The 2016 marketer s guide to tech loving UK consumers

Transcription

1 The 2016 marketer s guide to tech loving UK consumers Key insights Alan Thorpe Digital and Data Director Bray Leino Yucca

2 THE 2016 MARKETER S GUIDE TO TECH LOVING UK CONSUMERS Still in the dark? 89% of the UK population don t understand the term Internet of Things. 11% Age is not a number The 11% understanding of the term Internet of Things is consistent across all age ranges. IoT Keep it simple The term Smart is far more widely understood than IoT. Internet of Things Opportunity knocks There appears to be considerable market opportunity for smart devices in insurance, automotive, health, home entertainment, home heating, lighting and security. D t Biggest barrier Data security remains the key obstacle to wider adoption. We heart smart Consumers are overwhelmingly positive about the smart devices they have bought. Remote control Smartphone adoption is becoming ubiquitous; it has become the personal remote control. Given this, brands should optimise this channel before being distracted by additional smart devices.

3 THE 2016 MARKETER S GUIDE TO TECH LOVING UK CONSUMERS 48% % % Follow that On average, 20% of UK consumers follow a brand on social media. Demographic differences Follow rates vary from 48% year olds to 4% 65+ year olds. Channel of choice Younger consumers are far less likely to interact with a brand on social media than 44+ age groups. Brands on social media 17% Personality prevails Brands can afford to relax brand guidelines for social media. Only 17% of consumers categorised a brand as bad when asked to name the first brand on social media that came to mind. Consumers soon forget social errors. The benefits of personality appear to outweigh the application of stiff brand rulebooks. Conversations with cut-through We may be seeing a loss of conversation between brands and younger consumers. Brands should seek ways to encourage younger audiences to interact.

4 THE 2016 MARKETER S GUIDE TO TECH LOVING UK CONSUMERS Overloaded and underwhelmed Frequency is the biggest consumer turn-off. Without insight to drive the right message, time or place, consumers are increasingly locking brands out. Inbox-ing clever remains King for both engagement and conversion. Summary of the digital landscape Reality check Augmented Reality is generating disproportionate conversion rates (compared with other channels) and looks set to grow. This ties in with consumers love of their smartphones. Tailored tactics Our recommendation is that marketers seek opportunities to market as a service through the use of Augmented Reality and Push. Enhancing the brand experience is likely, in a world where the consumer can literally switch off, to be the long term winner over more traditional marketing messages.

5 Introduction Understanding what technology loving UK consumers will do next is central to brand survival. Rapid behaviour changes from you and I are transforming whole sectors almost overnight. We re increasingly a bunch of screen addicted, gadget lovers that want stuff for free. UK ad blocking grew by 82% to reach 12 million active users in 12 months up to June 2015 (Pagefair) In this environment marketing strategies that can be summed up as standing back and waiting to see what happens whilst hoping to follow emerging trends offer dubious survival prospects to brands. Just ask your next London hackney cab driver! Our job, as a customer engagement agency, is to put the right foot forward for our clients. We know that analysis of data from previous consumer activity isn t enough to keep up with you and I. So we commissioned Ragdoll Research to ask 1000, UK representative, consumers what they think about: The Internet of Things (IoT) Brands on Social Media A variety of digital marketing channels The research was completed in December Here is what you need to know to stay aligned with your UK consumers during 2016.

6 The Internet of Things and UK Consumers, Connected devices, like smart meters and connected cars, will grow from 1.2b in 2014 to 5.4b in 2020 (Verizon, 2015) But this understanding is not restricted to younger audiences. In fact, there is a pretty even spread across age groups. Whilst some marketers are dismissive of the IoT ( Marketers need to stop acting like small children ) we believe that the IoT can offer fantastic potential for brands. For example, smart water leak detectors can offer a point of service differentiation (and risk management) for insurers. But whilst the industry might understand smart technology, the UK consumer does not. Only 11% of UK consumers could explain what the IoT means (specifically or close variations of.) So holding off smart device exploration as technology for the young doesn t make sense. Older, more affluent groups, get the concept. When asked if they owned various smart devices, the smart concept was much more widely understood than the term IoT. So Smart is being adopted as language of the consumer rather than IoT.

7 When we asked specifically about smart items, the results appear to show huge market headroom. It s interesting to see that 67% of respondents say they have bought a smartphone, yet only 64% of the population say they have bought anything smart. What we are seeing is smart technology becoming just part of the normal run of things. So brands that don t optimise their smartphone experience are beginning to sit outside UK consumer norms. So the market opportunity for brands to make a good impression is huge. So what s stopping mass consumer adoption? Concerns about data security and letting brands into personal spaces. Once experienced, UK consumers are overwhelmingly positive about their smart devices.

