MUMBAI: BBDO Worldwide and Microsoft Advertising have unveiled findings from a global study that aims to help marketers find “the next billion consumers”, by exploring consumers’ emotional connections with television, PCs, and mobile devices.
The report says that TV is like an old, reliable and entertaining friend, an everyman that sits comfortably and passively in your home.
However, there are differences around the world, and among age groups, especially in Russia and China where TV grew up as something viewers were wary of, given that it was state-owned.
The study also claims that PC is like an older sibling … someone to learn from, show off to, and compete with. It’s far more trusted than TV, especially in Eastern countries and among younger consumers because they can control/choose the content on their PCs.
The research has termed mobile device, a “new lover”. According to the report, it’s the most personal device and something users feel close to. They want it with them at all times. It is a relationship that is just beginning and, as such, cuts across all age groups and geographies because of its “newness.”
“Tablets are actually something of a mix of the other screens”, the study reveals.
BBDO North America CMO Simon Bond said, “Archetypes will continue to evolve as devices become more sophisticated, and audiences grow older, younger or more mature. While some marketers may have mastered individual screens, no one has mastered them all. Therefore, when advertising is optimised for these screens, it could have the potential to attract ‘the next billion customers,’ especially when you look at places like India where there are more than 100 million PC users or in China where there are three times as many mobile users.”
Microsoft Advertising VP global marketing Marc Bresseel said there’s empirical evidence to prove that when a consumer is more receptive to a message, that message will be far more effective.
BBDO and Microsoft worked with Ipsos, a global research company, utilising projection techniques, picture interpretation, quantitative and qualitative analyses to gather survey feedback from more than 1,500 consumers in five different countries including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UK and the U.S.
The report was revealed at the 58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes.
