Transcript Merchants of Cool study for Miller Brewing Co.

Innovative Planning Ideas for Miller
June 2001
 2001 Starcom Worldwide
Purpose
The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of tools
available through Starcom to aid in the development of brand media
strategies.
These tools are intended to explore the mindset of the consumer in order
to create synergies between a strategy and the consumer’s relationship
with a product and or media.
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
Qualitative Tools:
Merchants of Cool and Media Pathways
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Merchants of Cool
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Explores successful creative marketing techniques involving high
impact qualitative data
Cool Hunting
Media Pathways
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A savvy qualitative tool developed by Starcom to help clients
understand their target consumers and how they interact with
media
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Proctor and Gamble successfully implemented Media Pathways for
2001 planning
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
Why use Qualitative Tools?
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Our goals are threefold:
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Incorporate these philosophies into 2002 planning
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Conceivable benefit: Deepen awareness of who our consumer is and
the effective media mix needed to reach them
Capitalize on progressive marketing techniques as we head into
local market meetings
Better define the passion groups of the LDAC-27
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Media Pathways Working for Miller
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Develop deeper insight into the diverse media landscape of the
consumers life
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How they interact with and attend to media over the course of the
day
Develop understanding of consumers media behavior, including
secondary media
Understand their lifestyle, needs and interests
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Develop new means of effective contact
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Understanding the Lifestyle
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Cool Hunting
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Searching for a certain type of “personality” in a given social
network
Discovering trends and their source
Distinguishing between people who start trends, “innovators,” and
people who spread trends, “trendsetters”
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This phenomenon is “originality”
 Trendsetters are those who have the respect, admiration, and
trust of their friends to influence specific social networks
Cool Hunting uses “culture spies” as the market researchers
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Culture spies develop relationships with these trendsetters to get an in
depth understanding of the “cool” culture
 MRMs could have been utilized as “culture spies”
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
Taking the Media Savvy by Storm
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Emerging importance of Cool Hunting
 Consumers are more knowledgeable and aware of traditional
marketing techniques
 Need to market to these players without them knowing
 Sprite and Hip Hop
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
Taking the Media Savvy by Storm (cont.)
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Important to keep up with trends
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The faster marketers pickup on what is “cool”, the faster it dies and
a new form of “cool” is reborn
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The gold shaded area represents companies, products and people that
are considered “cool” by trendsetters
The red shaded area represents companies, products and people that
were cool about a year ago and now the mass market is starting to
follow suit
The blue shaded area represents companies, products and people that
are no longer “cool”
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
How does a Trend Spread?
Cool
Key Takeaway: Miller can ask
innovators and trendsetters
for the trends. Ultimately, it diffuses
down itself!
Create idea
2%
Innovators
Picks up on idea
and claims it as their own
17%
Trendsetters
% Varies
Early Adopters
80%
Mainstream
Makes “Cool” idea more
palatable for mass
consumption
Picks up on idea and
runs with it
*Source “Merchants of Cool” website
Kills Cool
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The Feedback Loop
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No clear dichotomy of media and consumer--both influence
each other in the loop
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Does the media mirror the consumer or does the consumer mirror
the media?
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Miller Lite as the football beer
Miller could benefit from identifying the innovators and early
adopters and take their lead
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The media, chosen by Miller, will reflect the consumer’s lifestyles;
closing the gap on the feedback loop
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
Snapshot of Media Pathways
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Based on qualitative survey (questionnaire and impromptu
conversations) given to twenty A21-27 in the Chicago-land area
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Goal of survey is to remove beer drinking biases in hopes to find
new and innovative ways to reach viable niches within the
consumers market
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The Skinny on Beer Drinkers… the Hypothesis...
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What are these people doing and who are they? We found these
personalities emerging:
Miller Lite
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“Calorie Counters”
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Men and Women
Health conscious - Lite vs. full calorie
Fun/ spontaneous
Social drinker - supported by “events”
Image oriented
Gregarious/ life of the party
MGD
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“Music Junkie”
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Essentially MGD has identified this target, but could improve upon method
of reach
Heavy music goers - heavy listeners and attendees of rock, hip-hop and
purchasers of music
Progressive music tastes - setting precedent for “cool” music groups
Digitally inclined - on the cutting edge of high technology
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The Skinny on Beer Drinkers…
the Hypothesis…(cont.)
