The MARS Agency has recently launched an insightful universal trends report that surveys over 14,000 shoppers worldwide, highlighting 7 key trends that will impact commerce marketing in 2023. The report examines 34 different shopper categories, investigating how these trends are impacting both shopper behaviour and marketing strategies.

Covering a series of trends including:

01 COVID Gone. Recession On?

02 Quick Commerce Stays the Course

03 Community in Mind, Spirit, Body

04 Recommerce is a Natural Fit

06 Digital Shopping Deepens

05 In-Store Is ‘In’ Again

07 It’s All the Same to Shoppers

The report aims to give a holistic view as to the challenges and opportunities considered within this year’s marketing strategies to engage shoppers.

The report serves as a valuable resource for marketers looking to adapt to changing consumer behaviour and preferences. By understanding these trends, brands can create effective marketing strategies that resonate with consumers in the coming year. To read the full report, click here

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We’ve all become used to the unpredictable over recent years. TLC’s marketing trends for 2023 aims to give you the best opportunity to kick start the new year- but prepared. At the start of 2020 nobody had heard of Covid, and a year ago you’d have got long odds on seeing a takeover of Twitter, a king on the British throne and an actual war on the European mainland. But as spring is on the horizon, it’s worth planning for the rest of the year ahead. This is how TLC help their clients and fellow marketers to prepare for the upcoming twelve months. Presenting their annual prediction of marketing trends for 2023 and developments that – unforeseen events aside – will be leading the conversation in marketing departments across the UK and the world. Fasten your seatbelts…

Click here to access

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Zinklar has released a new Corporate Social Responsibility research report ahead of their appearance at IPM CONNECT 2019, on 19th June.

According to the report, if you ask UK consumers, 90% will tell you that business should be better at CSR.  They expect companies to be more transparent and trustworthy. Consumers know that their efforts at improving society and protecting the environment are unattainable without industry support.

It’s obvious that we aren’t doing enough: most don’t know which companies are socially responsible, or worse, they don’t think that what they say about CSR is true. When sustainability means profit, how do we ensure we’re increasing trust?

You can discover Zinklar’s answer at IPM’s CONNECT 2019. Explore how you can bring the voice of the consumer into the decision making process, and ensure you know how, what and with whom to communicate about your CSR and transparency strategies. Not to be missed!

A rising chorus of voices from scientists, activists, politicians and others have heightened our concern for the environment. Consumers are making more sustainable choices, and most of us are changing our habits to limit the damage we inflict on the environment. For example, 65% of British consumers buy less plastic, 45% use less air conditioning or heating, and 37% consume less meat. An overwhelming majority think companies bear a burden of responsibility: 90% of British consumers consider it either important or extremely important for companies to act in a socially responsible manner.

Companies are expected to put in as much effort as consumers to protect the environment and improve society. Without these joint efforts, it’s impossible for the average consumer to consume ethically. We all know that, and companies committed to CSR are becoming key players in the efforts to protect the environment and improve society. Consumers are ready to invest in those companies that show commitment and team spirit.

Sustainability is a vital part of CSR – but so are consumer profiles

Sustainability means profit, in the long and short term. Barclays, the international investment bank, found that bond portfolios featuring companies with sustainability goals outperformed those without (Barclays). Companies themselves are cutting costs by using energy efficient alternatives, with P&G saving up to $500B (Science Based Targets) by meeting science-based targets aimed at reducing their environmental imprint. Our findings confirm that green marketing works, with more than half of consumers willing to pay up to 10% more for a sustainable product.

Taking a more in-depth look, we discover that consumers are willing to pay for the chance to make a positive impact. If the company guarantees that they act in a socially responsible manner, they’re often willing to spend up to 25% more than the usual asking price: 60% pay more for food & drinks, 57% for cosmetics, and 53% apparel & fashion. Among younger consumers, 78% are willing to pay more for food & drink products that don’t damage the environment. We break down which industries consumers are unwilling to extra for, which ones are negatively regarded and who is unconvinced by company promises of sustainability in our CSR UK Trend Report for 2019.

Interestingly, different people will have different ways of showing their concern for CSR. For example, men are more likely than women to consider buying hybrid cars, while Londoners are more likely to purchase organic products compared to all other areas of the UK. On average, “Babyboomers” over the age of 55 are also less willing to invest in companies that make CSR promises, and are 16% more likely to refuse paying more, than younger consumers do. Even income has an impact: those who have less money don’t care about companies with CSR promises, and they won’t consider it as necessary. However, in many ways, these consumers are the ones who would most benefit from companies that act in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. Low-income earners are those most at risk of suffering the consequences of environmental damage.

Are companies responding to consumers’ expectations? They are!

