ is more about enduring periods of con-tentment rather than fleeting moments of pleasure. Following a period of abundance, consumerism and material wealth are increasingly associated with such ‘fleet-ing moments of pleasure’. For example, getting the very latest smart phone might well make us feel intense hap-piness, but it is likely that this moment will be short-lived. What happens to that feeling when everyone else in your peer group owns the same phone? And will the happiness remain when a new model is released, rendering your model out of date? According to the New York Times, psychologists term this trend ‘hedonic adaption’ – when the buzz of a new purchase is pushed to-wards the emotional norm and we stop getting pleasure from it. At which point, we have tended to buy more things³. Experiences and relationships on the other hand are coming to represent

a deeper, more meaningful state of happiness. Whereas an old phone might end up obsolete on the scrap heap, experiences tend to mature into beautiful memories – especially when viewed through nostalgic rose tinted spectacles. For this reason, Starcom MediaVest Group now places human experiences at its core. Although environmental and ethical concerns have been driving the shift from material consumption towards meaningful experiences for a while, the recession was the catalyst which forced many to revaluate their spending habits and put a renewed focus on what really constitutes ‘happiness’.

The Telegraph Media Group have iden-tified four main ‘happiness’ ingredients that all allude to this deeper, simpler, meaning:- Relationships and community: set-tle down, get ingrained in your commu-nity, give something back- Financial security: money can buy you happiness just as long as you don’t try to keep up with the Joneses. Con-tentment comes from spending more wisely than them. - Approach to life: be responsible for yourself, be thankful, do worthy things, and above all, be realistic- Personal factors: look after your health and enjoy the wisdom, worldli-ness and wealth later life will accrue.

Happiness on ‘The Street’ As part of our own ‘happiness’ study, we asked members of our own re-search community to describe the fac-tors that provide them with a happy life. Reassuringly, insights from ‘The Street’ also alluded to simple, but meaningful experiences. The relative size of words such as ‘family’, ‘friends’, and ‘dog’ in the word cloud opposite, points to the importance of relationships and com-munities, whilst ‘money’, ‘work’, and ‘security’ point to financial wellbeing. Beyond that, words relating to simple experiences such as ‘food’, ‘walking’, and ‘garden’ signify a healthy, positive approach to life rather than material possessions creates true happiness.

Happiness is a cigar calledHamlet… or at least it was in the Eight-ies. More recently McDonalds have be-come synonymous with ‘Happy Meals’, whereas Coca-Cola routinely invites us to ‘Open Happiness’. Over the years, we have seen many examples of brands in pursuit of happiness. To explore the extent to which this senti-ment resonates with consumers, we asked members of The Street for their opinions on what constitutes a happy

brand. Here we uncovered a range of ‘happiness’ associations across several product categories. What was particu-larly interesting was how emotional engagement ranged from fleeting and superficial, to enduring and deep. At the lighter end of the spectrum, brands such as Peperami and Tango made people laugh through witty adver-tising, whereas brands such as Ben & Jerry’s and Andrex conjured up a warm feeling. Moving toward a more enduring definition of happiness; members refer-enced brands that presented a sense of nostalgia. Street members explained how Coca-Cola evoked happy memo-ries of Christmases past, and how Disney and Heinz tapped into childhood experiences and memories. But what was really telling, and confirmed our contemporary definition of happiness, were the associations between social good and happy brands. Brands that do the right thing – for their employees, customers, animals, and society at large seemed to project happiness to the highest order. The Happy Eggs Com-pany and Innocent were examples of this latter category.

What does this mean to your brand and communications?- Meaningful relationships, personal growth, and rewarding life experiences are vital elements of happiness in contemporary society. Get in touch with Starcom MediaVest Group - The Human Experience Company - to learn how your brand should be tapping into this important consumer shift.

- Research (presented by The Tel-egraph Media Group) has shown that happy people are more likely to engage with advertising and to recall brand messages. Consider using a sophisti-cated media planning tool like SpaceID to get into the core of human emotions, and the values that they warm to. This should ensure your communication planning impacts at a deeper, more meaningful level.

- In the post-recessionary ‘New Normal’ age, good brands that truly consider their surroundings and provide an ele-ment of social well-being are increas-ingly resonating with consumers and providing happiness. Ask how your brand can give something back – to staff, customers, or local environment - and really mean it.

- Finally, let’s not totally omit those fleeting moments of pleasure! In more considered times, laughing at an advert or taking a sip of happiness may be just what your audiences need!

¹ Future Foundation: Acute Demand for Happiness Report (via Richard Layard) ² Telegraph Media Group: The Happiness Project ³ The New York Times: But Will it Make You Happy?

For further information onLifestyle Spaces please contact,

Donna Booth or Paul Selby at:

[email protected]@smvgroup.co.uk