Marketing Lessons On Addressing Shifting Consumer Attitudes

Connecting with consumers at a time when preferences are fast-changing, brings new challenges to all marketers, including those who spend aggressively in the experiential marketing domain. Pointing out that there this a gap between action and intention, both on the marketer and the consumer side, marketing leaders state that adaptivity and flexibility are key in bridging this gap.

The experts highlight some lessons that marketers can look at in their journey of connecting with consumers effectively and efficiently.

Sustainability Is Mainstream

Marketers have a responsibility to create awareness around sustainability. “About a year ago, we decided at Pernod Ricard to remove about 500 million mono-cartons from across the packaging. It was an industry-first initiative because the mono-carton is an extremely important part of the marketing mix for the alcohol industry. We’re not allowed to advertise and it’s a highly regulated space,” said Minoo Phakey, Chief Innovation Officer, Pernod Ricard.

Pernod Ricard comes from a category that is a massive spender in creating experiences. Citing data, Phakey said that all the mono-cartons that were used for packaging were going to waste and then landfills, which was a real issue. “We decided as an organisation to remove them altogether. This led to almost an equivalent of saving 2,50,000 lakh trees and the rest of the industry followed suit,” she added.

Tackling Multiple Power Centres

In a world increasingly overrun by information and opinions, viewpoints at different stages of the purchase journey can influence decisions. These also differ from category to category.

“Multiple power centres influencing purchases is not new. In a high-involvement purchase decision, such as a car, it's always been complex. Children, spouses and parents can all influence the decision and this continues today as well,” noted Ram Suresh Akella, Executive Director Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India, another brand that has been upping its investment in the experiential marketing space.

While it is important to consider all points that can influence the final purchase decision, Akella advises also not to “paint an entire generation with the same brush”. “Take the example of people like us. Most of us would have passed out of college at a similar age and when we do the 20-year or 25-year reunion, and we see the same set of people together, we can notice that all have different motivations,” he explained.

Akella noted that people of the same generation may have differences in the kind of media they consume or what drives their purchases, among other things.

Customising the messaging to different cohorts, identifying different user personas and then appealing to those is another area that marketers must pay attention to.

Brand Consistency In Identifying & Engaging Cohorts

Cohorts could be stage, condition or age-related. According to, Anurita Chopra, the chief marketing officer at India SubContinent Haleon, how to map and cater to these cohorts while keeping the brand strong consistently is key.

“With Sensodyne, we are going to work with the younger and the older consumers and we partner with Meta and Google. We know what the motivation of the younger cohort is. We understand that they want a certain lifestyle and what is going to appeal to them. That is how the brand must be seen by them,” Chopra explained, adding, “We will be taking a personalised approach to each of these cohorts, without changing the brand to any of them.”

"Brand loyalty is fickle but it is important to focus on the brand’s relevance and the role it plays while connecting to every individual in a particular cohort,” she emphasised.

The senior marketers agreed that there is a need for a dynamic approach when it comes to reaching out to consumers. Breaking the clutter is key in navigating this information-heavy world where consumer preferences change rapidly. It is now increasingly important for corporations to walk the talk as consumers become more attentive towards a brand's ethos and not just the product it offers.