Consumer attitudes: Cynicism, resistance

 

The article reports research among young people studying a) their aspirations and concerns (and the place of commercial products within them), b) attitudes to advertisements. Results suggest that mate ...

The article describes a research project for the bank HSBC into people's attitudes to the financial situation. The project, started in August 2008, was originally intended to look at the credit crunch

This paper deals with collective consumer resistance - that is, organised forms of reaction against the market. In detail, it describes BookCrossing (BC) as an alternative mode of book exchange. This ...

The provision of goods and services in India has been transformed in the last ten years: where once it took weeks to get a phone installed, it is now a matter of hours; previously, brand choice was li ...

Using a wealth of examples - from the Diet Coke/Mentos experiments to Dove, Red Bull and Oxfam - Brian Dargan and Matthew Hunt, from DraftFCB, explain the challenge of 'digital extremists'. These are ...

Chris Peterson, founder of Chautauqua Communications, argues that clients no longer need conventional agency creative departments and disciplines. The advent of the pro-active, internet-smart consumer ...

This paper introduces the idea that businesses ought to be concerned about a form of consumer protest known as culture jamming, and then sets out the problem of how to research a phenomenon that is no ...

The threat of being permanently tagged as a model of social irresponsibility haunts the pharmaceutical industry in emerging markets like Brazil. For different reasons, the conditions to put the perfor ...

As consumer healthcare costs escalate, the pharmaceutical industry continues to lose consumer trust. Pharmaceutical companies can reduce consumers' drug costs as a route to improving the industry's im ...

This paper looks at how trust, authority and science are currently 'communicated' in the pharma and other sectors. Semiotic analyses show how it is possible to leverage certain codes in order to build ...

Understanding underlying consumer needs and drivers of trust can help build intense consumer relationships. Exploring the consumer experience across CPG, automotive, financial services and other secto ...

Anti-globalisation thinking is strong across Europe, especially in France and Germany. This paper explores how anti-globalisation thinking affects younger consumers, an important market for brand owne ...

The ability to innovate is a fundamental marketing activity, yet it remains a precarious one for many marketers. Market learning is frequently viewed as a precursor to successful innovation, but the t ...

Based on UK and European research conducted by Synovate in 2004, Clare Langham and Lucy Blakemore argue that wellbeing - a combination of physical, emotional and spiritual fulfilment - is more relevan ...

Discusses the growth of anti-American feeling, and whether it is a real trend that marketers need to take into account. The study reported combined desk research, qualitative expert interviews, group ...

Suggests that the philosophy of Marx, especially his concept of `alienation’, applies to consumers today, as they become more cynical about the aims of commercial and political marketing. Consumers ar ...

Over the last few years ‘trust’ has become one of the most talked about issues in marketing, research and academic circles. While it is claimed that trust is collapsing, trust is seen to be more impor ...

Discusses Consumer Cynicism, about which marketers complain. Argues that marketers are mistaken in regarding such cynicism as wholly negative, and to be overcome by even more strident communication an ...

Argues that business leaders now face the same challenges as politicians, as a result of a more aggressive media and assertive public. Companies are evaluated the same way as political parties. The co ...

Jim Stengel of P & G asserts that consumers are gaining control over areas previously owned by manufacturers and that the marketing industry has been slow to respond to the new landscape. He contends ...

The author contrast present day consumer habits with those of the 1970's. He identifies what has changed including gender roles, consumption of exotic foods, men doing more cooking and increased eatin ...

Chris McDonald asks whether it is time to revolutionise the approach to marketing due to the rapid increase in the number of TV stations, magazines and growth in advertising expenditure. The number of ...

The nature of opinion has changed dramatically over the last few years. Once the vertical, hierarchical model defining the flow of information was the most popular method used by organisations seeking ...

James Murphy argues that the attainability of trust is becoming harder for brands, in an era when consumers are more knowledgeable and cynical. He suggests that it may be time to reassess the concept ...

Sean Pillot de Chenecey forecasts the trends for brands during 2003. He identifies 'big food' as being in a similar position to tobacco a few years ago. He reviews the threat of obesity both in the ...

Interview (Judie Lannon) with Noreena Hertz, author of `the Silent Takeover'. The thesis of this book is that governments are ceding power to multinational corporations, that people are recognising th ...

This is an overview of new developments in media and the ways in which consumers have increased their control over their exposure to advertising messages. In spite of dramatic changes in favour of th ...

There is much talk about the savvy consumer, where savvy seems to mean knowledgeable, powerful, even playfully, ironically, knowingly engaging with brands and advertising. Is this true, do brands have ...

This paper is based on the results of a global qualitative project covering 14 countries across North and South America, East and West Europe, Asia and Australia. Advertising clearly plays a substanti ...

This paper explores why some technologies (e.g. IT and telecoms) are well embraced whereas others, such as biotechnology, are more likely to generate anxiety. It examines the role of the internet in d ...