The Era of Belief-Based Consumption (presented by Sonic Boom)

BELIEFCONSUMPTIONBASED

P R E S E N T E D B Y

W E L C O M E T O T H E E R A O F

Over the past 2 years, we’ve witnessed a

fundamental change in the way audiences connect with individuals and brands online. They have become more vocal about their

values and beliefs – who and what they relate to – and about the brands they do business with.

This change in consumer behaviour has transformed the way audiences build

relationships – with brands and with each other

W h at i s t h e c ata ly s t f o r t h i s s h i f t ?

Digital communication tools have

empowered audiences to find and

rely on like-minded communities,

rather than branded messages, to

form opinions about companies,

products, and services.

a u d i e n c e s n o w p l ay a n a c t i v e r o l e i n d e f i n i n g t h e m e a n i n g b e h i n d t h e m e s s a g e

Defining the meaning behind the message

Whether it’s the

positive image association

of hipster culture with

Starbucks and Samsung…

Defining the meaning behind the message

Perceptions in the marketplace

are now a result of both brand

and audience-generated content.

Or the

negative associations

of quality against pet

food sold in grocery

aisles…

VS

Through a community called “Subie Girls”, Young women have adopted the Subaru brand as

a means to show the world their liberated and savvy identities.

Go Daddy lost thousands of customers when community members of reddit.com decided to

boycott the brand for its support of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

meanings drive loyalty

From girls who use the Subaru brand

to talk about their liberated selves

(love for cars, driving ‘stick-shift’,

understanding and appreciating its

technology), to thousands of redditors

who chose to boycott GoDaddy for

its support of SOPA, meanings that

originate from values and beliefs drive

our loyalty or contempt for brands

and organizations.

how a brand is perceived is no longer completely in its control.

New Balance customers ran a petition on change.org after the Chairman donated $500,000 to pro-Romney organization.

Welcome to The era of belief-based consumption

Where audiences want to do

business with brands that believe

what they believe.

Where there are new rules for

brands looking to build deep

relationships with their audiences.

organizations MUST now CHOOSE:Either influence and build brand perception and audience

relationships by articulating values and beliefs through

content and experiences OR leave it up to interpretation.

That is why the Top performing brands in the world lead with Their beliefs and values

In partnership with Jim Stengel, Millward

Brown research found at the end of a 10 year

long research study that brands who lead

with a strong set of values and beliefs (strong

ideals) consistently outperform the S&P

500 by almost 400%. Millward Brown identified

50 key brands that lead with ideals and

outperformed the market in a given timeframe

Belief-based consumption isn’t a fad or a

trend. It is the way audiences expect to

build relationships with the brands they love.

The digital age has amplified this reality.

N E W R U L E SF O R B R A N D S I N 2 0 1 4

The insight gathering process

must evolve.

Ethnographic analysis is critical to understanding

audiences.

Photo Credit: Zaqi, http://www.flickr.com/photos/xul/498810340/

Observation and analysis of online

behaviour facilitates a deep understanding

of the digital lives of audiences and how

they view the world.

It enables the creation

of programs and content that build a more authentic human

connection with audiences.

Engagement does not drive relationships,

Shared values do.

Go beyond product features and benefits. Dig deeper.

Photo Credit: staffan.scherz, http://www.flickr.com/photos/staffanscherz/7922246042/

Content needs to

connect with audiences

emotionally.

Focus on highlighting an

organization’s value system to connect with audiences through a shared set of ideals and a shared vision

for the future.

Core community is everything.

The most passionate consumers must echo beliefs & values to

give credibility to brands.

Photo Credit: Kevin Dooley, http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/7848412058/sizes/h/in/set-72157630727658254/

Every brand has its core

community – people who are passionate

followers of the brand – that will advocate for it through good times

and bad.

It is crucial both to

identify a brand’s core community and know how to engage

them to build strong bonds.

Consistency is Not just expected –

it is demanded.

The most passionate consumers must echo beliefs & values to

give credibility to brands.

Photo Credit: treasuresthouhast, http://www.flickr.com/photos/74568056@N00/5992884101

Maintaining consistency in

communications in the marketplace is

paramount.

Building credibility in

the digital age is difficult, but

losing it is very easy.

Audiences will know when your actions are

inconsistent with the brand identity you have established.

H O W C A N W E A S S I S T Y O U ?Built on the foundation of Belief-Based Consumption, Sonic Boom’s

strategic methodology, BOND, enables organizations to understand

the values and beliefs of their audience and apply that knowledge

to build brand advocacy in the marketplace.

P h i l o s o p h y b e h i n d b o n d

With thousands of organizations vying for audience attention across communication platforms every passing second, building trust and relationships with communities has become a difficult and daunting task. Companies today find themselves spending millions on influencer programs that dissipate soon after completion, rendering low continuity and return on marketing efforts. This is because most initiatives are implemented with little knowledge of what audiences do online and off (behavioural data), and almost no understanding of why they do it (what’s truly driving them).

The truth is that audiences today have incredible access to niche sources of information and communities across the web, which has allowed them to become picky about where they spend their time. We are witnessing the proliferation of powerful niche communities such as reddit, buzzfeed, and boingboing, where audiences congregate due to a shared set of values and beliefs first, rather than shared interests (which have become secondary).

With thousands of organizations vying for audience attention across communication platforms every passing second, building trust and relationships with communities

has become a difficult and daunting task. Companies today find themselves

spending millions on influencer programs that dissipate soon after completion, rendering low continuity and return on marketing efforts. This is because most

initiatives are implemented with little knowledge of what audiences do online and off (behavioural data), and almost no understanding of why they do it (what’s

truly driving them).

The truth is that audiences today have incredible access to niche sources of

information and communities across the web, which has allowed them to become picky about where they spend their time.

We are witnessing the proliferation of powerful niche communities such as

reddit, buzzfeed, and boingboing, where audiences congregate due to a shared set

of values and beliefs first, rather than shared interests (which have become secondary).

S o n i c b o o m b o n d

C o n ta c t u s t o l e a r n m o r ewww.beliefbasedconsumption.com

www.sonicboom.com

Strategy at Sonic Boom

strategy@sonicboom.com

THANKYOU