Political polarisation, voter tribalism and recent, fervent social movements like #grabyourwallet, #MeToo, and #TimesUp have changed the face of brand engagement and consumer loyalty in virtually every brand sector this year.
Brand Keys 23rd annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index has identified new consumer values that have combined to create unprecedented shifts that ‘define’ how consumers view categories, compare brands and options within particular categories, and how they will buy, buy again, and remain loyal to a brand.
The shift in values has resulted in brand leadership changes (and same-store sales and profitability figures) in 60% of the 84 B2C and B2B categories tracked, which includes 761 brands, evaluated by 50 527 US consumers.
These leadership adjustments are startling in-and-of-themselves, but the fact that brands haven’t had to deal with this kind of political polarization or social turmoil at the same time is truly noteworthy for marketers.
From a behavioural perspective, ‘brand engagement’ is best defined by how well a brand is viewed by consumers as meeting their expectations for the values that drive purchase behaviour in a given category.
In 2018, the top 5 brand sectors that showed the largest, overall shifts in category values and path-to-purchase dynamics were:
1. Instant Messaging
2. Retail
3. Broadcast and Cable News
4. Financial Services
5. Social Networking
The top 5 sectors reacting most to Political Tribalism values were:
1. Broadcast and Cable News
2. Financial Services
3. Banks / Credit Cards
4. Automotive
5. Hotels (luxury)
The top 5 sectors reacting most to values associated with Social Activism were:
1. Retail (all sectors)
2. Restaurants (all sectors)
3. Social Networking
4. Smartphones
5. Consumer Packaged Goods
Robert Passikoff is a world-renowned leader in the development of predictive marketing metrics, and the founder and President of Brand Keys, Inc., a brand marketing consultancy with a track record of big brand success.