KPMG’s Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting (KMPG) for one, tracks whether companies are releasing data about their corporate practices. They find that corporate responsibility is becoming standard practice among most companies, with 2018 seeing an exceptional increase in reporting from Asia-Pacific countries. Corporate Knights mine public data to score companies for their sustainability and corporate responsibility measures, releasing yearly reports that take into account the environment, inequality (such as how much more CEOs get paid in comparison to their workers), and employee diversity. Their 2018 “Global 100” placed Siemens and Samsung in 9th and 10th place. Dassaults Systems in 1st, and Neste, a Finish oil company, 2nd. An impressive score in light of our findings, where Oil Companies are the most sceptically regarded by the public.

Do marketers do a good job communicating CSR goals to consumers?

Consumers don’t always know with confidence which companies are doing good CSR, and nearly half of our sample is unable to name a single company that’s socially responsible. Among those that can though, The Body Shop and Tesco are all well reputed in the UK. These impressions are, in fact, quite accurate. The Body Shop recently changed owners from L’Óreal to Natura Cosméticos, a Brazilian company. Their Head of CSR, Christopher Davis, stated in 2017 that they intended to return to their “activist roots” (Ethicalcorp). These efforts certainly paid off: in 2018 Natura Cosmeticos came 14th in Corporate Knights’ annual Global 100 List, and they state their net revenue as having increased by 16.6% (Fashion Network).

In conclusion, ethical goals matter. They make a difference in how consumers choose to buy, and on the impact companies have on society and the environment. Thinking about what you can do to hold up CSR values will make a difference to your profit margin, conscience and the world!

We break down our data in our Trend Report, to help you find the insight you need to design your CSR strategy. What matters, for whom and which companies are scoring highest, download it for more insights!

To download the report, visit the link here

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The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) Annual Report 2018 published yesterday reveals that more ads have been amended or withdrawn than ever before as a result of their work. And, in a year when online cases* outnumbered television cases by almost 3:1, it also highlights the new, proactive and innovative projects ASA and CAP are undertaking as part of a new five year strategy focused on having more impact online.

*paid ads online and companies’ own ad claims on their own websites, social media spaces, apps, advergames, as well as video-on-demand and mobile.

In a record year, the ASA:

• Resolved 33,727complaints about 25,259 ads
  • Of those, 16,059 complaints (41% increase on 2017) were about 14,257 online ads (38% increase)
  • 10,773 complaints (14% increase) were about 5,748 TV ads (23% increase)

• Resolved 27,014 own-initiative compliance cases
• Overall, the ASA secured the amendment or withdrawal of 10,850 ads (a 53% increase on 2017)

Over the same period, CAP, which is the body that writes and maintains the UK Advertising Codes, delivered 535,478 pieces of advice and training to businesses to help them get their ads right (38% increase on 2017).

The report also reviews the actions that have been taken to tackle consumer harms and to protect the financially vulnerable; including projects on:

• Secondary Tickets – rulings against the main operators in the secondary ticketing sector for misleading pricing claims on their websites, including enforcement action against viagogo (facing the prospect of prosecution, viagogo came into compliance with our rules)
• Parcel Delivery Charges – Enforcement Notice issued to retailers across the UK making clear that a definitive claim about “UK delivery” should apply wherever a consumer lives, including Northern Ireland and northern Scotland
• Superimposed text – research published into whether TV viewers can read and understand superimposed text (supers). Subsequently, CAP toughened the standards we require for supers, while the ASA announced it will take a stricter approach to ensure qualifications are presented clearly
• New guidance on gambling ads – new guidance on children and young people to make it even clearer what advertisers need to do to target their ads responsibly and to protect under-18s from content likely to appeal particularly to them, including guidance on the use of animations and child-like cartoon characters

As well as setting out the work that has been undertaken to make UK ads responsible, the ASA and CAP highlight the measures they need to take to be even more effective, especially online. While the ASA system already regulates online advertising, including companies’ own claims on their websites and social media spaces, its new strategy, “More Impact Online” responds to the fact that people are spending more time online, businesses are increasingly advertising online and the pace of technological change online is contributing to societal concern.

The ASA has already taken its first steps to strengthen further the regulation of online advertising through its recent use of new monitoring technology in the form of child ‘avatars’ – online profiles which simulate children’s browsing activity – to identify ads that children see online. This has enabled the ASA to take swift action to ban ads from five gambling operators which were served to child avatars on children’s websites. The ASA is planning to extend this avatar work, as well as to explore how other new technologies can help it better protect the public.

Guy Parker, Chief Executive at The ASA, says: “It’s been a busy year, largely driven by complaints and cases about online ads. That’s why our new five-year strategy is focused on strengthening further the regulation of online advertising and using new tech to protect the public. Our recent use of new avatar technology is a taste of what’s to come under the new strategy and we look forward to working with our partners to increase further the impact we’re having online.”