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High Life
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“Action sports buff”
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Free-Styler
 Interested in skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, sports climbing,
street ludging, wakeboarding, sky surfing, BMX, motorcross/
supercross, free style motorcross
Extremist/ Risk Taker
Mocker of “cool” -- it is “cool” because it is so un-cool
Maverick, thrive on adventure, thrill seekers
Listener of non-mainstream music, sometimes very hard to find in
stores
Motto: “I don’t like a lot of rules.”
Companies loyal to: Shift, Vans, Fox Racing, Spy, LBZ and
Alpinestar
Caveat: Underage composition -- how to get around it
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
The Skinny on Beer Drinkers…
the Hypothesis…(cont.)
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High Life (cont.)
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Blue Collar Drinker
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The consumers drink High Life because it is not the norm for their
demographic
The “Action sports buff” is a second niche to the established High Life
drinker
 The first niche is needed for the second to exist
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How do we Apply Media Pathways?
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Use traditional media in non-traditional ways
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Emerging technology (such as TiVo and Replay TV) is changing the
media landscape
Presenting sponsorships
Product placement
Get savvy about promotions - the latest craze
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Enhance existing Miller promotions
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Test Market: Upgrade an existing MGD Chicago promotion by hosting
event at a trendy venue like “Doubledoor”
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How do we Apply Media Pathways? (cont.)
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Themes
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Beer as a badge
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Different “Miller Times”
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Create brand identity that the consumer will be proud to be associated
with
After work hours
Leisure activities
Key “Miller Appointments”
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Super Bowl
Oscar’s/ Grammy’s - Pre and Post
Daytona 500
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How do we Apply Media Pathways? (cont.)
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High-Voltage Marketing
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Street marketing
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Increase brand awareness and develop personal interface with the
consumer via grassroots events--convergence of media and events
Give the consumer an unforgettable experience that will last a lifetime
 MBCo. can create a more intimate relationship through
experiences rather than building a relationship through traditional
media (seeing a TV commercial)
 Ex. “Genuine Opportunities” during The Taste of Chicago,
Octoberfest, Jazzfest etc… that a consumer couldn’t get
anywhere else
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Media Pathways is the Tool to get this Savvy Data
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While IMS, MRI give great qualitative data, it is not enough
Media Pathways offers a four stage qualitative process
Lesson 3, Media Pathways
Qualitative
Media
Lifestyle
Understand Habits
Linkage
Between
Product
Usage
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
Through Media Pathways-Driving Media Effectiveness
Ideas Start to Come to Life
Via Research Insights
Target
Defining what our consumers
key moments are is colossal
Core Insight:
My Moment
Media
Bringing
The Idea To Life
Brand
Magazines
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National TV
Planning should be based
on these findings,
eliminating “conjecture”
in scheduling
Local TV
Out of Home
My
Moment
In-store
Newspapers
Events
Internet
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The Four Stage Process
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One day diary--documents activities, product usage and media
usage over the course of a day
Focus groups
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A unique emphasis
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Diary forms basis of discussion
In home interviews
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Real behavior in a real world setting
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Understanding media involvement exploring lifestyle and category
related media opportunities
A lot like Merchants of Cool “culture spies” who went into teens homes
to conduct research
Exercise and discussion--summary of diary experience
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Changing the Rules of Marketing
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Paradigm shift--media giants control media marketplace
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How can Miller become partners with a behemoth media giant as
Clear Channel (market brands accordingly)
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Radio
Internet
Eller Outdoor
SFX
Synergistic approach: cross-platform marketing package
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MBCo. could improve their fluidity across mediums
Companies like Clear Channel are leading the cross-platform
marketing trend, making it important to partner with them
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
Winning in the 21st Century
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“Cool Hunting” is a revolutionary new way of richening strategies
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More texture
More insight--adds compelling qualitative data to quantitative
Grounded in consumer insight
“Cool Hunting” is important because it intends to marry a
corporation and a culture
As consumers become more educated and increasingly aware
of marketing techniques, MBCo. needs to reach them by using
non-traditional, savvy approaches
Move forward with action plan in test markets
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Initiate a research program using “Media Pathways” in select Miller
markets
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide
Appendix
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Questionnaire
Acting as "Culture Spies”
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 2001 Starcom Worldwide