10 trends that will shape consumer behavior in 2013 and their implications for MarCom people

JWT recently released the eighth annual forecast of key trends that will shape or significantly impact consumer mindset and behavior in the near future. No need to elaborate why such trends have considerable impact in the MarCom strategy of every company in our times.

In this year’s report, new technology continues to take center stage, as we see major shifts tied to warp-speed developments in mobile, social and data technologies. Many of our trends reflect how businesses are driving, leveraging or counteracting technology’s omnipresence in our lives, and how consumers are responding to its pull. However, what should be noticed in the 2013 report, is the fact that MarCom people are for the first time pay attention  on happiness and  well-being and how businesses are addressing it for marketing and real good purpose. Happiness  was a favorite  theme in the book  ‘Nice’ Capitalism four years ago ( you can also download for free ) and a popular topic of many posts in this blog. See more about the ten trends, here . For  stories about the new breed of superior brand species, ie Nice Brands, follow us also in Twitter .

Τhe relationship between a politician’s salary and the effectiveness of the government they are running

 With all the scandal surrounding the salaries of MPs and the misuse of government coffers, particularly in Greece, this type of data are very revealing.

Designed by Ryan Bowman at http://www.shakeupmedia.com/, this interactive graphical tool displays the relationship between a politician’s salary and the effectiveness of the government they are running. This effectiveness is represented by a so-called Good Governance Metric, calculated by taking The Democracy Index (DCI) published by The Economist, the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI) and the Perception of Corruption Index (PCI) by NGO Transparency International.

The larger the angle from the dot representing the country to the thick yellow line, the worse the governance.  Some of the countries positioning may surprise you, others surely won’t.  Obviously this is not an exact science, but nonetheless, it’s an interesting and effective way to present such data. Data from this analysis have been used in my top in popularity article  in Greek, that appeared in BHMA newspaper on 20/02/2010. You can see the full article here. You can interact with the data in the above picture  here. 

Nicholas Christakis: A new kind of social science is needed for the 21st century , says author of CONNECTED

In the 21^st century, the social sciences offer a promise for improving human welfare. The advances that we have made and will be making, especially in understanding human behavior and its very deep origins, will be translated into interventions of diverse sorts that will have a much bigger impact in terms of improving human welfare , said Nicholas Christakis in a recent  conversation  in EDGE (see video). Christakis  is a Physician and Social Scientist at Harvard University and Coauthor (with James Fowler) of  “Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and HowThey Shape Our Lives”. The book suggests that your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if you don't know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on your happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much we truly influence one another are revealed in the studies of Drs. Christakis. CONNECTED overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm-that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. A health care policy specialist Christakis (Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care) became interested in social connectivity when observing that the mortality rate of spouses spike after a partner passes away. Christakis sought out a collaboration with Fowler, a health systems and political scientist, and together they compare topology (the hows of a given structure) across different social networks to better explain how participation and positioning enhances the effectiveness of an individual, and why the "whole" of a network is "greater than the sum of its parts." Five basic rules describe the relationship between individuals and their networks-including mutual adaptation, the influence of friends and friends' friends, the network's "life of its own"-but the results do more than promote the good of the group: they also spread contagions; create "epidemics" of obesity, smoking and substance abuse; disseminate fads and markets; alter voting patterns; and more.

What Brands are Doing to Our Brains?

Brands activating our left angular gyrus, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex  or left orbitofrontal gyrus, ie systems  in our brain that are associated with the extraction of meaning, conceptual organization,  reward, etc could be  common topics in the  daily agenda of branding managers of  high-value brands in our  times.

Neurosciences have entered in a close engagement with marketing in search of the Holly Gray of Branding: finding  and controlling  our Buy  Button in the deep of our vast brain ocean with billions of connections.

But where are the ethical boundaries of such initiatives like  Neuromarketing and Brain Branding? Paradoxically, and contrary to what is believed by naïve observers and writers , in the last  decades the more the brands were growing  and flourishing the less  is the level of  human happiness and human satisfaction, in steady decline in the western world (see Easterlin Paradox).  We are not all aware but we are  living in the era of Branded…  Unhappiness, as I had analyzed in my  book Nice Capitalism. As Tim Kasser’s  (The High Price of Materialism) research shows, those who place a higher value on acquiring material goods  and brands, aren’t as happy as their less materialistic counterparts. He further provides evidence that such a behavior leads to low satisfaction, personality disorders and even antisocial behavior. And are the brands today that,

through advertising, are imposing our Value System  and Lifestyle.  But what is even more worrying is that brands , through overstimulation, invasion and manipulative techniques, could lead  individuals to  the dark sphere of depression. Depression will be the second larger killer after heart disease by 2020 and a contributor to coronary disease. Almost 15% of the population suffers severe depression  in the western world (more than 20 million Americans). Further on, it appears now  more and more in  the youth and not only in those around 40 years old. The mechanism that describes the secret path to depression in  our branded world is described in detailed in my book and is graphically presented in the illustration above (click to enlarge). As a scientist  with a long experience in marketing, I strongly believe that branding  should exist for the mutual  good of the individual and the business. And that good, ultimately, is to improve human satisfaction and human happiness and well – being. Those brands that are investing in the exploration of the ocean of  our brain connections should  return back to their true  and legal mission. In the opposite case the society has to  re - evaluate  their license to operate. What’s your opinion? Do you share the view that branding should have certain moral boundaries? Let’s start the discussion. 