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This March, the Advertising Association – alongside partners from its Promote UK group, including the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the IPA – is coordinating the biggest effort yet to showcase UK advertising services to international audiences. Dubbed Export Month, it will feature a wide programme of activity with the aim of promoting the UK’s advertising services to key markets around the world.

Landmark moments already planned for the month-long celebration include:

• The first annual UK Ad Exports Report – With research from the advertising industry’s think tank Credos, the report will track the performance of the UK advertising industry and will highlight the latest figures for exports of ad services – an area where the country has traditionally performed strongly. The report will measure the country’s recent exports performance; feature case studies from advertising services exporters; and gauge industry sentiment as the UK leaves the EU.
• Shanghai International Advertising Festival (SHIAF) – Taking place from 4-8 March, SHIAF will feature a unique forum to highlight UK advertising expertise to Chinese brand marketers. A delegation of UK agencies and production companies, led by Promote UK chair, Janet Hull and Advertising Association Chief Executive, Stephen Woodford, will be heading to Shanghai to meet Chinese agency peers and brands and explore new opportunities to grow links and business. In a further show of the UK advertising presence, the festival, now in its second year, will include an increased number of judges, entries and speakers from the UK across the week.
• South by Southwest (SXSW) – For the first time, UK advertising will have its own day at SXSW, taking over the British Music Embassy on 8 March in activity backed by DIT. Curated by the IPA as part of its Promote UK work, a variety of UK businesses will be presenting to festival-goers on their areas of creative expertise. Companies taking part include Hey Human, System One, Karmarama, Crowd, and Iris. The ensuing trade show on 10-13 March will include demonstrations of global campaigns that UK businesses have created for clients from around the world.
• APA’s Tokyo-London Forum 2019 – Supported by DIT, the Advertising Producers Association (APA) will be taking a delegation of companies to Japan, the third largest advertising marketing in the world between March 11-14. Around 40 companies from the industry will meet with senior leaders from Japanese agencies and showcase skills in advertising production and post-production.
• Advertising Week Europe – This year, Europe’s key gathering of marketing and communications leaders will be taking place from 18-21 March, just over a week before the scheduled date for Brexit. The Advertising Association, in partnership with DIT and the IPA, will be hosting one of the week’s highly anticipated Breakfast Leadership events at Ronnie Scott’s on 19 March. The topic of discussion will be how UK advertising can work together to build exports in a post-Brexit landscape, support the UK Government’s soft power strategy and contribute to the wider trade agenda.
• Cannes Lions UK competition – The annual search for UK advertising professionals to represent the country in the global Young Lions finals in Cannes this summer will launch in March. Backed by the Advertising Association, Department for International Trade, Channel 4, Clear Channel, Framestore and M&C Saatchi, the competition will identify UK’s rising creative talent to do battle on the world stage.
• Export Accelerator – Recruitment of test users will open in March for a new online resource funded by the Department for International Trade to help UK advertising businesses create their export strategy. It will be a one stop shop with advice on how to do more effective business overseas as well as listing upcoming opportunities to attend overseas markets and missions.
• Celebrating excellence in exports – All UK advertising businesses will be encouraged to share their exporting stories across the industry and to contribute to Export Month with their own activities.
• Promote UK Year One celebrations – Export Month’s end date coincides with the first-year anniversary of the formation of Promote UK, a group designed to support the UK advertising industry’s export ambitions. The month will culminate in a celebration of the group’s achievements in its first twelve months.

Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association, said: “The UK stands at an important crossroads in its relationship with the EU and the rest of the world. Export Month will act as a celebration of what we do best in UK advertising – a multi-national workforce servicing a global client-base via a winning combination of creativity, innovation and technological expertise. This programme will showcase these strengths like never before and we welcome all those businesses with export ambitions to join in.”

Janet Hull, Chair of the Promote UK group and Director of Marketing Strategy, IPA, commented: “A tremendous amount of effort, from industry and from UK government, is coming together in March as we showcase UK advertising services around the world. I’m hugely proud of the work being done and believe that this is just the start of what we can all do as an industry to build a strong trading future for our creative industries.”

All businesses interested in taking part in Export Month can contact Promote UK via the Advertising Association and join in on social channels using #CreativityIsGREAT.

The UK is an advertising exporting powerhouse, with British advertising services worth £5.8 billion according to the last available figures for 2016. The figures showed an increase of 35% and the UK’s balance of payments surplus for advertising was the biggest in Europe – £2.9 billion. The UK also wins more Cannes Lions advertising awards per capita than any other country, with over 1,500 won since 2005 and leads the way for the best creative and most effective advertising campaigns.

