Brands need to prepare for FragmentNation

by Nigel Hollis

Last week Kantar hosted a conference in New York City titled FragmentNation. While the title of the event predated the U.S. election result, Trump’s win helped underline the basic thesis of the event. Brands must prepare themselves to market in an ever more fragmented world and that means understanding the granularity of people’s needs, mindset and values like never before.

The fundamental issue facing brands today is not that people are more diverse in their needs, mindset and values than ever before – that is an opportunity – rather it is that the number of brands and ads are growing at a rate that far outpaces people’s capacity to appreciate them. So between 2008 and 2015 the number of unique brands with monitored ad activity measured by Kantar Media in the US rose by 30 percent, in response the number of brands people were aware of as measured by Kantar Millward Brown in BrandZ rose 4 percent. Similarly, while the time spent with all major media is reported by eMarketer to have risen by over 17 percent the total number of ad occurrences measured by Kantar Media has risen by 120 percent.

I suspect, however, that this bombardment is nothing compared to the barrage of messages received in social media – not from brands but family, friends and acquaintances who want to share their lives and opinions.  And, as highlighted in this post by Farhad Manjoo, that means that people suddenly realize they are not the only ones to feel a certain way or hold opinions that might be considered outside the accepted mainstream. Anyone who feels their voice is being stifled can now connect and organize through social media.

Mahjoo notes the influence of social media is not limited to left or right wing politics and suggests,

“The upshot is further unforeseen events.”

I would suggest that the same conclusion applies not just to politics but brands. The potential for a brand to go viral and leverage popular opinion is greater than ever but it requires a real understanding of the mindset of the potential buyer not just their current behavior. The brands that succeed in the future will be the ones that can create content that truly resonates with their target audience not simply relying on their message being seen.

And you cannot assume that all ideas will resonate equally well with all people. As Rance Crain states in this AdAge article, it’s presumptuous to think that consumers who voted for Donald Trump will be motivated by the same sales appeals that resonate with Hillary Clinton supporters and that makes it really tough for liberal-minded agency creatives to understand what will motivate the angry, working class.

Brands will increasingly find it difficult to take the middle ground and this applies to more than just the success of marketing campaigns. Brands must also prepare themselves for unexpected and unwelcome attention in social media. Take the example of New Balance which, as a result of a statement about trade policies, recently found itself heralded as a symbol or white supremacism while being rejected as such by others.

How can brands best prepare for FragmentNation?

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