Brands need to focus more on creating a visible offering for their consumers - CLICKON Social Labs investigates people’s connection to ‘the visible’ and how this can impact the brand experience.
- Our CLICKON Social Labs poll investigated ‘Why Would You Choose To Eat Healthier?’ Results showed that only 2% of participants said they do so to, ‘Think Better’.
- The highest-ranking motivator, at 28%, is to ‘Look Better’ which outlines the key argument of these findings - consumers are more motivated and focused on visible results.
- This research demonstrates that a brand’s visible offering and the brand experience are intrinsically linked. A brand experience goes beyond simply a logo or graphic that is associated with a company, it encompasses the whole consumer journey and for a customer to commit to this process, they need to see visible results.
“In 2016, the global wellness industry was worth $3 trillion, three times bigger than the worldwide pharmaceutical industry. In 2017, it reached $4.2 trillion.” Global Wellness Institute, 2018.
Plenty of research has been conducted regarding the benefits of healthy eating - from Omega-3 promoting brain health in children to calcium which is vital for bone health, both of which have long-term health benefits. However, in a poll conducted by the CLICKON Social Labs, 28% of participants stated that their main motivation for healthy eating is to improve their physical appearance.
When considering a company, the physical appearance consumers are focused on correlates to how effective the brand experience appears. Brand experience above all else will place a company above the competition. With the current global market and the amount of advertising consumers are exposed to, it is essential to stand out from the crowd. Consumers will always have multiple choices at their disposal that might well be better than the brand in question, what will set brand X above brand Y is the visible offering that makes the brand X experience unique.
Furthermore, when the topics of healthy eating and exercise are discussed, the main response and motivator is to help people lose weight. Ads seen on Instagram, Facebook, and TV, whether promoting weight loss supplements or fitness regimes, focus on losing weight. So, unsurprisingly, only 2% of participants stated that they eat healthy foods to think better.
So what? Well, this focus consumers have on achieving visible goals is something brands would do well to consider. The world we live in is becoming a far more appearance oriented society - whether this is a general physical appearance or the appearance of a product or service, consumers want it clear, obvious, and consistent. While creating a unique brand experience for consumers is essential, brands must also ensure they are consistent and recognisable. Whether business is gained from consumers or other agencies, if a company can develop brand familiarity, they will achieve a long-term visible offering that their consumers can connect with.
In a survey conducted by the Mental Health Foundation of 4,505 UK adults (18+) and 1,118 UK teenagers (13-19 years old), more than 22% of adults and 40% of teenagers said that photos on social media caused them to worry about their body image.
For example, on Instagram, the majority of influencers will have a certain body image, presenting a goal that followers will try to attain, which has implications for the products they endorse and promote. These influencers are not discussing what foods will promote brain activity.
What can brands do about this? With influencer marketing booming, brands must be pulling their resources together to provide consumers with visible offerings that are relevant to them. To connect with consumers, brands need to demonstrate exactly what kind of company is behind the brand experience - consumers are increasingly more interested in brands that share some of their values and vulnerabilities, whilst being authentic storytellers. Embracing this will mean brands can spin a consumer’s negative fixation on ‘the visible’ into one that is more positive.
Following this, whether the motivator is health, self-improvement or appearance, the discussion surrounding health and general wellbeing is always changing and growing, with the focus moving away from fad diets to fitness regimes, and from junk food to nutritious balanced diets. CLICKON Social Labs found that 23% of participants ate healthily to improve their general health and to feel better in themselves. Despite not being an immediately visible result, this reason for healthy eating does provide a tangible goal, which people will notice and feel the impact of directly, unlike ‘eating right to think better’. For brands, this again means providing a consistent and relevant brand experience that consumers can familiarise themselves with.
Through the research conducted by CLICKON Social Labs, it is evident that people connect strongly to visible results, regardless of how much they know about a product or service. Unless a product or brand remains in plain sight, they will not care about it and it will be quickly forgotten. Brands need to consider this, not only by making their brand experience more visible but by also providing a visible offering, because as our poll established, visibility is a key motivator.
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