THE PHILIPPINES, FEBRUARY 1, 2012: JWT Manila gave the Filipino flavor to 2012’s Top 10 Consumer Trends at this year’s First Press, held last January 31 at Opus Bar and Lounge, Resorts World. Presented by JWT Manila’s executive planning director Pam Garcia, the report shows how marketers and creatives can use these trends to forge new ways of interacting with Filipino consumers.
#1 Navigating the new normal
Filipino factor: While the United States is just starting to find novelty in “sachet” servings, Filipinos, since more adroit with cost-cutting methods, have gone a step further by offering “in-one” sachet products with boosted benefits. Brands are also offering the most accessible entry points for consumers—telcos have introduced combo plans where consumers can mix and match mobile services according to their consumption. The ‘unli’ and ‘immortal’ trend come from the same aim of stretching every Juan’s peso.
# 2 Live a little
Filipino factor: End-of-week rewards excite the Filipino consumer—lower-income consumers indulge in spa and beauty treatments, while middle-income consumers treat themselves with specialty desserts. An exciting trend is the rise of deal-buying sites which create an urgent need for items normally seen as luxuries. Impulsive ‘splurging’ is justified by the amount they would save.
#3 Generation Go
Filipino factor: Filipino entrepreneurs are getting younger, fueled by a sense of experimentation than the need to put food on the table. The challenge for young brands is to bridge the gap between novelty and longevity.
#4 The Rise of Shared Value
Filipino factor: Locally, a social conscience is more evident in higher-tier markets. Products from social businesses are most commonly introduced as ts handed by the affluent and upper mid-class market. Local social businesses are also getting strong backing by multinational companies. For the middle and lower-income segments, price value is still prioritized over social value. A challenge is to use the latter to up the overall value of products.
#5 Food as the new eco issue
Filipino factor: The eco-issue is not yet picked up by the Filipino consusmers—its little manifestations are spurred more by health concerns than ecological worries. But it is getting on a healthy start, thanks to gourmet restaurants and upscale weekend markets that advocate organic and sustainable eating that become aspirational.
#6 Marriage Optional
Filipino factor: Though women are more tolerant of alternative lifestyles, single mothers do not figure prominently in ads and brand communications. A segment that holds strong potential is the 35-45 year-old, single-by-choice women who like to indulge in ‘temporarily single bonding vacations.’
#7 Reengineering Randomness
Filipino factor: Filipinos are still enjoying the early stages of hyperpersonalized services and is far from feeling saturation. A reason behind this is that local brands are not as aggressive to do online profiling of their consumers. Instead of brands creating random experiences, Filipino consumers actively use digital platforms to discover unexpected ‘offline’ experiences, like searching for the next midnight ‘surprise’ sale, or in discovering hole-in-the-wall food grubs.
#8 Screened Interactions
Filipino factor: Malls, whether in the high or middle end of the economic spectrum, use interactive touch-screen directories. SM Cinemas have also introduced the Winema where the audience controls the game by acting as one large joystick. Winema offers brands a chance to capture and interact with the whole audience at once.
#9 Celebrating aging
The global and local scene is one in this trend: more grandparents are becoming adept at gadgets and are getting the physical rigor to join their grandkids in their activities. GlamMas (glamorous senior women) are becoming the face of their generation, which has given a strong boost to the health and beauty sectors.
#10 Objectifying Objects
Filipino factor: Analog is now the new cool in branding. Local designers use novelties from the 90s such as cassette tapes, video games, and postcards as inspiration. Interestingly, these items complement today’s gadgets—iPod cases are patterned after cassette tapes, and experimental bands go back to vinyl recordings.