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Holidaymakers are not yet ready to hand over all their travel needs to chatbots. According to a new travel report by Edit, they are still sceptical and nervous about trusting AI to perform key tasks such as taking payment and making bookings, but they are largely happy to use chatbots to research potential holidays and receive recommendations.

There is a general lack of ‘comfort’ when it comes to chatbots handling anything more than simple info

rmation gathering. When asked, over half felt comfortable using chatbots for holiday searches and 46% for travel queries. In contrast, only a third were happy using a chatbot to book flights and hotels and a quarter to pay for flights and hotels.

Revealing a need for AI to prove its reliability – many of people’s worries are based on ‘gut feelings’ rather than facts or experiences. Over a third have used a chatbot on a website and when they did, three quarters got a relevant and useful answer and 60 per cent found it an easy process. There is also a significant knowledge gap – 39 per cent know what AI is, but would struggle to define it.

The reticence stems from general nervousness about data being accessed, regardless of who (or what) is accessing it – over half of holidaymakers are concerned about their data privacy on travel websites already. When imagining a future interaction with a chatbot, two thirds of people would be more concerned about the security of their data if speaking to an AI compared to a human. Over half say talking to a human is preferable when booking, even if the process takes twice as long.

The data does however reveal a rich area for travel companies to exploit. On the whole, consumers are happy for AI to read and interpret online reviews they have made in the past to help make a holiday recommendation, and over half believe that AI would be able to accurately recommend their next holiday.

There are many other ways in which AI could easily improve the customer experience within the travel industry. Almost two thirds of those surveyed would be interested in AI being used to provide automatic updates on flight delays or gate changes, and more than half welcomed the fact that AI could reduce time spent navigating through call centre menus. Over half also think that introducing AI to handle simple travel queries is a good idea – mostly due to the time saving element.

Toby Brown, Head of Strategy and Engagement at Edit, the marketing communications agency that commissioned the report, explains: “Our research demonstrates the need for travel brands to tread carefully when it comes to incorporating AI into the customer experience. It is imperative that travel marketers work within the parameters that customers are comfortable with and don’t just introduce technology for the sake of it. There is real potential for the travel industry to boost awareness of how chatbots can assist customers as they research holiday options and explore ideas and locations that they might not have previously considered but that sophisticated algorithms can suggest.”

“There is enormous potential for AI to transform the industry and use data to provide an even more personalised and friction-less customer travel experience, but we mustn’t forget that our holidays are a deeply personal thing too. Get the balance wrong, automate too much and holidaymakers may become alienated. The stakes are high – our holidays are so important that there will always be some things that require a human touch. Understanding this tension and working around it is the key to success when it comes to introducing technology to the travel sector.”

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Supermarket loyalty is decreasing, according to the latest research from Valassis: only 12% of shoppers claim loyalty to just one supermarket brand, with most (70%) shopping across two to three different stores. The number of shoppers loyal to just one supermarket has nearly halved since 2014, when it was 22%.

The figures, from a consumer survey carried out in November for Valassis, the UK’s largest coupon and voucher services provider, reveal that there is even less loyalty during the festive season, particularly among female shoppers. Only 10% of women stating they would stay loyal to their main regular supermarket.

Promotional offers are the deciding factor behind where the Christmas supermarket shop is done, with half of all women surveyed declaring they would switch supermarkets in order to use coupons or vouchers, although only one third of men say they are persuaded by such deals.

The research highlighted a number of other changing trends relating to promotional mechanics.  Coupons and vouchers are now favoured by 42% of shoppers compared to 38% three years ago; and loyalty points are favoured by 43% of Tesco and Sainsbury’s shoppers, compared to 38% in 2013.

In today’s increasingly digital age, paper coupons are still a favourite with most shoppers, although younger shoppers are more likely to embrace technological advances – nearly half of 25-34 year olds (48%) are highly likely to use a mobile coupon.

“With the consumer’s head being turned every which way by promotions at Christmas and grocery loyalty being at a low, no supermarket can afford to sit on the side-lines, especially when targeting women shoppers.” Valassis’ Managing Director, Charles D’Oyly (pictured), says.  “Within the grocery sector, digital promotions are still far from being embraced by the consumer although younger shoppers are certainly more predisposed to use them.  Clearly, offering a choice of promotional formats is currently the way to go.”

The weekly shop remains a firm habit of the majority of shoppers (58%), although a third of shoppers (33%) undertake daily top ups and 21% regularly opt for online shopping and home delivery.

The findings are based on an online survey of 2,000 nationally representative adults, conducted by GfK NOP on behalf of Valassis between 4^th and 7th November 2016.

Valassis Limited is the UK’s largest coupon and voucher services provider performing crucial data management and financial clearing services and responsible for handling most of the UK’s coupons and vouchers.

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