Strugglers are a rich seam to mine
LAST week we looked at an audience whom few marketers address. The ‘resigned’ poor. People who have accepted their circumstances.
By Chris Harrison
LAST week we looked at an audience whom few marketers address. The ‘resigned’ poor. People who have accepted their circumstances.
These millions are usually only addressed by the Aid community, which is hardly likely to brighten their day. But good work must be done or the budget will not be renewed.
Most marketers view the ’bottom’ of society as a lumpen mass. They would rather spend dollars on chubby, shiny-faced middle-income families who need lavatory paper, ice cream, palm oil and beef patties.
Not necessarily in that order. They would prefer to encourage you to drive a Jaguar, burn your frequent flier miles, or mooch about in a premium banking lounge.
But the mass is far from lumpen. Quite apart from the fact that everyone is an individual, there are distinct motivations that drive how poorer people live their lives. The first motivation is day-to-day survival.
That is what drives the people we call the ‘resigned’. They believe they cannot change things, but they are determined to see the sun rise tomorrow.
But at the same level in society, we find people with a different motivation. They are determined to escape from present circumstance. Not just in Africa, but all over the world. We know this, because at Y&R we divide the population of the globe by their motivations and values.
The seven segments, which help us to persuade a Botswana client that Namibians are not so very different after all.
‘Strugglers’ are optimists. Every day will bring a fresh opportunity. In Africa (and globally) they often leave home and take casual work far away.
They remit most of what they earn. They rise early and retire late. They work hard, physically. Their dawn and dusk are marked by long and often hazardous travel. They seek solace in alcohol and in evangelical religion.
They used to enjoy a single cigarette after work, until the WHO took that small pleasure from them.
They look for the big chance – lotteries, promotions and free offers.
Many marketers are still unaware that most promotion entries come from strugglers who do not use their brand and are unlikely ever to do so again.
Despite the fact that winners often sell their new Pick-up truck to buy donkeys, never drink Stout again, and are unable to obtain the passport necessary to permit them travel to Disney’s Magic Kingdom, strugglers are a rich seam for marketers to mine.
Their frustrated material desire makes them crave expensive cellphones and super-sized audio systems. Their time-constrained life and lack of joy urges them towards junk food and quick fixes from sodas, sweets and snacks.
They respond to colour and loud noise – music, voices and ringtones. They are drawn to watch sport and other big-crowd events because their life is the life of the onlooker.
They are impulsive: they break the rules. Look at any boda-boda, matatu or taxi minibus crew in Africa. You are looking at strugglers.
Successful struggler brands are brash and rugged. The lovable rogue - charming and fun, but slightly devious. They never talk down. Instead they talk the world up.
Many years ago in Africa a large brewing group launched a ‘bottom end’ beer brand. Its proposition was capable of the translation ‘Beer enough for the likes of you’. Its label was matt paper, cheaply printed, and it always came in the most scuffed bottles.
It enjoyed initial success, especially among the resigned, who accepted that this was as good as it could get.
But strugglers were embarrassed by its condescension. In bars they peeled off the label, or turned the bottle so no one else could see their badge of shame.
When we launched a competitor brand with bright, smart packaging and a proposition that encouraged people to be the best they could be, we wiped it out of the market in less than a year.
To comment on this article, visit www.chrisharrison.biz
Copyright Christopher James Harrison. PO Box 41036 Nairobi 00100 Kenya
LAST week we looked at an audience whom few marketers address. The ‘resigned’ poor. People who have accepted their circumstances.
These millions are usually only addressed by the Aid community, which is hardly likely to brighten their day. But good work must be done or the budget will not be renewed.
Most marketers view the ’bottom’ of society as a lumpen mass. They would rather spend dollars on chubby, shiny-faced middle-income families who need lavatory paper, ice cream, palm oil and beef patties.
Not necessarily in that order. They would prefer to encourage you to drive a Jaguar, burn your frequent flier miles, or mooch about in a premium banking lounge.
But the mass is far from lumpen. Quite apart from the fact that everyone is an individual, there are distinct motivations that drive how poorer people live their lives. The first motivation is day-to-day survival.
That is what drives the people we call the ‘resigned’. They believe they cannot change things, but they are determined to see the sun rise tomorrow.
But at the same level in society, we find people with a different motivation. They are determined to escape from present circumstance. Not just in Africa, but all over the world. We know this, because at Y&R we divide the population of the globe by their motivations and values.
The seven segments, which help us to persuade a Botswana client that Namibians are not so very different after all.
‘Strugglers’ are optimists. Every day will bring a fresh opportunity. In Africa (and globally) they often leave home and take casual work far away.
They remit most of what they earn. They rise early and retire late. They work hard, physically. Their dawn and dusk are marked by long and often hazardous travel. They seek solace in alcohol and in evangelical religion.
They used to enjoy a single cigarette after work, until the WHO took that small pleasure from them.
They look for the big chance – lotteries, promotions and free offers.
Many marketers are still unaware that most promotion entries come from strugglers who do not use their brand and are unlikely ever to do so again.
Despite the fact that winners often sell their new Pick-up truck to buy donkeys, never drink Stout again, and are unable to obtain the passport necessary to permit them travel to Disney’s Magic Kingdom, strugglers are a rich seam for marketers to mine.
Their frustrated material desire makes them crave expensive cellphones and super-sized audio systems. Their time-constrained life and lack of joy urges them towards junk food and quick fixes from sodas, sweets and snacks.
They respond to colour and loud noise – music, voices and ringtones. They are drawn to watch sport and other big-crowd events because their life is the life of the onlooker.
They are impulsive: they break the rules. Look at any boda-boda, matatu or taxi minibus crew in Africa. You are looking at strugglers.
Successful struggler brands are brash and rugged. The lovable rogue - charming and fun, but slightly devious. They never talk down. Instead they talk the world up.
Many years ago in Africa a large brewing group launched a ‘bottom end’ beer brand. Its proposition was capable of the translation ‘Beer enough for the likes of you’. Its label was matt paper, cheaply printed, and it always came in the most scuffed bottles.
It enjoyed initial success, especially among the resigned, who accepted that this was as good as it could get.
But strugglers were embarrassed by its condescension. In bars they peeled off the label, or turned the bottle so no one else could see their badge of shame.
When we launched a competitor brand with bright, smart packaging and a proposition that encouraged people to be the best they could be, we wiped it out of the market in less than a year.
To comment on this article, visit www.chrisharrison.biz
Copyright Christopher James Harrison. PO Box 41036 Nairobi 00100 Kenya