Danish secrets for a Better Life- The country steadily tops all happiness metrics

How do you define a better life? What matters most to you – good schools, safe streets or something else?
Don’t worry. The Danes know all these secrets as they are No 1 in all relevant well-being , better life, and happiness indicators. Now, as usual, the are in the No1 position in a new indicator presented by OECD . It is called the Better Life Index. The OECD Better Life Initiative proposes an interactive tool, Your Better Life Index, which enables you to rate your country on the things you feel make for a better life. The benchmarks, which can be calculated for all 34 member OECD countries, fall into 11 areas: housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance.
The OECD’s intent is to encourage individuals to come up with weightings for measuring their country’s “better life” quality, and then submit that formula to the OECD. All the proposed calculations will be put into a database that the organization will consult in examining what matters most to individuals in evaluating quality of life. But if you want to make it short, just ask a ..Dane!

The Scandinavian Paradox: Scandinavian countries lead also in the new BCNF well-being index

An interesting study for better measuring people’s well-being: the BCFN Index from Barilla Center. The BCFN Index takes as its premise that a country’s wellbeing depends on many different variables that cannot solely be attributed to economic aspects. Hence, GDP, which for years has been deemed a partial indicator in portraying the state of economic growth and wealth of a country and its citizens, is no longer sufficient because it does not contemplate a number of elements that contribute to the social wellbeing of people. Hence, the BCFN Index introduces a series of new factors: dietary choices and habits, lifestyle, pathology rates, educational level, access to technology, level of political participation, and welfare system. The rankings, determined on the basis of the BCFN Index parameters, is led by Sweden with 7.23 points (on a 10-point scale), followed by Denmark with 6.88. Japan is in third place with 6.61 points, followed by a trio with similar scores: France (5.90), UK (5.81), and Germany (5.57). Italy is seventh with 4.85 points, just ahead of Spain (4.51). The United States (3.88 points) are in second-to-last place, with only Greece behind them (last with 3.29 points). The complete version of the BCFN Index report is here, while the related press release here.

Frontiers of Happiness

Dan Gilbert presents research and data from his exploration of happiness, sharing some surprising tests and experiments . To watch this TED video click here. Dan , a Harvard psychologist, believes that in our ardent, lifelong pursuit of happiness, most of us have the wrong map. In the same way that optical illusions fool our eyes -- and fool everyone’s eyes in the same way -- Gilbert argues that our brains systematically misjudge what will make us happy. TED is a global community that believes passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world and offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers.We are very pleased in this blog that we collaborate with this community and we look forward to contribute to it's motto "Ideas Worth Spreading".

Πόση ευτυχία χωράει μια γυναικεία τσάντα ?

04/05/2008, Αν και η ευτυχία μας φαίνεται μια κοινή έννοια , η ουσία της παραμένει δυσεξήγητη ανά τους αιώνες. Μπορούμε όμως να πούμε ότι για το δυτικό κόσμο τουλάχιστον, όπου έχουν λυθεί τα άμεσα προβλήματα επιβίωσης, υπάρχουν δυο τουλάχιστον στοιχεία που συμβάλουν στην ευτυχία του ατόμου , η αγάπη και η αναγνώριση . Αν και τα χρήματα, δεν μπορούν να αγοράσουν την αγάπη (... συνήθως, αλλά...), ωστόσο σίγουρα μπορούν να τραβήξουν την προσοχή πάνω μας και να πετύχουν έστω την πρόσκαιρη αναγνώριση. Σήμερα, όταν π.χ. αγοράζουμε μια τσάντα(δείτε εδω ενα απλοικό, αλλά ισως ¨χρηστικό¨, τοπ 10), ο σκοπός μας δεν είναι πλέον να αγοράσουμε κάτι χρηστικό, δηλαδή κάτι όπου θα τοποθετούμε το πορτοφόλι μας και τα αναγκαία μας προσωπικά αντικείμενα, αλλά να αποκτήσουμε ένα σύμβολο επιτυχίας. Μια γυναίκα που αγοράζει μια τσάντα μάρκας Leiber αξίας, συνήθως, 3.000 ευρώ ( δείτε εδώ μια ενδεικτική συλλογή) δεν αγοράζει την τσάντα αυτή για τη χρήση της αλλά μέσω της τσάντας αυτής αγοράζει αναγνώριση, κοινωνική θέση, δημοφιλία, έλξη και ίσως ικανοποίηση. Βασικά ¨αγοράζει¨ ένα κομμάτι ευτυχίας. Πρόσκαιρα όμως, γιατί όπως διαπιστώνεται από τις μελέτες, όσες περισσότερες γυναίκες αγοράσουν την ίδια τσάντα - και αυτό ¨φαίνεται¨ στον δρόμο - τόσο περισσότερο αρχίζουν να νοιώθουν απογοήτευση, ματαίωση και τελικά αντί για ευτυχία, αρχίζουν να νοιώθουν δυστυχία. Μέσα από τον αμείλικτο ψυχολογικό μηχανισμό της ¨προσαρμογής¨ και ¨σύγκρισης¨, η όποια στιγμιαία ικανοποίηση εξαφανίζεται γρήγορα. Και έτσι οι γυναίκες, συνήθως, πέφτουν στην παγίδα της ¨αγορομανίας¨( oniomania ). Οι ψυχαναγκαστικές / εθιστικές αγορές (compulsive shopping) , η ¨αγοροακολισμός¨ (shopaholism), η ¨αγορομανίας¨( oniomania ), κλπ έχουν ήδη αναγνωρισθεί ως μια ¨κλινική διαταραχή¨ από έγκυρους διεθνείς οργανισμούς. Την ίδια στιγμή αναπτύσσονται κατάλληλα αντικαταθλιπτικά φάρμακα για την καταπολέμηση εναντίον της αγορομανίας ( πχ Calexa , Lexapro της εταιρείας Forest Lab που δοκιμάζονται στο Stanford University Medical Center στην Αμερική ), ενώ μια ¨θεραπεία συζήτησης¨ (talking cure ) θα μπορούσε να είναι περισσότερο από αρκετή.
Τελικά, τι μπορεί να βρει κανείς ¨μέσα¨ σε μια τσάντα….έστω και (μέσης ) αξίας 3.000 ευρώ…..
( Πάντως η τσάντα στην φωτογραφία κοστίζει όχι τρεις χιλιάδες αλλά αρκετές εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες ευρώ . Είναι το σχέδιο Precious Rose και αποτελείται απο 1016 διαμάντια, 1169 ζαφείρια, χρυσό 18κ, κλπ. Πριν την παραγγείλετε , κάντε κλικ εδώ και δείτε "The Shopping Bag Lady" . Ενα βίντεο που ...σίγουρα θα σας βοηθήσει για να αποφασίσετε!!!)
(Από αναφορές και στοιχεία απο το βιβλίο “Nice” Capitalism )