8 Summary Leveraging the Internet of Things in 2016 what you should know. Opportunity The IoT offers strong potential for differentiation, particularly for the insurance, automotive, health, home entertainment; home heating, lighting and security sectors. Understanding UK consumers are still getting to grips with IoT and smart. Smart is fast becoming the byword for connected over IoT. Barriers Data security and privacy concerns are major mass adoption barriers. Brands that wish to exploit smart devices must convince UK consumers that they have taken adequate measures to prevent data loss. They must prove that smart isn t a way for brands to invade the privacy of their homes. Smartphone This device has become our remote control. Optimising the customer experience via this channel is the No.1 priority. As my wife puts it, my wardrobe is already Smart. It s connected to Boden via my phone.

9 Brands on social media Is social media driving a loss of the consumer voice? As an agency we find that social media remains a divisive subject among clients. So we wanted to find out how UK consumers are using the media to communicate with brands. The results are surprising. On average, 20% of UK adults are connected to a brand on social media. Brands that currently engage younger audiences may need to find off platform ways to interact with younger audiences. And as consumers age, whilst growth in linkage via social media might grow, this looks likely to be accompanied by a worrying loss of consumer interaction. Brands could find themselves left with just a few emojis as social insight. Following a brand on social media is a young person s game, with 48% of year olds reporting following at least one brand. But this insight hides a worrying truth. Whilst younger consumers are more likely to connect, they are also more likely to remain passive.

10 The risk of going off brand on social media is a risk worth taking. Social media is a place where, as individuals, we surround ourselves with what has value to us whether this is interest, passion or utility. Given this, we asked UK consumers to name the first three brands on social media that came to mind. We then asked them to categorise these brands as good or bad brands. Here are the results: It s interesting to see Tesco in this mix but, if you look at their Twitter feed it s clear to see that they are willing to play by the social, rather than their brand, rule book. So small pockets of consumers will remember poor social media management. But the majority quickly forget these in favour of good moments. We then asked consumers to name the first brand that came to mind. Most named were:

11 Summary of the social landscape Growth or spread: Being connected to a brand is a young persons game. However, there is a bigger question at hand here. As these consumers age it s unclear if their social media behaviour will persist. Loss of language Younger audiences are considerably less likely to physically interact with brands on social media. This loss of language changes the face of how we talk / engage with customers via social media. Brands should seek ways to engage younger audiences to interact. Existing off brand Social followers have a short memory for poor content posted on social media. Brands can afford to relax brand guidelines and adopt a more socially friendly persona.

12 How UK consumers engage with digital channels We wanted to understand how UK consumers are engaging with a variety of established and upcoming digital channels. As you d expect, the usual suspects and banners dominate established digital. Whilst retains a leading position, as a nation we enjoy the relative novelty that AR and Push provide. This makes sense. We ve already bought the remote control for our lives our mobile so channels that can enhance our usage of this device fit neatly into our existing technology know-how. Liz Faber, Digital Strategist at SapientNitro picks up on this in her January 18th 2015 article for Admap, saying Augmented Reality is where it s at. UK consumers agree. And so do we! Cool, yet effective. But what is the biggest marketing turn-off? We asked respondents to think of an online advert that has frustrated them. The one biggest cause of this frustration? Frequency. But when we looked beyond engagement and asked Have you ever clicked to purchase via each of these channels? the results were surprising. This is no particular surprise. The application of insight from data remains key to understanding the right time, message and place. If, as marketers, we ignore this then we are sowing our downfall. Consumers have the ability to opt out. And, as we ve seen, 12 million of the UK s adult population are already using ad blockers.

13 Summary of the digital landscape remains King - both engagement and conversion. Augmented Reality - is generating disproportionate conversion rates (compared with other channels) and looks set to grow. This ties in with consumers love of their smartphones. Frequency - is the biggest consumer turn-off. Without insight to drive the right message, time or place consumers are increasingly locking brands out. Our recommendation is that marketers seek opportunities to market as a service through the use of AR and Push. Enhancing the brand experience is likely, in a world where the consumer can literally switch off to be the long term winner over more traditional marketing messages.

14 Get in touch If you have a business challenge, or just fancy a chat about rowing or gardening, then give Alan a call: Alan Thorpe Digital and Data Director athorpe@brayleino.co.uk Phone: +44 (0)