Consumer centricity and agility keep brands alive in our new normal

Franscoe Bouwer | Marketing Manager | Castle Lite | mail me | 

During this time of uncertainty, brands are having to reimagine their existing strategies and deliver a message that aligns with the new world in which we find ourselves, putting the consumer at the centre of their new solutions.

A staggering 79% of South Africans changed general brands, 90% of consumers moved from in-person engagements to online interactions and there was a 145% increase in engagement with our industry online. Our world had changed and our consumer’s behaviour and needs changed with it.

Seeing new behaviours as an opportunity

As the Marketing Manager, I knew that staying relevant through this changing world meant, for me, looking at the needs of consumers and sticking to best practices no matter what. I saw new behaviours as an opportunity, not a setback.

The importance of being agile and putting the consumer first meant having to cut back on some of the events we love so much.

For example, my team and I decided with heavy hearts to cancel a huge event for us due to the second wave hitting early on in the year. It is still called off because of the third wave as a matter of responsibility to our consumers. While we knew we couldn’t entertain our consumers through eventing, we realised the importance of our role within our consumer’s lives, they needed entertainment and enjoyment now more than ever.

With this in mind, we looked at other ways to bring this to our audience, which brought together all aspects of entertainment; comedy, information, music, and accessibility.

We hosted the show on our YouTube channel as we knew that’s where our audience was going during lock-down to be entertained. We conceptualised the show as the antithesis of all things heavy going on in the world around us – we were there to keep consumers informed and entertained while always keeping it ‘Lite’.

A hope of positivity

The message of the show was and still is, one of hope and positivity – We’re Gonna be alright, Keep it Lite. As I look back on the past year, I had hoped 2021 would bring us the times we had before, enjoying a drink with friends and reliving the good times.

However, this year has panned out quite differently to what we had envisioned, we once again needed to adapt. All brands – not just us – have had to flip the script and make decisions on how to move forward with our consumers at the forefront.

I understand that the world has changed – perhaps irreversibly – and we all have to adapt to a new way of life, working, and marketing.

Resilience to adversity comes by having the agility and the willingness to adapt. However, that agility has to be with the consumer at the centre of every decision. I welcome the next challenges that await us because we have proven to ourselves and the world that we have what it takes to stay in the game.