Η ευτυχία δεν μένει πια εδώ …

23/10/2009,Στους οικονομολόγους , από δεκαετίες είναι γνωστό το Παράδοξο της Προόδου ( Easterlin Paradox ) που παρατηρείται στις αναπτυγμένες οικονομίες στην Δύση. Σύμφωνα με αυτό, ενώ το εισόδημα των πολιτών αυξάνεται σταθερά τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες (ΑΕΠ / κατά κεφαλή ), το επίπεδο ικανοποίησης και ευτυχίας τους παραμένει σταθερό η και σε κάποιες περιπτώσεις μειώνεται . Πέρα από την πιο πάνω γενική διαπίστωση, η Ελλάδα παρουσιάζει ένα δεύτερο ¨Ελληνικό Παράδοξο , οι Έλληνες πολίτες, σύμφωνα με διεθνή στοιχεία , εμφανίζουν τα τελευταία χρόνια σταθερά μείωση του επιπέδου ευτυχίας τους και καταλήγουν πλέον να είναι οι πιο δυστυχισμένοι στην Ευρώπη . Τούτο, σε αντίθεση με τις χώρες του Βορρά που έχουν τους πιο ευτυχισμένους πολίτες(πχ Δανία). Έτσι η όλη υπόθεση περί ευτυχισμένων Ελλήνων, δίπλα στην θάλασσα και κάτω από τον ήλιο, με το προστατευτικό δίχτυ αλληλεγγύης της Ελληνικής οικογένειας από την μία πλευρά και των μελαγχολικών , καταθλιπτικών , με αυξημένους δείκτες αυτοκτονιών πχ Σκανδιναβών, καταρρέει . Στη δεκαετία του '80 οι δείκτες ικανοποίησης των Ελλήνων ήταν ανοδικοί. Υπήρχε μια αισιοδοξία ότι θα βελτιωθεί το βιοτικό επίπεδο τους . Μείωση του βαθμού ικανοποίησης υπήρξε τη δεκαετία του '90 και το 2000. Στις μέρες μας αποτυπώνεται μια δραματική κάθοδος στους δείκτες αυτούς. Τα πράγματα έχουν αλλάξει. Όπως αναφέρουν χαρακτηριστικά οι αναλυτές, "ο Ζορμπάς δεν ζει πια εδώ" . Οι έρευνες αποτυπώνουν τον έντονο προβληματισμό του Έλληνα, την απαισιοδοξία του για το αύριο μαζί και τους φόβους του για το σήμερα. Καταγράφουν ένα κλίμα δυσαρέσκειας, ανησυχίας, απογοήτευσης , ανασφάλειας και φυσικά μιλούν για ανθρώπους που δεν εμπιστεύονται κυβερνήσεις, πολιτικά κόμματα και βασικούς θεσμούς της Πολιτείας. Ολόκληρο το σχετικό άρθρο του Κώστα Κατάρα βρίσκεται εδώ (σε Word), ενω δημοσιεύτηκε και στην εφημερίδα ΤΟ ΒΗΜΑ στις 4/12/2009.