Changes in Consumer Behavior Can Affect Ad Agency New Business.

Understanding your prospect's mindset is essential to developing new business for an ad agency. Clients want leadership and new ideas from their agency, as many are simply overwhelmed by the onslaught of new media options and the need for a strategy that marries new technology options with traditional media. Agencies that thrive today aren't just making good ads, they are helping their clients build a bridge between their brand and their customers, and a new report from Interpublic Group's Initiative offers new insights on how the recession is affecting consumer behavior that have implications for marketers that every agency should understand.


"The Game Changer" report concludes that the recession, in combination with the Internet, has created some permanent changes in consumer behavior. This isn't necessarily new information, but the specifics of how much these changes will affect marketers can be a tool for new business prospecting.
Here are three of the main conclusions from this study. I highly recommend that you download and review the complete study. A link is shown at the bottom of this post.

Internet content now seen as more reliable than traditional media.
While consumers still rely on television and newspapers for information, a growing number cite the Internet as their primary source, with 35% now saying that Internet content is more reliable and detailed than TV. This can have major implications for marketers who continue to place a substantial portion of their advertising dollars in traditional media. Brands must be prepared to engage with their customers on the customer's terms, not the marketers, and smart agencies can use this to offers prospects strategic alternatives to transition from a "push" strategy to a "pull" strategy.

"Reliability" and "honesty" are more important than brand heritage.
One of the most significant implications for marketers is that the recession has accelerated the decline in trust of institutions (and concomitantly brand advertising), and created an opening for social platforms and online consumer content to be seen as more trustworthy. The report calls for brand communications that are transparent and authentic, and that brands need to display values that are consistent with the personal beliefs of their customers to be respected and supported. This calls for a totally new approach to communication and offers yet another reason for marketers to consider a new agency.

The Internet and mobile phone have become essential "tools for life".
Perhaps the most far-reaching conclusion from the study is that 75% of respondents see the Internet as an indispensable resource for entertainment, information, communication and shopping. Over half (56%) consider the mobile phone the second most essential form of technology. Importantly, the study concludes that consumers now have an emotional connection with the online world and activities like shopping will never be the same. The opportunity for an agency to help a client develop a more complete and holistic social strategy that complements traditional communication vehicles has never been greater.

There are several other important conclusions, but the overall takeaway from this study is that the economic crisis is a game changer for consumers. And that makes it a game changer for marketers. Any agency looking for new business would be wise to determine how it changes the game for your biz dev efforts.

View the complete study and accompanying article at: http://tr.im/pnqa.
And thanks to @briannewberry for the alert!

What do you think? Do you agree that these changes in consumer behavior affect how you can approach new business prospects?